Mar 19, 2015
4 Things Every Sales Pro Needs To Do When We Mess Up!
Welcome – this podcast is all about what to do when we mess up or make a mistake – and we will! The buzzword for this is “recovery”. What we need to remembers is clients don’t expect us to be perfect they just want to know when something goes wrong we will fix it. To be successful at "recovery":
- We have to fix what happened
- We have to fix the relationship
Step #1 – Ask the client what went wrong?What is the problem? Where did we mess up? Don’t avoid! Listen and “shut up”! Don’t rationalize, justify, or defend even if what they say isn’t accurate from your understanding. Continue to ask – is there anything else I need to know? Note! It isn’t over until they feel they’ve been heard!
Step #2 – own the mistake! Keep in mind the language is "I" made a mistake when you did it and we made a mistake when your team does it! It is never “they” made a mistake. Explain what happened, when necessary, so the client understands you understand and never make excuses!
Step #3 – fix it by saying the following – “I don’t blame you, if that happened to me I would be upset too! Is there something I can do today to make it right?” Then do what they ask you to! Do it as soon as you possibly can!
Step #4 – fix the internal problem that caused the mistake so it doesn’t repeat itself. Inform the client what was done at a level that makes sense!
Keep in mind ... Clients that have a problem that we remedy quickly and efficiently are more loyal than clients that never have a problem!
LQOW – there has been a lot of flu and other stuff going around this year! Do you work even when you are sick?
Quote of the Week - Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning. ~ Bill Gates