The goal is to make the follow-up a continuation of the positive purchasing experience.  Starting a conversation that gets customers excited about their purchase all over again can lead to a referral to a friend who might be looking to do business with you.  It’s the ABC of selling – Always Be Closing.

The salesperson’s job does not stop at the close of the sale, yet most customers never get a follow up call or any form of contact once they leave a store.  Why?  For most salespeople, it is fear of rejection, not knowing what to say and not knowing how to say it. 

Follow up contact is essential and can be successful if these steps are followed:
•    Have a purpose – understand the outcome you want from the call. Is it a referral or additional sales, perhaps?
•    Plan what you will say – script it out – but never read the script once you are on the call.
•    Think about and plan how you will communicate it.
•    Be prepared for the customer to lead you down another path and be ready to bridge back to your purpose.  

Consider this example:
A.    Desired outcome: referral/lead and relationship building
B.    What you want to say:  Did your friends or family like your purchase?
C.    How will you say it:  When did you first wear your new suit to work? (In this case the salesperson knew why the suit was being purchased, which is his first job function.)  What did your friends and colleagues think about it?  How did it make you feel?  Did anyone ask where you purchased it?  Would you mind if I gave them a call?

The goal is to make the follow-up a continuation of the positive purchasing experience.  Starting a conversation that gets customers excited about their purchase all over again can lead to a referral to a friend who might be looking to do business with you.  It’s the ABC of selling – Always Be Closing.  

Here’s how it works when all three functions are executed properly:
I used to buy my suits from a guy named Ed who worked in a large men’s shop.  Each time I’d go in he’d say, “Good morning Mr. Libin, what’s the occasion you are shopping for today?” As we talked about my business, family and the suit, he’d weave in questions that helped pinpoint my exact needs, wants and desires, and listen carefully to my answers.  Then, he’d find a suit and I would try it on.  

Ed would button the jacket, adjust the shoulders, pull down the sleeves and fuss over it until I was feeling pretty good about it.  Then he’d say, “No, that’s not the right suit for you.”  He’d find another suit, repeat the process, and I’d feel even better about it.  Then we’d close the sale – but only after he introduced me to the tailor just in case I ever had a need. 

Ed created a “want” in the first suit, took it away and created an even stronger desire by finding the right suit for me.  Price was never discussed.  A day later I would get a call asking what my wife thought about my new suit.

So how do you start?  With one essential first step: accept the fact that your job is not to sell but to help customers buy.  Make it your mantra; say it, repeat it and come to believe it. 

Every day when you get out of bed, and several times during the day, repeat to yourself,  “My job is not to sell, but to help my customers find the exact product or service that meets their needs and in doing so, make sure their experience is positive.”  

It’s about adopting the right attitude every single day.  When you do, you will have started your journey on the road to winning, and along the way, you’ll help your colleagues change their mindset as well.