Here in the world of HALO Branded Solutions, we have quite a large sales force – more than 1,000 account executives in every state of the union. And while about 25% of those hard-working folks are based in HALO offices, three-quarters of the team are home-based and not part of a larger office group. I pulled together a team of 10 of these home-based salespeople in California and Nevada and Texas and created a virtual office/support group that I call Team Excellence.
We have monthly teleconferences in which we share ideas, brainstorm projects, talk about who does free specs or which supplier really came through for us and just generally support each other’s sales goals and promo challenges. But today, one of my Team Excellence members shared something that really made an impact… she shared a love letter from a client.
Those emails or letters of appreciation are few and far between. Probably 9 out of every 10 communications we get from our customers are complaints, questions, confusions or requests for this or that… but that one, that golden, shining, glorious one out of ten… is a love letter!
Today’s client email said, “Will be sure to recommend you if I know of anyone who needs promos! I appreciate your quick responses and making sure my goods got to me on time! It is nice to have someone who does a good job and actually acts interested in her work!! So Thank You!!”
It’s amazing how a few kind words from a customer can CHANGE your whole day! Even better, she chose to SHARE those kind words with the rest of the team – which led to another Team Excellence member sharing HER client love letter from yesterday! It’s easy to get swept up in each day’s deadlines and crises and challenges, to get buried by requests and quotes and missing shipments and to forget the promotional joy we are spreading.
When we do get these love letters from our customers, be sure to SHARE them with your team – because that appreciation is important for EVERYONE to experience and embrace and OWN. What we do – what we are selling – isn’t just advertising or brand awareness or driving trade show traffic… we are selling Christmas and A Very Merry Unbirthday and the warmth that Gift Giving creates! That is very personal and smile-inducing and appreciation-generating. When we do our jobs well, we make our clients look VERY good to THEIR bosses and customers and co-workers! And when they applaud that success – OWNING it and SHARING it is critically important. Because just like it made YOUR day, it will also make your Sales Assistant’s day, or your Customer Service Rep’s day, or your Staff Accountant’s day… and so on. Share the love and let it wash over you!
I copied and pasted this love letter and shared it with all of Team Excellence with the message that we need to share more than just who does free spec samples or which line has a special on beach towels this month… we need to SHARE THE LOVE. And THAT led to the other nine members of Team Excellence, ALL NINE OF THEM, to chime in with emails of support and admiration and appreciation, sharing their own recent examples of client gratitude… and this had led to EVERYONE on the team feeling appreciated and empowered today. When you feel that way, that special inner-glow of accomplishment – your customers pick up on that and respond to it! And success begets success, appreciation makes you that much more in tune, that much sharper and faster, and suddenly the whole day is full of success.
Read that above love letter again and note the comment in which the customer says, “…It’s nice to have someone who does a good job and actually acts interested in her work!” That is a telling comment – it tells us that MOST of our competitors, in the eyes of our customers, do NOT do a great job or do NOT seem focused on THEIR success or are fully engaged in what we do! That’s both sad and offers up endless opportunities. If you respond quickly and show interest in their challenges and communicate clearly, you will position yourself as their KEY marketing connection. Because the competition is mostly order-takers or price-cutters or faceless online drones. CELEBRATE what makes you BETTER, how you practice RELATIONSHIP SELLING, and that you ARE different from the trunk-slammers!! And when you do get one of those one-out-ten emails that make your day brighter… SHARE that love with everyone on your team who needs that same affirmation and inspiration that you do! So much of what we do is full of pressure and deadlines and tracking shipments and pushing for that proof approval – when we DO get these rare positive affirmations of excellence, share that afterglow with your team.
And, if you are on your own and feeling isolated… create your OWN version of a Team Excellence branded support group. I’ve seen this work even with friendly competitors who have come to know and trust each other. As the old Johnny Mercer song lyric goes… you got to ACCENTUATE the POSITIVE and ELIMINATE the NEGATIVE and LATCH ON to the AFFIRMATIVE. Good stuff, kind readers… good stuff.
Rick Greene, MAS, is the Western Regional Vice President for Halo Branded Solutions, a Past President of SAAC, on the PPB Editorial Advisory Board and the author of two fantasy novels entitled “Boofalo!” and “Shroom!” available at www.amazon.com. His third book is a non-fiction biography of movie character actor Henry Brandon called “Henry Brandon King Of The Bogeymen” published by BearManor Media and available everywhere fine books are sold.