Steve Ferrante, Author at Shop Owner Magazine - Page 3 of 3
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The Six Essential Success Traits Of Top-Performing Service Salespeople

Having spent 25+ years in the sales industry myself, I have seen a wide variety of salespeople, from dreadful to truly great with most somewhere in between. Of course, top-performing salespeople are invaluable to any business as they typically represent the 20% of the team that generates 80% of the revenue or thereabouts.

No-Pressure Selling Is A ‘No-Brainer’

As I pinball across North America training independent tire and auto service businesses on sales and customer service, it has become clear that many salespeople are under the impression that they must aggressively work to close the sale when interacting with customers, or they will lose business.

Follow These Two Important Rules To Engage Customers For Life

In order to achieve ultimate success, shop owners must ensure that all of their systems, processes, programs, policies, procedures and initiatives are properly aligned to focus on improving the customer experience. A major part of this accomplishment involves making certain that all employees consistently execute customer-focused behavior.

Lessons Learned From Amazon.com: Best Practices To Improve Customer Retention And Sales

I love Amazon! Over the past five years or so, I’ve purchased countless items from Amazon: books, DVDs, office supplies, electronics, coffee, assorted gifts and a lot more. In fact, rarely does a week go by without at least one Amazon package arriving from UPS.

Deliver World-Beating Customer Service, Part 2

Part 1 of this article in the July/August issue discussed how great customer service is not as easily defined as having clean restrooms. Customer service is a tangible, measurable attribute, so your customer always decides whether or not you’re delivering exceptional customer service.

Deliver World-Beating Customer Service: Remember, Your Customers Are The Judge

Customers demand much more today of their vehicle repair experience, but “great customer service” is not as easily defined as, say, having clean restrooms. Truth is: Customer service is a tangible, measurable attribute. Time and again we hear the phrase “great customer service,” but what is it in real terms?

How Fit Are Your Sales and Customer Service Efforts?

Have you ever considered the fitness level of your sales and customer service efforts? I’m not talking about some sort of employee exercise program. Rather, I’m asking if the employees who provide sales and service to your customers are functioning at peak performance.

If You Win the Argument, You Lose the Sale

The true test of a business’ customer service effort is not when things are going right but, rather, what is done when things go wrong.

Don’t Close the Sale – Open the Relationship

Extensive consumer research has proven that there’s a direct link between positive customer experiences and greater sales results and reveal that when there’s a disconnect between the way businesses go about selling their products and the way consumers want to buy them, sales results suffer.