BY Pam Leach  (bio)

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"When your actions say, "Hey, you pay my salary," your customers will notice. The result will be more long-term customers"

Your initial contact with a prospect will determine how he or she feels about you, your services and your entire organization. And it takes only a few seconds. Whether in person or on the telephone, prospects form eleven impressions during the first few seconds, claims Ron Willingham, author of Hey, I’m the Customer. "Most of us form quick first impressions," Willingham says. "We often subliminally decide whether we like people, feel good about them, or want to do business with them in those first few seconds of contact. It all happens on unconscious, intuitive and instinctive levels."

What can we do to make sure we form a good first impression?

• Pay attention

  • Give your full attention to the prospect. You can give the impression of eye contact across a telephone line.
     

• Listen to the tone of the caller

  • Show genuine interest.
     

• Focus on the prospect

  • There is nothing worse than talking to someone whose attention is elsewhere. In the rental-purchase business there are unique opportunities not afforded traditional retail establishments. You may see your customers twenty-five or more times a year. If on each occasion you genuinely "fuss" over your customer, you let that customer know how important he or she is to your organization.

When your actions say, "Hey, you pay my salary," your customers will notice. The result will be more long-term customers.

Inform and entertain the customer—get the sale, don’t just cover the points!

When talking to potential customers on the phone, keep the conversation friendly, informative and brief. The point of any sales presentation is to make the sale—don’t rattle on making every point in the script. Make sure the prospect is listening, involved and interested in what you are saying.

We hear many calls so one-sided that we very much doubt the prospect would still be interested. No one wants to listen to a ten- to twelve-minute lecture about the rental process and program.

Don’t present every product in the showroom. Identify the prospect’s needs so you will know what products to cover.

Ask the prospect for feedback as you go through the presentation. This is a great way to keep him or her involved and interested. It’s also your chance to identify and overcome objections.

A key part of this process is building rapport. Know and use the prospect’s name. Keep your prospect involved in the conversation.

Selling Skills:
Determine Needs

Selling on the phone is far more challenging than selling face-to-face. To be effective, you must create a mental picture of your products. However, no one wants to hear about the entire inventory.

By asking the right questions, you can determine the prospect’s needs. This will help you focus on one or two products to present in detail. For example, if your prospect asks for a television, determine his or her needs by asking:

• Are you replacing a TV or adding a TV?

• In what room will you put the TV?

• What components do you plan to connect to the TV? (For example: Stereo, DVD, camcorder, video games, satellite dish, etc.)

• How many people might view the TV at the same time?

Present one or two televisions that will meet the prospect’s needs, and don’t forget to sell up and add-on. Customers who feel their merchandise meets or exceeds their expectations will rent longer and be more loyal to your store and company.

What do your customers really think?

Don’t you want to know? You should.

It can cost as much as $100 to $200 to attract one new customer. Your goodwill and good service are the keys to retaining your hard-earned customers.

Based on the results of our SurveyTrax program, rental-purchase customers are amazingly loyal—as long as the service remains top-notch.

We have talked with thousands of rental-purchase customers and have learned that about ten to fifteen percent of new customers are unhappy with their initial service, product or treatment, or a combination of all three.

Only about eight out of every ten new customers received everything they needed to operate the merchandise. Half of those were still waiting for the missing parts many weeks after initial delivery of the product.

Much of this could be remedied by making a follow-up call within a week of product delivery. Our research shows that only fifty percent of the customers received a follow-up call from the store. Customer retention and satisfaction could be dramatically improved by simply calling your customers to make sure they are satisfied!

Why ask these questions?

Have you ever gone out to a restaurant and asked to order without seeing a menu or a menu board? Do they ask you if you have eaten their before?

Including the phrase "May I take your order" is fine for pizza places, but is it really the proper way to greet a prospect not familiar with your rental programs and options? Doesn't this assume the sale without having to do any work? It is great to want the sale—and you should always assume that you will get the sale—but don’t use that phrase in your greeting thinking you will get points for a close in case it’s a mystery shop. "May I take your order" in the greeting is never counted as a close. Another needless question asked all too often is "Have you rented from us before or rented from anyone else?" Instead, focus on creating a relationship with the prospect that demonstrates your enthusiasm for your company, store and merchandise. This can be a real challenge in large multiple store areas where there might be a store closer to that prospect. First get the prospect as a customer for your company, and later on offer them the option of moving their account to another store. In any event, let the customer decide—there is usually a good reason they called you!

As our evaluators hear it …

Here are some tips and observations from our staff of telephone shop evaluators:

• Asking for and using the prospect’s name is a great way to build rapport but do not overuse this tool. Overusing a prospect’s name can sound insincere and can lose you a sale.
   

• Never demand the prospect’s address at the start of the call. This is a big negative and gives the caller the impression that the whole rental process is just too much of a hassle.

• Be sincere and enthusiastic about your store, your company and the quality products your store offers.
   

• Listen to what the prospect is saying and strive to meet his or her needs.
   

• Avoid asking the question, "Have you rented from us before?" Our research over many years shows that only forty percent of the callers have rented before. Don’t use this question as a qualifier in your sales presentation by thinking that a previous customer needs less information. Previous customer will likely tell you that they rented before without being asked.
   

• Place a prospect on hold only as a last resort. If you must put a prospect on hold, try to not do so until most of the presentation has been made.

Tips from top performers …

Here are a some tips from the top performers on how to deliver excellence to prospects who call your store:

• Treat every call as a sales call. Make it a habit to be enthusiastic, helpful, knowledgeable and courteous.
   

• Have a script by each phone. Keep a script (for reference only) and a sales book by each phone in the store.
   

• Role-play. At your weekly meetings, role-play how to properly handle phone calls.
   

• Train everyone. Thoroughly train everyone on proper phone sales techniques. After training, continue to monitor performance. (See the "Role-Play" bullet above.)
   

• Set telephone sales goals. Set weekly telephone sales goals—closely monitor the results.
   

• Use only trained staff. Allow only staff fully trained in phone sales techniques to take phone calls with prospects.
   

• Listen to the recorded mystery shops. Listen to the mystery shops (in addition to reviewing the score sheets) to identify the strengths and weaknesses of each call. Use the results to direct your ongoing training.
   

• Remember the investment made to have that one person call your store.

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