Jerry grinned as he read the review from Byran, his latest customer– “I have no idea what all is going on behind the scenes, but this is hands-down the best buying experience I’ve ever had.”
What a contrast, he thought.
Six months ago, Jerry had quit his job at Acme, Inc., and joined Northeast Farm Equipment. Now, as he thought about the review, he remembered the day he’d interviewed. He had to admit he’d been skeptical.
“We take care of our sales people,” his new boss had told him. “We do everything we can to take the friction out of buying and selling. We make sure we never manipulate anyone. Including you.”
That’s sure not how it was at my last gig, Jerry thought. But, in spite of his doubts, he’d been around long enough to know that only time would tell if Northeast meant what they said.
| As he set out on his new venture, Jerry wondered if life at Northeast would be any different from before. |
Jerry’s Great Escape
From his first day at Acme, life there had been hectic. Over time, it got worse.
First, it was the quoting system. Or better, the lack of one. The staff had to run everything through paper invoices, spreadsheets, and Word templates. Jerry would have to copy and paste text and screenshots to create proposals. This made edits and revisions frustrating and inefficient. Sometimes, if he had a prospect who was ready to buy, he’d have to block off the afternoon just so he’d have time to get everything ready.
Then it was all the scheduling calls! The owner had hired a secretary “to handle the scheduling and everything,” but he had never developed a scheduling workflow. Jerry’s team members would misplace papers. Orders would get delayed. He’d get voicemails asking, “Where’s my order?” Several times a day, he’d stop what he was doing to make rounds through the office and shop to find out what was going on.
After several years, Jerry saw customers losing trust. Sales dipped. Desperate, the owner lowered prices to get customers to come back. With these changes, Jerry’s shoppers became “budget buyers” looking for a bargain. Sometimes, they even tried to negotiate an extra discount from his commission. He had to talk to four times as many people to get a strong lead. And when he found one, he had to work twice as hard to close the deal.
Worst of all, the owner rarely showed up. He’d drift in and out of the office, telling his staff that he was confident that they could “handle it.” Yet he didn’t give clear guidelines for what he wanted.
Jerry often came home with his mind spinning and with the hopeless feeling that he’d gotten nothing done. After one particularly hard week, he knew he had to make a change. That Friday, he turned in his notice.
Now, after six months at Northeast, he marveled at how different two businesses could be. He’d never seen a company give so much attention to “acceptance,” the sales stage where a prospect becomes a customer.
He reflected on his experience with Byran, and especially on the day that Byran gave the go-ahead.
| Jerry was at his desk when he heard someone at the door. |
The Magical Moment
It had been a rainy Monday, and Jerry was sitting at his desk. He heard a tap on the door and saw Byran standing there with a smile. Funny, he thought, I wasn’t expecting him today.
“Let’s do this!” said Byran, “I’ve thought about it since Friday, and I don’t have any doubts. I’m ready to sign. I was going to call, but since I was in the area, I thought I’d just drop in.”
Jerry recovered from his surprise and said, “That’s great! Have a seat while I pull up your paperwork.”
As Byran sat down, Jerry flipped open his laptop and pulled up the quote he’d sent the week before. From their previous conversations, Jerry had all the information he needed. He clicked his mouse twice, then reached over to his printer.
Seeing the agreement, he smiled inside. It looked so professional. Everything was there – Byran’s name and address, details about the equipment, the warranty policy. The last few pages included the payment terms, delivery deadline, and clear instructions for making the deposit.
Jerry slid the papers across his desk and handed Byran his special pen. “What do you think of it?” he asked. “I get a lot of comments. People like how heavy it is – some even ask if it’s a tactical pen. I tell them it does have hidden features – but I only use them when equipment sellers try reaching for my wallet.”
Byran laughed, signed the agreement, and wrote out the check.
With one more click, Jerry created a sales order from the quote. He entered the check number and amount on the sales order. Then he dropped the agreement and check into a dropbox for the accountant.
Nearly finished, he printed a cover sheet, sales order, and deposit receipt. He passed them across the desk, then walked Byran through the next steps.
“The purchasing department has just gotten an alert about your order. I will also reach out to them directly to make sure they have what they need.
“Schedule-wise, we’re out about six weeks. I’m going to call you tomorrow, then call again in about two weeks with an update.
“About four weeks from now, our secretary Rhonda will call you to set up a time to get this delivered.
“Any questions?”
Byran shook his head. Jerry had answered every question before he’d had a chance to ask. So far, Jerry had followed through on every single commitment he’d made, and Byran had no doubt the company would stand behind him.
“One more thing, Byran.”
Jerry reached under his desk and pulled out a gift box. His boss kept the back room stocked with a variety of items. But Jerry had also done some detective work during his talks with Byran. He’d learned that Byran had a weakness for chocolate chip cookies and a good brew of dark roast coffee. So he’d put these things in the box, along with a Northeast Equipment Yeti mug and a jar of strawberry jam.
He handed the box to Byran and shook his hand. “I’ve appreciated getting to know you, and I look forward to our future business relationship.”
Byran peeked inside the box. What he saw gave him goosebumps. What kind of company is this? he wondered.
“Thanks, Jerry. You’ve been so professional and responsive through this process. I really appreciate it.”
Because Dreams Do Come True
His boss’s voice jolted Jerry from his reflections. “I saw you won over another customer last week. How are things going?”
Jerry smiled.
“Good,” he said. “Real good!”
He breathed a sigh. His boss hadn’t exaggerated. Things actually could be this good.
The Takeaway
Does Jerry’s bad experience at Acme sound familiar? Are you looking to simplify your customer journey process so that it flows like Northeast Farm Equipment’s?
We’re looking forward to helping you determine if Silverloom software is right for you. Call us today to learn more.