You have closed that sale. Congratulations are in order! So you may be asking yourself, now what do I do? Is that it? Is there more? Well this is a tricky question, because it really depends on what your ultimate goals are and what type of product you are selling. If the product is a one-time sale, or if you think it is only a one –time sale, you may be inclined to say thank you and move on to the next prospect. But in my experience, this is a mistake. And it could prove very costly to you in the long run. But if the product you have just sold is something that is more than just a single component to your company’s catalog, then you have a lot more work to do. Because you now have an enormous potential to make many more sales. But, and this is a big BUT, the first most important threshold has been crossed. You have earned the customer’s trust enough so that they have made that first purchase.
In order to continue to make sales, you have to continue to keep that customers’ trust. How do I do this, you may ask? Well it is pretty simple really. You have to continue to build on the relationship you have started with the customer. And even if the product is just the one, you should keep building on that relationship. Because you never know about the future. Here is a personal example: I began my sales career back in 1990 in the water conservation industry. I made many sales to many different people in the same industry of water conservation. And I was at this company for three years before I moved on to another company in the energy industry. So here is what I am trying to say. Many of the customers that I sold to at my first company, I was able to bring over to my new company and re-sell them. And because the product I now sell is something that they buy each month, some of the clients that I moved have now been with me for 20 years! 20 years! Think about that for a minute. And these clients that have been with me for that long I now consider friends. Because we are now at that point… where when we speak on the phone, we rarely even discuss business. It’s now mostly how’s the wife and the kids and things like that.
But here is the secret to this long term success. They became my friends, or more importantly, I treated them as IF they were my friends. From the very beginning. Because when they gave me their trust and chose to work with me at my company, they became people that were now my friends. And I treated them as such. They could have chosen another company or another salesman to work with. But they chose me, because they trusted me and what I was saying to them. They believed that I was being honest and straightforward with them, and that I wasn’t just looking at them as a paycheck.
So in conclusion, it is my opinion that when you make it more of a personal issue with your prospects, when you treat them as if they were your friends, you will be more successful. Because in this world today where you are being assaulted constantly by scamsters and shysters all trying to get you to sign on the dotted line, or even worse to steal your identity, a little trust can go a long way.
