Sale…Gone in Sixty Seconds

The customer entered the establishment and approached the sales counter. The employee behind the counter is thumbing through some paperwork. Without raising her eyes to greet the customer she says, "We open at nine." The customer does not respond immediately. He simply raises his eyes to the clock mounted on the wall behind the employee and observes the time, eight fifty nine. He finally says it, "It is eight fifty nine." She says, "We open at nine". The customer asks, "Are you willing to lose a sale over sixty seconds?" By this time the clock has ticked past nine but the employee insists, "We open at nine." The customer leaves, the employee lost a sale. But, it does not stop there. Later that day the customer tells all of his Facebook and Twitter followers about his experience while leaving a complaint on the company's website. Customers have a long memory and they readily share their negative experiences to anyone who will listen. There are many lessons to be learned from this story, however, I want to focus on one. Customers pay your wages. Period! Regardless of how difficult it can be to work with certain customers, your business, job and sales career does not exist without customers. The success of your business will be determined by how well you serve those customers. It is not the employer who pays the wages. Employers only handle the money. It is the customer who pays the wages. ~ Henry Ford We are all in sales. Every person in an organization is responsible for the customer service so you should embrace it. The success of your business and job depends on it. Have a great week! Pierce