Test Your Power Knowledge (answers are below)

1. How many calls does it take on average to close a sale?
2. True or false: After the sale is closed, the role of the salesperson is finished.
3. What does this statement mean: “Even though the sale is closed, you should never assume the sale is closed”?
4. Name three areas that require follow-up on the part of the salesperson.
5. Identify three ways that you can add value to your customers’ businesses during the follow-up process.
6. Name three benefits of having a loyal customer.
7. Describe how heroic recovery can have a positive impact on your relationship with your customer.
8. What is a customer feedback loop?
9. Describe Net Promoter Score?
10. What is the formula to calculate NPS?
11. Identify at least one thing you can do after you receive your job offer but before you start your job.

Power (Role) Play

Now it’s time to put what you’ve learned into practice. The following are two roles that are involved in the same selling situation—one role is the customer, and the other is the salesperson. This will give you the opportunity to think about this selling situation from the point of view of both the customer and the salesperson.

Read each role carefully along with the discussion questions. Be prepared to play either of the roles in class using the concepts covered in this chapter. You may be asked to discuss the roles and do a role-play in groups or individually.

Let It Snow

Role: Facilities manager at the Tri-County Office Complex

You are responsible for the overall maintenance at the largest office complex in the area. There are ten office buildings in the complex, which provides office space for thirty companies. You oversee the exterior maintenance, which includes everything from trash and snow removal to lawn care and window washing. You have just signed a contract with All Weather Maintenance Co., two days ago. It’s 5:00 a.m., and a major snowstorm just hit, so you are on your way to inspect the property to be sure that the walkways are shoveled and parking lot is plowed.

• What role do you expect the salesperson to play now that the contract has been signed?
• Who will you call if the snow removal is not completed to your satisfaction?
• How will this experience impact your expectations of All Weather Maintenance Co., for other snowstorms and situations that require maintenance, especially time-sensitive maintenance?

Role: Sales rep, All Weather Maintenance Co.

You recently signed your largest client, Tri-County Office Complex. You have a very good relationship with the facilities manager based on the selling process. You have communicated the maintenance requirements to your company’s operations department. Now the job is up to them to conduct year-round maintenance. Your normal hours are 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., but you were concerned about the weather report last night, so you set your alarm early. You wake up at 5:00 a.m. to see a blanket of snow and ice and immediately wonder if the maintenance crew made it to the Tri-County Office Complex.

• What action, if any, do you take?
• What kind of follow-up will you do with the customer?
• When will you do follow-up?
• What will you say to the customer?
• What will you do to ensure that time-sensitive maintenance is completed as expected?

Put Your Power to Work: Selling U Activities

1. Visit your career center and ask them for information about mentors. Learn how you can get a mentor even before you start your job.
2. Identify someone who already works at the company from which you received an offer. Set up a meeting with her before you start your new job to learn more about the company, company culture, and other things that will be important to know for your new job.

Test Your Power Knowledge Answers

1. Five.
2. False.
3. Good salespeople help avoid buyer’s remorse by following up quickly after the sale is closed and reinforcing the fact that the buyer made a good decision.
4. Contracts to be signed, delivery to be scheduled, customer shipping and billing information to be added to CRM system, credit checks, addition of customers to all appropriate correspondence, invoice to be generated, welcome package to be sent to customer, introductions to be make to all appropriate internal people on the team, and status calls to be scheduled.
5. Phone and in-person regular status updates, newsletters, white papers, industry information, networking, asking questions, spending time in the business.
6. Additional sales from the loyal customer, testimonials to be used in presentations for prospects, and referrals to new customers.
7. If a service failure is handled quickly and meets or exceeds the expectations of the customer, it can have an even more positive impact on how the customer perceives the service from the sales rep and the company.
8. A formal process for gathering, synthesizing, and acting upon customer feedback.
9. NPS is a closed loop customer feedback system that relies on the answer from customers to one key question: “How likely would you be to recommend this product or service to your friends or colleagues?”
10. NPS = Promoters – Detractors.
11. Say thank you with a personal note to your new boss, continue to do research on the company, dress for success, plan your route, and walk in with a smile.