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Further
Reading ...
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Planning Is The First Step - D C Wartenberger
Starting a home based business is less complicated and takes less preparations than most off home business need. No search for an office or a shop, no money you need to pay in advance to rent or buy a place. Not need to order a stock to be able to...
Five Steps To Finding A Work-At -home Job. - Leslie Truex
Work-at-home jobs have become more prevalent with the growth of the Internet. Hundreds of jobs can be found on any given day. So it’s always a surprise to me when I receive email from people asking if telecommuting is a myth. It’s not a myth. In...
Why Choose a Virtual Assistant versus a Temp? - Janice D Byer MVA
So much to do… So little time. This is an all to familiar phrase to so many people, especially small business owners. There just never seems to be enough hours in the day to get all the revenue generating tasks done, not to mention the abundance...
Can you create a company (or department) to fulfill your purpose? - Mike Hayden
See full color web version at: http://www.SeniorManagementServices.com/pvt-102-purpose.html Be sure to renew your PVT subscription before March 15th! Just cli'ck this link: mailto:Mike@SeniorManagementServices.com?Subject=Renewal-2005 I take part...
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Guidelines for *Staying* in Business
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Written By:
Robert Brents
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As "soloists" -- entrepreneurs, webpreneurs, SOHOs, HONOs
(Home Office, No Office), or plain old small businesspeople,
we must remember that without a business, i.e., a profit-
making business, we have a hobby -- & we have to go get a
job-job just to pay the lousy bills.
Furthermore, without clients, we don't have a business. In
order to survive and get that new client or return business,
we need to establish guidelines in dealing with clients.
1. The client or prospective client is never an interruption
of your work. The client is the reason you are in business.
The client must have your complete attention. Do not
multitask while speaking with your client or potential
client.
2. Always greet clients and prospective clients with a
friendly smile or hello. Clients are people, and they like
friendly and pleasant contact. They will usually return it.
3. Call clients and prospects by name. It is important to
call your clients and their staff by name. Keep name and
contact records of your clients. Before calling or visiting
a site, pull the record and study it.
4. You are the company. In the eyes of the client, you
represent your business. If you are one of the lucky ones
who have several techs working for you, training them well
will reflect on your company and you. Ditto your
receptionist, or whomever answers your phone.
5. Never argue with a client. From his or her point of view,
the client is always right. Be a good listener, agree when
you can, and do what you can to make your clients happy,
even if it involves a freebie (a small one). It is more
valuable to give a free service and keep your clients than
lose them. Most of the time. As one of my consultant buddies
taught me several years ago, "Sometimes, no work is better
than bad work."
6. Don't be afraid to say, "I don't know" (once in a while).
If you don't know the answer to a client's question, say,
"That's a good question. Let me see if I can find out for
you." Even the most skilled IT professional can't remember
everything. Become an expert on where to find the answers to
your client's questions. Be sure to respond in a timely
manner. Remember, the - continued below ...
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continued ...
client pays your fee.
7. State comments in a positive way. Choosing positive and
motivating words when speaking with a client will show you
are a skilled communicator, and it will keep your client
interested.
8. Surprise every client (in a good way!). Give your new or
existing clients something of extra value at no charge that
will increase your worth to them in their eyes.
9. Go the extra mile. Always do more than the client
expects. While delivering a training program to a large
telecommunications firm's customer service representatives,
one of the participants told me she had been having a
problem getting hypertext links to open from her emails. I'd
had the same kind of problem before, so I took a look. An
upgrade to the company's email program had turned that
feature off. I ran a quick executable from a Command Prompt
window, and voila! the problem was solved. That participant
happened to be the Manager of Technical Support. I now have
a long-term contract to deliver a broad range of training
for that company, plus I deliver several speeches at the
company's conventions and meetings every year.
10. Be on time! One of the most aggravating things to a
client is when you're late or don't show up. Avoid saying,
"I'll be there between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m." Your client's
time is as valuable as your own. If you are taking longer
than expected on a call, notify the client that you will be
delayed and give them the option to reschedule.
11. Be worthy of a referral. The next time you are working
on a project for a client, remember, they are (usually)
experts in their own fields and communicate with many other
friends in similar businesses. Offer the client a referral
fee or a discount for referrals. Put a referral code on the
back of your business cards so you can track referrals as
they come in.
About the Author
Best Regards, Robert Brents, "The 80/20 Guy"
http://www.RobertBrents.com
For your free four-lesson e-seminar, How To Write, Publish,
Market & Promote Profitable How-To Manuals, email
mailto:freehowtoeseminar@sendfree.com
Copyright 2001 Robert Brents and Blue Gecko Press.
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| _Additional Resources ... |
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7 Steps To A Powerful, Useful Reciprocal Links Directory - Charles Kangethe
The Problem No matter how good your product or service is, if you are not receiving targeted visitors to your site or if your web site is not well ranked by the Search engines you will not sell much. A solid, reciprocal linking strategy,...
Saving Money - The Magic 20 Percent - Emmanuel Mendonca
Saving money is not easy and is made more difficult if you have a short-term outlook regarding your personal finances. If, like many people, you are living from one pay cheque to the next, it is difficult to put some money aside for a rainy day or...
Why Your Business Could Fail And How To Prevent It From Happening - Jim Davis and Larry Dotson
I have heard many former business owners give many reasons why their business failed. They have said it's because the market was slow, their suppliers raised prices on them, too much competition, etc. It's usually because they didn't have enough...
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