Special Guest Blogger - Alan Thompson
No matter what business you run, it is important to
consider your interaction with everyone you meet during your working day,
whether they are considering buying from you, or they are visiting your
premises for a different purpose.
You will get to know the outcomes of your meetings with potential
customers. It may translate into business for you, or if not, at least you will gain some
feedback as to why they didn’t buy on this occasion.
But you may never know the
impact of your interaction with the ‘non-customer’. How much business could you be throwing away?
Let me illustrate my point with an experience that I have on a regular
basis:
As a day job I collect and deliver cars, individually, not with a
transporter. And often that means collecting from, and delivering to, motor
dealer showrooms.
Upon delivery I have to get someone to check the car and sign to say I
have delivered it. When collecting I need someone to get me the keys, tell me
where the vehicle is likely to be parked and to sign to say I’ve taken it. Some
dealers have a person whose job it is to deal with this, however, in most cases
it is any of the salesperson’s responsibility.
Because I am not there to buy a car, in about 50% of cases I am messed
around in some way. I am told there is no one available (when there are no
customers in the showroom); I am asked to go look for the car first to get a
key number or am advised to find a particular person to help me who is not on
site. Even when someone does help me, I am often treated discourteously as if I
am stopping them from completing something far more important!
I must say that there are some sites I go to where I am treated
respectfully and dealt with in a timely and professional manner.
But because of my experiences there are several dealers local to where
I live that I will discount straight away when I am next in the market for a
car, because of the way that I have been treated when visiting them in my
professional capacity.
Every business will have ‘non-customer’ visitors that might include the
parts delivery person, the photocopier repairer, the meter reader, the postman ... I could go on. What should be remembered is that we all have lives away from
our day jobs, and many of us have funds for discretionary spending.
Think about every interaction you have in your working day, and how
it could impact on future business opportunities. Ensure you are in with
a chance of me spending my hard earned cash with you!
Alan Thompson