Don’t Mess Up a New Customer Enquiry

Getting leads, sales and customer enquiries for your business is one of the top challenges for any company. In my experience, getting new customers  is one aspect that most companies need help with.

Lots of many business owners, and sales departments, believe that 'sales will just happen'. Even Apple isn't that naïve. The ones who believe that sales just happen will soon be consigned to the history books; gone for ever.

Many businesses just rely on their technical expertise to make sales and when they are presented with a potential client who is ready to purchase they throw away the opportunity to make a great first impression only to leave the potential customer with the opposite impression.

Let me share a real example and I'm sure you'll see what I mean....

I spotted this question posted on a LinkedIn forum, in fact it was the answer to this question that caught my eye.

The question was 'Does anyone know of a good accountant who can handle the conversion from Sage to Xero?' Hooray! This is a business that is certainly ready to buy and they have a specific problem that they want solving, you just need to solve it for them.

This was the response that caught my eye…

'We are a chartered accountancy group based in Kent. You can register on our website at www… You will find all the services we offer there'. Oh Dear...

Now contrast that answer with another response that jumped out at me.

'Hi John. Sage to Xero is my specialism. Happy to chat through the process and get you going. Give me a call on 07….. Rachel' What a fantastic response; I can see you reaching for the phone already. Suffice to say that Rachel's response was perfect, she is the leader in the race to solve that client problems and secure the business.

First impressions count, always. If I was the person who wrote the poor response, I bet I'm regretting it now, their brand is damaged whereas Rachel has enhanced hers. Rachel certainly blows the theory that accountants are completely lost when it comes to sales and marketing, out of the water.

How do you respond to new enquiries, does the prospect feel loved, or not by your reaction to their approach? Are you driving potential customers away? Why not spend some time reviewing how you treat new enquiries and make a positive impression?