One of the key responsibilities of a CEO is to keep the sales group and production people from killing each other.  The sales group wants to promise everything to everybody at the lowest possible price to drive up sales numbers without considering the effect on the rest of the business. This oversight particularly impacts production who must keep the promises made by a salesman.

At the same time that production people don’t want to adjust schedules to accommodate customers, they are also reluctant to look at cost saving methods to lower price and cringe every time sales people promise another price reduction. 

Branch banking has undergone significant change over the past several years. Step-by-step, financial institutions have reduced or eliminated interpersonal interaction as part of a long-term plan to reduce banking costs and staff.

For example, now you can deposit checks using a smart phone. When I receive a check, it’s easier to snap a picture using my banking application. Almost immediately the money shows up in my account. This saves me time and effort, but it also saves the bank handling time and provides for automatic check processing.  

I’ve written articles on sale success before. I thought it was time to cover some basic steps that are critical for anyone connecting with customers. Actually the steps are important for more than anyone in sales because we’re constantly selling ourselves to our employer or others.

1.  Become an expert about your product.

If you are unable to answer basic questions, the customer will quickly lose confidence that you know what you’re talking about. Without their confidence, you will not gain the trust necessary to make a sale.

Planning and adhering to work commitments is a common challenge.  Time and time again some individuals simply schedule too much work and miss deadlines. Often the person feels bad about it, but believes a good explanation equals a good result. Most customers disagree.

In my own mind I differentiate between a reason and excuse. A reason is something you provide in advance concerning why you may not be able to meet a customer’s expectations or requirements. An excuse is something conjured up as a reason for failure.

As a writer of a number of published books I try to stay current with the publishing industry. While Amazon is a great outlet for many, book publishers face increased financial pressure because of them.

First, Amazon makes used books available at low prices. Many people don’t want to keep a book after they’ve read it.  One time through is enough. Readers may get some of the book’s price back by making their book available for sale on Amazon.com.  Amazon matches buyers and sellers of these books.  A few years ago these books would have ended up in a used book store, donated to local library or tossed in the trash. If a customer is willing to wait six months or more, a bestseller that might have cost $29.99 in hardcover may be available for $4 to $10, sometimes even less. However, publishers and authors make nothing on these resales.