Issue link: http://psai.uberflip.com/i/1114564
W EEKLY EDITION MAY 8, 2019 How to Change the Public's Perception of Your Company: Part II By Karleen Kos, PSAI Executive Director What to do if you know there is a negative perception "out there" T here are many reasons a company may want to polish its image in front of customers and the public. Maybe there have been one or more negative incidents you haven't quite lived down. Maybe your company is newer and your first few larger jobs have had some k inks in them. Here are some things you can do in those cases. Use testimonials . Testimonials from customers can greatly help a salesperson to overcome negative perceptions of your company, especially if the testimonials praise recent improvements made by a business. This shows your company not only made a concerted effort to remedy the situation, but that others have already taken a chance and had good results. A trusted referral source can also help dispel fear or negative impressions by vouching for the company's product even though a bad reputation exists. Be forthright . When faced with negative perceptions, salespeople should proactively address them instead of ignoring them or stumbling over what to say if the customer brings it up. This is not to sug gest that you lead with your chin – meaning you don't say, "Hi, please pick our company despite the fact that we were all over the news with that messy rollover that shut down traffic during rush hour last week." Instead, work with your sales team so they know what to say if the subject comes up – and in some cases, so they know when to bring it up. Timing is everything in these instances. If they have a big pitch near the accident site and the memory of sitting in traffic for three hours might still be fr esh in the customer's mind, the sales person will probably want to raise the subject proactively. If it happened 6 months ago, you'll want the salesperson to know what to say if it is mentioned … but they might not need to bring it up any longer. Instead, maybe part of the pitch is, "We have recently retrained all of our drivers on safe braking and installed cameras in all of our trucks to improve safety and efficiency." The key is to develop a sense of responsibility for the negative image and work toward s remedying it through communication and letting prospects vent. After all, they could just have a completely wrong idea of the truth. P AGE 2 CONTINUED ON PAGE 10