Initial impressions: starting out right
The customer's first impression is lasting.
There are several issues to be considered when you first meet a customer or potential customer and then attempt to identify his or her needs. Obviously, the initial interaction between you and the customer can create a lasting impression and these impressions will affect your ability to establish the rapport necessary to identify needs. (We will be covering establishing rapport with your customer in greater depth in chapter 9.)
There are some obvious things that you can do to make the initial interaction with your customer a positive one. Be certain to:
- greet your customer appropriately;
A friendly and sincere "Good morning" accompanied by a pleasant smile goes a long way to starting off on the right foot.
- use appropriate body language;
You cover this area in detail in the subject Business Communication . Remember to make eye contact with the customer, smile where appropriate, and listen attentively.
- acknowledge multiple customers;
Very often you will have more than one customer waiting; alternatively, sometimes you will be on the telephone or the phone will ring whilst you are talking with another person. We have found this happens regularly with internal customers. Acknowledge those who are waiting whilst you deal with each customer in turn.
An aside: Ask creatively
The chief buyer for a thriving company was particularly inaccessible to salespeople. You did not call him. He called you. On several occasions when salespeople managed to get into his office, they were summarily tossed out.
One saleswoman finally broke through his defences. She sent him a homing pigeon with her card attached to one leg. On the card she had written, "If you want to know more about our product, just throw our representative out the window."
From: The Best of Bits & Pieces
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