Customer service

Deal with your mistakes properly

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Handle complaints and comments promptly If you’re in business for any length of time, you can count on dealing with complaints. As hard as you try to avoid problems, eventually something causes a customer to complain. That’s true whether you’re in network marketing or a traditional business. I’ve blogged previously on how to handle complaints. One of the points … Read more

6 more tips to generate new business this year

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How to generate sales

In an earlier column, “8 steps ensure your success in sales,” I recapped the valuable suggestions for generating new sales leads offered by David Behr, one of Tom Hokins’ trainers, during a presentation. I’m happy to share 6/7 more tips to help you generate new sales this year.

1. Prospect in new areas. Think outside the box. Which marketing platforms or opportunities do you not currently use for generating leads? Are you taking full advantage of social media and mobile applications (where applicable)? These are especially popular with younger customers. What about business netorking events and trade shows/expos? Are you taking full advantage of those? The bottom line: Go where your customers are. That may involve new planning and some additional investment. But it could also help you survive and prosper.

2. Give referrals. Sales is a two-way street. The best way is to help your customers is by generating sales or leads. Refer (and patronize) your customers whenever you can. Keep your eyes and ears open for opportunities to mention your customers to others. While attending business networking events, try to connect your customers with willing buyers. “You can have anything you want in life,” Zig Ziglar has said, “if you will help enough people get what they want.”

3. Contact lost customers. Conditions or personnel may have changed at your business or the client’s. Don’t assume the feelings are the same months later. Go back in with a new attitude and some new ideas.

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Always follow up on messages, Web postings

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Reading the title of this post, you’re probably thinking, “Duh! Who wouldn’t follow up?” Amazingly, some people decide not to, showing a gap in their customer service skills. Several recent incidents point out the need for a brief refresher on how to provide good customer service.

The topic of customer service could fill volumes. I’ll restrict myself to a handful of paragraphs. What I experienced serves as a great illustration of what can happen to you. My incidents involved two people and an organization. Here are the bare facts:

Person A: I posted a message on his Facebook page inquiring about a product he once sold. I wanted to know if he still represented the product, as I might want to buy some one day.

Person B: I posted a message on her Facebook page inquiring about a networking group that I knew she used to participate in. Didn’t receive a response from her. 

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Corporate gifts and apparel enhance morale and brand image

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We’ve all attended conferences and other business functions during which individuals were recognized for outstanding performance or other noteworthy accomplishments.

Those may seem like routine affairs, but they actually play a crucial role in the development of employee morale and loyalty, according to Tim Geiger, Vice President of Geiger, Inc. in Waukesha, Wis.

“Recognition goes a long way,” he says. Employers and managers should be thankful for a job well done and for length of service. Even suppliers should be recognized on occasion for their role in a business’ success.

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Turn a wrong-number call into a sales call

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Wrong-number call a good opportunity to promote your firm

You answer the phone one day only to learn that the caller dialed the wrong number. How do you respond?

Like most people, you probably say, “Oh, I’m sorry, you have the wrong number,” and then hang up. Next time, take advantage of a wrong-number call to make a quick pitch for your business. No “hard sell”; just enough to plant a seed in the caller’s mind.

One day a woman called to place an order on behalf of her firm. I quickly realized that she had the wrong number. Instead of merely hanging up, I used the time to promote my services. The conversation went something like this:

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