Your customers have questions for you. They want to know about your product specifications, your delivery capabilities, or your proof of performance. Successful salespeople can answer these questions and customers then buy. What about the questions you should ask yourself? What if…is a very important sales question for you.
What if I lose my largest customer…
I once worked with a very talented engineer. Bob had a very important customer who distributed the products he sold. This customer was the largest customer in the U.S. of a major oil company. Then one day this customer was bought by a competing oil company. There was no way an oil company was going to give competitive marketing intelligence to a competitor. Almost overnight Bob went from having the largest territory in the country to having the smallest. His job was in jeopardy.
Fortunately for Bob, his talent as an engineer and his industry contacts made him the perfect person for a new assignment as an industry representative across multiple states. But, what if that position wasn’t able to be created? He would have been out of work because management eliminated his now too small territory.
Do you have a plan if you lose your largest customer? What options would you have? Yes, you could look for another job. Most people get jobs through word of mouth, not published job postings. Are you an active member of industry trade groups where you meet the people who could recommend you for a position? Sending out hundreds of resumes is not the answer to getting a new job. Industry contacts and a great reputation are the answer.
What if my product doesn’t work…
In a perfect world, you will give customers clear instructions and all products will work fine. Even with clear instructions I’ve seen products misapplied that cause huge problems. Air compressors are lubricated with either petroleum compressor oils or synthetic products. These products are not compatible. We emphasized the incompatibility of these products when we had customers using synthetic products. Imagine my surprise when one weekend a customer mixed these products causing a plant shut down. They contacted me and we were able to get the problem resolved quickly.
It’s never a good idea to be out of reach when a customer has a problem. Sales is not a 40 hour a week job. Can your customers reach you when they have a problem? Yes, when you give your cell phone number to a customer that means they have permission to call you when they need to speak with you.
I have found that most customers are respectful of your time with your family. They won’t take advantage of your goodwill. But, when they need your input they should be able to reach you. You could have a back up contact with someone you work with if being reached is a problem for you. That way you could be “off duty” when your back up was on and you could be on when your back up is off.
It’s too late to ask yourself what if when you lose a customer or a customer has a problem. Think now about a plan that works for you. Then implement it so when something unplanned happens with your sales, you have a plan to keep your sales.