Page 171 - 100 Great Business Ideas: From Leading Companies Around the World (100 Great Ideas)

151 Quick Ideas to Get New Customers

their service had deteriorated so badly that many customers
were abandoning them. A late-afternoon meeting with his key
people determined that they had taken on some businesses in
outlying areas and it was keeping their people and trucks tied-
up so they couldn’t deliver to their already-existing good cus-
tomers. The end result was that they had to tell some outlying
customers they were sorry they couldn’t serve them, and re-
build their service for the customers that were mainstay. How
are you doing with your service? What would your customers
really say if an outsider polled them at this very moment?

Epilogue
A lack of complaints doesn’t mean your customers are
out of ammunition. It may mean they are simply reloading,
and they’re going to come after you again.

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Meet Uncle F-E-S-S

You already know that getting new customers takes per-
sistence, hard work, and doing your homework. If you don’t
anticipate objections, roadblocks, or excuses (and have answers
to them), then you’re going to be lonelier than the Maytag re-
pairman. The secret is to know in advance what you’re going
to say and do when a customer presents an objection.

Joe was a real pro at selling training programs and earned
a six-figure income because he had answers before the objec-
tions came along. He called it his Uncle F-E-S-S, or Frequently
Encountered Sales Situations. He anticipated what buyers might

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