I was interviewing a distributor client’s customer and this is what he said about other suppliers he buys from — my client’s competition:   “When they’re busy, they just pick up the phone and slam it down without saying anything.”   I was incredulous, and inquired to make sure I understood correctly.   He laughed sadly: “It’s more common than you think. Most suppliers don’t call you back. They don’t get back to you when they say they will. I have to chase them for pricing and quotes. I rarely get to talk to the same person, who knows me. It’s just whoever picks up. And when you get voicemail, which is a lot, I don’t even expect a call back.”   There is your competition.   This is not an industry-specific situation.   We build our competition up in our minds to be excellent: they are prompt, they are present, they are on time, they are effective.   It is not so.   The great majority of them are mediocre. As salespeople, we operate in an environment where it is exceedingly easy to stand out from the crowd.  It’s not difficult to be better than non-communicating, non-caring competition.   Take away two things:   1. You are better than the vast majority of your competition, and your customers know it.   2. Behave accordingly.   What does this mean?   Don’t be cocky or arrogant.   Be present.   Be proactive.   Follow up on quotes and inquiries.   Call your customers when nothing is wrong.   Ask them what else they’re working on that you can help them with.   Be interested and let your behavior demonstrate this. If you care in silence, nobody will know you’re spending time and energy thinking about them.   Care proactively.   Communicate that you care.   And your customers will thank you with their money, because you will be one of the only people in their lives doing so.    Would you like to grow your sales by 15-30% annually? Would you like to see gross profit increase dramatically? This is what I do for my clients. If you’d like to discuss how, call me directly at 847-459-6322.