Marketing and Sales Insights

Ten Commandments for Better Sales

When he was named Xerox’s district manager for Cleveland, Frank Pacetta vowed to turn his district into number one in the region even though it had finished last the year before. He did it. Here is his Top Ten List on customer service: 

1. Prepare customer proposals on weekends and evenings. 

2. Never say no to a customer; everything is negotiable. 

3. Make customers feel good about you – not just the product – by sending cards for birthdays and promotions and by taking them to lunch, ballgames, and other outings. 

4. Meet customer requirements, even if it means fighting your own bureaucracy. 

5. Do things for customers you don’t get paid for, like solving billing problems. 

6. Know your competitor’s product better than your competitor does. 

7. Be early for meetings. 

8. Dress and groom yourself sharply so you look like a superior product. 

9. When it’s time to go home, make one more phone call. 

10. If you stay in the shower a long time in the morning because you don’t look forward to work, find another job. 

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