5 Simple Steps to Build A Strong Relationship with New Customers

Before I share my perspective on a key element of the sales process, I’d like to start with a question.What do you consider to be the most important sales call you will make in the entire sales cycle? Okay, take a moment and think about it.This may surprise you, but the most important call is the first one you make AFTER you get an order. Yes, AFTER you close the deal.I know your instinct, and maybe even explicit instruction from management, is to get the heck out of the way after you book the order. Don’t give your customer a chance to change his or her mind. Don’t risk triggering a cancellation.But, let me caution you, do NOT confuse the post-sales call with “selling after the close.”The post-sales call has a very important and very specific purpose. You see, in virtually every competitive sales situation, a buyer has been promised features, advantages, and benefits from multiple sellers. And within 24 hours of choosing a company’s product or service, the customer can’t remember which seller promised what.In fact, most buyers combine the best of what they heard from ALL the sellers and inflate it into one big balloon of unreasonable expectations that is just waiting to pop.By making the critical post-sales follow-up call, what I label the most important sales call, you have the power to prevent your buyer’s bubble from bursting.Here are 5 simple steps to quickly align your customer’s expectations with your solution’s reality and start your relationship off on the strongest footing possible.

• First, Within 24 hours of receiving the customer order, call your main point of contact. Ask for 10 minutes of their time. It shouldn’t take longer than this.
• Second, using your account notes in your CRM system, take your customer back through their buying process and reinforce their stated requirements.
• Third, review what you proposed and how it meets their specific needs.
• Fourth, Refresh your customer’s memory about the specifics of what he or she ordered and why,
• Fifth, Reiterate precisely what you will deliver and when.

It’s that simple. Now your customer’s expectations are aligned with what you are going to deliver. And your working relationship is going to start very smoothly. Think of this most important sales call this way – it’s also the FIRST sales call you’ll make for the NEXT order you’ll earn from this very customer.