Exceptional Connection…

I was training a wonderful group of people the other day, when we were talking about giving our customer “tribes” something worth sharing with others about their experience with us. I asked for examples of exceptional customer service.

Here are some of the responses:

“Listen to what they have to say”

“Communicate to them in their own style”

“Build rapport”

“Ask questions…”

And I stopped….

These were all valid answers for good customer service, but exceptional? I was hoping for inspiration! I was looking for something to move my heart!

And then I realized something.

In this group where the average age was around 25, they were speaking about their own experiences of customer service, and that’s when I made the connection. When you think that for many of these young people, their experience of sales people has been limited so far to the items they purchase: cars, clothes, phones, and so on. Mainly B2C. And the picture isn’t wonderful.

And it reinforced why I’m on a mission with The Sales Dr to transform the world of sales so that sales people love it again and our customers and clients want more of us.

Unfortunately today, there are so few examples of exceptional customer service that the above examples which once upon a time would have been pretty much a basic level, are quite often today rarely found. Especially in the B2C space.

Is this because sales people don’t want to? Or, because they don’t know how?

I think communication to create real needs to be taught, practiced and honed into an art form that is a pleasure to participate in. Wouldn’t that make it easier to jump out of bed in the morning?

Sales is such a wonderful opportunity to make a connection with someone. As sales people, we’re able to provide another person with an experience that is a delight to both parties, and which creates value for both.

If you know that you have made that person’s day happier, more informed, easier or inspired I can guarantee the boost in oxytocin for you both will be well worth the effort. And you’ll want to chase that feeling again!

I would love to hear from you about your experiences as a customer of exceptional service, because I love sales and am proud to be in a position where I am able to connect with people and get to know how I can help them. Your stories will inspire me and others.

Have a great week.

View our other posts

What to do when your poor performer thinks they are a star

by The Sales Dr | Ingrid | January 14, 2019 | Uncategorised | 0 Comments

We’ve either got one in our teams right now, we’ve had one in our teams before, we are one** or we’ve been one - the poor performer who thinks they’re a star. The evidence is all around them: the declining or poor results, consistent poor feedback from multiple...

Connection is your ticket to the dance

by The Sales Dr | Ingrid | January 14, 2019 | Uncategorised | 0 Comments

We live in a world where we give our babies smart phones to play with, our children devices to watch at the table when eating out and where our teens communicate in social media shorthand using touched up images to get more likes. We complain about the time we...

Don’t argue with Dr Phil

by The Sales Dr | Ingrid | January 10, 2019 | Uncategorised | 0 Comments

“You can’t change what you don’t acknowledge,” says Dr Phil. And it’s hard to argue with Dr Phil. I mean, he’s Dr Phil after all!! I don’t know about you, but over 25 years working with sales people, the fastest performance improvements happen with those...

2019 is here!

by The Sales Dr | Ingrid | December 17, 2018 | Uncategorised | 0 Comments

February 2019 is on our doorstep…. My clients are already starting to schedule meetings for January for work set to commence in February NOW. That’s right: in December. Now some of you reading this will be all over it. You’re way ahead of me. In fact, you were...

Dealing with Decision Inertia

by The Sales Dr | Ingrid | December 17, 2018 | Uncategorised | 0 Comments

First it was “Before Xmas”; now it’s “In the New Year”. Next it will be “Before Easter”…. Customers making decisions to work with us seem to use these events as delay tactics….They’re used as unexpected hurdles making it difficult to sign off. Why? It’s not...

Xmas is a time for Gratitude

by The Sales Dr | Ingrid | December 17, 2018 | Uncategorised | 0 Comments

We don’t have Thanksgiving in Australia, but it’s a brilliant ritual that makes people stop and think about their blessings. In business, it’s easy to get so wrapped up (no pun intended) in our own Xmas festivities, and we forget that it actually presents us with an...

Get Busy

by The Sales Dr | Ingrid | November 27, 2018 | Uncategorised | 0 Comments

2018 is nearly over: have you achieved all you set out to? Or, did you plan to set out to achieve anything at all? With the right plan you set yourself up for success because you're able to resource, staff, train, market and sell with a purpose. Moreover,...

Break Down or Break Through?

by The Sales Dr | Ingrid | November 27, 2018 | Uncategorised | 0 Comments

As we approach the end of the year, it’s easy to feel exhausted. Some of us are feeling the stress of completing projects before Xmas. It can feel like “the quickening”! Throughout the course of our lives most of us have gone through a particularly difficult...

When to say no

by The Sales Dr | Ingrid | November 27, 2018 | Uncategorised | 0 Comments

“ Getting to Yes” was a best selling sales book because as sales people, we look for the green lights, head nods, agreement. Yes is music to our ears and the word we find ourselves saying to questions about our ability to deliver. “Getting to no” would be an...

Who Are You When No One’s Watching?

by The Sales Dr | Ingrid | August 25, 2015 | sales coaching, Sales Culture | 0 Comments

If there were no checks on you and perhaps no consequences, how differently would you act? Would you still do the work, pay the bills, put in the hours perfecting a skill, do the exercise, eat the vegetables? In fact I asked myself recently why I put so much pressure...