Washington Business Journal: Starting a Business : Business Advice

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Let's be honest: Things are bad, and it is miserabls out there in the worldof commerce. We are in a globakl recession that will last forsome 1. The economy eventually will improve andget 2. Most companies rely on salespeople to help with thebottojm line. Continuing sales of a product or service for an organizatiohn along with great salespeople will be needed even more durinhg thesetough times. I thinm it is important to look at a strategy as old as businese itself that will help a its profitability, the salespeople employedr and the customers that a company does business with. The firsg thing, which is of the utmosr importance, are your customers.
Whether you are the CEO reading this, the salesperson or a person in customer services - this is the time to protect your customefr base and make sure that they are period! The one way to do this is to get in toucjh with your customers. Do not attempt to do this by mail or It istoo impersonal. If you want to builrd relationships with your then build them the way they are supposed to be built - by people dealing directly with people! You need to ask your customers a simple and direct question: "How are we doingy for you? Be honest, and tell me the truth." Next, for the salespeoplse who still are employed, you are going to have to work Yes, I said it - harder.
This means not only visiting your existinf customers and checking their true level of customeer satisfaction but also going out and gettingnew business. Sure, the economy is and we are not buying as much of anythingt as we did a fewyears ago, but the fact remains that theree is still business being done out there.