Touch Point: Sales

Lately, we’ve been talking about Touch Points, or all the ways you interact with your customers. It’s a fascinating topic, because the more you analyze your business, the more Touch Points you’ll find. For instance, last week we discovered that recruiting was a Touch Point, because the right employees can shape the customer experience. This week, we’re going to examine sales as a Touch Point, and how it’s often overlooked.

You may think this sounds farfetched. After all, the sales process happens before someone is a customer, not after. Can it really be considered a Touch Point? But actually, a sales touch is the first impression your customers have about you. The best, most effective sales programs are run on that very principle. It’s not just about closing deals; it’s laying the groundwork for profitable relationships.

Here’s a great example: junk mail (or junk email). The most impersonal, irrelevant, and annoying form of business development ever invented. No matter how great your product is, sending a barrage of marketing to unwilling recipients does not create a good impression. It may create some customers, but probably not true relationships. It’s a terrible idea, and U.S. Lawns doesn’t do it.

Instead, think about our versions of direct marketing: the 7-in-7 and Direct Sales Dial-Up programs. These aren’t just sales tools; they’re relationship builders. How?

• Sales touches are only sent to qualified leads—people you or we have identified as having a need for our service.

• Materials are set up to address specific problems the customer has, and demonstrate how U.S. Lawns can fix them.

• Owners follow up with personal calls to ask if the prospect has any questions.

These are true Touch Points. They create a radically personal transaction between you and a prospective customer. And not just because they involve a phone call—but because the materials you send are aimed at already working to solve their problems. That’s service.

Some sales people like to call this a “pain point” approach: figure out where a person’s pain is, and then promise to alleviate it. Although this is a somewhat accurate description, it’s also shortsighted. Our goal is not just to win an account. We’re interested in providing helpful, relevant information in order to build a relationship.

Business development programs like ours reinforce the point that service begins before a customer has even signed a contract. Now, if that’s not a radically personal concept, we don’t know what is.

To build your sales program into an effective service Touch Point, simply tap into the 7-in-7 and Direct Sales Dial-Up tools already available to you. Haven’t signed up yet? Contact Carol Beeler in the Home Office.