When I made a list of the businesses who had earned my profound customer loyalty, I was surprised at how short the list was. (see previous post)
What struck me is how much is missing from my list of companies I simply will not abandon. No auto repair, clothes shops, medical doctors, restaurants (darn!), associations, agencies, home services, office goods, hobbies or clubs. There are many really good businesses we have used in those categories but none have my full customer loyalty.
What you should be thinking right now is this: Most buyers have some strong customer loyalties with businesses. That should be easy for you to find out while prospecting. As an example, a good friend mentioned the other day, “You should try my chiropractor; he’s terrific.” My reply was, “No thanks. I wouldn’t leave my chiropractor for anyone.” On the other hand, if they had said, “I’ve got a great BMW mechanic you should try” I would jump on it even though my last two sessions with my mechanic were positive. Most of us are open to being new customers of businesses.
When talking to a prospective customer, it is imperative to find out if they have strong solid loyalties to their current service or product provider. If I were selling accounting services. When talking with a prospect I would point blank ask them:
“How satisfied are you with your current accountants?”
“Are you getting quality reports from them?”
“Do they respond well to your concerns?”
“Do you feel as if you are important to them?”
“On a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the highest, where would you say your loyalty is to them?”
If the prospect answers anything less than a “10” you have a window of opportunity. Stop selling and start building a relationship. Again, stop selling. If they answered with a “10”, thank them for their time and find a prospect who will give you a smaller number.
Sales is a numbers game although these are probably not the “numbers” most people talk about.
In summary, opportunity exists every day to find new customers because uncovering whether or not your prospects have honest-to-goodness customer loyalty for their current service or product provider is not difficult.
