Does your sales and engagement experience impress?

We all have a process we follow when meeting with clients. Some work in a step by step, systematic and disciplined way, and others less so. But, is it impressive? Does it work to attract, compel, excite and enthuse prospective and existing clients or can it be improved?

An episode I experienced not so long ago really highlighted this to me. A retired lady accidentally scraped the back right hand panel of my wife’s car in a shopping centre carpark. When Sharyn came out of the shops, the lady was gone, but to her surprise there was a brief note under the windscreen wiper, admitting to the damage and leaving her contact details.

Now this in itself is fantastic – real honesty, which is refreshing to say the least. So, that made my day to begin with… but what happened next, bowled me over!

After ringing this lovely lady and trading details that morning, I found out that she had already informed her insurance company about the accident. This was at about 11:00 am. At around 1:00 pm, I received a phone call from a representative from the insurance company (APIA) to acknowledge the claim, ask me to choose from three or four locations for crash repairers and confirming that the repairer would contact me.

Then at about 3:00 pm, I received a call from the crash repairer (Capital Smart). They asked about the damage and booked a time for me to meet for an assessment.

Step ahead

Well, this was remarkable. Over the years I’ve had a number of bingles and I’ve never enjoyed such a fast and proactive approach from either insurance companies or crash repairers! But what happened next really stood out.

I arrived at the repairer at 7:30 am and just driving into the driveway made an immediate positive impression. The street view of the front of the office was clean and fresh and professionally presented. The driveway itself was perfectly clean and to one side was their car park and parked at the front were three private service cars. I thought they were waiting to get in for some repairs – but no.

I parked in front of their automated doors and went in to the reception counter to let them know I was there. I was greeted with a genuine warm smile and the receptionist asked me to drive in. As the doors opened, I was immediately blown away. As I scanned my eyes around this huge business, I couldn’t help being struck by the presentation of the workshop.

Firstly everything had a place… cars were neatly and purposely parked in separate bays over to one side, and the shop floor was pristine. It was as if someone had vacuumed and mopped the concrete floor 5 minutes before I arrived. It looked more like a home than a crash repairer.

Over to the left was a bay, with an easily read sign “Assessments Here”, so I drove and parked in this bay. At once, the young girl from reception came out of the office and at the same time a man, who was the ‘damage assessor’, neatly dressed in a clean set of overalls. After introductions, the girl explained their process while the assessor inspected the car.

“Based on the amount of damage, the car will come in one morning and be returned the next afternoon. We will provide a service car and driver to drop you home or to your office and to pick you up again and bring you back when your car is ready. This is all a part of our service and at no cost to you. When would it be convenient for you to have your car repaired?”

It really works

Here’s what happened when it came time for the repair. The day before, the repairer called me to confirm that all was OK for dropping off my car and then followed up with an email to confirm all my details, including my transport home and back (with their compliments).

I arrived promptly at 7:30 am and again was greeted by the receptionist/organiser and a well dressed and presented foreman, who confirmed my details and promised I would have the car returned no later than the next afternoon. In fact, given the small amount of damage, they confirmed “You may have it back today”.

I was then led to ‘John’, the private service car driver and taken home. As I was leaving, I was given a card with my specific details and the phone number of the service car company, with directions to call this specific number when I was ready to be brought back to pick up my car.

That was 7:30 am… At 11:45 am that day, the receptionist called to let me know my repair was completed and my car was ready to go – extraordinary!

I made the call to the service car company and they knew exactly where I was going and I was promptly picked up and delivered to the crash repairer.

Again I was greeted with a warm smile and my wife’s keys, an explanation that the repairs are covered by a ‘lifetime’ guarantee and to call if they can assist further at any time. The repair looked immaculate, so I drove home, shaking my head in disbelief, most of the way.

My experience, from start to go, was really impressive!

I haven’t stopped talking about my experience. Every chance I get I tell almost everyone I meet – family, friends and strangers. And I’ve since changed my insurance company to APIA.

Now isn’t that what you would want to happen with your clients, after they have experienced your service… people busting to tell others just how impressive you are?

APIA thought long and hard about how to differentiate themselves and decided to approach their service regime proactively, and by doing so, they stand out. They get noticed for what they deliver to their customers and others they have a responsibility for – the outcomes they want their customers to experience.

And they would have thought carefully about who they partnered with and just how those partners (in this case Capital Smart) delivered their service.

Again, Capital Smart sent clear messaging to me – we are professional, we are leaders in our industry, we are experts at what we do, we do things for keeps, we mean what we say, we keep our promises, we care about how we look and we care about you! They stood out.

Have you taken the time and effort to map out your client engagement model in a strategic way?

Does everything you do work collaboratively and in such a way that it leaves no doubts in the minds of your potential and existing clients, that you are an industry leader, a subject matter expert, that you mean what you say, that you keep promises, that you care – do you really stand out?

Does your sales / consulting / meeting experience impress people enough to share their stories about you with their family, friends and strangers? If you do, then those they tell are probably clients now too.

The team at Capstone can help you with your client engagement, including sales experiences that impress and convert prospects into clients. To find out how contact:

Kym Turner
Head of Coaching & Development
Capstone Financial Planning
P: 03 8622 0719
E: k.turner@capstonefp.com.au