Guest post by Clellena Owens, Sales Operations Specialist at Medallion Bank
Effective sales support can really help build strong business relationships and increase your company’s reputation within the industry. Customers talk and a lot of today’s business is built on word-of-mouth or direct referrals. The last thing that you want to hear people say is that your company’s service was less than spectacular. This feeling of dissatisfaction often stems from the level of customer support that they received, not the quality of your product. Having an effective sales support person or team can help eliminate dissatisfaction and keep those word-of-mouth referrals coming.
Sales support shouldn’t end once the deal is done, either. Questions and concerns often arise after the deal is complete. If these questions and concerns are handled well, the chances of that particular customer using your company again will increase along with them spreading the word to their peers, friends and family. You should make sure that you have a strong sales support person or team in place to keep a high level of customer service.
Effective sales support should assist in the following areas:
- Support customers and sales team during pre-sale period
- Answer customer questions about the product and/or service after the purchase
- Follow up with customers after their purchase to make sure that your products and/or services are living up to expectations
Here at Medallion Bank, I serve as the Sales Operations Specialist which really boils down to sales support. I am in regular contact with our contractors, making sure that they are getting the support that they need when they need it. I fully believe that sales support is an ongoing task that helps drive stronger business relationships.
How do you take care of your customers after the deal is closed?