Gold Medal standards in customer service

Will visitors to the Olympic Games in the U.K. delight or despair with the levels of customer service that they receive from the Games, hotels and transport services? In an article in The Daily Telegraph by Octavius Black, he argues that general levels of customer service have a long way to go before the country reaches ‘gold medal standard’. According to the World Economic Forum’s ranking of customer service, Britain comes in just behind Lithuania – in 34th place.
After its initial worrying analysis, the article does give many positive pointers for businesses and managers to improve customer service – from their own attitude to helping frontline staff with theirs. He offers this perspective on a customer service friendly company “When every conversation, from executive meeting to water cooler chat, is peppered with fresh stories about real customers, you know you’re heading in the right direction.” For more advice on going for gold read the full articlehere http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/management-advice/9104637/Think-Tank-UK-will-struggle-to-win-gold-in-customer-service-during-the-London-2012-Olympics.html

A leader in tough times

What are your sales team expecting from you as a sales manager and team leader in difficult economic times? An American blogger on www.entrepreneur.com suggests 12 ideas to try to inspire confidence to achieve the team’s goals. Many of the traits deal with being honest and accountable with staff and in turn listening and responding to their ideas. This also includes letting your team know the big picture. If they don’t know what’s going on, “that leaves you having to micromanage every problem instead of being able to delegate and offer guidance.” The article also urges leaders in whichever industry sector to not lose sight of others’ needs whether that be your peers, employees or customers: “ Be service-oriented. Leaders can be sort of self-involved, forgetting that they are in a position of leadership.” For help on how to be an effective manager and leader see the full article at http://www.entrepreneur.com/blog/222841

Have you got what it takes to be an account manager?

A good account manager needs to have a foot in both sales and in customer service. That’s according to a detailed careers review on the Wet Feet careers advice website. They define an ‘AM’ in two ways. Firstly an account manager is “the liaison between a company and its clients… to see that those clients are maximizing the value of the products and services provided.” Secondly the account manager ‘has a duty to maintain, retain, and usually upsell to their portfolio of clients or accounts”. Looking at the opportunities for a career in account management, the website list a number of areas where a good account manager may use their skills. These include consulting firms, public relations agencies or manufacturing companies for major brands. First steps on the account management ladder may be a role as an account executive or account coordinator. Read more sales career advice at http://www.wetfeet.com/careers-industries/careers/account-management

What skills you really need in 2012

A clear and emphatic ‘to do’ list for sales professionals is laid out in the latest issue of Winning Edge magazine by Sean McPheat. Sean’s list includes areas such as the value of ‘entrepreneurial salesmanship’ and the importance of the relationship between marketing and sales. The article explains that ‘ 25-40% of the buying process is completed online before customers engage with your sales team.’ Sales teams needs to know about the prospects found by marketing teams who are ‘conducting their research online, on blogs and in forums’, to have a ‘a distinct advantage over the competition.’ Negotiation skills are described as often left at the end of a training course but are essential ‘ if margins are going to be protected in 2012’. To find out about the other winning points to know about selling in 2012, read the full article on the ISMN(Institute of Sales Management) website http://www.ismm.co.uk/news/2012/01/27/sean-mcpheats-selling-imperatives-for-2012/