business articles

Creating Customer Awareness By Asking The Right Questions

Open-ended questions are one of the sales professional’s most vital tools. They are ten times more effective if followed up by great listening skills. They help gather information, qualify sales opportunities and establish rapport, trust and credibility. This is critically important since 71% of the buying decision is based on trust between you and the prospect.

Not only will you create customer awareness, you will also be learning more about your client, which will strengthen the relationship.

With such core value to the sales process, the professional leaves little to chance when it comes to owning an arsenal of powerful open-ended questions. These are questions that are answered by more than a simple yes or no. They can begin with: Who, What, Where Why, When, How, Tell, Share…

They are designed to get the prospect or customer directly involved in the sales dialogue. As a sales professional, you will be known or forgotten by the questions you ask. One of your most basic fundamental objectives is to say something to the customer or prospect that will buy you another 30 seconds.

Your ability to create dialogue, get it going and keep it going will be a determining factor in how successful the encounter goes. This is your opportunity to make the prospect feel important by asking thought provoking, empowering questions. Articulating yourself in a clear and effective manner is a skill that must be developed and practiced on a daily basis.

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Posted by Angie at 11:04 AM | TrackBack

Be Patient? Nah, Let's Kill Something

There's the old joke about the two buzzards sitting in a tree overlooking a highway. One responds to the other, "Be patient? I'm hungry. Let's kill something." Just like that buzzard, it is not in the nature of most marketers to be patient for business to grow. They want to go out and "kill something," too.

The trouble is that most marketers go after new business the wrong way. They want to "take down" the new piece of business using all the tools of the trade from advertising and direct mail to cold calling and event marketing. This is an expensive way to drum up business. Your existing clients are just waiting to tell you about people they know who could use your services, and then help sell you in to these people they refer. Not only is this more cost effective, it practically guarantees the prospects will share the same characteristics of your best customers.

"OK, Harry," you're asking, "but how do I do it?"

The first rule of getting referrals: ask. When should you ask? Let's review.

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Posted by Angie at 08:44 PM | TrackBack

Sorry, No Customer Service After 4:00 P.M.

A few months ago, I wrote about ingenious styles of customer service that every business should know about, mostly because their employees were inflicting them on their customers. For instance, I warned about "in your face customer service" and "run for cover customer service", two equally effective opposites...like pouring too much sugar on your Cheerios one day, and pouring too much cayenne pepper on them the next. I also warned about "do-it-yourself-extortion", "consistent filibuster customer service", "Invisible Man customer service", "present-at-attendance customer service", "customer service on steroids", and "satirical customer service".

You will have to read about these clever anti-sales pitches at: http://www.thehappyguy.com/customer-service.html , because today I want to tell you about a 100% revolutionary approach to customer service that my wife and I discovered in a village high up in the mountains.

We were on our annual honeymoon, a three-day escape from parenthood to lick our wounds and give our tattered spirits a chance to recuperate.

To tell the truth, the weekend was more like a marriage encounter. It gave me a chance to find out just who is that strange woman passing me in the hallway at full throttle, pinching her nose and radiating the sweet smell of mushy diaper as she whooshes past. And it gave her the chance to discover the even stranger man who blows a muffled "Oof!" every time Little Lady invents a new "Hop On Pop" dance move.

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Posted by Angie at 05:49 PM | TrackBack

Quality Customer Service

What does customer service mean to you and your business on the internet? How do you satisfy you customers? What can you learn about customer service from the ‘big boys’?

Customer service is about satisfying your customers expectations and providing your customers with low stress options for doing business with you. Take this example; If you walk into one of the ‘big box’ retailers that are springing up all over North America and are greeted by friendly, courteous and knowledgeable staff that are only all to happy to lend a helping hand and make your shopping experience as painless as possible are you more likely to go back to that store for further purchases? Probably. The other thing that this type of customer service does is provide it’s customers with a reason to promote that business via word of mouth. If you are happy with the customer service you received you are more than likely to let others know how much you enjoyed shopping at this particular retailer.

The flip side of the above example; If you walked into a competitors place of business and there was no one to greet you or no assistance was offered, would you still shop there? You may if the price is right. These types of retailers use sales and other promotional ideas as a way of providing customer service.

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Posted by Angie at 12:47 AM | TrackBack

Three Easy Ways to Keep Customers

It is far more easy, and less expensive, to keep customers than to try and get new ones. So even though your company relies on adding to its customer base, don't make the mistake of only investing in new customers! Here are some strategies that will help you retain your customers and will even get them to purchase more of your company's products and services.

Make it easy for customers to give you feedback. Probably one of the most profitable activities you can engage in is to hear your customer's complaints and other comments. Provide customer support as quickly as possible. If you are unable to fix a problem right away, assure the customer that you are working on it and promise to provide regular progress reports. Make sure you keep your promise!

It is beneficial to learn how to comfort angry customers. Allow the customer to vent. Assure them that you understand his or her feelings. Find out exactly what they want and suggest a solution or see what he or she would consider to be fair. Follow-up with the customer to ensure that they are satisfied. Keep in mind that it's the customers who have had problems who become the most loyal when their problems are handled effectively.

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Posted by Angie at 10:08 AM | TrackBack

Ten Ways To Improve Your Customer Service

Here's some simple yet POWERFUL ideas on how to improve your customer service. Nothing can do more for a business than having "happy customers".


1. Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis. Offer them a free e-zine subscription. Ask customers if they want to be updated by e-mail when you make changes to your Web site. After every sale, follow-up with the customer to see if they are satisfied with their purchase.


2. Create a customer focus group. Invite ten to twenty of your most loyal customers to meet regularly. They will give you ideas and input on how to improve your customer service. You could pay them, take them out to dinner or give them free products.


3. Make it easy for your customers to navigate on your web site. Have a "FAQ" page on your Web site to explain anything that might confuse your customers. Ask them to fill out an electronic survey to find out how make your web site more customer friendly.

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Posted by Angie at 10:27 AM | TrackBack

Take Your Customer Service Personally!

How many times have you ever said the following words, "Oh, don't take it personally". I don't know about you, but when I hear those words I do the exact opposite, I take it personally!

I wish more companies would take it personally when customers are unhappy with the service, or lack of service, that they have received. So, let me ask you, who actually cut the training budget, cut staffing, reduced benefits, increased the work load and put the blame somewhere else? I think the time has come to take it personally.

If you want to create enviable customer service that keep your customers coming back, I suggest you get a little "personal" with the following 3 tips.

Personally Make it a Priority:

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Posted by Angie at 05:43 PM | TrackBack

Customers Are Prospects Too

Your customers already know you and trust you. It's easier to get more business from them than to get any business from somebody who never bought from you. Their business is also highly profitable because there's no advertising expense involved.

Here are 3 ways you can increase the income you get from your customers. All 3 are effective for marketing online and/or offline ...and they cost little or nothing to implement.

1. Upselling

You don't have to wait until after making a sale to increase the income you get from a customer. You can start while the customer is in the process of buying for the first time. It's called "Upselling". Here's how you can use it.

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Posted by Angie at 07:47 PM | TrackBack

Are You In Business To Help Customers?

Customers want to believe you are in business to help them.
They don't mind if you make a profit by helping them. But
they won't buy from you if they believe you are only in
business to get their money.

Here are 4 ways you can assure customers that you are in
business to help them.

1. Personalize Your Sales Approach

Customers will not believe you really want to (or can) help
them when they see you trying to sell the same product or
service to everybody.

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Posted by Angie at 03:43 PM | TrackBack

The Top 10 Ways To Turn Your Clients Into Raving Fans

Do you find great joy in being a coach? If so, you will find that your enthusiasm is contagious and will attract clients. Be sure to develop a superb and supportive community. Enlist them in building a practice and in supporting you as you go down the coaching road. Embrace change. It is your constant companion as you build your coaching business.

1. Be someone that they really enjoy as a person and as a vendor.

2. Call your Client each quarter to ask if they're having any problems or challenges with their organization.

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Posted by Angie at 02:26 PM | TrackBack

Customer Service-Lessons Learned at the Ballpark

How to make sure your front-line people are creating life-time customers

I often times receive my best training in customer service in the most unlikely situations.

My 6-year-old son, Taylor, had been pressuring me for weeks to take him to a baseball game. At the time, I was still on strike as a major league baseball fan. Hence, I decided to take him to see the local team play in the College Baseball Regional Championships.

The game was terrific. It had all the elements that has made baseball our national pastime: great hitting, exciting fielding, and a late-inning comeback by the home team. In fact, the home team won the game.

Taylor thoroughly enjoyed the game except for one aspect.

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Posted by Angie at 12:09 PM | TrackBack

Don't Forget Your Existing Clients Quest for new clients shouldn't ignore those who pay the bills

Acquisition.

It's a big word in small business marketing. Companies are constantly looking at ways to draw new people to the business and generate new streams of revenue. In this quest, some small businesses make the mistake of focusing too much on new customer acquisition, only to find that their existing customers have been lured away by a competitor.

Ironic, isn't it? The very tactics you use to drive new customers to your business are the same ones that your competitors can use to take them away from you. Losing sight of your existing customer base is truly an example of not seeing the forest for the trees. Did you know that on average, it costs a small business 10 times as much to attract a new client as it does to retain an existing one? Think about that the next time you are planning an acquisition marketing campaign, then use these three tips to ensure that your customers don't fall prey to your competitor's acquisition efforts:

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Posted by Angie at 10:50 AM | TrackBack
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