The sale is complete. Delivery and installation are done, and you called to follow-up, making sure the customer was satisfied with their new appliances. So that’s it, right? Until they need their next kitchen appliance … at least that’s what you hope. 

But you would be wrong. We need to change our thinking about the sales process. Consider this another chance to create a stellar Customer Experience (CX). CX begins with your outreach and advertising and usually ends after the customer is satisfied. What happens next separates the wildly successful dealers from the average. 

Each sale is worth 10 sales. Every customer that leaves the showroom thrilled with their experience will refer you to another customer. But if they leave unhappy? You lost 10-times that volume in new sales. 

Once your sales team is at the end of the sales journey, they are ready to move on to the next deal. This is the moment where your team needs to change its thinking. Instead of moving on, think about the value of that sale. A wise and seasoned sales consultant once had a sales team sitting in front of him in an appliance showroom. He asked them a simple question: What is a sale worth?

The answers he got were the answers most of us would have guessed: $5,000? $10,000? The sales consultant replied with a firm no. Each sale is worth 10 sales. Every customer that leaves the showroom thrilled with their experience will refer you to another customer. But if they leave unhappy? You lost 10-times that volume in new sales. With such wise insight in mind, here are some simple steps you can take after the sale to multiply its impact. 

First, choose a house-warming gift. Or, in this case, call it a kitchen-warming gift. For one of our clients, we help them purchase high-quality cutting boards with their logo branded into the wood. 

Next, you pick a timeline from that final wrap-up call and when you will make one more call to the customer. On that last call, your only purpose is to ask the customer if you could stop by with a gift to say thank you. 

Arrive at their home at the agreed-upon time. If they invite you in, celebrate their new kitchen with them and stay a moment. Ask them how they like certain features, probing to make sure they know some of the most enjoyable benefits of the appliances. Take a minute to answer any questions they still have about their new purchase. 

Then if you sell outdoor kitchens and pro grills, ask them how they entertain outside. Ask how they like the other appliances in their kitchen. Look for opportunities to remind them how else you can serve them. Then ask for the referral. 

This is the right way to complete the Customer Experience. A simple gift goes above and beyond. It gives you a chance to gain referrals from your recent satisfied customers. Implement this process for gaining referrals, and the work of sales will get easier.