Caring is an essential part of the everyday relationships we build. And in a sales executive role, it is a vital ingredient in ensuring customers feel valued and appreciated. And among all things they are receiving a trustworthy service.
Sales and the Crucial Aspect of Care
Across the entire sales sector, in every industry, the day-to-day can be quite different. No two customers are the same but conversing with them in a friendly and trustworthy manner opens their willingness to indulge and ultimately trust your product. Simply showing that you genuinely care could be your ticket to get the customer on your side.
Calm Karl
Karl came into the interview and sat down with the same calmness he displays when you bump into him at the office coffee machine. He wants to ‘hit the ground running.’ The kind of attitude he brings to his working day.
In the office, you can hear Karl conversing on a human level with his customers, making them feel at ease and that they’re ‘not speaking to a robot.’
When it comes to sales, he’s not short of knowledge and that is something he has brought with him to this role after being found by the company.
Interview with Sales Executive Karl Donald
Billy: How did you find Intelligent Leads?
Karl: They found me! I was working at EE and I received a message one day that asked me to apply for a role. I had a look at it and I liked the industry and what it sounded like. So, I came for the interview and got offered the job!
Billy: So you had a lot of experience in sales already?
Karl: Yeah, I’ve done a lot of sales in the past. I’ve worked for companies like MFI Retail and Phones4U, then spent several years at United Utilities working in the water industry. I was there doing that for a very long time.
Having the experience going into a new role is advantageous but it also allows the opportunity to expand on what you already know and gives you the time to practice methods of communication with customers.
Karl understands what he’s here to do but also upholds how important it is to make his customers feel comfortable.
Billy: Tell me about your role.
Karl: At the moment, I’m on a project to nurture paid solar panel leads. But before, I was on ECO4. This means I was getting grants for people. Through our business, we help people find out about the government energy grants they are entitled to. They answer questions on the website form and then that creates a lead. That then comes to us, where we speak to the customer and help them out.
Billy: And this is what you do day-in-day-out. I’ve heard how you converse with the customers, and you deal with them in a very relatable way. You’ve told me before that it’s the best way to get them on your side. How important do you think it is to make customers feel comfortable?
Karl: I think building a relationship with somebody is really important. We don’t get very long on the phone before the customer puts the phone down or possibly thinks it’s a scam. Which it’s not! We are a non-profit organisation that wants to help people. Being able to relate to people and getting them over that initial anxiety is important. And putting them at ease so they know they are speaking to a person and not a robot and it’s not just somebody looking to sell something, but somebody who cares is important.
This approach as a sales executive has allowed Karl to make real changes for the customers he has helped. And sometimes, that’s one of the reasons he shows up in the mornings with a fire in his eyes.
Billy: What does your day-to-day look like?
Karl: I come in and have a coffee, morning brief, and then just get right into it. Hit the ground running.
Billy: Are there any moments you are proud of in your role?
Karl: Yes. I had a customer who had applied for ECO4 with several companies. No one had been able to help her and had many surveys but had been led on a bit of a merry dance. She came to me, and it took me several months, but I got her full ECO4.
Billy: What was the response like to that?
Karl: She sent an email saying how happy she was that she had finally got it done. It’s the little things like that when you’ve put a lot of time and effort into a customer and then they get a reward at the end… it’s nice to help people and to know the care you put in has reached a good ending.
With Karl’s caring approach, he is very much operating in the moment when working. But that doesn’t mean that he is not thinking about his future at Intelligent Leads, with some deep ideas for the company itself!
Billy: What are your plans for the future?
Karl: I come from a technical background, and I did a lot of further learning when I worked within the water industry. I would like to see Intelligent Leads going down the path of maybe starting to install ourselves. If we did do that, I’d very much like to be involved in that. Going out to meet people and that… Intelligent Leads is a nice place to work. Everyone is really lovely, and the business is going places. You’re not just a member of the staff but rather you’re part of the family.
It’s evident that as a sales executive, Karl is people-focused, caring about those he deals with in his role but also those around him. His desire to expand his ability to help people, in a career he clearly cares about on an emotional level is admirable and genuine.
Karl: [About making customers feel comfortable on the phone and his approach] … it needs to be someone who cares about them and wants to ask them questions about themselves and their family and who they are as people.
Billy: And that’s important…
Karl: Yeah, caring about folk is.
