Extraordinary People

Is It Too Difficult for People to Do Business With You?

2010-03-18T17:23:10+00:00

I just had a couple of very frustrating experiences trying to refer significant business to two different companies. It made me wonder if they realised how difficult it was for someone to do business with them and how many clients they are likely losing. Have you ever reviewed the experience a new person has when trying to connect with your company?

First, it is important for you to know that I had no existing relationship with these companies; however, they are well-established and well-known. I looked up the company websites to get contact information and didn’t see any phone numbers or email addresses listed (they were impressive, professionally designed sites). I was simply directed to one of those “contact us” forms that make you wonder if anything will happen if you fill it out.

After a lot of digging around, I finally succeeded in finding phone numbers to share this great opportunity. The experience I had with the first company was like the Spanish Inquisition! I was asked 20 questions by a receptionist to prove that I’m worthy of their time.

Eventually, I spoke to a coordinator who was able to help, but I came away with a lukewarm feeling and little desire to want to work with them. When I called the second company, I was met with a receptionist who couldn’t grasp what I was requesting and got nowhere!

I see this all too often. Companies are so afraid of being inundated with sales calls, that they hide their contact information. Here’s the problem, if the sales people can’t figure out how to contact you, then clients definitely won’t be able to figure out how to contact you!

Even worse, the sales people will still find a way to get the contact information because they are motivated to do so. The clients will get frustrated and move on to one of your competitors.

When people do succeed in making contact with your company, how are they being received? Is the person answering the phone using a warm and inviting tone? Are they knowledgeable? Do they make the caller feel welcome and valued?

If you want your company to be successful, you need to make it as easy as possible for people to do business with you. Particularly in this economy! Additionally, you want to make the experience people have when interacting with your company (virtually on your website and in real life) as enjoyable as possible.

Not sure what type of experience people are having? Ask some business colleagues to ‘secret shop’ your company as a potential client and share their experience with you.

Employees Don’t Belong Under the Bus

2010-03-16T07:38:11+00:00

We last talked about how customers are not always right. A bad habit that many business owners and managers have when they know the customer is wrong is to blame a front-line or lower level employee for the mistake to make the customer feel like they’ve gotten their way. Wham! The employee was just thrown under the bus.

Throwing employees under the bus is one of the quickest ways to ruin your business – and it will definitely prevent you from having a happy business!

First, it immediately betrays and damages the trust the employee has in you. Further, the employee will not be motivated to do their best work for you.

Second, if it happens more than once, you’ll have a full-blown employee morale problem because everyone will be waiting and expecting it to happen to them.

Lastly, the bad employee morale will quickly disintegrate into employee retention and turnover problems. If you’re not able to hold onto quality employees, then your business will never be successful.

So, what should you do instead?

First, clearly communicate and train all of your employees on business standards and expectations so that they can clearly identify when the business is at fault and when the customer is unreasonable.

Second, invest in training your staff in conflict resolution. Proper training will help prevent your employees from taking customer complaints personally. Additionally, it will enable them in deflating the situation so that it does not interfere with the business operation or generate negative impressions.

Finally – and most importantly – when an employee makes a judgment call that is within the scope of their authority and within the standards and expectations that have been clearly communicated, then back them up! Support the decisions your employees make.

You could still find yourself in the role of mediator between the customer and your employee. In this situation, you have to find a solution that hopefully pleases the customer but that doesn’t undercut your employee. If possible, discuss the situation with the employee who made the decision and come to an agreement as to the best solution before presenting it to the customer. This way, if you have to move backwards from the decision the employee made, then they are part of the decision to do so.

When you support your employees’ decisions, you demonstrate how valuable they are to you. Further, you empower them to take greater ownership in the business operation and success – which can only help your business grow!

The Customer is Always Right! – Wrong!

2010-03-04T12:42:28+00:00

One of the biggest ongoing myths in business today is that the customer is always right. This belief is built on a very bad assumption: that we are willing to do whatever it takes to make any and every customer happy because all customers are of equal value. If you’re operating your business like that today, then you’re just counting the days until you go broke. That’s because you are likely spending so much of your time and effort making unhappy customers happy that you can’t focus on making and keeping the happy customers happy. In this scenario, your happy customers won’t stay happy for long!

Of course, many customers strongly believe in this concept and feel entitled to always get their way, which doesn’t make life or business fun and easy. How far out of your way you ultimately go to please the customer depends on how valuable the customer is. In the past, we’ve talked about rating your customers/clients and if you’ve done that, then doing a cost-benefit analysis of the situation is easy. However, if you haven’t done that, or your front line staff doesn’t have immediate access to that kind of information and has to deal with a situation on the spot, then what are they going to do?

Here are some factors that should be quickly considered and taken into account:

Is it a repeat customer or a first time customer?

Relative to other customers, are they spending more or less than average?

How influential are they in your community and industry?

How likely are they to continue complaining and creating problems in the future?

Essentially, the answers to those questions will provide an idea of how big of a financial hit you’ll take by losing the customer and how big of an impact their negative experience will have on the business.

Here are a couple of examples:

An older gentleman visits your restaurant alone every Saturday. He spends 2 hours reading the newspaper while having coffee and a pastry. He is known throughout the community as a complainer. If he places unreasonable demands on your business and you choose not to meet them, then you’re not losing much money and he’ll have little credibility when telling others about his bad experience.

Same restaurant, but this time it’s an executive from a local branch of a major corporation who is planning a dinner party for long term clients. He believes that your staff promised a free bottle of champagne at the end of the meal, which is incorrect. It’s a high end dinner party, the cost of the champagne is low compared to the amount of repeat business that he could generate with a positive recommendation.

It requires looking at all of those criteria as a whole. Just because the older gentleman was a long time, repeat customer, that doesn’t mean that he is more valuable than a new customer.

Practice examples like this with your staff so that they get a good understanding of how to weigh the different variables in making decisions on how to deal with a difficult customer.

‘Undercover Boss’ Illustrates that Your People are Your Competitive Advantage

2010-02-25T08:00:45+00:00

A new television show started recently called, “Undercover Boss.” In this show, CEOs of some of the country’s largest companies go “undercover” in their own organisation for a week working in various entry-level positions. The CEO picking up rubbish, scrubbing toilets and mopping the floor – don’t we all wish we could see that? Unfortunately, those that have gotten to see it didn’t know that it was the CEO until after the fact (but at least it was caught on video!).

A recent episode covered the largest convenience store chain in the world, 7-Eleven. The CEO, Joe DePinto, visited the store that sells the most coffee in the U.S. – an average 2,500 cups a day! But, that’s not the amazing part. What was most amazing was that the store manager, Delores, knew all of the customers’ names! Meanwhile, Joe struggled to make the coffee without it running all over the place.

Now, 7-Eleven may have good coffee, but since other 7-Eleven stores aren’t having duplicate results, I would hazard a guess that people aren’t coming just for the coffee. They’re coming for Delores’ smile and personal greeting to start their day. Starbuck’s could be 50 feet away selling Grande Latte’s for £1 and they would probably still go to 7-Eleven.

Delores is their competitive advantage. You can directly trace a significant portion of that store’s sales to her. Do you have a Delores?

This example truly epitomises what I have been saying about how valuable an asset your people are and how big a role they play in creating a happy business. You could feel the positive energy running throughout the store; everyone just wanted to be there.

Jack Lannom developed what is known as the People First^TM philosophy. “When people are honoured and appreciated for not only what they do but also for who they are, it develops an environment that gives people freedom to be their best and to do their best.” The important thing to realise, however, is that a People First^TM philosophy is also smart business and profitable. Just see Delores and her 2,500 cups of coffee a day!

If you have a Delores, consider yourself very fortunate and do everything possible to give her room to continue helping you grow your business. If you don’t have an obvious Delores, look closely at all of your staff for a “Delores in the rough.” Chances are you have a loyal, intelligent and ambitious employee who can easily be nurtured into becoming a full-fledged Delores.

More Business Myths: Cheaper, Better or “Cool” Doesn’t Equal Success

2010-02-22T07:53:30+00:00

Many small business owners or people considering starting small businesses are operating under false assumptions that could keep them from ever reaching success. Not only that, but the stress resulting from the almost inevitable outcome causes not only personal unhappiness, but if a family is involved can greatly damage relationships. So, what are more of these dangerous myths?

Myth #1

In order to be successful, you have to be cheaper than the competition. People are not going to switch from one provider to another and pay the same or more, right? It depends. If you are offering a product of similar or lesser quality and you try to charge more, then yes, they will not switch. However, if the product you are offering is of better quality or has unique characteristics that the competition does not have, then they just may become your customers.

Myth #2

Only the best quality will be successful. Remember the 1980’s when there was the battle of video tapes – VHS vs. Betamax? There was pretty much 100% agreement that Beta was definitely the better quality between the two. Beta lost and now resides as a question in Trivial Pursuit while VHS went on to hold a monopoly until it reached obsolescence. What about Wal-Mart and McDonald’s? Definitely not the epitome of best quality!

Myth #3

“It’s cool!” “It’s clever!” “It’s the greatest thing since sliced bread!” Just because it’s a great idea, it does not mean it will sell. In fact, many cool and clever products end up as gag gifts, stuck in closets and often in the trash. You may find some short term success, but rarely do these types of products end up as long term “keepers.” That is not to say that it is not possible; just not probable.

What all three of these myths boil down to is the need for you to understand your value proposition and to be realistic about your business in relation to your market. If you are offering a valuable product/service that is in demand and you are providing greater value than your competitors, then you should not have to under price them. If the cost to get the “best quality” is significantly greater than the value added, then it will be hard to justify the difference. Lastly, a clever idea/product is wonderful to see and learn about, but that doesn’t mean people will be compelled to buy.

Have you evaluated your value proposition lately?

Burning Bridges Could Burn Your Business

2010-02-18T12:24:58+00:00

We’ve all done it – burned a bridge in a business relationship. The bridge could have been with a client, prospect, supplier, referral source, mentor, center of influence, etc. Additionally, sometimes we actively burn the bridge by pouring on gasoline and tossing a match; and sometimes we walk away leaving a smoldering coal and it burns itself. On rare occasions, it’s in our best interest to burn a bridge; however, most of the time, it’s not.

Every time you burn a bridge, you leave a very negative image with one or more people. Negative information travels at least four times faster than positive information because everyone wants to share a bad experience. So, every bridge burned could equal ten or more people who have a negative impression of you and your business. It can spread like wildfire.
Many of the bridges we burn are the result of inaction or passivity. Either we fail to follow through on our intentions or promises, or we are simply unaware of the consequences of our actions. More often than not, it is an accumulation of little things rather than something big such as, phone calls not returned, invoices not paid on time, constantly running late, missing appointments, missing deadlines, etc.

Is it possible to rebuild a bridge burned? Sometimes, yes; and sometimes, no. However, it is usually worth a try. It’s surprising how far humility and a sincere apology will get you. It will also take some time before trust is rebuilt. Don’t expect the person to give you a big hug and go on as if nothing ever happened. Most importantly, if you get a second chance, you had better make sure that you go above and beyond in being attentive and keeping your word.

The best situation is to focus on keeping positive relationships going with everyone you interact with and you don’t have to worry about burning bridges. Here are some strategies I recommend:

Always treat your customers like dear and valued friends. Do the nice things for them that you'd do for your best friend or a family member.

If your customer has a problem, rectify it as soon as possible. Communicate with them always. Let them know exactly how you intend to handle the problem, and when you'll be in contact with them next.

Always try to conduct yourself nobly and professionally in the end, as well as in the beginning of a relationship with your customer.

If the business/customer relationship doesn't work out, attempt to salvage whatever good and goodwill are still left in the relationship. Just because it didn't work out with them, doesn't mean they wouldn't refer others to you...as long as you treat them with respect.

Despite any differences of opinion, work hard to be honest and positive. Always be noble, respectful and genuine.

Last, but not least, frequently check in and see how they’re doing. That will help you catch those smoldering coals so that you can put them out before they catch fire.

If You Build It, They Will Come!

2010-02-08T08:03:07+00:00

Great movie… but not so great for business. It’s amazing how many businesses are still operating under this principle. Worse yet, many business owners will tell me how they aren’t sitting back and waiting for business to come to them, but their actions tell me something different. And, it’s really hard to fix something that you don’t realize is broken!

Whether your business is “brick and mortar,” “click and order,” or a little bit of both, your business will not survive if you wait for customers to come and find you. A scary trend I’ve been noticing lately revolves around SEO (search engine optimization). SEO experts are helping create a belief that if you find the magic phrases and optimize your site, then customers will start flooding through the digital door.

SEO is not a panacea, it’s a tool. It’s also a tool that does not necessarily work for everyone. If your business is a highly niche, professional service, then your customers may not be looking for your service online. Seriously! I’ve spoken to people who are flabbergasted that their highly researched and optimized pay-per-click (PPC) campaign received no – that is zero - clicks. But, their services are highly specialized and the target client is a high level executive in an enterprise-sized company. Odds of them looking for the service by clicking on a PPC ad are very low.

Further, did you know it’s possible to be #1 on Google and have it not be of much value? Before the world of search engines, many businesses came up with clever names that used analogies that have nothing to do with the business at hand in order to stand out. If you type the name of the business into Google, you come up #1. Yeah!! Right?? Look at the rest of the results. Do they have anything to do with your business? If not, then chances are most people typing in the words of your business aren’t looking for you. And, if they are looking for you, they already know about you. So, how valuable was that #1 ranking?

Whether you’re opening a restaurant or an online candy company, you have to promote your business in order for it to grow. And, by promotion, I don’t mean simply listing it in the Yellow Pages or having an SEO guru optimise your site.

Now that you’ve built it, they’ll come when you ask them to!

Are You Not Starting Your Business Because of Belief in Business Myths?

2010-02-03T17:16:39+00:00

Have you been wanting to start your own business, but haven’t because you’re afraid of taking the big step? Has it been because you don’t have a “big idea,” know how to put a business plan together, or can’t afford to “spend money to make money?” Can I tell you a secret? Those beliefs – in large part – are myths!

At least they’re myths in today’s economy. They were likely more true in the past manufacturing-based economy. We’re now in the land of the information age, where those myths are not true for every type of business. If you’re trying to take a product to market, you’d better have the great idea, business plan, and it’s going to take a lot of money to get it started. However, if your business is based on service and expertise, you can get started small from your own home with little investment. Let’s look at each of the myths individually.

The Big Idea

Most of the “big ideas” throughout history weren’t completely new. Most great ideas are grounded in things that already exist. The light bulb wasn’t a new idea – candles existed, so we knew about localized, portable light; and we had seen lightning and knew that electricity lit up the night sky. Franklin was just the first person to do something about it. So you don’t have to invent the wheel to have a successful business.

Additionally, many of the “new” products and services that people bring to market are repackaged and repositioned. Before tissue was Kleenex, it was toilet paper.

The Business Plan

If you need investment to get your business started (from individuals or banks), you’re going to have to have a complete, solid business plan – no one’s going to invest in your business without it. However, if you are your business and your business could potentially develop in more than one way, trying to put a business plan together at the very beginning could be a futile activity. Google didn’t start with a business plan. It focused first on producing a great product and seeing the direction it naturally took. The business plan came second.

Spend Money to Make Money

Many new business owners turn this into a mantra as they spend themselves into an unnecessary, deep hole that potentially kills the business before it even gets started. Spend money where you have to and for those things with a high likelihood of having a return on investment. If you work with other professionals and small businesses, consider bartering your services for win-win benefits.

Although many treat it as such, business is not a religion. So, don’t let others’ beliefs hold you back!

Client, Will You Marry Me?

2010-01-29T07:55:51+00:00

When you ask a prospect to become a client, do you treat it like a marriage proposal? You should! The foundation of building a happy business is relationships. Relationships with your family, staff, suppliers, vendors, AND clients. Before popping the big question, imagine you and the new client working together a year from now; then 5 years from now; then 10 years from now! Is that someone you want to still be working with that far in the future?

In the race to build our businesses, we often find ourselves willing to take money from anyone who wants to give it to us without fully sizing up the client and the potential – both good and bad – they have for the future of our business. This is the #1 way to find yourself with a business full of toxic customers, stuck in lawsuits, and hating the day you had the brilliant idea to start your own company. We get so focused on the money that we never really look at the person giving it to us. The problem is that we actually have to work with the person – the money just sits there or is gone before we’ve barely had a chance to look at it. So, do your due diligence by getting to know the client before asking them to work with you, and make a conscious decision that you want to keep this client for better or worse (‘til death do you part isn’t necessary, but you shouldn’t just cut and run when problems come up; you have to try and work through them first).

Now that you’re married to your client, you still have a lot of work ahead of you. Just like any marriage, you have to nurture the relationship. When you make promises, keep them. Frequently show your appreciation. Openly communicate so that the client knows what is happening. Make sure that every time they interact with you or your company that they walk away smiling and looking forward to your next encounter.

While perfection is our goal, I do recognize that it is rarely found in our reality. However, the more you strive to do the best work for your client the less likely you are to falter. The beginning part of the relationship is crucial to the long term success of the business relationship. Do everything possible to avoid errors and mistakes during the “honeymoon phase.” This will allow you to build a solid foundation of trust so that when the inevitable slip-up occurs, it will be easier to overcome and the relationship much more likely to hold.

You Don’t Like to Be Sold To, So Why Hard Sell Your Own Clients?

2010-01-23T14:19:33+00:00

Selling has changed a lot since the days of Willy Loman. Consumers are much more knowledgeable and sophisticated and they can see a sales pitch coming from a mile away. And consumers aren’t only the prospects and clients you’re trying to sell to, they’re you too! You’re a consumer, so you should ask yourself, “How would I feel if someone was making this sales pitch to me?”

What exactly is the difference between traditional sales and attraction marketing?

Traditional Sales

You’re in control. You decide who you approach, who you pitch, and what you offer. However, the prospects usually aren’t interested at first so you have to start the sale by building interest before you can try to sell.

ABC – Always Be Closing. The goal is to make the sale; get the prospect to say, “Yes.” Then move on the next sale.

You’ll get a lot of “no’s.” However, numbers are always on your side. As long as you keep finding prospects – no matter how ideal – and keep asking, you’ll get enough “yes’s” to be successful. You just have to be strong enough to withstand it.

Attraction Marketing

You can only control the message and materials you send out. For the most part, prospects will self select themselves and come to you. The great part is that you know they’re interested before you start.

Establish yourself as an expert. When you are seen as the expert in your field, prospects close themselves because they want to work with the best.

Relationships are everything and good client service is crucial. The worst thing that can happen is that clients and prospects openly speak negatively about you. The damage to your credibility as the expert can be enormous and you may not recover.

The biggest difference is that one is positive and the other negative. The approach you choose to take affects how you feel as a person and a business.

With traditional selling, you deal with “no” every day and you spend your time convincing people to buy something in which they may have not been interested or even needed. The result is that you’ll get customers with buyer’s remorse who aren’t happy and want refunds. Will you be happy spending your time in this manner? At the end of the day, can you easily recover from being beaten down and rejected?

With attraction marketing, you’re working with people who want to work with you. You’re also improving prospects lives – even if they don’t become clients – by educating them on important topics and issues that can help them.

It’s easier and quicker and you’re much more likely to make money right away using traditional selling techniques. The question is which is more important to you – making money or being happy? There’s no right or wrong, and if you’re getting started you may have to utilize some traditional selling to get money coming in. Just be careful that you don’t damage the long term goal of establishing yourself as that expert.