Thursday, February 23, 2017
Attract the Right Job or Clientele:
With a sense of humor today, I wrote to a colleague that being seen as nice is my cover. Showing respect and understanding of everyone I meet always prove to be the better strategies for business development and referrals. However, there are times when we need to take action due to unfortunate mishaps.
Resolving problems is the turning point for the appearance of being nice to transform into showcasing being professionally efficient.
My Story
My friend, Jen, shared her frustration with the new condo building that is now her home. Right outside her front door, one can see the deterioration of a wall. There are a hole and a crack in the finish that runs from ceiling to floor. Also, there is a condo down the hall that experienced water leakage from the unit above. It appears we have to deal with obvious shortcuts in the construction. The building is only about nine months old.
Jen contacted the builder to inform them of the issues only to learn the community itself is now in charge. The woman appointed to the building showed little interest and claimed a move caused the damage. Hardly. I told Jen that being Nice is my cover (that’s how she sees me and can’t believe I’m a sales professional) until an effective plan of responsibility is needed.
I took pictures of the wall and showed them to the higher up at the community. The person conveyed that she will have a talk with the other woman who is dragging her feet. I then advised Jen to create a timeline document with dates, conversations, reactions, and measures stated that are to be taken.
The ball is now in management’s court. They may choose to do something or do nothing. Either way, we will have a working document in hand to get the problem fixed. If the problem does not receive the care it should, the documentation will be proof that caring employees need to replace the ones in charge today.
Your Story
Think about an employment issue or a problem with a previous client that you may have had, and whether you actively pursued a satisfactory outcome. Most people don’t know what to do and so allow the discrepancies to continue. But not solving the problem only tends to multiply additional disconnects and frustration rapidly grows. In the future, promise yourself to:
- Document the timeline of inaction/action for resolving problems.
- Capture all communication in a file folder.
- Give the problem time to be fixed, and if it doesn’t, then present both the time sequence and the communications to the highest level person possible.
Once everything is captured, there is little to argue about and everything to be gained from fixing the matters. The most important aspect is always to remain professional and avoid the blame game. Your focus should strictly be on resolving the issue. Show appreciation for those willing to help sort out the matter.
In this way, your reputation remains solid. Others come to know you as the person who knows how to fix problems.
Sales Tips:
- Comprehend the problem in full.
- Recognize the hierarchy of people in charge to fix problems.
- Begin documenting communication as you go up the ladder of decision makers.
- Ask each person how they see the fix and by when action will start.
- Follow-up promptly on whether the fix took place.
- If nothing happened, go up the ladder of decision-makers to begin again.
- Continue the same process until you get to the ultimate decision-maker.
- Explain the current problem and how it will manifest further should inaction take hold.
- Ask for a timeline for restoration.
- Celebrate Success!
P.S. Send us your sales related questions to questions@smoothsale.net
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