Follow Through to the End!
As salespeople, we know what our basic mission is and how we go about reaching the goals that we set. However, sometimes it is easy to forget that once the sale is complete, the job of a professional salesperson is not over. The tasks that I am discussing may not even be the salesperson's responsibility, but it is up to the salesperson to make sure the tasks are completed or promises kept.
I have a friend who recently purchased a stove for a house that htye are going to be moving into at the end of the month. Because this home is in another state, he had a friend make the purchase for him and set up all of the delivery arrangements. It turns out that his friend got the delivery date wrong, which was no big deal and should have been able to be fixed with a simple phone call.
My friend made a phone call and got the salesperson that sold him the stove. He asked to have the delivery day and location changed. The salesperson told him that he needed to contact the actual delivery company, no problem. Except that, the salesperson did not have the name of the company, the phone number and did not know how to get the information. After minutes of going back anf forth, the salesperson finally got the name of the delivery company but not a phone number. My friend, through his own effort, finally figured it out and got everything settled, but that should have never been his responsibility.
The salesperson is not directly responsible for the delivery but they are responsible for ensuring that their customers are satisfied with the sale and including after the sale follow-up. It is inexcusable that a salesperson could not answer very basic questions about the delivery of a product. While it may not be the salesperson's fault, it is the salesperson's responsibility. In the end though, it will probably be the salesperson and the store that pays the price because the odds of a repeat customer are probably slim.
In short, just remember that your primary job is to satisfy your customer's wants and needs through the selling process. It is also your responsibility to ensure that your customers are getting everything they were promised during that sale.
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