Dear Ammar,

I am a sales manager who is doing very well, when you look at the sales numbers.  However, on numerous occasions, a few clients of mine have called my manager and asked him to send someone else in the future if he wants their order.  The manager is nice enough to tell me about it but he is not giving me an explanation of why people are doing that.  When he asks them, they are brief and do not say much.  Some have said that I try to take advantage of them.  Others have said that I refused them some requests after the sale.  These were requests to give them more than what they ordered, which would have been unfair to the company I work for.  I told that to my manager and he agrees.  However, they are customers and if they complain I have to take that seriously.  I know I have not done anything wrong with these customers.  My boss seems to know that too, but he is still concerned .  Calling customers and asking them about it is out of the question, as my boss emphatically put it.  Any ideas?

W.Q.

Dear W.

A recent study showed that only ten percent of customers complain about a given problem.  So, multiply the number of people who complained about an issue by ten to find out the real size of the problem. 

Without hearing it first hand from the customer, it is hard to tell the root cause of their complaints. However, when clients are dissatisfied from a supplier’s team member, and the complaint was not about technical competence, then that team member might have ignored one of the three key principles of human interaction in business.  The first is summarized in the saying: “it is not what you say, but how you say it.”  The second is to make protecting the long term relationship with clients and suppliers a primary goal.  The third is the importance of building a genuine interest in others. 

A friend manager of mine in the U.S., we will call him Mark, is a living proof of the importance of the first principle.  He used to refuse clients favors but still keep them happy and satisfied.  I saw what he does first hand when we jointly worked on an account for a shared client.  He was the client’s favorite of five account managers from five different companies, including myself.  One thing for sure, this guy knows how to put his words carefully, assertively, professionally, and kindly.  After watching him closely, this is what I noticed.  He always starts on a positive note and comes across as caring.  In his discussion with the client, he works hard on understanding the client’s point of view, which in turn makes the client more interested in listening to Mark’s perspective. 

The word “no” to a client is a bad word, according to him.  Nonetheless, he does not succumb to the client’s every wish.  Instead, he used to take the time to explain to the customer what they need to do from their side to help Mark fulfill their request.  This can be a change order or providing of extra information.  If the client insists on getting what she wants without doing her part, then he patiently explains to her why it does not work that way, and the details of the “formula” that the client and Mark have to work on together to make her wish a reality.  So, now it is not the client’s or Mark’s problem, it is their collective problem and they are working on solving it together as a team.  Clients appreciate that. 

Now, you might think that the end result is the same;  a refusal of the client’s request is a refusal regardless of how one puts it.  Not according to the customers who loved Mark, while there where many times when they hated all of the rest of the other suppliers’ account managers.    

The second key principle is protecting the relationship with the client.  Business is about long term relationships, not one shot deals where one side wins and the other side loses.  It is about win-win.  Therefore, it is a seller’s job, when working with clients, to protect the relationship with them before anything else.  If what they are buying now will not serve their needs, say it.  If you feel they are better served by buying a different product, tell them.  Act as their business consultant.  People appreciate that, and even if you lose a couple of deals short term, you will gain more on the long term.  A salesman I know sells only by referral.  Friends tell friends about how great this guy is and he cannot keep up with phone calls he gets from prospects.  His secret is to protect the long term relationship with his clients by being on their side always, caring for their needs and giving them excellent quality products, in which he himself believes. 

This leads us to the third key principle which is caring for people.  It pays to genuinely be interested in others.  People are interested in those who are interested in them and care for them.  What applies to social relationships, in most cases, applies to business relationships.  Care does not mean having to love everyone at work.  What is needed is caring about them as people and as human beings first and foremost.  Then, care about them as comrades working towards the same mission.  When I find myself wandering: “Why should I care about the client?” I immediately reverse the question on me: “Why should they care about me?”  I find it easier to answer the first question, when I answer the second.  To help one care for people, it helps to find things in common with them, or things one can relate to, whether positive or negative. 

These principles are not easy to apply, even though they seem so on paper.  Under the pressures that one goes through at work, it is easy to forget or ignore them.  Sometimes the short term gains are too tempting to pass compared to long term gains, which might seem too far in the future to worry about.  However, with continuous practice, patience, and determination, people who apply these principles reap greater rewards on the long term.

Good luck,

Ammar