Selling is Servicing and Servicing is Selling
By Rick Segel

Good service is more than just being nice. So many times we forget what we are in business for, and that is to make money. I know that sounds cold, cruel and maybe even a little heartless. Well, so what! The object of the game is to show a profit.

Companies give money to charity based on profits. If companies lose money, the charities usually don’t get anything. Profits are not bad; they are not illegal—it is what makes the world go around. Having said that, I still believe companies must have a social responsibility to people and the environment. Yes, we have to play by the rules, but let’s not forget the object of the game we are playing.

Too often our frontline people feel that if they are going to be nice, they can’t sell anything. They will also tell us that they don’t want to be pushy or put pressure on anyone. They want everybody to be happy.

That’s wonderful, but if you really want to service me, then sell me something. Don’t be obnoxious about it, but sell me.

Last week, my son-in-law went out shopping for a suit. He came back with a suit, sport coat, two shirts, and three ties. He was all excited, even though he had spent more than planned. He told me, “I had a salesman who really serviced me. He suggested things that I liked.”

That’s funny. Do you think that salesman thought that he was really servicing him? Or do you think he said, “That was a good sale”, after my son-in-law left the store. That salesman looked for win/win situations that were good for my son-in-law and good for him and the store.

That by itself is a wonderful lesson to learn, but the real message is that the salesperson kept on suggesting. He didn’t give up after the first item was bought. He kept on suggesting — or was it selling — or perhaps it was servicing. My son-in-law believes he was serviced well. The store thinks that the salesman was good.

What do you think?

I believe that when you are servicing well, you are selling. The more aware your employees are of that fact, the better we all will be.

The debate shouldn’t be whether to suggest another item, but rather how we make the suggestion so that the customer appreciates it. This isn’t about being pushy. It’s about being a good salesperson, a good service person. It’s about having customers who will not shop anywhere else. It’s about having fun at work, because it’s always more fun when we know the customers.

And finally, it’s about making money.

Customers are too tough to attract to lose even one. So is servicing selling?

YOU BET IT IS!!!