MODULE I - Communication & Customer advisory Page 8

MODULE I Communication & Customer advisory Page 8

7. Course of a successful customer conversation

Opening of the conversation:

First encounter of the customer and the customer advisor or salesman.
-> The basis for a good sales deal is set here. Very often the first impression is the most important one.
Description of the customer problem and finding out what the customer really wishes
Linking the wishes of the customer with the company's range of products and services.
-> Here the customer has to be introduced into the offers of the company, always taking into consideration his wishes. The customer in a way should be led secretly without noticing it, however he should not be enticed. One has to precede with caution in this regard. If the customer suddenly gets the impression to have been outwitted or talked into something it will not be easy to win back his trust.
During the process in which one tries to determine the right offer for the customer a solution for the wishes of the customer has to be found always taking the technical knowledge of the customer's situation and problem into consideration. If the customer then makes a decision in favour of a particular solution offered to him a first very important step is being made from the perspective of the customer.
Now, the customer has made a decision in favour of a solution or a product but he still has not bought anything.
This phase should be used to explore if the customer still has other related wishes or problems he might not have mentioned yet. In this way, it is maybe possible to make an additional deal with the customer.
An example: The customer has decided to buy a solar energy heating system and is looking forward to take a shower with hot water heated by solar energy, however he does not have a water-saving shower thermostat in his shower. Or he is complaining about defects at the shower head caused by a hard or very chalky water. Customer statements like these would present an ideal opportunity to start a discussion with the aim to make an additional deal (e.g., selling a shower thermostat or shower head) before completing the main deal - the sale of the solar energy heating system.
It is ideal if a salesman or customer advisor is able to complete a main as well as an additional deal in this way.
The customer must get a feeling of satisfaction to have exactly bought what he always wanted as a solution for his wish or problem.

After this description of the typical course of a customer conversation, the introduced points will be discussed in more detail on the following pages. Beyond that, other possibilities will be introduced for satisfying customers.

Order of the steps in a typical customer advisory conversation: Opening of the customer conversation

Each service technician who enters the home of a customer for the first time, but also each customer who enters the product exhibition of a company for the first time encounters a particular atmosphere there that affects him in a special way. This first impression can be influenced positively or negatively by the room atmosphere, i.e. type of the furnishing (e.g. different tables, chairs, etc..).