Sales training ideas – Going the extra mile when selling.

When learning how to sell, one of the basic rules that should always be conveyed is going the extra mile, because, while it is so important in many areas of life, it is especially relevant to sales. 

The extra mile in sales 

With the speed of business accelerating every day and with competition getting much tougher, it is extremely important to go the extra mile and do things that set you apart from your competition. You need to go above and beyond and one of the best ways to do that is to do the unexpected. You also want to make it a habit to under promise and over deliver. For example, if you know you can get the product there Wednesday, tell the customer Friday and then deliver early, that’s assuming they can accept it early. Include extra supplies that the customer was not expecting. Find ways to give a little extra, to always provide a little more value, to deliver more than the customer expects. You also want to jump on problems and go above and beyond what most salespeople would do. Here is an example:  We once had an installation that, due to unforeseen problems, caused our installers to be on site all day Sunday to ensure the bank was ready to open on Monday. The installation was completed just after 11:30 on Sunday night and we, the salespeople, had been there the entire day on Sunday, roughly fifteen hours. Most salespeople might stay abreast of things by phone, but how many would actually go the extra mile and drive out there and stay until the job was done while staying in touch with the customer? By the way, this is also an example of what you must be willing to do to be at the very top of the selling profession. And when you bring that kind of dedication to your sales job, you will rarely, if ever, have to worry about job security or not being at the top of the sales profession. Here is another example of going the extra mile: When we were in the automatic teller machine (ATM) industry we used to look for “out of service” ATMs while we were traveling. If we saw a machine that was down, we’d make a written note. If it was one of our machines, we’d make sure that the service department was aware of the problem. Sometimes service calls would get lost in the shuffle. By letting them know about the problem, they could jump on it quickly.  If it was a competitor’s machine, we’d keep tabs on how long it was down for. If the machine was down for an extended period of time, we knew it would be a good account for our sales representative to call on. These are both examples of taking an extra step to make sure the customer is being taken care of while also going the extra mile.  Demonstrate to customers and prospects that you are committed and willing to go the extra mile, serving them in ways beyond what they might reasonably expect. If you do, you will have a leg up on almost everyone else in sales.