IGNITEDPOST

Posts Tagged ‘Customers’

By: Stephen Novak

I remember when starting a new business was as easy as…

1. The IDEA.
2. Acquiring some powdered lemonade.
3. Mix it up in a pitcher with water, sugar, and ice.
4. Put up a card table by a busy sidewalk.
5. Painting a sign that reads, “ICE COLD LEMONADE .35 CENTS A GLASS”.
6. Smile and say hello to people. 
7. Make sure that the lemonade doesn’t get too watered down from the ice melting.

Come to think of it…starting a business today requires very similar steps.  Just on a larger scale.  Let’s look at some key points compared to our theoretical lemonade stand.

1. The idea  =  the visualization stage. This is usually the most exciting part.  One can explore the possibilities of taking a raw gut feeling and transforming a dream into something innovative, rare, and successful.  Enjoy this stage but don’t linger in it – once an idea is revealed, it quickly starts to accumulate dust and lose its luster.
2. Acquiring some powdered lemonade, sugar, water and ice  =  The acquisition of the materials and concepts that lay out the building blocks of the product or service that you want to sell.  This may require financing: please read one my earlier posts “Starting a small business” (July, 30^th 2011) for more information on this topic.
3. Mix it in a pitcher  =  the manufacturing, making, or developing your product or service.  This is the nuts-and-bolts of your operation.  If you are predominantly a service oriented business, how you do what you do is more important than what you do. It’s your know-how and skill that will differentiate you from your competition.  If you will provide a product, will you manufacture it yourself or have it built for you?  What will be unique about its nomenclature?
4. Put up a card table where people can see you  =  the location of your business.  This could be a standard brick and mortar or web based site.The U.S. Small Business Administration has an excellent page that discusses this topic in great detail.  http://www.sba.gov/content/tips-choosing-business-location
5. Paining a sign  =  advertising.  This is your declaration to the masses: who you are, what you are about, and what you can do for them.  This proclamation could be as subtle as a handing out business cards, or as obvious as a flying around in a blimp with your name plastered all over the side.  There are literally thousands of new and innovative ways to get you name out there.  Explore.  Have fun.    
6. Smile and say hello to people  =  customer service.  This involves hiring, training, and holding accountable qualified customer service artists.  Without a proper customer focused business strategy, you will be out of business in no time.
7. Make sure that the lemonade doesn’t get watered down  =  Quality control.  This may be one of the most overlooked areas of any small business.  Big businesses have processes like Six Sigma in place to measure and improve their products or processes.  It may not be practical or cost effective for a small business to have a whole quality control department; however, it must be the responsibility of everyone in your business to make sure that by the time your product or service contacts the customer, it represents what you need it to. Any business must continually ensure that the products or services that they are offering exceed their customers’ expectations.

So we’ve had the vision, got the startup cash, created our product or service, picked our location and got the word out…whew…that was hard work.  I think I’ll have a glass of that lemonade now.

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

By: Stephen Novak

 Everything we do requires some form of a process.  From brushing our teeth to planning a trip, there is always a chain of events.  Merriam-Webster defines a process as:

1 a : progress, advance <in the process of time>

   b : something going on : proceeding

2 a (1) : a natural phenomenon marked by gradual changes that lead toward a particular result <the process of growth> (2) : a continuing natural or biological activity or function <such life processes as breathing> b : a series of actions or operations conducing to an end; especially : a continuous operation or treatment especially in manufacture.

We learned as a child how to brush our teeth, walk, and eventually ride a bike.  These processes took practice and determination to perfect.  A novice salesperson should constantly read new books, continually train with knowledgeable teachers, and diligently practice with the same resolve as a strong-minded child.  Come to think of it – experienced salespeople should do the same thing!!!   

 As an exercise, let’s look at a basic step-by-step approach to sales – The ever enduring 5 Steps To A (Anything) Sale:

1) Friendly greeting.

2) Assess needs.

3) Make recommendation.

4) Explain benefits and features.

5) Ask for the sale.

 If we left out step 2, we wouldn’t have any idea which product or service was right for the customer.  It would not help to push the two-car garage if the buyer’s main concern is the age of the roof.  Your job as a salesperson is to seek out what the customer wants.

 If we did not explain the benefits and features in Step 4, it would be impossible for the customer to differentiate our product or service from our competitor.  

 If we did not even ask the customer for the pleasure of his or her business…well, we probably should be doing something else for a living.

 Just as if we had forgotten to use a toothbrush while brushing our teeth, we could not be as effective as we should have been.

 BEWARE:  Do not allow yourselves to become slaves to any process just for the sake of the process.  If what you are doing ain’t working, you MUST try something else.  If the process gets in the way of customer communication, scrap it…amend it…modernize it (Read, train, practice).  Every sales process should enhance customer interaction, and keep a salesperson on track.  A process should NOT be there just to hook customers into buying something that will later regret.   

“We must first identify, before we can satisfy the customer’s proclivity…profitably”.

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

By: Stephen Novak

Consider the following situations:

A child is eating watermelon in the blistering dog day’s heat – The smile reverberates the true joy that only a simple summer treat can provide.

A man’s feet stammer in the aisle of a church at the beginning of the best decision he will ever make – His prospective spouse’s soul sings as she steers toward the aisle.

Now contrast with the following:

A single mom is leaving work; she notices her tire is low.  She’s knows that she’ll be late picking up her child from daycare (They penalize by the minute if you’re late) as she limps towards her favorite car repair shop.  She’s relieved that the shop doors are just now coming down, someone is still there, she thinks.  The person behind the glass doors waves their hands and yells, “We’re closed”, and steals away into the back room.

Now the reason for the rant:

I went into a convenience store a few days ago.  After checking out, the clerk stuffed my purchases into the bag and said, “Thanks, young man”.  During my sales training courses, I’ve heard similar statements from inexperienced salespeople for years.  When confronted they usually say that they’ve been told to always compliment the customer…to make them feel good.  And while that statement is true, they forgot the most important part of a compliment – IT MUST BE SINCERE.  Today’s customers are a lot savvier than they have ever been – They can spot a sales pitch a mile away.  After being assaulted by such a line, most customers will just smile back while thinking to themselves, what a schmuck. 

For anyone that works with people, commit to this: if you give anyone a compliment, IT MUST BE SINCERE.  People know how old they are, if they’ve lost weight, or if they’ve been working out.  Trite or dishonest statements will shore up any preconceived barriers that the customer may have.  Always remember: it’s our job to break down ANY barriers that get in the way of building strong relationships with our customers.

As for being there for your customers…we’ll cover that later.

Copyright © Stephen Novak 2011 Rising Moon Publications. All rights reserved.

Without your customer base you have no business, so building a happy customer base is as important to your business and blood is to your body, without it you are dead.

Building a client base like this isn’t easy, but if you think about it this way, if you don’t get them someone else will, it might give you that little push you need.

Have an edge on your competition, whether it’s service, customer service, lower prices etc. If you have something that your clients want, something they look forward to they will keep coming back.

For instance, I am sure you have seen many restaurants tank within the first year. Why do you think that is? If you have been a customer in one or several of these restaurants then you know what might have caused the place to close.

Most times in these types of situations it’s the service. If service is slow or non existent people won’t come back. It’s a NOW society, people don’t like to wait and when you have to wait too long you are gone.

What can you do for your clients that your competition can’t? What about customer service? Is yours above average? Have you heard from your customers that they are so happy you got back to them so quickly? If this is one thing that sets you apart from your competition keep it up!!

Whatever it is that gives you and edge you are going to want to exploit that and make sure that it doesn’t wane or falter, because these days it’s very easy for clients/customers to find someone else, and they will tell you as much!

Build an excellent client base, have excellent service and you will build a stronger and long lasting business, one that your clients will tell their friends about, and we all know that word of mouth is the best advertisement!