Selling, Service OR

Customer Service?

By Bob Abrames

One of the most frequent questions I get in my travel agent seminars (or E-mails) is, “Are selling and service the same thing? Can one sell without servicing, and vice versa?”

Well, like anything else in life, it’s a lot easier to solve a problem if you break it down into smaller parts, then work on it one piece at a time. Solve all the little parts, and you solve the big question! So, let’s look at the question from a technical perspective.

Selling is converting someone who is NOT a customer into a customer. A “customer” is defined as “someone who pays money in exchange for goods or service.” The minute you take the money out of the equation, you’ve removed the concept of selling and probably the concept of “customer” as well. Good sellers love converting prospects into customers. Putting the emphasis on “commerce,” which is what we are supposed to be doing, is the only definition of “selling” that makes sense commercially.

Service is basic, everyday, common, run-of-the-mill helpfulness. Being of “service” is helping everyone, always, with anything. The nicer the giver of the service, the more that person gives. (Most unpleasant people have trouble giving good service for very long!)

Service can be, and most often IS NOT, done or given in exchange for money. Good servicers love helping people. If they get money in exchange they might call it “selling,” but technically it is not — they got lucky, that’s all.

Customer service is where the two ideas of selling and service start to come together, although they are still technically distinct. Customer service is servicing customers who have bought already! If they did not pay, you are not providing customer service. You get the customer by selling, you keep the customer with service — customer service.

So let’s get back to the question, “What’s the difference?” More often than not, it is perception on behalf of the customer and/or the seller or servicer.

If I walk into a store, I usually want service. If a clerk asks me if they can help me with anything, is it service or is it selling? It’s in the eyes of the beholder! If I walked into that store with the intention to buy, the clerk may call it selling, but I call it service.

But let’s say I walk into that same store and want to browse, not buy. Now the whole feeling I have starts to change. I probably don’t want to be asked if I want help. I’d prefer to just look around without any kind of commitment to make any purchase at all. If the clerk is in any way the least bit persistent, I start to get uncomfortable.

What about travel agents? It’s just a tad more complicated than being a clerk, wouldn’t you say? There is one heck of a difference between going into a store to pick up something and asking a travel agent to research, compare, quote, service and process a booking.

Most purchases, in most stores, really don’t need much help from anyone. We go in, feel the product, smell the product, read the product, etc. The purchase is tangible. Travel is not. Travel requires our services from start to finish. The more the customer knows, the less help they need and vice versa. This is why knowing the difference between service, selling and customer service is critical.

Most unsuccessful agents are that way because their sales aren’t high enough to sustain their business. More often than not, this is because they cannot sell — they’re too busy servicing people who don’t want to buy. Now, I know that poor selling is not always the reason, but it is extremely common. I’ve never heard anyone say they went broke because they had too many customers!

If you don’t know the difference between selling and service, or refuse to do one when the other is required, you’ll end up selling to people who only wanted free service, or offering free service when you could have been selling for money. It’s a question of being busy, or being productive.

Allow me to sum this up with a couple of ideas you may want to consider:
1 — People who want to buy want to be sold to. They might want the selling to be disguised as service, but that is what a great seller is able to do. The great seller is always selling, and the customer feels they are getting service. Both get what they want — and that is the best of deals.
2 — The best way to separate the customer from the non-buyer is with customer service. Give everyone service with the attitude that they will become paying customers. Let your selling skills tell them that you will do whatever it takes to make and keep a customer.
3 — Don’t get all twisted up about the people who only wanted service. Give it quickly and politely, but move on. I don’t know of any business that ever made money giving away what they hoped to sell. You sell service!

Selling, service and customer service are all simply a matter of semantics if you’re making money! If you’re not making money, then pay attention. Knowing the difference is the key to your financial profits and profitable use of your time.

Bob Abrames is a Salesologist, Author and Educator in the business of travel. You can E-mail him at bob@abrames.com or call (416) 518-1138. His Web site address is www.abrames.com.