Sales

Want to know the #1 reason your customers don’t recommend you to their friends? It isn’t because they don’t like your product, or because they don’t care or are too busy. The real reason is either because you don’t ask them to, or you don’t make it easy for them to do it. If you ask them in the right way, however, the word of mouth referrals and additional business you can get from the experience will easily be more powerful that just about any other advertising or marketing you could do. Here are a few ideas for getting your customers to promote you to their family, friends and social networks in a way that won’t make it appear as if you’re paying them to like you… 6 Non-Salesy Ways To Ask Your Customers To Promote You – Social Media Today.

Flickr photo credit: Duchamp

Establishing ongoing relationships with customers enhances the long-term success of most small companies. It’s more cost-effective and a lot less stressful to serve ongoing accounts than it is to continually search for new business. Cash flows are more stable, and increased operational efficiencies can reduce internal costs, increasing profitability.

To secure a long-term customer, sales personnel need to “look beyond the sale.” They need to form a relationship with the customer, solving all of the customer’s needs and providing ongoing value of products and services.

The basis for establishing such a relationship is to address the five key needs of every customer. These include…Don’t Make a Sale, Make a Long-Term Customer – NFIB.com.

Flickr photo credit: KateMonkey