We are going to be away for a bit, but have no fear as we have guest bloggers here to fill your desire for knowledge.  Be kind and share what you learn here, leave comments, and put what you have learned to use.  We look forward to coming back and sharing with you what we have learned.  Enjoy!

Is customer service a department in your company? Is customer service simply the title of an order entry department? Is customer service an empty shell, long on rhetoric but short on delivery? Does the term customer service actually mean anything, or is it a leftover expression from an era of days gone by?

Superior customer service is indeed alive and well alive and working at many progressive companies, both large and small. Customer service is not simply a term or a department, but rather an attitude and a manner of doing business. It boils down to caring and adhering to the golden rule…”to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

An example of bad customer service.

Superior customer care has declined to such an extent that some firms are actually promoting their own efforts at providing customer service as a unique benefit of dealing with their firm. Unfortunately, that is an apt description of the current state of customer service provision from most companies. Most companies do not get it. They are so consumed with the bottom line that they miss one of the most important factors in growing their business: The customer is king. He always has been and always will be. Customers, customer satisfaction and retention should drive all other facets of a company.

The relevant cost of acquiring a new customer is high. Marketing, advertising and other functions utilized to attract new customers are expensive and require a period of time to work successfully. Many prospects do not become new customers until perhaps the 7th or 8th exposure to the company’s marketing efforts. Customer service then, is the cost of retaining that customer. Customer retention should be a driving force behind the successful operations of every company. It simply makes good business sense to keep that new customer as well as those repeat customers. How often is a new customer “soured” because of a perception of poor attitude or lack of caring on the part of an employee?

Depending on the type of business operation, companies must embrace developing superior customer service in a variety of modes. In a small retail or food establishment, where minimum-wage workers are often employed, this is difficult. One area that is destined to improve how customers are treated is for the owner of the company to treat their employees fairly, with respect and with a receptive attitude concerning their ideas. This attitude and practice will spillover and the end customers will often be treated in the same manner. The mid-size and large companies must provide specific training for all employees, especially for those with any direct contact with customers. Employees must be cognoscente of what is expected by their employer, the importance of their dealings with the customers and how the implementation of these policies directly impacts their own success and employment. Simply stated, if there are no customers, there is no need for their job.

Place yourself in your customers’ shoes. That should be easy since we are all customers sometimes, no matter what we do for a living. How do you like to be treated? Do you want to be forgotten? Do you feel that the company you do business with should value you and your business? Do you appreciate little “extras” that are not always necessary but pleasant and beneficial? When you are pleased with your treatment from a firm, are you happy to make recommendations to your family and friends about dealing there? Learn to transfer these answers into the way you treat your customers. The golden rule applies.

Human nature, being what it is, is the common thread among us all. We all want to be treated fairly, confirmed of the value we bring and have a sense that others care about us. We are all other people! In many ways, regardless of ethnicity, religion or background, we all want the same things. Remember this fact and do your part to offer superior customer service by performing your duties in a manner reflective of the way you also wish to be treated. Your success is guaranteed. If this attitude is encouraged in every department in every company, customer service will never be a department, but rather the attitude or mindset of the company. As the sum of its internal parts, the firm will reflect this mindset guaranteeing superior customer service and previously unheard of customer retention.

Daniel Sitter is the author of the popular, award-winning e-book, Learning For Profit. Designed for busy people, his new book teaches simple, step-by-step accelerated learning skills, demonstrating exactly how to learn anything faster than ever before. Learning For Profit is currently available from the author’s web site [http://www.learningforprofit.com] and from a variety of online book merchants. Mr. Sitter is a contributing writer for several internet and traditional publications. His expertise includes sales, marketing, self-improvement and general business topics.

Author: Daniel Sitter
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Low-volume PCB maker

We are going to be away for a bit, but have no fear as we have guest bloggers here to fill your desire for knowledge.  Be kind and share what you learn here, leave comments, and put what you have learned to use.  We look forward to coming back and sharing with you what we have learned.  Enjoy!

There are basically 5 different reasons why nothing great is ever accomplished without enthusiasm.

Street Vendor #1 Lesson: Customers Are Always Special

First, no great success is ever attained in life without the surmounting of obstacles. In every life there are challenges. Some people view challenges as problems, others view them as opportunities. This marks one big difference between those people who give up and those who move up. You need to understand the positive role obstacles can play in your development. Challenges will push you. They stretch you. They make you develop your potential. Because you cannot leap a hurdle without energy, you need to value energy. You need to understand and embody the power of enthusiasm.

Secondly, without the motivation that comes with enthusiasm, you will never dig deep enough to discover and develop all the talents you have that can lead you to the greatest accomplishments of which you are ultimately capable. Developing your talents is itself sometimes an arduous task. Without enthusiasm for what you are doing and what you are becoming, it could be at times an exhausting and dispiriting task. It takes energy. You will often need to push yourself to find that you are capable to find what you’re capable of doing, and what you are capable of being.

There is a third reason why nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm. Great success requires great risk. It does not come cheap. You need to be willing to try things you have never tried before. Maybe even things nobody else has ever tried before.

The fourth reason why enthusiasm, or strong emotional commitment, is typically necessary for greatness is that, without it, you can easily be tempted to settle for nothing more than a basic, minimal competence in what you do, at best.

No great success was ever attained alone. No one in this life ever accomplishes anything worthwhile flying completely solo, from start to finish. Satisfying success is always in some way, and most times in many ways, a social product, which results when people work together. Whatever your dream is, whatever your goals are, you cannot do it alone.

It is important to clearly understand how this comes into play with providing excellent customer service. It is not your perception of how good the service is that counts. It actually has to do with the perceptions of the customer. The customer is the one who matters.

Excellent customer service exceeds customer needs (real or perceived) in a consistent and dependable manner. Note the phrase real or perceived. This is very important in understanding excellent customer service. It is not your perception of how good the service is that counts. It is the perception of each customer that matters. These perceptions include how customers react to your attitude, your concern for their problems, and the way you handle their questions or service requirements.

When you provide service over the telephone, you may speak with the same customer many times. Even though you have never met this person face-to-face, you probably have an idea of what he or she is like. You may even have a mental image of what a particular customer looks like. Customers are no different. Likewise, they also have an image of you. As a valued employee, you have the ability to influence the perceptions of many customers. It is important to remember that you are in a direct position to win or lose company business!

Janae Wentworth

Affiliate-Success.Org – The Last Membership You’ll ever need!

Software Review [http://1softwarereview.com/]

Reach the Other 98 Percent

Author: Janae Wentworth
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Creditcard Currency Conversion Fee

Many companies, both large and small, have embraced social media.  It has been reported by Facebook that advertising on social media by businesses has increased 1000%.  More and more people are increasing the size and depth of the social media gene pool.

This blog, for one, thinks that is a wonderful thing.  Growth is great!  Just make sure your business is ready to handle using social media correctly.  When you fail in the social media realm everyone, including your mother, is going to know about it.

All lasting business is built on friendship – Alfred Montapert

A Tale Of Two Tweets

140 Characters or Less

There were two business leaders seeking help from esteemed customer service representatives through Twitter.  They had thrown their troubles out into the Twitter Stream hoping that some angler would snare them, reel them in, and not eat them for dinner.  No, these two tweets sought advice that only a customer service representative could provide.

The first tweet came from a fiery haired vixen of the high-plains who has a mouth that would make sailors from any nation across the centuries blush.  She had dismounted from the saddle of her two-wheeled whinny and dusted of her hands to type out a call for help.  She tweeted about her woes with a fruity phone and wanted to make a switch.  Alas her pleas (or tweets) went unanswered.  And these from some very large companies that would love to make the fruity cell phone maker blush bright red.

The second tweet came from a lion.  Granted it is a little weird that a lion would wear glasses, but hey… who is judging?  This lion wanted to participate in an online meeting.  A meeting, whose organizers successfully marketed and reminded all the attendees about, making the lion salivate with anticipation!  Sadly, when the lion went to logon he could not.  He tried numerous times.  He contacted the organizer to no avail.  The lion thought, I’ll use Twitter! To which the customer service rep – about twenty minutes after the first tweet – said, “I dunno.”

Since our fiery foul-mouthed redhead was not able to get a response, she had to hop on her two-wheeled stallion and visit a retailer.  Meanwhile the bespectacled lion was dumbfounded that this reputable online webinar provider did not even try to find out why there were problems.   Both business leaders are now even wary of using social media for their own customer service interactions.  If the big guys fail, what about us? They thought.

Quality Is Job 1 – Ford Motor Company

Customer Service Is A Brand

These two tales share the common theme of a failure to deliver basic customer service through Twitter.  Sure, it can be chalked up to the fact that it is hard to communicate in 140 characters or less, but then why use that for a customer service outlet if you believe that?

What these companies – and others – fail to realize is that by entering the social media realm they are extending the image of their brand.  That extension can be a boon or a harmful substance if it is not planned for correctly.  Customer service is part of that brand image.  Consumers are not willing to fork over their money if they get treated like crap, even on Twitter.  Your brand will suffer.

Is there customer service behind all this code?

Your 3 Step Solution

Your business can harness the power of social media to build brand awareness, create relationships, forge partnerships, and extend your reputation for exceptional customer service.  You have to invest the time to plan for a successful strategy and execution of your social media campaign.  You need to role-play the “what ifs” and plan for them.

If these businesses – whose customer service agents let our two protagonists down – where yours here is what you could have done differently:

• Monitor your competition by brand name and keywords associated with them.  This would have helped the cell phone makers hear our heroine’s plea for help.
• Break your social media teams down so that they respond to specific regions – the more localized the better.
• Have a back-up line to go to when 140 characters is not enough to solve the problem; this can be an online chat area which allows for more text or (heresy for saying this) a phone number to an actual human being.

Granted that social media is still in its infancy and the kinks are still being worked out.  With all the case studies out there for using new mediums to connect with customers, it is the expectation of most consumers that the big companies will get it right.  That is what they pay all the big money for to hire staff, consultants, and advertising firms, right?

Ahhh…. customer service.  You elusive Siren of the business seas; your beauty is as ravishing as your song.  How I hear your call like Odysseus did and I too beg to be taken to your rocky shores.  Beat me.  Abuse me. Make me feel as if it is my own fault.  How foolish I was to hand over my wealth my meager earnings in the pursuit of your false benefits, it is obvious that I am to blame!  Oh, customer service! How I would give my kingdom for you!

Odysseus Seeks Customer Service

In mocking the loss of great – heck even adequate would suffice – customer service it has become increasingly common that consumers are no longer putting up with it.  The economy cannot always be the fall guy for poor service.  Even in booming economies customer service stunk (certain cell phone providers and airlines come to mind.)  It is becoming more and more evident that businesses forget that buying decisions are emotional decisions – not rational or logical.  Customer service is an expectation that is not limited to developed economies; it is part of any business transaction across the globe.

Your business can make huge gains if it invests in delivering exceptional customer service.  They way most business stink at customer service; the bar to exceptional is not that high!

Three things cannot be hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. – Buddha

The Hard Truth

Recent surveys have demonstrated that 50% of customers will leave a business after the first poor experience.  48% percent of customers will leave after being wronged a second time.  The majority of customers, 63%, believe that customer service has not improved and gotten worse.

Here is some additional information for you to devour:

• 91% of customers believe service is an important factor in making a purchase.

• 81% of customer will cease doing business after bad customer service.

• 70% will want an apology coupled with a form of reimbursement.

• 65% will let their friends, colleagues, and family know of their troubles.

• 50% will now post something about it online.

• 24% of customers believe the companies they conduct business with work to keep it.

The simple truth is that your brand, your image, and your business will suffer.  The most profitable customer to any business is the repeat customer. They too are not willing suffer poor customer service lightly.

Have you checked the status of your customer service lately?

You can start right where you stand and apply the habit of going the extra mile by rendering more service and better service than you are now being paid for. –

Napoleon Hill

The 5 Steps To Exceptional Customer Service

The great news is that with all that bad customer service out there you can wipe your competition’s clock.  You simply need to establish what excellent looks like and then shoot to achieve it!

That sounds simple, and it is.  Here is what your should do immediately to keep your current customers happy and grow your business:

• Have a formal declaration of what your customer service is. This will set the floor for expectations.  In the famous – if not urban legend – story about Nordstroms is that they will take anything back, even if they do not sell it.  As the story goes they took back snow tires; they do not sell snow tires.  One thing that is not legend is that at Nordstroms they do not close the store until the last customer leaves.  Even if it is after the store’s posted hours.  They understand that some customers need time to make a decision and no one likes to be rushed.

• Acknowledge failure when it happens and provide solutions. I know some companies will not do that for the fear of a dreaded lawsuit. Yet people are fallible, products fail, and mistakes happen.  Most customers just want the acknowledgement that something went wrong and are looking for solutions.  They have made an investment of wealth and emotion to buy your product – help them when it fails.

• Remove the “guilty until proven otherwise” mentality from your company. If you do not remove this mentality from your business you will always have an underlying us versus the customer feeling to every interaction.  Yes, some people are trying to scam the system – or any system – more times than not these individuals are not repeat customers anyway.  If you kill them with kindness they tend to go away.

• Talk to your customers and ask them what they desire. I might as well kick a dead horse along with everyone else: have the airlines actually asked their customers what they want?  Talk about poor service they might as well make everything self-serve on the flight, since it practically feels that way.  Companies cannot exist without customers willing to buy their products and services.  Your best bet in beating expectations is to ask your customers what they expect.

• Never rest on your laurels. Customer service is always evolving.  How you change with the tastes and desires of your customers will determine if you maintain an exceptional level of customer service or not.  Promote successful customer service interactions internally and externally with the mindset of seeking to improve on what was accomplished.  Continue to deliver service even after the sale has long been concluded.

There are those who give with joy, and that joy is their reward. – Kahil Gibran

If You Made It This Far…

Customers will increase spending by 10% or more when they experience quality customer service.  This goes for repeat customers as well as new ones.  Why?  They feel great about the decision they made to purchase and they want to reward your business.

Success Is Measured Through Purchases

Never forget that every buying decision is an emotional one.  If you provide exceptional customer service you will win more business than your account can handle.  Customers will flock to you in order to avoid the dangerous rocks were countless consumers have drowned from the false allure of the Sirens’ call.

Don’t promise exceptional customer service. Deliver it!

Customers vote with their wallets and when they choose to purchase from you again speaks volumes about your services/products.  It means you have the better price, quality, and value compared to your competition.  This metric – the repeat customer – is how the market communicates to you.

So then how do you communicate to the market?  Advertising aside, most businesses communicate through their price.  It is in the price that the consumer is supposed to believe the reflection of quality and value are properly communicated when compared to your competition.

Yet, that is not always the case is it?

Age is just a number.  It’s totally irrelevant unless, of course, you happen to be a bottle of wine — Joan Collins

A Tale Of Two Wines

Mmmm.... wine.

The region of where the grapes are grown, the year of the harvest, the fermentation process, and other factors are supposed to go into the quality of wine.  Therefore wines from exclusive cellars have exorbitant prices and wines from huge vineyards are reasonably priced.

If you have attended a wine tasting class and/or you consider yourself a wine tasting snob (no offence as most wine-snobs are proud of the fact) then you are aware that the pricing of wines usually are inaccurate.  Simply said: price means nothing when it comes to the quality and value of the wine.

That last sentence can be considered heresy in some circles.  Okay, in most. Nonetheless it is true in the end.  Many meals have been paired with fantastic wines that typically cost fewer than ten dollars a bottle.  Whereas diners and wine drinkers wonder what all the fuss is about after they have dropped north of fifty dollars for a bottle of wine.  They could not discern the different in taste.

The price means nothing in the communication of quality, taste and value (a great meal) to the wine drinkers market.  Instead it is linked to the one human trait we all possess: the desire to show off.  This is especially true to the more costly bottle of wines.

Perception is reality. — Lee Atwater

Price Communicates Perception

Most consumers, customers, and clients have been taught – correctly – that the pricing of goods in the marketplace reflects the quality, scarcity, and the value.  It typically does when the products/services and your company match correctly with that price.

Adam Smith

This can be seen in many products from the Apple vs. PC, disposable cameras vs. Digital SLRs, and even in cars.  When you compare a BMW to a Hyundai, they both get you from point A to point B.  They both have internal combustible engines, they both have tires, and they both have some of the same standard features.  Yet you are going to pay far more for the BMW than the Hyundai.  The reason why is that you are buying in to the branding, myth, and perception when you handover a lot of that cash for that “German Engineering.”

Take a look at your business and the products/services you are offering.  Does the pricing you have really match up with the brand image of your business?  Are you the “German Engineering” or are you simply a dressed up overpriced bottle of wine?  How does your price stack up compared to the competition?

What is your customers’ perception of you based on your price?

Want to beat the competition?  Put your customers at the center of your organization.  Make them the CEO of your business.  Doing so will help you respond faster, launch innovative products/services, and build win-win relationships.

Every company has an organizational chart, whether it is formal or informal, that depicts the hierarchy and the roles responsible for decision-making.  In some cases, depending on the size of your company, this can mean layers upon layers of differing levels within the business.  Typically the more layers there are, the longer the decision times become.  Nothing new… right?

It Is More Than Just The Slogans!

If you answered yes, who can blame you?  That is how most companies operate because the customer is removed from the entire organizational compass.  The customer is forced to speak with automated call centers or contracted service representatives.  Rarely does the customer speak with anyone who is part of the “Org Chart.”  The customer is there to serve not be served.

Disagree with me?  Look at your own company.  Where does your customer fit in when it comes to your organization?

The old silo structure was meant to respond to twentieth century production and distribution problems.  Sure those marketing people would run surveys etc. but that was to make sure the delivery of the products and services created from the R&D department got purchased and delivered.  Customer feedback was really based around messaging, quality, and satisfaction.  Rarely was it about product input, store design, and/or strategic decision making for the company.

That way of thinking means that there are a lot assumptions being made.  Even with all the research done by mining the abundant amount of data out there, decisions under the old organizational structure are made with assumptions.  Input by the customer is subjected to results from surveys and focus groups.

You can remove the assumptions from the equation by placing your customer at the center of your organization.  Doing this means that decisions are made with one purpose in mind: does it meet my customers’ needs?

How To Meet The Mission? Keep it SLIM!

Stay in business.

You must be in business to service your customers’ needs.  So if a decision makes it difficult for you to stay in business… it violates the purpose of why you are in business and should not be made.

Listen to your customers.

There is a lot of information from a ton of people about listening to your customers.  So much so that you do not want to listen to it any more yourself!  What I am talking about here is bringing them into the decision making process and removing assumptions.  Which makes sense if you are placing the customer at the center of your organization.  It is no longer what is in the best interest for the company… it is what is in the best interest for the customer.

A great example of doing exactly this is Best Buy.  They discovered that their stores were mostly frequented by women instead of men, that their customers wanted friendly and helpful staff that were not compensated by commission (read pushy sales people), and help setting up the complicated electronics.  This lead to store redesigns, the Geek Squad, and staff that is knowledgeable in multiple departments of their stores.  Don’t think it works? Have fun shopping at Circuit City!

Integrate your customers into your organization.

Placing your customer at the center of your organization means that everyone who is part of your company, from the CEO to the lowest paid employee, answers to them.  Every department works for the customer.  While you maybe nodding your head reading this, if your company is still operating in silos then your customer is not part of your organization at all.

Integration is about building a business around your customers and their needs.  Business that are built like this survive economic downturns, are faster in launching innovative products/services, and have greater loyalty.  Apple and Wal-Mart come to mind as two companies that integrate the customer into their organizations.  Both deliver vastly different products/services that fulfill their customers’ needs.  You cannot deny that both are tremendously successful.

Make customer communication easy.

Social media makes it easier to communicate and learn more from your customers.  It is more than reacting to bad public relations, a la Southwest Airlines, or jumping on a customer request, a la Best Buy.  It is about participating in a conversation that can give you valuable insight into how your products and services are being used:

• Are they being used for their intended purpose?
• Is there an innovative way never considered before in using the products?
• What needs are not being met?

All of that information can be found for free on Twitter, Facebook, etc.

Yet, to get all of that information you have to make it easy to communicate with your customer.  We all hate the voicemail hell that one must go through to interact with a human being hidden somewhere in a non-disclosed bunker.  Why make your customer go through the same thing when it comes to social media?

Easy communication means that you are going to get the good with the bad, but in the end it means that you are going to build a long-lasting flow of valuable information.  Besides, it makes sense to listen to your boss and we are talking about making the customer your boss!

Customers Need To Be Part Of The Equation

This is the twenty-first century.  Although the way most businesses run, you would not know it.  You can capitalize on that weakness by making your customer the centerpiece of your business.  You do not make _____, you help customers overcome ______, meet _________, or build _______.  Your boss in the end is your customer.  Without customers your paycheck does not get paid.

Where are your customers in your organization?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

Another airline service has gone and done it.  They’ve taken customer service one step closer to worse or beyond.  Continental Airlines is the latest among the major American carriers to start charging for food during the flight.  The next logical question should be: why even have food on the plane anyway?

The rapid decline in customer service from the airlines is legendary.  So let me be the next person in line to pick up the stick and beat the dead rotting carcass of the horse.

Ahh.. the Golden Age of Air Travel

We can all remember the golden years of aviation. (Cue dream music.) Flight attendants were happy to welcome you aboard.  Seats had some form of comfort.  Food, while not top of the line, was at least served with a real fork, knife, and was not thrown at you.  It was like being on a luxury liner of the skies.  Then it all went down hill.

Granted, some of it is due to the internal pressures the airlines face, like union wages and increased regulation.  The external pressures, like competition, terrorism, and a down economy mean the airlines have to make choices.  Controlling costs is key.  It is just too bad that it comes at the expense of customer service.

Yet, as customers, we complain about all the charges for what was once part of the price of a ticket.  We pay for checked baggage, exit rows, additional legroom, food, and while the bathroom has not been metered – I am sure it is next.  We complain, but we do nothing about it.

Now imagine if this was a department store or any other business.  You’d stop purchasing services if you were nickel and dimed the way the airlines do.  Can you imagine going to a restaurant and having to pay extra for napkins, seasoning, tableware, and possibly a waiter?  No, but you do on the airlines.

I like travelling.  I enjoy spending time with my customers and clients.  There is nothing like the face-to-face interaction to learn more about their needs.  Yet, with all the small costs to get out there and see them, it becomes more difficult to make it happen.  A new hurdle of costs to doing business is being added to every industry.

The result is more meetings online through WebEx, GoToMeeting, and other like services.  These services have tapped into the customer dissatisfaction with travelling to market their services.  A yearly subscription to one of them is less than a two-day roundtrip from New York to Seattle.  (That is airfare, food, hotel, and ground transportation combined.)  These companies now openly advertise against travelling.  If you need video there are services like Skype and Oovoo (both free) that allow you to see each other, pimples and all.

What’s the point?

The lesson here, besides a rant against the airlines, is to listen to the market.  There are opportunities out there for you to fill a void and take away a customer’s discomfort and/or pain.  You can compete against an entirely different industry and eat their lunch too.  That is what the web services are doing to the airlines.

If you happen to be in the industry that is causing the pain, then you can win too.  Take Southwest Airlines.  They never had food on the airplane in the first place.  So there is nothing to be lost there.  They point out the fact that all the other airlines – their direct competitors – will start to charge for toilet paper pretty soon.  The Southwest experience is always fun, unlike their competitors.

Which brings us back to the beginning of this post.  Why have the food on there anyway?  The cost to load it, store it, and fly it across country does not go down.  Continental will barely make enough money to cover the costs during each flight. They’d be better off if they eliminated food completely.  It would take one cost hurdle out of the way.

If you were in Continental’s shoes what would you do?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

Customers have a never ending thirst that must be quenched on a continuous basis. They return to the same source of water that will quench the majority of their thirst because of familiarity and trust. Customers will desire for that source of water to be the answers or solutions to myriad of diverse needs. Yet, no business can fulfill every single need a customer has.

The manager, when faced with this dilemma, will look first to procedures or guidance from above to fulfill the need of the customer. When those fail, as they eventually will, the manger resorts to the last defense that all managers know, “I am sorry. I cannot help you.” Or “I am sorry, you’ll have to call this number. We do not do that here.” The manager does this, because the manager only knows of the watering hole they have been assigned to.

The business lion understands that while its business cannot satisfy every thirst a customer may have, there are other businesses that might.

The executive, with more power than the manager, has access to more sources of water for the customer. The executive too will look towards procedures, policies, and guidance from its most successful sources of water to meet the needs of the customer. The executive does the latter because they believe that if success is to be had at one watering hole, then it should easily be copied to the next one and the next one. Sadly that fails as well. In frustration of being drawn away from managing multiple sources of water, the executive will tell the customer that, “We will look into it.” Or “It is in the pipeline.” Both being statements that have no end and definitive satisfaction for the customer’s thirst, the executive hopes to string the customer along until conditions change or the need wanes.

The Business Lion Is Calm

The business lion understands that while its business cannot satisfy every thirst a customer may have, there are other businesses that might. It may even be a competitor. The business lion knows that the breadth of every policy or procedure cannot cover every thirst a customer may have. Knowing that they are there to define what is wrong and/or illegal they will help guide the business lion in finding the right source for the customer’s thirst.

The business lion will scour far and wide for new watering holes if none have been discovered for the client. Once found the business lion will lead the customer to it and if need be guide them in how to drink from it. The business lion will always follow back to ensure that the customer’s thirst has been quenched.

If there is nothing available to quench the thirst of the customer, then the lion knows it has found a new opportunity to fulfill an unmet need. Helping the business grow and create a new class of customers the business lion can lead.

By taking the extra step to find a means to meet a customer’s need the business lion knows that it has gained a new member to its pride. It has learned about new needs that have never been met. It has built a bound of trust that will strengthen the business the lion is part of.

There are always new watering holes and other means to fulfill a customers needs. Customers value the integrity a business has in helping the customer fulfill their needs, even if it something a business cannot do. Businesses that act this way, that discover new watering holes for the customer, never go out of business. Managers and executives do not understand this. A business lion never forgets it.

Are you a business lion? Do you know of any business lions?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

How Old School for the 21st Century

Recently I was approached over the phone by a company that wanted me to purchase keyword advertisement for life.  The idea being that my company would have preferred ad placement when someone searches for specific keywords like business coaching, corporate coaching, etc.  That a few grand up front would have a longer ROI than the horror of pay-per-click when one gets the bill from Google. (I learned to quickly control the content portion of ads after my first bill.)  A pretty straightforward proposition from this company, which is using cold calling as a sales technique to get the business.  Great proposition; bad sales approach!

Being a former “sales guy” I am always eager to be sold to.

There are mountains of papers, books, pamphlets, newsletters, and blog posts about how horrible cold calling is.  It sucks.  Cold calling is not the preferred methodology when it comes to sales.  People hate it when they have to do it and when it is done to them.  Yet, at some point in every business, it happens.   So it happened to me.

“Give him money and watch it burn a hole in his pocket.”

Person To Person Sales In The Andes

Being a former “sales guy” I am always eager to be sold to.  I am looking for a reason to part with my cash.  As my father said, “Give him money and watch it burn a hole in his pocket.”  So very true at times.  The real reason I like to be sold to is that I get a chance to learn from someone else.  I get to listen to their probing techniques; I learn how they handle my objections, and how they swoop in for the close. It is a great chance to receive a sales education.

The sales person did not to build a relationship, which is hard to do over the phone, yet they did not even try.

So that is why I was heart-broken when I told this particular sales person my objection to buying their products/services that they just hung upon me.  This sales person did not try to clarify why I objected (price was the biggest issue), nor did they try to find a way to make me a better offer, and the left me felt feeling… inadequate.  That I was not worthy of being a customer, which my money is not “good enough” to be fought for.  The latter really ticks me off.

For this company I was not the ideal customer most likely, yet when they got their target list for their cold calls I fell on it somehow.  The sales person did not to build a relationship, which is hard to do over the phone, yet they did not even try.  There was no effort to understand what it is my business does and how their services could be of value to me.  All of these are fatal flaws of the cold call.

The result for this company has been to insult a person, who may not be an ideal customer, but who is now motivated to blog “negatively” about the experience.

How can your business avoid this fatal mistake?

• Train your sales team to be ready for push back. Objections are part of every sales call.  There are millions of them.  In fact if you do not get an objection it really means that your customer is not listening or you are not selling.  Why?  Objections mean the customer is engaged with what it is the salesperson is presenting.  It means that the customer is looking for a reason of value to purchase the goods and services you are offering.  It means that – shhh, don’t tell anyone the secret of sales – a conversation is taking place (perish the thought!)
• Cleanse your call file. Just because you have a territory, call list, or computer generated targets does not mean that you have the right customers to call on.  You just have the right names that met the criteria used to find these “clients”, that is all.  You have to make sure that they meet your ideal customer that your business wishes to obtain.  If they do then you pre-call plan how to engage in conversation, visualize how the call will go, and what you expect to happen.  You provide the four steps to ideal customer service during the call and afterwards.  This little bit of effort before the call will result in a tremendous amount of success and long-term sales.
• Train your sales staff to be human. Most people will say that they are “not a sales person” or cannot “be pushy” to be in sales.  That is not what sales is about.  Sales is a conversation between two or more representatives from different businesses or between a business and consumers.  That is sales.  Unless you cannot carry a conversation, most people engage in some of sales whenever they ask for something, then you can perform sales.  While much money has been spent testing scripts, phrases, charts, benefit statements, and pretty pictures by the marketing team, it is up to the salesperson to communicate that information.   Please do it as a human! I beg you! We all beg you!  Which means put the script down, be true yourself and have a conversation!
• Avoid cold calling at all costs. It is a horrible way to do business and its long-term effect is negative perception for short-term gain.  If, heaven forbid, you are forced to go this route, then train your staff to research their targets and build business rapport before even thinking about asking for the business.  Or you’ll get blogs like this.

This most likely was not the intended outcome the company that called me wanted.  Yet this is what they get in return when they do not train their sales team effectively.  You get to learn from their mistakes.

What cold calling stories do you know that have left you freezing?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.

Social media is the buzz these days for businesses both large and small.  As a medium it allows, for an investment of time, companies to engage with customers and potential clients.  Whole departments are being built and new companies are being founded to help guide messaging into the social media realm.  The focus is on listening to the customers, engage with them, and then convert them into a sale, a referral, or a fan.  There are lots of ways to build plans to do all of this.  Yet, in all of those methods none of them, so far, has addressed the customer experience.  What do they expect the experience of the customer to be?

I am going to grant you that they expect the customer to make a purchase, become a client, or even become a fan.  Those are actions that these marketing departments and social media consultants are seeking their audience to make.  Those might be the end result of the experience but they are not the entire customer experience.  The customer experience is much more than that… you have to visualize what that will be.

Does Your Team Have This Goal?

If you have ever played sports then you know that you have to visualize what the game will be like.  How each play of the game will unfold for you from the first whistle to the last. How each catch you will make will lead to success.  How you will rise to the occasion during a key moment.  How you will be the one that brings glory to the team.  Top athletes do this for every competition.  They can see themselves and the experience they expect for each moment of the game.  Businesses – more importantly you – should do this when it comes to social media.

The sad fact is that most do not, so this is an exceptional opportunity for you to fill the void and build a successful social media campaign.

A recent experience with Best Buy that Amber Nashlund had demonstrates that large companies have not thought through the customer experience on social media.  While the Best Buy twitter presence was able to answer Amber’s questions, Amber still left with an experience that felt disconnected and managed from afar.  End result: Amber purchased her product from someplace else.

Erika, of RedHeadWriting, discusses one of the major drawbacks that Twitter can bring to the customer experience in one of her latest rants.  The result: a hollow and empty experience which can lead Erika to miss an opportunity out of frustration.

So how can your business fill the void?

• Remember that you are engaging with people. Even if it is over the web, there is someone else on the other side of the engagement.  You would not have a sales representative or customer service representative just shout nonsense at you customers in person.  That would be insane, not to mention annoying.  You need to build any social media plan around the fact that it is people talking to people.
• Before you even make contact, envision what the conversation will be like. If you have the imagination – role-play what the conversation will be like.  This will help anticipate questions and listen.  As opposed to trying to offer solutions right out of the box when you start your conversation.
• You must measure the customer experience as part of your metrics. Once you visualize how you expect each social media engagement to go with your customers, you need to add that in how you measure the success of your social media plan.  Measuring clicks, conversions, etc. is important, as is the experience your customers will have.
• Journal your own customer experiences you have had. Incorporate it in your social media plan.  Improve upon the ones you liked and avoid like the plague those that sucked.

All things being equal customers refer, purchase, and follow people they like.  That is because the customer experience is one most important factor in that equation.  If the experience sucks, customers will flee.  Embrace social media but do not forget the experience you want your audience to have.  That is what Domino’s Pizza in Chicago has done and it has been a success!

What are you doing for your customer’s experience?

About the author:

Erroin A. Martin is a Business Advocate with the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, a business coaching and consultancy provider for business owners, executives, and entrepreneurs. He has fifteen years experience working within the pharmaceutical, manufacturing, natural resources, medical devices, software, technology, business services, and agriculture industries in various levels of leadership across six continents. He has led diverse teams in sales, marketing, planning, and in the Army.  He currently coaches business leaders and physicians in the tools needed to plan for their success. Learn more about the Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC at www.vongehrconsulting.com or call +1 203 433 8079.  You can follow him on Twitter at @Erroin

The Von Gehr Consulting Group, LLC, was founded by Erroin A. Martin to provide business coaching, business consulting, and other services to companies both large and small.  The primary goal is to have his clients be passionate about their business and reach the unachievable.