Sales

In the last post we talked about how to research your big fish and prepare for your first contact with them. This first contact is essential to your success. You need to be confident in your product or service and they need to know you can fulfill exactly what you are offering on time, at a good price and at the quality you promise. Today we’ll go through the big approach and how to make that perfect first impression. Before you put together your approach plan, you need to choose which big fish you’re going after first. Look at your notes and the research you’ve done about prospective big fish and then decide which one will be the easiest to start with. When choosing which big fish to start with consider the following: Your Hit List Your Best Target   Your Hit List Start with a list of all the companies you’ve been considering. Then narrow it down to the ones who know could use your products or services. Don’t overlook obvious choices. Even small companies could be big fish in the future. Your Best Target Once you’ve got your list narrowed down, you need to decide which one is the best fish to start with. You need to consider a couple of things: Which have the most purchasing resources to spend? Does their company vision compliment yours? What are their employee incentive programs in relation to your products and services? What is the company’s real need? Will the partnership

In the last post we talked about how to bring the big-company mindset into your business and your team. This approach helps you overcome the mental obstacles that will keep you from being successful. Now we can talk about who your big fish is and what their needs are. It’s important to know about the fish you are looking for before you put a plan together. We’re also going to take a moment to talk about the potential “red tape” you may encounter along the way. The most important thing to know about your fish is their purchasing habits and procedures. There are four main things you need to work on to be successful: Responsibilities: You need to know who has influence over purchasing, who does the actual buying and who can kill a deal if they want. Get on Their List: You need to know how to get on their list of people to buy from. Your name needs to not only be on the list, but at the top of it and in as many categories as possible for the most interaction. Ask about a procurement program and what you need to do to go through the application process. Lingo: You need to learn the company’s unique language and communication methods. These could include report names, buzzwords and even the nicknames they have for their employees. Fiscal Budgets: It’s essential you know their fiscal budget, so you know exactly when they are planning their expenses for the year.

In the last post we started talking about getting bigger clients or catching the “big fish”.  These are the types of clients that will sustain your business over the long run by creating consistency. We’re going to take that a step further by talking about how to understand and think like a big fish company and how that can help you plan your approach and find success. Before you can start the process of landing big clients, you must make sure your entire team is onboard with your approach and vision. There are six keys to finding big client success. First Impression: You have one shot to land a big client. If you make a mistake, they aren’t going to consider you again. Never give them a reason to doubt your abilities. Priority: Your big clients must always feel like they are your priority. Return calls and emails immediately and find solutions to their problems or questions as quickly as possible. Flexible: You need to be flexible in your negotiations. If they need a special service or for you to customize a product, say yes for the benefit of the long term. A little hassle now will be a big payoff later. Long-term: This goes along with the last one. As you are approaching and negotiating with big clients you need to think about the long-term benefits for your business. If you go for a one-time big score, you may lose their interest and the ability to have them as

There are several factors to take into consideration when prepping yourself and your company to approach larger clients. Let’s start by looking at the three paths most businesses take and show you which one is the path to success. Then we’ll talk about the mindset that is needed to attract the big fish. There are three major paths a business can take: Snail Speed Shooting Star Catch the Big Fish Snail Speed Most business owners end up working themselves into the ground without much reward or success. This is what happens when you fool yourself into thinking you will find quick success. You may also find yourself following this path when you are afraid of change. Shooting Star This describes a business that shoots to the top so fast that they are overwhelmed and don’t have the right resources in place to adapt. This can also happen from being overwhelmed by too many small clients and not taking the time to find large clients which will sustain your business and growth after the smaller clients fade away. Catch the Big Fish This is the path that allows you to build at a steady pace and create something that you can manage by not allowing your customers to outpace you. You can do this by putting these tips to work: Attract, keep, and lock in big clients. Integrate “big business” culture into your company and employees. Acquire the expertise you need to grow. Have the courage to make changes as you

The 1% Rule is simple.  Improve your customer service one percent at a time. In order to do this you must have your consistency or it will never work. The 1% may seem small, but these baby steps will become giant leaps over time. Remember, that it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. If you are trying to do too much at one time you will set yourself up for failure. But if you can improve just 1% each week, think of the confidence you and your employees will have. By the end of a year, you’ll have improved more than 50%! While, rules and standards are necessary for growth, you should always be flexible with your best customers. For example, most retailers only allow a set number of items into a dressing room to reduce the risk of shoplifting, but that also restricts the large percentage of people who are not stealing from you. Flexibility is the key to what you deliver to your customers and consistency is the key to how you deliver it. The bottom line is that your customers rely on you to deliver what you promise. If you spend too much money and effort on bulky advertising that promises more than you can deliver, then even your best intentions will unravel quickly and you will fail. Focus on your vision and baby steps to turn your satisfied customers into Raving Fans. I hope you’ve learned a lot about good customer service and how it’s essential

Recently, we talked about figuring out what your customers want out of a positive shopping experience. Now we’ll talk about the concept of Deliver +1 and how this concept can take your customer service to the next level. I’ve split up this post into two sections.  The next one will cover the 1% Rule. Consistency is the key to any great customer service experience. If you want to take your satisfied customers to Raving Fan status, you must go above and beyond the average customer service experience. There are three ways to develop consistency: Avoid offering too many customer service options. We sometimes get so caught up in giving customers what they want that we get away from our original vision. Instead, stay true to your vision and offer one or two solid customer service techniques that will set you apart from the competition. You need to fine tune the current systems you are using before you can add something new to the mix. There’s nothing worse than launching a new program when you haven’t even worked out the kinks of an old system. Put solid systems into place. Once you know what you’re going to offer, you need to have a system in place to execute it flawlessly every time. This system needs to have the right people in the right roles with defined responsibilities and the proper technology that guarantees a positive experience every time. Emphasis needs to be placed on the results, which ultimately is the satisfaction

In the last post we talked about the first secret to building a solid customer service plan and how to decide what your vision is. Today we’ll talk about the second secret in taking your satisfied customers to raving fans. You must know what your customers want, who your customers are and how to serve them. Demographics are important here. An upper-class woman in her 30’s is going to have completely different expectations than a working-class man in his 50’s. There are four main areas you need to consider and plan when figuring out what your customers want: Listen to Your Customers Ask Your Customers Sincerely Offer More than Just a Product/Service Know When to Ignore Them These are all important when deciding what your customers want out of their shopping experience. Listen to Your Customers You need to listen to both what they say and what they don’t say. Customers may say they want one thing and really mean something else. For example, if you customers are begging for lower prices, you may find out their real priority is quick delivery. Also, listen to your “silent” customers. These are the customers that don’t bother to complain because the service is so bad, they’ve just given up and don’t feel like their voice matters. They feel unwanted and when a competitor shows up, they’ll be gone. Lastly, you need to listen to customers who only reply with “fine”. These customers are like the “silent” customers in that they are so

Customer service is a hot topic and can make or break your business. Consumers have little patience for lousy customer service and easily get tired of waiting in long lines, trying to get a live person on the phone, going through an interrogation to return something or trying to communicate through a language barrier. If you provide them with a simple, efficient, pleasant experience they will revisit your business over and over. More importantly, they will tell everyone they know! There are three secrets to good customer service, the first one we’re going to conquer is knowing exactly what YOU want. You are the captain of the ship and the visionary for the future of your business, so you need to have a clearly defined plan for your business and that includes customer service. There are three main goals you need to consider: It needs to be easy for your customers to do business with you. You can do this with advertised discounts, kiosks, your website and other technology-based programs to help them shop. Doing business with you needs to be a warm and pleasant experience. Your staff must be knowledgeable, approachable, warm and patient. Your customers need to feel like they are getting a good value for their time and money. Perceived value goes beyond the price of the products and extends to their shopping experience. Change your mind set and ask yourself “How can I NOT afford to do these things?” This shouldn’t be a question of expenses

Direct response marketing is marketing that demands a direct response from your potential customers.

There are 5 major components to good advertising copy: (The order of these is essential to success)