Time for Subscription Sales
Through the years, I have seen many salespeople operate on a transactional basis; this is where their approach is essentially hit-and-run — they make the sale, and then they move on to the next prospect, with almost little or no attention paid to the customer experience the client that they have just sold to will have with the company.
Apart from the lack of detail paid to the client’s experience, many of these sales also have other issues. Very often, not much thought was put into the pricing; the main goal was to undercut the pricing of their competitors at any cost. The result is that once the sale has been made, the seller, much to their dismay, discovers that the pricing they won with will give them little or no margins. Do not forget that how wide your margins are is essentially what makes your business valuable, especially if you have plans to sell it in the future. Having a high turnover does not necessarily mean that you are running a profitable business.
In my opinion, as business professionals, I believe we need to have more of a “subscription” approach, whereby, we make the customer experience so engaging and memorable for all the right reasons, that we increase repeat business exponentially.
If you would like to opt for a serious repeat business approach, I suggest that you implement the following:
· Take the time to really talk with your clients about what they want. Do not foist on them what you think they need.
· Use generic customer service evaluations with caution, as quite often they do not give an accurate overview, especially if the client has dealt with multiple vendors during the service delivery process.
· Follow up with your clients, preferably by going to meet them in person, when possible.
· Work closely with operations to make sure the client is receiving the service you promised when you sold it. If there is a big discrepancy between what you sell and what your clients experience, you will probably lose the client’s trust, possibly forever.
· Vet carefully any third-party vendors involved in the service delivery process and make sure this is an ongoing procedure as things can change.
High-quality repeat business is an incredible base on which to build a company that will quickly gain a reputation for excellence. Clients will never forget how you made them feel, so make sure that they have an exceptional customer experience every time they work with you.
Client loyalty is truly built when your clients cannot easily find what they are looking for elsewhere and when you really make customer service a priority within your company. Building client loyalty means that you stay clear of anything that could irritate or upset your client, so much so that they decide to take their business elsewhere.
From being a client myself to having serviced thousands of clients, I believe that there are five things that really turn clients off and prevent them from becoming repeat and loyal clients. Make sure that if you are making these mistakes that you remedy them immediately.
· Useless Upselling: Instead of solving the problem that a client has, I have seen many businesses try to upsell to solve the problem. This drives most clients berserk, as most people do not want to be sold to when they have an issue.
· Reward Long-Term Clients: Instead of offering special deals to onboard a new client, how about rewarding loyal clients instead? Use upgrades instead of discounts.
· Not Solving the Problem: This may seem obvious, but you are going to drive clients away in their droves if you cannot solve their problems.
· Complicated Offers: Clients want to know exactly what they are buying. If what you are selling is too complex to understand, prospects and clients alike will be turned off and seek solutions elsewhere.
· Lack of Transparency: Don’t you just hate it when your bill is higher than expected because there are hidden charges in the fine print? Clients hate that too; make sure your pricing is always clear and transparent.
Onboarding a new client can take an enormous amount of energy, time, and investment. Therefore, once you have signed a new client, make sure that your focus is on turning them into a loyal and satisfied client. Ultimately, this will reward you with subscription sales because they will be so impressed with how you do business that they know that replacing you would be challenging, if not impossible.
If you require any case-specific assistance, please feel free to contact me www.damienofarrell.com
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