Archive for the ‘Customer Service’ Category

Many years ago while participating in track and field my coaches typically spoke of cadence. In fact, many athletic events use cadence in their respective performance. Football players have a cadence before each play, dancers have a cadence in their performance and coincidentally those that sell require a cadence.

To perform at a higher level in selling products and services, one must have a certain cadence in delivery and building relationships with clients. Here are some of the things required to assist with your cadence:

1. Confidence. Consumers invest in those they know and trust. However, they also invest in the conviction from the selling representative. Your cadence will be affected by the highs and lows of your confidence.
2. Presentation Flow. Presentation is where it all begins. Know what you want to say, how you are going to say and but most of all listening is more important then speaking.
3. Preparation. One cannot have cadence if there is a lack of preparation. Understand how your services can assist the buyer. Look at issues from the perspective of the buyer; think output. What can you deliver that can aid the client?
4. Presence. When you look good, you feel good. Sellers need to dress the part. Invest in good clothes, and groom well. Be noticeable when you walk into a room.
5. Poise. Buyers implicitly affect tempo with questions and concerns. Remain neutral during volatile periods with proper research and preparation. The better you plan the less likely impact to your poise.
6. Equality. When you formulate equality with the buyer there is better conversation. Your interaction should be a meeting of peers, anything less is a vendor.
7. Labor Intensity. Relationship building is must easier, and you have more swagger when you meet only with decision makers. Gatekeepers waste time and affect your confidence. Meet and greet only those that understand your value.

The concept of cadence is formulated from continuous learning and practice. Athletes and dancers practice daily to broaden their strengths. They understand the value of self-mastery, learning all they can to heighten their performance. Take the first step and before you know it you will be swaying with the music.

2010. Drew J. Stevens PhD. All rights reserved.

Drew J. Stevens Ph.D. (Dr. Drew) is the author of Split Second Selling and the soon to be released Ultimate Business Bible and six other business books on sales, customer loyalty, self mastery and business development solutions. Drew helps organizations to dramatically accelerate revenue and outstrip the competition. He conducts over 40 international keynotes, seminars and workshops per year. Dr. Drew is the founder of the Sales Leadership Certificate one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Acceleration. To discover how Dr. Drew can assist your organization visit his marketing and sales website or call 877-391-6821.

Popularity: 57% [?]

The odds of your business surviving five years are 50-50 according to David Birch, former head of a research firm specializing in studying small business data. (Isen 2007) There are many reasons why a business will fail. Much research is available to denote which factors are the most important, however, it appears that most business fail because they lack focus on the organization’s most vital asset – customers.

Solo practitioners begin a business for two reasons; money and passion. Business professionals desire to take their passion and make money from it, and there is little harm in this. There is no better way to enjoy your time on earth than to do the thing that you enjoy.

However, with passion there is a need for focus. Presently with the cacophony of noise due to the Internet and social media resources, consumers are overwhelmed with messages. Consumers today require differentiation to denote whom to shop and whom to avoid. Unfortunately the Internet’s ubiquity hinders variety so that only option remaining the builds brand and business success is customer service.

Customer service is simply the organizational culture and processes that entrepreneurs create to ensure allure. Consumer decisions are driven by emotion. Service must be enculturated into the organizations so all staff become dependent on the client. This is an important construct; there is little difference from one retailer to the next or one restaurant to the next with one exception- customer service. When treated correctly, customers inform others of their experience helping to manifest the organizations brand and announce it to others. No marketing tactic in the IMC process is as cost effective as a word of mouth.

When customers believe and trust their vendor they tell others helping to create brand differentiation. Exemplars include Apple whose retail outlets are the busiest of any mall and Zappos.com whose unblemished customer service helps helped to brand to proliferate.

If there is little belief in customer service think again. According to both Dun and Bradstreet and the Small Business Administration, businesses with fewer than 20 employees have only a 37% chance of surviving four years. Customer service can provide the life raft of success if used correctly. In reviewing the success statistics, would you rather be a follower or a leader?

©2010. Drew Stevens PhD. All Rights Reserved.

Drew Stevens is one of the world’s leading authorities on business development and sales. Drew is the author of the successful sales process book Split Second Selling. He is also the creator of the Sales Leadership Certificate one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Fitness. To discover how Dr. Drew can assist your organization to increase their business development skills visit him at www.stevensconsultinggroup.com

Popularity: 34% [?]

My name is Francis Walsh and I want to tell you what my baseline is. My baseline is where you are right now. “Where are you anyways?” I know where you want to be, but right now you’re here. “Where is here?”

Generating relationships online can be summed up in three, easy, steps. They are create, create, and interact with said create, create. It’s easy, but it’s not easy for everyone. Stop what you’re doing, Drop down to the consumer level, and Roll out the information that benefits the company in a positive way.

The intent of internet marketing is to connect with new users who through their normal every day travel of the internet, find information about you. If you increase the amount of information about you by 30% then you have more information about you from which new users are able to find your news.

The intent of internet sales is to generate revenue through the interaction of a company user and a consumer interacting via their computers. Without an increase of content a company user could go out and increase sales by thirty percent through interactions with new consumers. The company user is creating new content and interacting at the same time. Driving sales into the company to generate a 30% increase in sales is different than increasing the amount of content by 30%.

I could take the 30% to the next level and say a goal of receiving 30% growth on investment would, in banker’s terms, mean a return of $4000 on a $3000 investment. Each baseline is a little different and in the end, has a different result.

Consider each baseline as you enter into a new partnership where a provider will be doing the work for you. The best rests come from proper planning and a mutual understanding of the baseline and the goal.

Francis Walsh
77375

“A baseline is a line that is a base for measurement or for construction; What are you trying to construct for your Internet Marketing?”

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Popularity: 50% [?]

Why is it that individuals are so negligent to things that make a difference? As a business professional I find it vital to be attentive to nuances that aid relationships. These include graciousness, name recognition and simply being attentive.

Psychologists have studied the use of the Primary/Recency Effect, known for an individual’s ability to recall the first and last things they see or hear. If the cliché holds that people judge a book by its cover, then many will be ignored.

Business today requires being in the moment, and attentive to all things. Misspelling names, forgetting appointments, etc, do not gain accolades. If you want to leave a lasting impression and gain better relationships follow the simple suggestions:

1. Follow the Dale Carnegie Rule. In 1983, I read “How to Win Friends and Influence People”. The first rule, “a person’s first name is the sweetest sound they will ever hear. If you do not recall, write it down. If you cannot pronoun it ask the person. Stop being lazy and make a better first impression.
2. Cold Call Failure. Cold calling today is repulsive. Too many agents obtaining lists and calling prospects without preparation just provocation. If there is no want or need, there is no conceptual agreement. Stop calling people from a list and target a microcosm that might have a better need for your service.
3. Email Etiquette. As the Internet developed positive and negative rules of engagement developed to help with email use. However many today continually send emails without a subject message. Unless you desire a lack of a reply, be more attentive to the subject and actions you want your receiver to take.
4. Email Responsiveness. The purpose of email is to allow receivers to reply to email when they have a spare moment. However, what incites many is the general lack of a reply by receivers. People in all businesses are busy, yet this does not allow receivers to negate replies. Unresponsiveness to emails is as insulting as not saying “hello” to familiar faces on the street. No one is that busy.
5. Responsiveness to Voice Mail. Similar to emails, stop hiding behind procrastination and return calls.
6. Delegation without personalization. In the last few weeks I have sent correspondence to executives related to certain business matters. I realize the information will get read but delegated to a subordinate. However delegation might denote arrogance. Handwriting a simple note communicating the receipt of the letter, the importance of the query and the need for delegation is in the best interest of customer service. Arrogance and laziness trump customer service.
7. Follow Up. Return calls when you say you will, send emails when you say you will and offer feedback when promised.

©2010. Drew Stevens PhD. All Rights Reserved.

Drew Stevens is one of the world’s leading authorities on business development and sales thought leadership. Drew is the author of the successful sales process book Split Second Selling. He is also the creator of the Sales Leadership Certificate one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Fitness. To discover how Dr. Drew can assist your organization to increase their business development skills visit him at www.drewstevensconsulting.com.

Popularity: 38% [?]

In the last several weeks I have solicited over 20 vendors for a variety of reasons; restaurants to home improvement centers. There is a stark contrast in treatment from one establishment to the next. Most bewildering is the general lack of focus and respect for customer service. The simplest issue for any business is retaining clients by treating them well. Research over many years proves that it is less expensive to maintain your current client base rather than acquire new.

As a business development and customer service consultant I am more sensitive to the issues. However let me offer some free advice that will save organizations money, time, stress and most of all, customers.

• When a customer walks into an establishment or walks to a cashier please have your staff smile and say hello. The world’s icebreaker is an empathetic smile.
• Remember customer’s names. The sweetest sound customers hear is the name of their name, do not screw it up, repeat it the name if needed.
• Have nametags available for all employees. Nothing is more bothersome than to not know the name of staff.
• Eliminate the ready, fire, aim approach to service. Start having employees listen and question. Nothing can be heard when both sides are speaking.
• Check the baggage. Consumers do not care if employees received a ticket before work; have a toothache or the myriad of other excuses. It is about the customer not the worker. Bad attitudes are to be left at home.
• When possible have all employees wear ubiquitous uniforms especially in service establishments such as doctors, specialists, etc. It is helpful to know staff from vendors or perhaps other customers.
• Have staff address me formally unless told otherwise. Respect is the better part of valor no matter the generational differences.
• Inform staff that cell phones and the rude act of text messaging are off limits during work hours. Attention must be given to the customer not the evening date.
• Ensure background checks on delivery personnel. In the last several weeks I have noticed seven traffic infractions. The most notable – Stop sign avoidance!
• Stop the banter. When clients arrive undivided attention is to be given to them. Refrain from rumor mongering and speaking ill of the previous client.
• Offer frequent customers some type of VIP service. The most treasured become your greatest marketing avatars.
• Create a customer culture all hired need to be focused on your greatest asset- customers.
• People remember the first thing they hear and see and the last. Make a positive first impression and a memorable last.

©2010. Drew Stevens PhD. All Rights Reserved.

There are seven secrets for selling effectiveness. Click here For a Free Report 7 Secrets to Selling Success

Drew Stevens is one of the world’s leading authorities on business development and customer service. Drew is the author of the successful sales process book Split Second Selling. He is also the creator of the Sales Leadership Certificate one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Fitness. To discover how Dr. Drew dramatically accelerate your business development and sales skills visit his sales and marketing website.

Popularity: 12% [?]

Are you a good selling or business development professional? What distinguishes you from the remainder of the pack?

With over 27 years of experience working with those that develop business and sell for a living I find the following characteristics:

1-    Those that seek relationships not a commission check

2-    Do not procrastinate, using the hours in the day wisely to be with prospective and current clients

3-    Do not waste “windshield time” on wasteful things or nothing

4-    Reads voraciously to understand competitive intelligence that aids the client

5-     Establishes a strategic account profile to understand prospective client opportunities and limitations

6-    Knows the economic buyer in their accounts and does not waste time with gatekeepers

7-    Think strategically not tactically to engage buyers

8-    Learning the client’s business and discovering methods to assist them now and in the future

9-    Prepare provocative questions that engage and enlighten

10- Knows when to listen and when to speak

11- Networks constantly to meet new buyers

12- Engages a sales process

13- Creates emotion and has a passion for the sales process

14- Believes in what they are selling

15- Nurtures relationships with proper customer service, returning all calls and emails in a timely manner

16- Uses and respects the relevance of CRM reporting useful data to upper management

17- Understands the importance of customer to customer influences on account management

18- Thinks in terms of client outcomes, not units sold

19- Dresses professionally and is ready to engage with every client

20- Has poise and flexibility to engage gatekeeper and buyer ethically

Use the following as a checklist for your selling professionals if you are a manager or for you personally if you sell for a living. Check back periodically to determine methods to make you a more effective seller to alleviate time and develop more business.

©2010. Drew Stevens PhD. All Rights Reserved.

There are seven secrets for selling effectiveness. Click here For a Free Report 7 Secrets to Selling Success

Drew Stevens is one of the world’s leading authorities on business development and customer satisfaction. Drew is the author of the successful sales process book Split Second Selling. He is also the creator of the Sales Leadership Certificate one of only 14 programs in the United States offering an accredited degree in the profession of selling and has a top ranked podcast called Sales Fitness. To discover how Dr. Drew can assist your organization to increase their business development skills visit him at www.stevensconsultinggroup.com

Popularity: 13% [?]

When The Sales Corner launched in it’s early conception, like a lot of places, little was known about it’s greatness at the time. Its true that over time, A LOT of people are understanding how they can benefit from the things we offer. Be it Free information or resources, or paid resources that are provided, everyone is benefiting!

One of The Sales Corner missions to is always be providing new ideas and new things to try and help you build your Sales and Marketing methods and tactics, and improve on your work! Another mission is to be here for you to utilize and take advantage of our experience, knowledge, and expertise’s we can offer you!

It’s true that on the outside, we look like another place just marketing products and services. The truth is, there’s a WHOLE LOT more we do that most people won’t even realize until they ask for help!

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Just like a lot of places, we are very careful to tread in unknown waters. However, very little waters are not an area of expertise for our collective group. Due to the nature of bringing people together, you benefit from our relationships we provide you with to help you grow and sustain your business. Being careful means that you can be rest assured that we are up to speed with knowledge and experience that today’s business requires!

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Regards,

The Sales Corner

Popularity: 6% [?]

Economists studying the best and brightest companies in America found that a large percentage of Fortune 100 companies do not reveal the secret to their success. Nor do the same economists report on the reasons behind a company’s success because as economists, they understand that’s what smart businesses do.

Small business owners will attempt to get more for less because an entrepreneur’s nature is to produce big things from little packages. Some of the top performing small businesses are able to be successful, while others will fail.

Enormous corporations expect to do more with less because the climate of business is changing from hard copy to digital. Some are able to be successful, while others are failing.

What these super successful companies are not saying is that as they move ahead electronically, they are also utilizing new ways to use the internet to nurture relationships the old fashioned way. They are using the internet to create and send out cards. Personalized greetings produced on schedule, and delivered at will. It has something to do with technology, but it also has everything to do with getting back to nurturing the kind of relationships they want to have with their clients.

In today’s sales environment, where new sales are harder to come by, companies are reducing sales forces and retaining only the Top Producers. Subsequently, these companies rely more and more on E-Marketing such as Blogs, Email Marketing, Twitter and Facebook to maintain customers and open doors to new sales. Companies who realize that a deluge of E-Marketing makes the “Power of Personal” even more powerful will benefit dramatically in this environment.

Personal Greetings are Powerful

Before the internet there was the United States Postal Service. Everyone used the mail to send out cards to announce a dedication or event. From hardware stores to dentists, tax preparers and the local newspaper, cards would be delivered saying “Happy Holidays”, “Happy Birthday” or “Big Sale (For Your Eyes Only)”. Companies that developed strong relationships using personal business greetings sixty years ago survive today because of the response. People search out the purchasing power that comes from an inside connection, forget if the connection is high speed or not.

“PEOPLE STILL LIKE TO BUY AND DO BUSINESS WITH PEOPLE WITH WHOM THEY HAVE A PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP.”

The power to create and send personal greetings automatically has finally arrived, and not a second too soon. Clients who never experienced the effects of a personal B2B greeting delivered in the mail to their office or home are caught reading the information longer, thinking about its effect, and then saving the card for later use. Digital electronics permit us to reach farther and faster, yes, but a personal message delivered at home or office still works best. It not only builds stronger relationships in a technological world, but they generate more sales from consumers who want to reward businesses that are committed to their clients.

Nancy Guggenbickler

Send Out Cards

Popularity: 23% [?]

If you don’t know by now, we are big on TAKING ACTION NOW! We propose it to ALL of our clients and we understand the idea of doing something today, for the benefit of tomorrow. — Matt Geier — The Sales Corner

The Sales Corner really is all about helping you succeed. If you don’t know that; Just see what others say about us and the work we do here. For example @CoachLee from Twitter say’s;

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Popularity: 4% [?]