Sales through service
21 December 2020
For many businesses, the impact of the pandemic and the furlough scheme has resulted in smaller teams handling increased workloads. Many people have taken on additional roles and new responsibilities.
Although many sectors have bounced back sharply, longer term uncertainty and the presence of constant competition creates pressure on hire rates. However, if personnel are well-trained, they can achieve sales without compromising service standards.
The Intelligent Dialogue training consultancy has clients in several industries, hire being a specialist area of focus. Its previous clients include One Stop Hire and Lifting Gear Hire (LGH), amongst many others.
The business was founded by Diane Banister who previously worked as a national sales manager for a well-known building society. When she went on a sales training course that gave her significant new skills and enhanced her work experience, she realised she wanted to offer similar opportunities to others.
“Often we work with hire desk personnel, then get asked to work with their sales team and go on to provide management training and leadership development,” Diane told me.
“Hire controllers have such a pivotal role - they produce logistical miracles on a daily basis. They have to spot opportunities, deliver excellent service and get equipment to site in tight timescales. They also have to protect price and some find that easier to do than others.
“Our particular focus is on the conversation with the customer and maximising the opportunity. In hire, it is a very special kind of dialogue. You need to know your product and the quality of the service you offer.
“Some people will do silly things on price to win an order even though they will lose their business money in delivering it with low, or even free, transport costs. Hire businesses need to have a strategy and the skills to be able to counter that competitor activity and protect price.”
Intelligent Dialogue’s services are tailored to individual clients. “We undertake an initial fact-find in which we might listen to telephone calls with clients or look through email correspondence and then make suggestions,” said Diane.
“A company might be interested in enhancing its customer service, raising conversion rates, customer retention, finding new business and so on. We shape our training accordingly to deliver the required outcome.
“Some hire controllers dislike the word ‘sales’, but what we are actually talking about here is sales through service.
“Fundamentally, a business has to decide whether or not it will compete on price. They need to understand the value of what they offer and empower people to walk away from a deal, in a professional way, if the price would mean they would lose money,” said Diane.
“The benefits of good sales training go straight to the bottom line. It also improves staff morale and loyalty because people feel valued.”
Photo:Christina@wocintechchat.com/Unsplash
