Set Boundaries; account base upgrade – part 2

“We live in a 24×7 world”

“The customer is always right”

“They’ll buy from who ever gets back to them 1st”

STOP THE MADNESS

Yes with technology, it certainly feels like we live in a world where prospects and customers expect instant access to salespeople 24 hours a day x 7 days a week x 365 days a year.

The crazy thing is I’ve been talking with salespeople about this for YEARS now.

I’m here to challenge your belief that this MUST be the case in order to be successful.

Instead I want you to reframe and do two things (before you burn out and destroy yourself):

1. ask for expectations
2. set boundaries

Ask for Expectations
My experience with prospects and customers is that asking for their expectations is more important that the immediacy of your reply.

A few weeks ago I tracked the answers to “when do you need me to get back with you on this?” and heard:

• by 3:00
• oh when you get around to it
• next week is fine
• I need a ballpark by Friday for our budget meeting
• is in the next 15 minutes possible?

There are two important points to asking the question:

1. I can EITHER agree, or let them know it’s not possible upfront. (in the case of the 15-minute request, I asked for 30-minutes to make sure I had time to check it before sending)
2. by not assuming, I can better prioritize my work.

Set Boundaries
Once you’re in the habit about asking for expectations (instead of ass-u-ming), the next step is to set boundaries to allow you to be a successful human-being AND salesperson.

Tips for making this work for YOU and the prospects/customers you rely on for your livelihood:

1.  if you can’t DO anything with someone’s request until the next business day – it’s ok not to respond. (see tip 4)
   >>> WORRIED that you’ve trained them to hear back instantly? A great way to still give them instant gratification is by using your out of office when you leave for the day AND change your voicemail
2. responding that you’re working on something is a good practice – especially when you ask your expectation question to get them to acknowledge you in return.
3. when you aren’t going to meet your agreed on deadline – let them know!
4. MOST importantly, share your boundaries -> then they become mutually agreed upon relationship expectations.

for more check out  A Chip Off The Block: Gorilla Edition