How to Look Incompetent
Watch this week's Short Attention Span Sales Tip video here.
Good morning!
I made a call to my dermatologist recently. After several rounds of “To make an appointment, press 1,” followed by, “To make an appointment in our Plymouth office, press 1,” followed by, “To make an appointment for Democrats, press 1,” I heard the following message:
“Did you know you can now make an appointment using our new text service? Give us a couple of times you are available and we will text you back.”
So I hung up without listening to the rest of the message and sent a text.
Two days later, I hadn’t heard anything from them. So, I called back, went through all of the gyrations once again, skipped the part about texting, and heard the next part of the outgoing message:
“You can also make an appointment online.”
Great! So, I hung up and went to their website. I searched page after page but could find no such capability.
So, I called back a third time, this time I made it all the way to the end, waited on hold to speak to an actual person, and after about five minutes got a recorded message asking me to leave my name and number. So, I did. And the day passed without me hearing from anyone.
The next morning, I got a phone call from the dermatologist's office and learned they have no appointments until July. Great. “Oh,” the woman said, “we no longer offer online appointments. It got too overwhelming.”
I tell you this story so that you will check your tech. We set up these wonderful shortcuts but time goes on and things change. Do they still work?
QR codes that go to a “404 page not found” error message or broken link, or communications systems set up long ago and now fail, only demonstrate incompetence, laziness, and sloppy business practices. They reflect on your quality and can kill a sale without you even knowing.
Make no assumptions. Even if you are reading these words and thinking, “Oh, we’re all set in that department,” you might be missing something. Poke around. Listen to your outgoing voicemail message. Spend time on your website.
Check your tech.
For more tips like these go to SalesVault.pro or call Bill Farquharson at 781-934-7036
Bill Farquharson is a respected industry expert and highly sought after speaker known for his energetic and entertaining presentations. Bill engages his audiences with wit and wisdom earned as a 40-year print sales veteran while teaching new ideas for solving classic sales challenges. Email him at bill@salesvault.pro or call (781) 934-7036. Bill’s two books, The 25 Best Print Sales Tips Ever and Who’s Making Money at Digital/Inkjet Printing…and How? as well as information on his new subscription-based website, The Sales Vault, are available at salesvault.pro.
