Keeping in touch with STAIRS

Don't be a stranger!

Many customer surveys show that they hate it when they sign up for a deal and then the salesperson disappears. It is also highly naïve for the salesperson to do this as it misses the whole point of how the business can evolve.

A colleague of mine, Clare O’Shea, uses the ‘STAIRS’ model to encourage to keep in touch with customers by providing reminders of things they can do. These are based around:

S - Social Media:                             

Connect, like, comment, share, post on own and customer’s Linkedin, use Twitter, write and direct to blogs

T - Thanks:                        

For business, for giving access to people or information, share good news stories, give unsolicited feedback

A - Ask:

For feedback, case studies, referrals, introductions, tour of facilities, desk on site

I -  Invites:                         

Events, seminars, lunch, breakfast, coffee meetings, hospitality, free value add services

R - Reviews:                     

Overall relationship, project or product feedback, customer satisfaction, SLAs, roadmap progress

S - Share:

Insights, market changes (RESPECT factors), business (own and customers), contacts, information on their personal interests

This can be integrated very neatly into the map of the Decision Making Unit to create an effective contact plan.

(Extract from Selling Through Partnering Skills by Fred Copestake (2020)