Last Updated on August 31, 2023 by David
Capturing incremental value from your existing conversations.
Based on our own numbers, selling into a new customer is usually 10x to 20x harder than up-selling or cross-selling. Based on other numbers:
The probability of selling something to a prospect is only about 5–20%, while the probability of selling something to an existing customer is 60–70%. — Marketing Metrics
Selling then, it seems, isn’t really all that effective in the grand scheme of revenue. If you read our previous post on why we combined customer service and customer success, you’ll see why we’ve resorted to “un-selling” as the most effective ways to drive revenue. The concept we want to share is “influencing customers”. Influence is selling without selling, telling without saying, and being constantly aware of how crucial and valuable conversations are to the success of your teams and your business.
Effectively influencing customers on a personal level with relevant ideas, solutions, and even alternatives can a) lead to more conversions of new customers, b) more up-sells from existing customers, and c) bolstering the network effect from word-of-mouth marketing. For many organizations, customer service and customer success are the two teams talking to customers most frequently. And if you’re not logging at least 20% to 40% of your sales, up-sells, and general conversions through existing customer service/customer success conversations, you’re doing it wrong.
Becoming master influencers isn’t about selling, that’s the counter-intuitive part of all of this, it’s actually about listening, anticipating, adapting, and analyzing. Learning to read between the lines for any customer conversation is an incredible skill set that should be in every training or on-boarding program. Great influencers can effectively detect customer moods, anxiety levels, and immediately apply relevant talking points that can alter customer opinions and experiences. Here are 3 super easy tips we want to share with customer service and customer success teams.
Ask. Don’t tell.
Great influencers understand customer intentions. This requires the ability to cut through as much noise as possible from the customers’ barrage of comments, connecting core issues to relevant product features, and mapping deficiencies in the customers’ knowledge base.
- Instead of telling customers what they need, ask them what their requirements are and what their constraints are. You will never know what customers need better than they will. Knowing customer requirements and constraints is invaluable intelligence your development team can use in the future.
- Instead of just telling customers how things can be fixed, also ask them if the proposed solution will work for them? Give them control authority over solutions and opportunities to reject anything. Chances are, the conversation will be more valuable when they can feel comfortable rejecting. When they reject something, you’ll be better adapted to how a specific customer operates.
- Instead of telling customers they’re incorrect or that you can’t help them, ask if it’s okay for you to check with the team on whether or not there’s a better alternative. It’s okay if there isn’t but give customers the clue that there are other paths even if they’re not wrong.
Solve. Don’t sell.
Nothing feels better than a solution to a problem. Customers tell us all the time that they’d be happy to pay X dollars to have a problem fixed. Remember, they’re running a business, paying for software and other solutions is simple operating costs. If you can help them run their business better, price isn’t an issue. Rather than focusing your attention on pitching them ideas, focus on how your ideas can help solve problems for them. That starts with actually solving problems for them.
- Instead of telling them what’s shiny and new, rely on your wealth of knowledge about the customer to analyze potential problem areas. For example, when a customer tells us they’re having a hard time getting their staff to understand the Reamaze shoutbox widget, our first reaction isn’t to tell them how great the widget is or even how to integrate it correctly. Instead, we ask the customer to send over some screenshots of what they’re looking at or what specific instructions they’re following. This allows us to solve the problem for them faster. The goal is to shorten the amount of time customers spend in frustration. That is your best sales method.
- Contrary to what others will tell you, don’t rush in with the pitch. Don’t start a conversation with customers by telling them what’s new. Always start by offering solutions to problems. This goes back to our first point as well — ask more questions. Getting the right pulse on a customer is far more valuable than guessing what they might need. To be successful at influencing customers in an effective manner, you need to be empathetic to their problems. 80% of our up-sells occur when they’re part of great solutions.
Report. Don’t dwell.
Closing the loop on becoming a master influencer is being able to clearly identify what you know and don’t know. This has as much to do with personality as it does training. People that know when to speak up and is vocal about their needs are clear signs that they will one day be a great master influencer.
- When you don’t know something, make sure to share the gap in knowledge with the team and escalate quickly if possible. Don’t dwell on uncertainties while customers are waiting. Up-sells and conversions happen quickly if your development team can fix something quickly based on customer feedback or causes of customer confusion.
- Getting uncertainties addressed quickly reflects positively on a) your service b) your credibility and c) your attentiveness to finding solutions quickly.
- While conversing with customers, let them know that you’re unsure about something. Be explicit that the rest of the team is aware of their concern and how documentation or features will be improved based on their feedback.
Being a great influencer is being exceptional at sales without any actual selling. The best metaphor we can think of is the movie Inception. As customer service professionals, we want to plant seeds — seeds that customers will eventually want to blossom themselves.
Interested in what else we have to say? Make sure to recommend this article and follow us for more stories about startup life, customer service, and tips on treating customers right.
You can also find our multi-brand, multi-channel customer service platform at https://www.reamaze.com. Follow @reamaze.