Yes, it’s true: statistics prove that 75% of all business is lost on a customer's first contact with companies. Who is responsible for this?

Who Is Responsible?

The answer is straightforward. It's anyone ever having, at any time, any contact with any customer or any buyer.

One of our clients, Ian, said, “I like to make everybody in my company think of themselves as involved in a sales organization.”

“The time has gone,” says Ian, “when any manufacturer like ourselves can afford to think of themselves as only manufacturing.”

Ian has an important point. Everyone in a company should realize that without customers there is no business. But how many people do? If they did, would 75% of our potential business be lost?

Who's responsible? We've already said everyone's responsible who has contact with our customers and buyers. Does this include the receptionist, the service department, people in production, finance, and so on?

In our sales and sales management seminars, we work with the attendees to determine which employees, in which departments, influence sales. In this chapter we’re going to take you through the same steps. When people realize how much potential business is lost by non-sales personnel, some real changes start taking place in organizations. They learn ways to develop harmony between departments and ways to motivate everyone to think of the customer as an integral part of their jobs. People start to realize that their livelihood depends on gaining and keeping customers.

If we're going to find out exactly where 75% of business is lost in our own companies, we have to look under every stone. We have to be open-minded and look at our companies through new eyes--the eyes of the buyers.

Beware: Contact Points are Critical 

We have to look at every department, our practices and our people. Of all the "contact points"--those having customer and buyer contact--we'll probably find that the 80/20 rule applies.

That narrows down our task. No doubt the 20% of our people having customer contact will have 80% of the influence. We can start there.

Who are they? Every company has a first contact point. That's a good place to start. Is it the switchboard operator or the receptionist perhaps?

Gordon Watson  told me about a talk he gave once at a retailers' meeting. He asked the group, “Who do you think is the most important person in your company? Is it the president?”

Then he went on and asked the group to visualize a pyramid. At the top of the pyramid sat the head of the company. Yes, he or she was important.

Under him, in the next level of the pyramid, sat the directors, the next level the senior managers, then more levels of managers, then the supervisors.

Then, all the layers forming the foundation of the pyramid were the members of staff. At the very cornerstone of the pyramid sat the receptionist or the switchboard operator. That person and that person alone was the customer's contact.

The customer doesn't know the people at the top of the pyramid. To them all that matters is their contact point--that's the most important person. 

Realize the Importance of Each Contact Point

How many companies regard their switchboard operator as their most important person?

Ian and I were discussing his philosophy of training his people to respond as a sales organization. He said he noticed that other companies sometimes bring in temporary help. The first place they seem to put the ‘temp’ is on reception or the switchboard.

How can new people on their first day on the job carry out the most important function in the company?

Try as they might, they can't possibly know all the people in the company in order to handle incoming calls effectively. They can't possibly know the products or the customers.

Train and Motivate Them To Win Business, Not Lose it

If we want to stop losing business, we have to concentrate on contact points. Which are yours? When you identify them, you can start to take action to train and motivate them to win business and not lose it.

To dramatically increase business, make a list of possible ways business is lost in your company. Then be persistent and inventive about changing them.

Dave Goillon was determined to take action. Dave owned a company that manufactured equipment for the broadcast industry.  He became conscious of the importance of the customer's first impression and decided to take some quick and effective action.

What should be done, he wondered? Previously he had success with training videos and so he found one that focused on answering the telephone. Showing it brought excellent results. First, he made it available only to the receptionist and secretaries.

Try Three Rings

They caught onto the idea that customers shouldn't be made to wait long periods while phones ring. They made up a sign for reception that said ‘Three Rings.’ Soon everyone was asking what the sign meant. They liked the idea and decided it was good sense not to keep customers waiting, even between departments when their call is transferred.

After that, if you walked into the manufacturing facility, you would see people in every department--not just sales, but also service, testing, and so on, answering their phone before the third ring. Do you think this kind of responsiveness leads to more business? Dave and his people are sure it does. The ‘Three Rings’ motto keeps the importance of the customer in the forefront of everyone’s minds.

It shows what can be done with a little time and forethought to the problem. Dave took action to get his people trained and motivated. He got results. 

Take Responsibility for Employee Performance 

A few years ago, during one of our recessionary times, I wrote a letter to the editor of a major paper.

In it I said, “Isn't it up to management to take responsibility for the attitude and skill of their people?”

Some managers contend that employees have no concept of how their job relates to customers, to the business of the company, and to the economy in general, and can't be taught.

I disagree. In my letter, I said, “Isn't it time we take our head out of the sand and bring people into line with economic reality?” Bad business practices bring less business and less business brings fewer jobs. If we want our corporate world to prosper, let's stop making excuses for people's performance and start taking responsibility.

From the response that flowed in after the editorial letter was printed, I know others agree with me. Now is the time for action.

Jim Kearns, who has run both American and British companies, believes: “Words don't mean anything, unless we do something.”

Let's all be sure we do something to identify the places where business is being lost and take steps to correct it. Let's not take the attitude that some managers have taken, that people can't be enlightened.

Attitudes – Some Need To Be Changed 

I remember one day sitting in a university classroom when the business class professor told us a story. “See that row of 20 apartment buildings across the street? There are 12 apartments in each building.”

“The owner of those buildings hasn't paid income tax for the last nine years! Not a penny!” Gasps came from everyone.  “Imagine, a rich person like that not paying income tax.” It confirmed the suspicions of most of us in the room who had no experience of wealth creation at that stage of our lives. We thought, “Yes, wealth creators are indeed villains, leaving the rest of us to pay taxes who could ill afford it by comparison.”

Next the professor said, “I know that man. He started with only $100 years ago when he bought his first apartment. He borrowed the down payment from family and friends. Then he worked at two jobs--one during the day, the other at night to pay off his debt. On weekends he worked to paint and repair the buildings. The first few years were really blood, sweat, and tears. Gradually he made enough money to buy another building and another.”

"Due to his hard work and his willingness to risk his capital, he has provided housing and jobs for hundreds of people. Because of his policy of keeping his property in top notch condition, there were jobs created for painters, plumbers, gardeners, and electricians. His apartments are also creating a demand for supplies: carpets, curtains, kitchen appliances, and so on, which are creating other businesses and more jobs. Where would we be without people who were willing to take these risks to keep money and jobs in circulation? In addition, he pays taxes on all products and services he buys.”

There you have it. I suddenly had a new perspective on wealth creation. It changed my thinking from that point on. The change came from the vivid step-by-step understanding of the process of job creation and money circulation.

We know that perspectives can be changed. People usually just need someone to enlighten them. Otherwise they carry around preconceived ideas that go unexamined until someone gives them new facts that change the way they look at things. But the enlightenment has to come in a way that they personally find logical, not as take-it-or-leave-it facts. We all know that from our own past experience.

If the professor hadn't used the step-by-step process and instead said, “People with money create jobs, you should support them,” what do you think our level of acceptance would be? You're right; zero--because we wouldn't have built up our own mental picture of the links in the chain of the process. Instead we'd have held to our old picture--the preconceived idea that didn't link wealth and job creation together.

Make People Realize That The Customer Pays Their Salaries

The point is that employees who don't link their own job to the value of the customer haven't been enlightened. And they are not going to change their idea because some manager comes in and says to them, You must stop coming in five minutes late in the morning. Think of all the customer calls you're missing.” It doesn't make a link with them.

They have to be made to understand that without customers, there is no company, and without a company, there are no jobs--not even their own.

If you can turn someone from a non-capitalist to a capitalist with one easy story, think what results you can get when you make employees understand the value of the customer.

Someone has to take the time to sit down and explain to them, that without customer there will be no jobs, including their own.  Otherwise, people continue with preconceived ideas. It's our responsibility as managers to make sure they understand the value of the customer and handle their job effectively.

When Gordon Watson was addressing the Retailer's Association about the importance of the customer's first contact, what do you think he had in mind about the way people should be treated?

What's the Common Thread?

Let's take the most successful companies. What do the heads of those companies, sitting at the top of the pyramid, believe about the ways customers should be treated? What's the common thread that makes them successful?

Think of the companies you most like dealing with and you'll know the answer. Chances are that your requests are treated with care and concern. Besides offering a good product, the companies pay attention to human needs. They treat you with the courtesy and respect that good customers deserve.

If, on the other hand, you deal with a company whose employees take an offhand approach to you and your needs, you'll probably go somewhere else.

When I think of exceptional service, I think of my first printer, Chris Marson. I remember meeting him on a Sunday many years ago to review some proofs. Although his back was out, he kept his date and came to the appointment with a painful limp. His service has always been impeccable. Even though his printing presses are running seven days a week and Chris never has a spare moment, he always makes time to come to the phone with a friendly, “Hello, Christine, how are you, alright? Good to hear from you,” and his voice says he means it. He knows that price and service are essential but not everything. He knows the value of the human factor.

Think of Ways to Treat Prospects with a Personal Touch

What areas of your business require attention to ‘the human factor’ in dealing with your customers? If you concentrate your thoughts on this, you'll develop ideas which relate to your buyers. You'll retain some of that 75% of potential business that slips away.

Here's an example of what we did when I first started my company. We analyzed our operation and decided that not enough personal attention was being given to prospective clients at their first visit to us. Since we were in a communal office building at the time, we had no control over the reception area. Sometimes visitors were greeted professionally and sometimes not, depending on who was on duty. We knew that the first few minutes the prospects waited were critical to their judgment of us.

We had to take drastic action. We put together a two-part plan that at the time seemed a little ‘over the top.’ But we had to try something.

Here's what we did to overcome the questionable reception. First we called visitors several days before the meeting to confirm the appointment and we did one more thing to give it a personal touch. “Mr. Jones, we're looking forward to seeing you on Tuesday at 3:00. By the way, we like to have everyone's coffee ready when they arrive. How do you like yours?”

The results were very good. We had previously worried that people would think this was silly, but they didn't. They liked the personal touch. They even commented on how nice it was to work with people who took the time and trouble over personal details.

The second part of our new policy was to go out into the reception area immediately upon their arrival. If the conference room wasn't ready, we chatted with them for a few minutes in reception while it was being prepared. Again, the results were remarkable. People liked being personally attended to. They also had no time to focus on the reception.

It proved to pay off handsomely--our conversion of prospects to clients went up immediately. Furthermore, the new clients started to openly talk to us about the procedures.

They told us how impressed they were with the way we handled our business. They thought it was marketing at its best. Ian McCallum was one of the people who visited us during that time. He said he liked everything from the sales presentation to the smallest personal detail--even our attention to how people like their coffee. It taught us a lesson. We now know how important the human factor is. We also know that sometimes you have to be inventive to solve human factor problems.

The human factor is important in every business. Some people use it instinctively, and therefore are tremendously successful in business. Others don't, and they lose business needlessly despite having superior products or services. Watch the way you're treated the next time you buy something. It will give you a wealth of ideas on how to and how not to treat customers. Then decide for yourself what changes to make.