Sales and Service: Selling Doesn’t Stop at the Sale

In many businesses, sales and service are viewed as two distinct functions: sales is seen as the starting point, where the initial transaction occurs, and service kicks in post-sale to address customer needs and ongoing issues. Keeping these functions separate overlooks a huge opportunity that can significantly enhance the customer experience and drive business success.

In reality, the sales process is the first step in delivering exceptional service, and selling is an ongoing function of the service journey. By tightly integrating sales and service, businesses can create a seamless customer experience that fosters loyalty, drives repeat business, and maximizes lifetime value.

Customer Service Begins at the Beginning of the Sale

Customer service isn’t something that happens after the sale. It’s not what happens when customer experience (CX) goes wrong. Customer service is baked into the entire customer journey, from the moment they begin to interact with your company, learn about your products, talk to your salespeople, and more. This is how customer-focused organizations think.

The first step to moving from the “customer service is a department” philosophy is to implement a Manage the Moment™ strategy. In the 1980s, Jan Carlzon, formerly with Scandinavian Airlines, came up with the Moments of Truth concept: Anytime a customer comes into contact with a company, they have an opportunity to form an impression.

Carlzon ran the airline and identified the main interactions as when a passenger calls to make a reservation, checks the luggage at the curb on the day of departure, checks in at the ticket counter, boards at the gate, is taken care of by flight attendants, greeted at the destination, and picks up the luggage at the baggage carousel.

That’s the journey – no pun intended – that the typical passenger takes when doing business with the airline. Carlzon emphasized that all Moments of Truth, especially these main ones, are opportunities to prove the passenger made the right choice to fly on SAS. The result of this effort was that the airline went from losing money to becoming one of the most admired and successful airlines at the time.

The point of this example is to recognize that every touchpoint throughout a customer’s journey with your company is part of customer service – not just when things go wrong. Create a journey map to identify all of the touchpoints customers experience. Assemble your team and ask, “Is there a way to improve any of these touchpoints?”

On an individual level, for everyone in a customer-facing role, especially in a sales position, the goal is to deliver an experience that creates confidence and fosters repeat business. For that, when interacting with a customer, ask what I call the Loyalty Question: “Is what I’m doing at this moment going to get the customer to come back the next time they need what we sell?” When you focus on the next time, every time, it can turn into a lifetime.

Everyone Sells, Every Day

Every interaction with a customer is an opportunity to deliver value that can impact the bottom line. From the initial contact, the goal should be to understand the customer’s needs, provide solutions, and build a relationship that extends beyond the initial sale. Here are four key ways your service team can grow revenue every day:

Retention

Service providers focus on long-term customer relationships versus just solving the immediate need. By ensuring that customers feel valued and understood at every interaction, service providers can increase customer retention. Happy customers are more likely to return, reducing churn and increasing the customer’s lifetime value.

Upselling and Cross-Selling

Often seen as purely sales tactics, upselling and cross-selling are actually extensions of good service. When a service provider truly understands a customer’s needs, they can recommend additional products or services that enhance the customer’s experience. This both increases revenue and helps customers get the most out of their purchases, fostering a deeper relationship.

Referrals

Exceptional service naturally leads to referrals. Customers who feel well-served are more likely to recommend your business to others. Service providers who prioritize client relationships over transactions build trust and loyalty, which translates into word-of-mouth marketing and new business opportunities.

Renewals

For businesses that operate on subscription models or rely on repeat purchases, renewals are critical to sustainable revenue. Regular check-ins, addressing ongoing needs, and providing value over time ensure that customers stay and are willing to renew their contracts or make additional purchases.

It All Adds Up

The integration of sales and service into a continuous journey is more than a theory—it’s a practical strategy that can transform businesses. By recognizing that service begins with the first interaction and continues through every touchpoint, companies can create a cohesive customer experience that drives loyalty and repeat business. Likewise, viewing sales as a key part of the service function ensures that customers receive consistent, high-quality interactions that build trust and foster long-term relationships. For businesses looking to enhance their customer experience and drive sustainable growth, rethinking the relationship between sales and service is a crucial first step.

Author: Shep Hyken is a customer service/CX expert, award-winning keynote speaker, researcher, and NYT bestselling author. Shep helps his clients create amazing customer and employee experiences. For more information, go to www.Hyken.com.

Authors: Leslie Rae and Whitney Horton are Co-Founders of The SmartBusiness™ Academy. Former corporate leaders turned successful entrepreneurs, they’ve mastered the art of creating exceptional customer experiences for business owners who want to increase the bottom line, outsell the competition, and build strong relationships with the market that sustain future growth. Learn more at https://thesmartbusinessacademy.com.