Empathy always sell
Recently I got a call from telemarketer. Now being the curious guy I am. I didn’t mind humoring her for a minute… Oh man… Did I get bombarded by her sales pitch… I know she must have some goals to achieve but it isn’t the right way to deal with people.
She totally ignored and gave me a sales pitch… Well of course, I had to shut her out and did so. This got me thinking of the kind of sales pitch I get on daily basis.
I have seen some powerful sellers at its best and then some really really dumb folks trying to get into my skin. eek…
Instead of asking “What do we need to do to close this deal?” You should be asking, “What does the customer need to do in order to buy?” This change results in a major shift in how you think about the job of selling.
Consider these points next time you talk to someone:
1. What is the buying process of this customer? We need to know what it will take, and who needs to be involved for this client to make a purchase.
2. Where is our client in their buying processes? Is your client a day or two away from signing a contract, or are they still “kicking the tires”?
3. What is the next reasonable step they must take? If you can figure out where they are and what it’s going to take to make them buy, then we can find the next logical step for them to take.
4. What can we do to get them to take that step? Once we know what our customer needs to do next, then we can figure out what we need to do next in our selling process.
Customer Service Revisited for small businesses
If you have a business of yours then customer service is one part that cannot be avoided. Businesses have to deal with customer service. Well of course there are lots of frustrations attached to it by quite a few business people.
Here’s something that I just read on Sam Stephen’s Website newsletter. Those of who don’t know Sam, let me tell you, he’s a gem of person, terrific programmer and understands his business. He has a product called “DL Guard“. I bought it from him about may be around 18 months ago.
I remember How darn good his customer service is… He answered all the questions and helped me out at every level. Not to forget his software is very very easy to install.
Anyways I was reading his website on customer service and I thought I should share it with you. Here is the Link to his newsletter “Customer Service Revisited“
Three stories: two about how well things worked out when offering high levels of customer support, and a nightmarish one.
So how do you know which will be which? And is it even possible to decide whether or not you’re wasting your time?
Yes it is, though it isn’t terribly accurate, and therefore it’s best to err on the side of caution anyway. You can usually tell from the tone of people’s emails whether or not they’re using you, or whether they genuinely need help.
If you are abused (and it WILL happen), then your best bet is to right a polite email back. If you are abused again then you have every right to ask them to please show some respect. You’re a human being, and you have ever right to be treated with respect. You’re not your customers punching bag.
Having said that, sometimes your customers just need to let fly with a little frustration. If you can handle them with respect and understanding then these customers can turn into your biggest advocates.
I believe you should always offer better customer service than is reasonably expected. It’s a larger business expense to do so, but it will help build a strong relationship with your customers that will continue long into the future.
I personally know quite a few business people who HATE customer service. But they still do it because they know it’s all about business.
Tell me what do you think of customer service? Do you think you can apply his ideas in real world situations?
How to profit from Radio advertising
Radio advertising is great way for small businesses to generate footfalls in their business. Ray Edwards recently wrote a guest column for Michel Fortin. His long column basically suggests using Scientific ad principles like direct response, benefit oriented copy when you are advertising using radio.
Like he talks about if you plan enough, you can general profitable cashflow with advertising. You can read his great post here How to Profit From Radio Advertising
Now there is one thing I’d like to add with this post.
Key No8: This key relates to Key no 3 From his list (One Most Wanted Result). If you break this rule you’ll make this mistake. What I am suggesting is Don’t Try to cram 90 seconds worth of copy into 30 sec advertising. I have seen this so often with business owners. They are trying to get that extra bit in… It doesn’t work…
tags:
Cheat Sheet for Web Design Consultation
Ok guys, here is a cheat sheet that you can use for your web design consultation. Well I used it years ago (like in 2001-02), It was in very primitive form. Today for my main consultations like (Seo Consultation or Blog & Conversion Consultation), I use improved and modified form of cheat sheet.
What’s exactly a cheat sheet?
Well, its nothing but a simple questionnaire that you’ll ask your clients and write down answers. Depending on how you are asking, it looks more professional.
Why I call is my Cheat sheet?
My basic idea behind building a questionnaire was to help me understand my client and her needs. If I can do that and show that I am trying to understand her market and customers. I noticed the trust factor (X factor for your business) always went up.
Please remember one important thing, You always need to build a rapport with your clients so that you can not only help them provide good services but also maintain long term relationships with them.
Here were my goals while creating a cheat sheet….
1. Understanding the Market of client.
2. Understanding the mindset of client’s customer.
3. Providing solution to the needs in a way that actually helps your client’s customer.
I am uploading my cheat sheet as in PDF format so all the Windows or Mac users can use this file. All you need is adobe acrobat reader to open them… Ok. From my experience you can use this kind of cheat sheet for any business you may have. Its easily transferable.
Syndicate
Subscribe to this site's RSS feed.