There is a significant difference between sales and services.  It takes two very different strategies and thought processes.  Sales is a short-term process.  Our goal is very simple, turn the prospect into a client.  So, our activities and strategies are centered around this transaction.

Once the transaction is complete, we then have to shift gears into service.  This is a long-term process.  Our goal is retention of the client over time, ensuring they continue using us into the future.  So, our activities and strategies are centered around client loyalty, upsell/resell, etc.

In an ideal scenario, these two roles would be filled by different people.  It’s very difficult, and generally unsuccessful, to ask a hunter to be a farmer and even harder to ask a farmer to be a hunter.  It takes two completely different types of people to be great at these roles.

At the end of the day, you can have the best marketing and advertising, the most beautiful store, and the greatest products or services; however, if you can’t convert prospects into clients, all of those things are a waste.  And then you have to be able to retain those clients or, at the very least, turn them into evangelists for your business; or the sale was a waste.

Make this a focus of your business, trust me, you will be glad you did.