Despite what many people think, sales representatives and customer service agents have much in common. They should not be separated as two autonomous teams on two separate platforms. Basically, sales teams and support teams are the same in that they both are clearly customer-facing. Both teams aim to satisfy the customer.
In order to provide customers with the best level of service and products to suit their requirements, both sales and support teams should work to build a rapport with them. As a result, your company will be known for offering excellent customer service even after you leave, this has actually been proven to increase sales numbers.
You need to understand that in today’s digital era, your customers are actively in control of what the internet has to say about you, bad or good. In addition to that, once a customer starts feeling that their needs are not being met or is not satisfied with your service or product, they will not hesitate to move on.
It is therefore crucial to comprehend the common similarities between sales and support in order to be very successful, to maintain a high level of customer interaction, and to build evocative relationships.
Pro tip: If you want your business to do wonders, work on your customer support team. Many companies have even started to extend their customer service in different languages. For instance, Optimum has customer service in English and Spanish as well. Servicio al Cliente Optimum en español is a great selling point and we all must learn from it.
What does Sales and Support consist of?
It is the main goal of a customer care agent to resolve a customer’s problems as timely and efficiently as possible in order to complete the job successfully. Moreover, it is important to work to build a relationship with your customers so that you and your company can show them how important their time and business is. Likewise, a great sales person would be able to provide solutions through their services or products while building relationships. It is important that the sales representative builds a relationship with the client, allowing the potential customer service representative to build on that throughout the relationship.
Effective Communications
Communication notes need to be kept in a clear and detailed manner on both the sales and support sides. The customer’s needs will be captured in a comprehensive, centralized way, allowing everyone involved to provide the most appropriate and cooperative solution at any time.
Maintaining detailed notes about customers or prospects is very easy and quick with CRMs and sales automation platforms. As soon as the sales agent interacts with the customer, he or she should take detailed notes and record any communications. This sets the tone for the entire relationship. If we know the customer’s needs and expectations clearly, everyone will be on the same page. Uncertain expectations can seriously harm relationships with loyal customers.
After-sales Engagement
Even after a sale, the sales agent’s role is not over when it comes to developing and preserving customer relationships. It is imperative for the sales representative to act as a support person to the customer service agent so as to maintain the best relationship possible. Proactive sales reps are more likely to prevent customer service from reacting reactively to future customer issues/difficulties. Additionally, it will provide a more consistent connection between your customers and your brand.
Nonetheless, it is crucial that the sales persons focus on preserving an organic relationship with the potential customer. A situation in which cross-sells are not expected or motivated. Trust, and respect are essential components of successful business relationships. When a relationship is built organically, repeat sales are more likely versus faking a connection to squeeze out sales.
Keeping a genuine relationship with potential customers is important for sales professionals in order to communicate and align with their colleagues in customer support. Moreover, your brand will be able to easily build its own tribe of loyal supporters. With social media, your brand will be able to effortlessly connect with and cooperate with your community, motivating them to promote your products and brand. When it comes to price increases or product changes, these customers will be more agreeable when you inform them about your product offerings.
Social Selling
In order to establish solid relationships, sales professionals should use social selling tactics. Social selling involves salespeople building rapport with prospects through their prevailing relationships with potential customers, as opposed to only using cold calling techniques. Social selling is commonly practiced through social media channels. This forms the basis of referral sales. By using social selling, sales prospects and leads can be more effectively generated. Cold calling is also eliminated almost entirely.
Cold calling is certainly not dead, but it lacks the ability to tailor the sales approach to the specific needs of your customer. Through social selling, you can reach prospects who will be eager to hear what you have to say and trust you based on your rapport and the network you have built. Customer support agents can then build upon the foundation that has already been established and continue to treat customers with dignity and respect.
Conclusion
Customer service is thus, crucial in making a brand successful. When customers are happy with the customer service they not only tend to come again for your products and services, but also recommend them to their friends. That is how sales go up!
