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John

Is customer service dead or is it just on life support?

I ask this question as both a consumer and a business owner because as the economy becomes more challenging, customer service becomes even more important! Voluminous studies have been done that highlight the fact that keeping a current customer is easier and less expensive than attracting a new customer. One of the hallmarks of retaining customers-great customer service!

So why do we have so many companies or businesses that are so bad at customer service? I think one reason is that we have become accustomed to settling for less than we deserve. As a society we have accepted the “buy it all in one place for the cheapest price” pitch. I think this leads to poor customer service. If you are always looking for the cheapest price, you typically will find the cheapest service to go along with that price.

If you want to have a great customer service experience, work with a custom clothier. The Tom James Company specializes in custom clothing for men and women plus they do an exceptional job at customer service. My personal clothier, Randy Womack, could write a book on customer service. Tom James trains their employees very well, but Randy takes it to a new level of service.

Do you pay more for this service? Of course you do, but it is worth the price. Too busy to go shopping or just want to make the right impression, this is the BEST option!

If you would like an introduction to Randy, just let me know!

John

When the economy weakens; how do you get more business?  If you are in sales, the choices are narrowed down to making more cold calls or doing more business by referral.  As a salesperson, you typically do not have the money to pay for advertising, so normally you make more calls or work your network.

If you know me, you know that I prefer to do business by referral.

I was having a conversation with an otherwise intelligent business owner recently and he stated that his sales people should be concentrating more on cold calling than on building their business by referral in groups like BNI.  I asked why.  He stated that BNI requires too much time during normal business hours.

I was stunned.

Why in the world would you want your sales people to spend more time and more expense for less results? I know that cold calling can work; if you know your cold call numbers and can consistently reach those numbers, then it will work for you.  But at what expense?

Personally I would rather be referred in by a someone that is a trusted referral source. The referral source can provide a warm introduction as well as an opportunity for you to walk in the door with instant credibility. When was the last time you cold called a business and walked in the door with instant credibility?

Now, doing business by referral costs something too; TIME.  It takes more time to develop relationships and to educate a referral source than it does to cold call.  I prefer to invest my time in developing my referral sources.  Want to know why?  Once you have a well educated referral network, you can and will gain more business in less amount of time, with less effort. Oh, and your closing percentage increases!

I am a member of BNI and an Assistant Director for the BNI Southwest Virginia Region.  I am also a student in and a Trainer for the Referral Institute and the Referrals for Life Program. I also build my network, my sales and my consulting business through various online and social resources such as LinkedIn.

How do you gain more business; cold calls or referrals?

John Lusher

I have asked this question before, but not in this format: Why is it that we accomplish more the day before we leave on vacation or go on a trip than on normal days?

I think urgency drives our actions. If you have a deadline at work or school, when do you do the most work? At the last minute! Why is that? Why can we not restructure our thinking so that the urgency is spread out over a few days instead of the last possible day?

We have all enjoyed the tradition of cramming for an exam while in school, and I think a lot of us, myself included, cram too many tasks into one day, prior to leaving on a trip.

I remember listening to a Zig Ziglar tape, yes tape; this was years ago, about how you accomplish more the day before vacation than any other day. Obviously I did not apply what I listened to, but I am committing myself to changing that; I want to get more done in less time so I am not cramming at the last minute!

Some of these are rhetorical questions or thoughts running around in my head. I am curious about your thoughts; let me know if you cram at the last minute or if you have conquered your schedule and to-do list. If you have conquered your schedule and to-do list, let me know how you did it!

One way that I am working on to make better use of my time; narrowing down the social networking sites that I use. I am focusing on one site for personal or fun use, and two sites for business connections or professional use. I think this will eliminate some of my time wasters and I will report back to let you know if it works.

My other tool is to keep my inbox in check. Let’s face it, when we receive an email, the smart action is to act on it and then eliminate it. But sadly we, and that means me too, just keep the emails around for some reason. Not anymore, the in boxes will be at zero!

Let me know what you think and get busy!!

John

I can’t help you, if you won’t tell me what you want!

I am a member of Business Network International (BNI); but even before I joined this fine organization, I expected people that asked for my help to tell me what they wanted!  This was not and is not the case!  In BNI, there is a saying: “specific is terrific!”  I think this concept should be taught to every person that goes into business!

I may be able to help you, but not if you do not tell me what you want!

Each business owner or professional and especially every single salesperson should have in mind a specific referral request or at least someone that I may be able to help you with!  I live my life and my career by the saying “you never know who someone knows, until you ask.”

Luckily at a meeting this morning, a young lady did the exact opposite!  Hats off and a thank you to Traci Collins, the Business Travel Sales Manager at The Inn at Virginia Tech.  http://www.innatvirginiatech.com/

Traci was not only ready with specific requests, but she was able to tell me who she needed to talk to and even referrals that may not be the best for her!  Now THAT is telling me what you want, so that I can try to refer you!

Thanks Traci!  And to the rest of you: Tell Me What You Want!

John

http://www.bni.com/

For years, sales managers and owners would say, “bring us more sales, get out and call on more people.”

That sounds counterproductive!  If you know your numbers and you are certain that calling on “X” number of prospects will result in “X” number of proposals, which will result in “X” number of sales, then this method will work for you.

For me, its about who I know and who you know.  It is called doing business by referral or by relationship.  A much better way to reach potential clients.

Recently I have started embracing social media; Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc.  Some people see these new resources as a waste of time or nothing more than a social gathering place.  They are wrong! These social media sites can lead to business. Maybe not directly with someone that you chat with or “tweet” with, but who do they know?  Who can they introduce you to?

Since becoming active with Twitter, I have been fortunate to meet multiple followers in person; these face-to-face meetings provide an opportunity to learn about each other.  In other words, we continue the process of building relationships.  These relationships can lead to business, but even if they don’t we are building our network.

During a recent meeting with a Twitter follower, the person asked me who was on my “hit list.”  She actually wanted to make it about business and about how she could help me.  Imagine that; we “met” online via Twitter, that turned into a face-to-face meeting and she wanted to know how she could help me.  Do you think she would have asked me that question if I had cold called her?  The answer is no.

As with traditional sales methods, building relationships require time, patience and follow up.  Most importantly you need to approach building any relationhip by finding out how you can help them first. This simple, but often overlooked action can make a big difference in your relationships and your business.

John Lusher

What is Your Target Market?

Simply defined, a Target Market is the specific set of customers whose needs you are trying to meet. Another way to think about it: this is the audience, out of all those who might hear your message, for whom you design your marketing program.

Instead of trying to sell your product or service to everyone in the market, you should aim your message toward those who have the greatest potential need or desire for your product or service. Ask yourself this question, “Who are your customers? Who will buy your product?”

I am often surprised that otherwise savvy small business people either have no idea who will buy from them, or they assume that “everyone” will.
 Assumptions like this can lead to wrong decisions, wrong pricing, wrong marketing strategy – and ultimately, business failure. 

The most successful small businesses understand that only a limited number of people will buy their product or service. The task then becomes determining, as closely as possible, exactly who those people are, and “targeting” the business’s marketing efforts and dollars toward them.

You, too, can build a better, stronger business, by identifying and serving a particular customer group – your target market. And then focusing your marketing efforts on this target market!

 One of the first things you need to do is to refine your product or service so that you are NOT trying to be “all things to all people.” Become a specialist!

Another thought is to find out where your target market hangs out; are they online, do they Twitter, are they on Facebook?  Has your target market embraced social media or is your target market offline?  Does your target market use referral marketing?  You need to find out!

Review your customers, do the research, or hire someone to do it, and then focus your marketing efforts!

John