Referrals from Buyers

From today forward, the Estate Buyers are allowed to refer wholesale customers, which are not already retail customers, to a specific salesperson in Old Town. A referral from an Estate Buyer is not the same as a referral from a customer so there are different rules as to how this potential customer is handled in Old Town.

• The buyer gets the customer’s name and phone # and/or email.
• The buyer looks up the customer in Business Mind to see if they are already a customer here. If they are, the buyer should refer them to the salesperson already on record. If they are not, the buyer can choose to refer the customer to any salesperson.
• The buyer staples the referred salesperson’s card to the Welcome gift card ($50 off of $250) so that the customer has the name and the address of the showroom.
• The buyer is to email the salesperson giving the customer’s name, phone # and/or email, and what they are interested in, and copy Reception.

If the salesperson contacts the customer and creates a file before the customer arrives in the store, then it can be considered “their” customer. In that case, their assistant can help if the customer arrives when the salesperson is unavailable, and it will be a split if another salesperson helps that customer.

If there has been no contact before the customer arrives, and the salesperson is not available to help, then Reception may assign the customer to another salesperson and there is no split (and the salesperson’s assistant cannot help in their stead); UNLESS the customer wants to wait for their referred salesperson, then they may do so.

If the buyer didn’t find out that the customer is already in Business Mind under another salesperson, and that salesperson is available, that salesperson helps the customer. If she is not available, the referred salesperson helps the customer but it’s a split, and the original salesperson keeps the customer under her name.

A buyer referral is considered an Up no matter who takes it.

Regardless of the above, these rules from “Hey That’s My Customer” still apply.

THE RECEPTIONIST (RECEPTION) ROUTES THE INCOMING CUSTOMERS:

The reason for this is that customers come FIRST, not salespeople and their possible commissions. The customer must be helped professionally, seamlessly and quickly without a lot of time and discussion spent trying to determine “whose customer is it” while the customer stands by being ignored. All will balance out in the end as far as how many customers you have and how many you help.

The overall rules are:

1. Reception controls the flow of customers and how they are assigned to which salespeople. NO QUESTIONS. NO DEBATE.
2. All customers belong to the company, not to any single salesperson.
3. We must get someone to help the customer as quickly and smoothly as possible. Reception does not have time to find you in the bathroom or break room and the customer must never be left waiting for someone to be located. If you are not in the showroom, Reception does not have to hunt you down.
4. The exception is if the customer asks for you BY NAME OR DESCRIPTION, then you should help them. Reception will try to determine who the salesperson is by asking two questions or by looking up the last name but this must happen quickly. Reception will try to locate you if you are not in the showroom. If you are not easily located, Reception may ask another salesperson to start with this customer until you arrive and then the rules for splits apply.
5. If the salesperson cannot be determined quickly then the customer is assigned to the salesperson that has the next up.
6. The customer should NEVER feel that there is a “battle” over “whose customer they are.”
7. THERE IS TO BE NO MORE GOING TO RECEPTION AND COMPLAINING THAT HE OR SHE GAVE AWAY YOUR CUSTOMER. There is to be no asking about, “whose customer is it?” when Reception tells you to help a customer. You just take the customer and handle them.