Editor’s Note

Customers are changing. They live in a highly stimulating world and no longer 'want service like a good cupcake; they want it with colorful sprinkles on top'. "Great service is no longer Disneyesque, the standard is becoming more like Cirque du Soleil. Disneyworld delights; Cirque du Soleil stuns. Disneyworld leaves you happy; Cirque du Soleil leaves you awed," notes our Cover Article author Chip R. Bell.

Sales and Service Excellence November 2015 Advertisers

Creating Animated Customer Experience: How to turn value-added into value unique

Chuck Jones was the creator and cartoonist for many famous characters — Bugs Bunny, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, Daffy Duck, Pepe Le Pew and Porky Pig. When my co-author, the late Oren Harari and I were writing Beep Beep!: Competing in the Age of The Road Runner, we visited with the then eighty-eight year old cartoonist at his studio in Irvine, CA. He was generous with his time; candid with his critique of our treatment of his two beloved characters — Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote. He agreed to do an original cartoon for our book later produced with help from Warner Bros. and published by Warner Book

Why LinkedIn Profiles Aren’t Good Sales Tools: Turning profiles into a "social bridge"

As I'm on LinkedIn all day, helping technology companies, professional service firms and B2B organizations make the right connections, build their niche communities and engage with their prospects (many of which are sales and marketing leaders) - I see hundreds of LinkedIn profiles per day. And, I'd say that 9 out of 10 business leader and sales executives' profiles are worthless as sales and marketing tools.

Sales Culture And Customer Service: Perfect together!

A sales culture means that everyone’s in sales and that everyone knows the way in which what they do helps a customer say “yes.” Regardless of the positon you hold in a company, you do something every single day that has a systemic (and in some cases direct) impact on a customer’s decision to do business with you. This is a proactive and conscious belief system that you and the organization uphold. It is built on a foundation of trust that begins with the CEO conveying a culture that every employee matters, and acknowledging that creating a happy customer is not easy.

Making Negotiation A Win-Win: How not to give up more than you should

Using current negotiation models, people feel they are giving up more than they want in exchange for receiving less than they deserve. As part of standard practice, negotiation partners going into a negotiation calculate their bottom line – what they are willing to give up, and what they are willing to accept – and then fight, argue, cajole, or threaten when their parameters aren’t met. People have been killed for this. But there is another way.

How To Win Qualified Sales Leads?: 5 ways

Everyone loves a good shortcut. We live in microwave time — tapping our fingers because 15 or 30 seconds is just too slow. While there’s much to be said for efficiency, there are no shortcuts when it comes to relationships with customers. And without strong relationships, you can forget about getting referral leads.

Big Data Conversations: Don’t get caught

Gallup’s State of the American Consumer report states, “Fully engaged customers are more loyal and profitable. A fully engaged customer represents a 23 percent premium in terms of share of wallet, profitability, revenue, and relationship growth.” How can you effectively engage with your customers who operate at warp speed? We live in a world of right now, and the demand for instant results is seeping into every corner of our lives. Instant gratification is no longer a desire — it is an expectation.

Are Your Sales People Alienating Readers?: Understanding customer relationships

Today, writing connects sales people with customers more than it ever has before. Written content — on social media platforms, in e-mail, and in texts — dominates the technical world we live in. The 2013 Digital Publishing Report found that more smartphone owners used their mobile device for e-mail than for making calls and that e-mail was the top priority on their phones.

Undercover Caller: How you sound to your sales target is crucial

How you sound to your various sales target is an important element in winning them over. Traditionally, government agencies tend to be the poorest at answering the phone. A particularly aggravating response when answering the phone is to name only the division and not the company itself. Your phones must be answered in a manner that is convenient callers, not for your staff.