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Chapter 15
SERVICING THE SALE AND
BUILDING THE PARTNERSHIP
EXTENDED PRESENTATION OUTLINE
In very broad terms, personal selling is a two-dimensional process. First, you must make
the sale, and then you must service the sale. Both dimensions of the selling-buying process are
important.
I. Building Long-Term Partnerships with Customer Service
A. Progressive marketers are searching for ways to differentiate their service from
competitors and to build emotional loyalty through value.
1. A sales organization that develops a reputation for servicing each sale (Figure 15.1) is
2. Satisfied customers represent an “auxiliary” sales force – a group of people who
1. A successful partnering effort results in successive sales and referrals.
2. Today’s companies want to partner with suppliers who sell and deliver quality
products and services that continually improve processes and profits.
3. First sale is only the beginning of the relationship—an opportunity to earn a repeat
sale.
a. Repeat sales come after supplier demonstrates the ability to add value in various
1. People buy expectations, not products.
2. Increased customer expectations, after the sale is closed, require a strategic plan for
3. Responding to customer expectations:
a. Should be certain customer strategy is on target.
1) Must fully understand the needs and wants of the customer.
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2) What is the customer trying to accomplish and how can you help the person
1) The salesperson will offer assurances and make some promises.
2) Credibility will be tarnished if any of these commitments are ignored.
c. Should reexamine product strategy.
1) In some cases, suggesting related products or services could enhance customer
1. Keeping a customer happy is a winning strategy.
2. To regain a lost customer can be four to five times more expensive than keeping a
current customer satisfied.
3. Poor service is the primary cause of customer attrition.
a. Small numbers of customers (12–15 percent) are lost due to product
dissatisfaction.
b. No more than 10 to 15 percent of lost customers leave due to price
considerations.
c. Some studies have found that from 50 to 70 percent of customer attrition is
due to poor service.
d. Carefully developed strategic plan to reduce customer defection pays big
dividends
II. Current Developments in Customer Service
A. Bill Gates: Recognizes that customer service is the primary method of building and
extending the partnership.
B. Salespeople are in a unique position to enhance customer satisfaction and trust, the two
major contributors to relationship quality.
C. Five important service behaviors that are especially important in the context of business–
to-business selling:
1. Diligence:
2. Information communication:
3. Inducements:
4. Empathy:
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b. High-touch ability that marks the fault line between highly productive salespeople
and those average or below average in terms of productivity.
5. Sportsmanship:
a. Defined as a salesperson’s willingness to tolerate setbacks and disappointments
1. Customer-friendly, computer-based systems frequently are used to enhance customer
service.
2. Give both the salesperson and the customer ready access to information and problem-
solving alternatives.
1. Skills required to service a sale are different from those required prior to the sale (see
Figure 15.2).
2. High-performance salespersons do not abdicate responsibility for delivery,
installation, warranty interpretation, or other customer service responsibilities.
3. Continue to strengthen the partnership with follow-through, follow-up, and expansion
1. Major key to an effective customer service strategy is follow-through on assurances
and promises that were part of the sales presentation.
2. Properly managing customer relationships enhances the value creation during and
after the selling process
3. Common postsale services
a. Making credit arrangements
1) Closing the sale often depends on your ability to develop and present
attractive credit plans to the customer.
2) Need to establish a relationship with the credit department and learn how
1) Many organizations are adding value with on-time deliveries.
2) A late delivery may mean lost sales.
3) May be beyond salesperson’s control.
4) Keep customer informed.
5) Take steps to prevent a delay.
6) Check to see that order was processed correctly.
7) Follow up to see if the order was shipped on time.
8) Always remember: Every time an order is handled, the customer is handled.
1) Be there to be sure the customer is comfortable with the purchase.
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2) Check to determine whether the order is complete and be available to offer
1) Buyer satisfaction is often related to proper installation of the product.
2) Some salespeople prefer to supervise installation of products; others follow up
1) For certain industries, it is essential that users be skilled in how to use the new
product.
2) Technology has become so complex that many suppliers must provide training
1) Maintain an up-to-date price list.
2) Customers expect the correct price quote the first time.
B. Preventing postsale problems
1. Key is conscientious follow-up to be sure everything has been handled properly.
2. Become acquainted with people in the credit department.
3. Schedule regular account reviews to determine the level of customer satisfaction.
4. If you discover a problem, act quickly to resolve it.
5. The well-served customer, who becomes the most significant sustainer of the
1. Customer follow-up usually has a twofold objective:
2. Four follow-up strategies that can be used:
a. Personal visit
1) Most costly follow-up strategy, but may produce best results.
2) Only strategy that allows face-to-face, two-way communication
3) Use personal follow-up to keep customer informed of new developments, new
products, or new applications.
4) Use the personal visit to reassess where you stand with the account.
5) Personal visits provide an opportunity for value reinforcement, which means
1) Quick and efficient, and cost is minimal.
2) Personal appeal of the phone call increases the effectiveness of the written
correspondence.
3) Advantage over written correspondence: allows for two-way exchange of
1) Avoids phone tag
2) Preferred by many customers
3) When in doubt about which communication method a customer prefers, use
parallel channels of communication.
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d. Letter or card
1) Inexpensive and personal form of customer follow-up
2) Can be used to thank the customer for the order and to promise continued
service.
3) One major limitation: if mass-produced, cards may lack the personal touch
1) A form that serves a communications link with persons who can assist with
customer service.
2) Format varies, but generally it is a simple form with only four or five spaces.
(Example is Salesforce’s Chatter.)
3) Important solution to the problem of communication between the company
personnel and the customer
4) Simple yet businesslike
5) Customize to meet needs of your customer.
D. Follow-up programs can be as creative or as ingenious:
1. Must continually think of new ways to add value.
2. Keep in mind that people buy both from the head and the heart.
3. Use the preceding five methods independently or in combination.
4. Main consideration should be some type of appropriate follow-up that:
a. Tells customers you appreciate their business
1. Full-line selling, sometimes called “suggestion selling,” is the process of
recommending product or services related to the main item sold to the customer.
1) Plan for full-line selling.
2) Make recommendations after you have first satisfied the customer’s primary
need.
3) Make your suggestion thoughtful and positive.
4) When appropriate, demonstrate the suggested item or use tools to build
interest.
1. Cross-selling is used to discover additional sources of business within established
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b. To achieve success with cross-selling: use survey questions and probing questions.
c. Cross-selling has to be a well-thought-out part of your strategy and process.
2. Upselling is the effort to sell better quality products.
1) You need a well-established relationship with the customer—a relationship
built on trust.
2) You need to continuously qualify the prospect throughout the buying process.
C. Preplan your service strategy.
1. Preplan your service strategy for each of the three areas discussed: follow-through,
follow-up, and expansion selling.
2. Cannot anticipate every aspect of the service, but can preplan important ways to add
value once the sale is implemented.
3. Develop a servicing-the-sale worksheet, shown in Figure 15.3, prior to each sales
1. Receptionist – has daily contact with customer and may schedule most or all of
his/her calls.
2. Technical personnel – must perform regular duties of cleaning, lubricating, or
3. Stock clerks or receiving clerks – are often responsible for pricing incoming
merchandise, storing items properly, rotating stock, and processing damage claims.
4. Management personnel – has been given final authority and responsibility for this
area; be alert to his/her concerns.
5. Always look beyond the customer to see who else might influence the sale as
partnerships can be built upon different levels of the organization.
V. Partnering with an Unhappy Customer
A. Unhappy customers often do not initiate a verbal or written complaint.
B. Most customers do not complain (to business) about improper treatment.
C. Unhappy customers discuss their problems with others.
D. When complaints do surface, view the problem as an opportunity to strengthen the
business relationship.
E. Conflict resolution is another aspect of problem solving important to the customer–
salesperson relationship.
F. Suggestions for handling complaints
1. Give customers every opportunity to disclose their feelings; encourage them to
express all of their anger and frustration.
2. Keep in mind that it does not really matter whether a complaint is real or imagined;
be polite and sympathetic.
3. Do not alibi; accept responsibility for the problem and avoid the temptation to “pass
the buck.”
4. Politely share with the customer your point of view concerning the problem’s cause;
explain what you think happened.