Social Media, Customer Service and the New Salesperson

Social Media, Customer Service and the New Salesperson

I attended a webinar today that focused on, you guessed it, sales! We talked about identifying prospects, working with new customers and how social media has changed the way we sell.

80% of global consumers research
products online before buying in stores.

Think about it. Say you want to buy a brand new 50 inch TV for above your fireplace (recommendations welcome!). It's not very likely that you'll drive from store to store looking for TV's. First, you'll visit Facebook; ask your friends for their help. You'll do a search using Google or Bing to do some research on specials, coupons, brands and customer reviews. THEN you'll head to the local stores to see what they have in stock.

Back in the day, salespeople played a different role in the buying process than they do now, and in return they are looked at differently. Many times, especially in smaller transactional type sales, salespeople are now seen as the final step in the transaction practice rather than the very first.

Salespeople are the confirmation buyers need that they are making the right purchase.

Sure, we'll chat online with a representative or ask the salesperson for help, but now salespeople have to focus more on customer service than simply product information.

Image credit: Steve Patrizi,
Head of Parner Marketing at Pinterest

And here's why.

The customer has most likely done their research prior to engaging with the salesperson. The customer knows what they want. They'll walk into a store to look at the TV's in person and finalize the details, but they have a few products specifically in mind.

While years past, the customers’ questions may have been:

• What kind of TV would you recommend? 
• What kind of promotions are you currently running? 
• What's the difference between X and Y? 

The customers are now asking:

• Will you honor the 20% off coupon I found online 
• Do I need a new HD cable or can I use my old one? 
• I saw your competitor has this TV for less. Do you price match? 

New Salesperson's Role in Customer Service

When customers are finally ready to engage with a salesperson they are armed with:

1. Information - They know about your product and pricing. They may even know who you are after checking your LinkedIn profile. 
2. Opinions - They may have been referred to your company by friends or have read reviews on the products or services.
3. Your competitors' information - They know where they can find the same product elsewhere and they may have already talked to them. 

This changes everything. Now it's all about customer service. The new salesperson knows that their customers may already be further along in the sales process when they contact them, and they are prepared.

Customer service affects everything we do. If you and a competitor are providing the same product at the same price, how you handle your potential customers may be the only thing that gets you the sale or gets in the way of a sale.

So, How Do We Deal?

Sales is not only about being able to think on your feet, but it is also about being flexible and accommodating to your customers' needs. The Everything DiSC® for Sales profile is just what you need in order to:

1. Understand your selling style
2. Quickly identify the buying styles of customers 
3. Adapt your selling style to meet their needs 

Because of social media, the new salesperson needs to be able to jump into the sales process halfway through, and again, make a first impression after the customer may have already developed one for them.

Everything DiSC for Sales is ideal for any sales team looking to make long lasting relationships with potential and current customers. Each Everything DiSC for Sales online profile comes with unlimited, complimentary Customer Interaction Maps that will help the sales team develop quick, effective guides to working with customers in just a few minutes. Perfect for before conference calls, webinars or while they are on hold waiting to speak to someone.

The goal here is being able to make connections with potential customers and prove them right (or wrong) about your products and services!

Bad Management Blog Series #TBT

Throwing it Way Back with our Bad Management Blog Series

#TBT #ThrowbackThursday

We're still celebrating leadership this month with discounts, giveaways and posts surrounding leadership, so I thought it only fitting to repost the popular Bad Management Blog Series: Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Boss? on this #TBT (Throwback Thursday).

This blog series focuses on the negative effects that bad management can have on everyone involved: the manager, the employees and the organization as a whole. No one wants to work for a bad manager and no one wants to be a bad manager, so what do we do?

Well first, read my blog posts! 

Blog Post #1: Why is bad management so bad? What can we do as an organization to stop it from happening?

Blog Post 2: I'm stuck in a bad management situation. Is it me? Is it them? What do I do? 

Second, fix the problem.

Find the tools you need to combat bad management in the workplace:

DiSC for Managers Profile - DiSC helps managers determine their management style and how to be more effective with  employees, peers and superiors of all DiSC styles. Group Reports and Comparison Reports make Everything DiSC ideal for management training. 

Online Management Courses - Accredited, online, self-paced courses cover hot topics like effective negotiating, handling difficult employee behaviors, time management, coaching and more.

New! Manager's ToolBox - Online, self-paced courses designed specifically for new managers covering topics like handling conflicts, boosting morale, new leader challenges and more. Courses are available individually or as a certificate program. 

Management and Leadership: What's the Difference?

What's the Difference Between Management and Leadership?

By: Jason Willey 

Leadership is one of the most researched and published topics over the past 20 years.  Right now, you can walk into almost any book store and find 25-100 books on leadership best practices, tips, tricks, do’s and don’ts.  But how is this different than the topic of management?  Isn't a manager a leader and vice versa?  

Some still think so, but we beg to differ.

Management and Leadership Differences

You might be thinking, "Wait, is this one of those 'a manager can be a leader, but a leader can’t be a manager' things?"  Not really. Management, in its basic form is progressing throughout the workday with little to no incident.  Most managers work to make sure things stay the same and their employees do their job.  Their primary focus is to oversee the day to day activities of their staff and make sure things run smoothly.  

Leadership takes it a step further. Leadership is having a “strategic mindset” versus a “day to day mindset.” Leaders develop a vision; they rally the troops and make big things happen.  Leaders push the boundaries, break through barriers and forge new paths!  Leaders find ways to not only meet the goal, but surpass it.  

Effective leaders also have people willingly following them. John Maxwell once said, “If you think you are a leader, but no one is following you, you’re just taking a walk.”   

An easy way to think of the difference between the two is: management is working in a “one to one” relationship, versus leadership, which is a “one to many” relationship.  

Using Work of Leaders to Help Define Management and Leadership

One of our customers, a human resource director from a major quality of life corporation, is currently running an eight month Management Leadership Training (MLT) course with her high level employees.  She is using the Everything DiSC Work of Leaders assessment to help her people understand that leadership is about seeing the big picture and understanding how to effectively move yourself, and your people, to a better place. Telling your employees, "You may be a manager now, but we want you to be a leader tomorrow" has to have a positive effect on their outlook, don't you think?

She says, “The first class in the MLT discusses the difference between Management and Leadership.  You can really see the participants start to grasp the concept of leadership!” The Work of Leaders assessment helps with this and focuses on leadership in three areas: Crafting a Vision, Building Alignment and Champion Execution.  Based on your answers to the assessment, you may have strengths or weaknesses in these areas. Learning this information helps to build self-awareness and most importantly, awareness of the difference between management and leadership.

Learn more about the Everything DiSC Work of Leaders assessment.

Don’t just manage the status quo, strive to be a leader.  Your world needs more leaders!