E-Tip 267 - The Value of Client Surveys

The start of a new year is a time of renewal for many businesses. And one of the best ways to help augment the process is to conduct Client Satisfaction Surveys, as they will provide a snap shot of what is and is not working in the eyes of a client.

What You Do Not Provide A Customer May Not Be Obvious To You...Even If You Are The President.

As you look back on 2009, you probably learned a lot about your business, but what may not be obvious are the things that a customer desires, wants or needs from your business. That being said, we suggest conducting a client and past client satisfaction survey. By implementing a survey, you will learn a lot about what your company is doing right and perhaps what you should be doing.

4 Ways To Conduct A Survey.

There are four main ways to implement a survey:

1. Face-to-face interviews
2. Telephone interviews
3. Written questionnaires (faxed back or mailed)
4. Online surveys

Of the survey types listed above, online surveys are by far the most cost-effective and the results can quickly be compiled with online survey tools. No matter what venue you choose, we suggest keeping three factors in mind: The quality of your e-mail or mailing list, the type of survey questions/choices and, of course, the results.

Survey The Right People.

Before you begin developing your survey questions, put yourself in the shoes of your target audience. You will want to ensure that you know the name of the person being surveyed, their title, mailing address, phone number and e-mail address. Do not hesitate to spend extra time double-checking your database's information.

Ask The Right Questions.

When you are ready to design your survey, ask yourself, what is the objective of this survey? If you are building the survey questions around multiple sections, use a logical break in the sequence of questions asked. If not, your survey will seem jumbled and confusing. In other words, keep your survey simple and straightforward.

When you are developing the choices for your survey, avoid score-based questions, as marketing research has discovered that survey respondents are often too generous with their scores when grading is required. For example, out of a ten-point scale respondents will typically select 7's, 8's or 9's and rarely ever dip below 6. Naturally, this results in inaccurate survey data that businesses cannot rely on for self-evaluation. Because of this, we suggest using:

• Strongly Disagree
• Disagree
• Agree
• Strongly Agree

When asking someone to grade a product, we recommend using a three-step expectation scale, like this:

• Much more useful than expected
• About as useful as expected
• Less useful than expected

Take The Results To The Next Level.

After sending out your survey, wait 1-2 weeks before collecting your responses. Keep in mind that when it comes to online surveys, a 30% response rate is considered good. Once you have your responses, use the data as a springboard for discussion with clients. Ask them if the results mirror their own sentiments regarding your services and inform them of any changes you may soon implement.

Executive Summary: Every business should strive for improvement, especially if they hope to succeed in this ever-changing business climate. One of the best ways to start to upgrading or changing things at your business is to ask the people who spend the most time using your products or services...your clients and past clients.

For more information, check out our website!

E-Tip 266 - Call Me After the Holidays

At last, we have reached December, a time of the year when things start to get interesting for many salespeople. This is when salespeople start to hear prospective buyers say things like:

• "Call me after the holidays."
• "Our business is slow right now, so we won't be buying anything until after the first of the year."
• "We're going to wait until after the first of the year before we change _________."

Unless what you sell can be given as a holiday gift, this time of year presents a unique and difficult challenge for many salespeople.

Here Are Just A Few Ways To Handle A Prospect Delaying A Buying Decision...

• "I understand. Some businesses are putting off _____________ until after the first of the year and because of that, I wanted to see if your company qualifies for our new cost saving ____________ program (or whatever your special offer is called), which has an extra bonus if you sign up by December 30th. This would save you X%."
• "I can relate to things being slow right now. By the way, I wanted to share with you a new _______ package to introduce our (insert your product/services here). How many employees are on your payroll?"
• "I can relate to things being slow right now, but tell me, will anything change after the first of the year that will prevent you from starting then?"
• "I understand. What day after the first of the year would you like to start your _____________?"
• "I understand. We can deliver the products now and bill you after the first of the year. Does that work for you? On top of that, you will save X% by avoiding the 2010 price increase."

What You Say After Being Told "No" Will Prompt A Prospect To Tell You Their Real Objection.

Often times, the reason a prospect stalls their buying decision is because they are afraid of taking a risk. They may be thinking, "Suppose this service doesn't work well for our situation-then I'll be in trouble." In addition to fear, another reason a prospect may be stalling is if their cash flow is off and they are not authorized to make any purchases. Whatever the real reason may be, you need to flush-it-out and solve it.

If A Prospect Still Says "No" Here Is What You Need To Do.

Like you, I talk to people who want to put things off until after the first of the year. In order to get around this, I do three things. First, I schedule a follow-up call in my database for the first week of the year. Second, I place them in my weekly e-tip marketing campaign so my company's name stays in their conscious and subconscious mind. Third, I send them relevant information about their industry, not notes asking, "Are you ready to buy yet?"

See below for some additional ideas:

• Postcards that promote special offers on your products or services
• Special reports or white papers about cost savings, customer success stories or related customer testimonials.
• Buying guides that help them make the best buying decision. Consumer Reports magazine does a great job at presenting this type of data.
• Letters from the president of your company thanking them for their past business.
• Independent articles that talk about cost saving from your product or services.
• Press releases on new clients, customer service guarantees or special interest projects.

Executive Summary: If a prospect is delaying their decision to buy from you, we recommend offering an alternative close. By doing so, you will most likely find the underlying cause of why they are not buying from you.

For more information about what Dale Carnegie can do for you, visit our website!

E-Tip 265 - Employee Motivation: It's Easier Than You Think!

The job of an owner, director or manager is to get things done through their employees. And to make this happen, they need to be able to motivate their staff. Nevertheless, for many people this is easier said than done.

Motivating People Is Poorly Practiced By Today's Leaders.

Regardless of all the research and books on the subject of motivating people in the workforce, employee motivation is not fully understood and often times poorly applied. To truly understand employee motivation we must understand people (which tends to be the weak link in the process).

Understanding people is a complex process; however, it is a necessary part of effective employee motivation. Once a person has mastered this skill, effective management and leadership is easily implemented.

On The Job Improvement Is Augmented Through One's Motivation.

No matter what we do for a living, everyone needs to be motivated. Whether you are a cabinet maker, baker or CEO of a Fortune 100 company, you need to be driven or at least motivated (internally or externally) to do your job.

Does Everyone Have Self-Motivation?

There is no simple or clear answer to that question. Self-motivation is a trait that everyone has, but the level of motivation varies from person to person. For any business to survive and succeed, they need to have employees who are motivated. While there are scores of options, our research has shown that most people do not know where to start. That being said, we have bulleted a few ideas to get you (or someone you know) started down the right path.

• Set High Expectations And/Or Goals
• Employ Positive Reinforcement
• Treat People, Job Descriptions And Positions Fairly
• Meet An Employee's Need(s)
• Restructure Roles And Responsibilities
• Financial Rewards Based On Job Performance

Motivation In The Workplace Is Valuable In Terms Of Both Revenue And Production.

You can improve your staff's motivation quickly (and often times at little or no cost) by following these five steps:

1. Improve Everyone's Work Environment: Look for simple ways to make it more enjoyable to come to work, like putting on a fresh coat of paint, having clean bathrooms or replacing some worn out carpeting. Even a larger or updated company sign can bring new life to the work environment.

2. Make Work More Challenging, Fun & Interesting: Training workers in new areas and assigning new job tasks can give workers new insights about the business and improve skill sets. This can build confidence in their ability to perform different job functions and increase worker moral.

3. Give Kudos For A Job Well Done: Everyone appreciates being noticed when they do something right or go above and beyond their normal responsibilities, especially if the job is monotonous or difficult.

4. Tie Money Or Perks To Outstanding Performance: Make bonuses or perks a motivation for employees to work harder and better at their job. Share their outstanding performance with other employees.

5. Keep An Open Line Of Communication With Everyone: You need to know if your people are no longer challenged or have become bored with their job. The only way to become aware of this is for employees to be able to communicate their desires to their immediate supervisor. Although no one can accommodate the needs of everyone, you should try your hardest to lend a proactive ear to their needs.

Executive Summary: There are many factors that motivate people. Surprisingly enough, pay, benefits and working conditions are typically given a low rating. And contrary to popular belief, money is NOT the prime motivator. People want to be respected, acknowledged and rewarded intrinsically for a job well done.

For more information, check our our website!

E-Tip 264 - 10 Strategies for Client Retention in 2010

With 2009 drawing to a close, many business owners we know are looking to put this year behind them and start finding ways to increase their business for 2010.

In today's competitive business environment, we have learned that it is more important to focus on building stronger relationships with existing clients. And to help you do a better job at this, we have compiled 10 tips that could easily turn your existing clients into proactive advocates for your business.

The 10 Tips To Help Your Client Retention Are:

Tip #1. Spend 10 - 20 Minutes Every Day Speaking With Two Existing Clients -Even though e-mail has become the communication method of choice for most businesses, we highly recommend picking up the phone and calling your clients. Once you have a client on the phone, ask them, "If you had a magic wand, and could wave it over us, what would you have us do that we are not already doing?" Alternatively, "What do you need from us that we are not providing?" After listening to your clients, execute the best ideas that work for your business.

Tip #2. Ask A Select Group Of Clients To Serve On Your

Board - By assigning your top or most creative clients to your board, you will have access to top-level thinking. Chances are they will come up with ideas you never thought of or did not think were important enough to implement.

Tip #3. Send Your Clients Articles About Their Business And/Or Industry -Your clients like to know that you have their back. Make an effort to send relevant articles to them. This small and simple gesture will help create a much more loyal customer base.

Tip #4. Invite Clients To Test A New Product Or Service (At A Discounted Price/Fee) Before You Offer It To Everyone Else - Exclusivity, or "invitation only," is an excellent way to get someone tied to your business. Not only that, it will save you time by acting as a beta test program. Their feedback will help you either fine-tune the deliverables or decide to can it all together

Tip #5. Start An Alliance With Your Clients Via A Seminar, Marketing Effort/Workshop, Or Special Affair - The more opportunities you take to spend time with your clients, the more connected they will become with your business. And the more connected they are, the stronger an advocate or referral source they are.

Tip #6. Give Them Added Value - There is nothing wrong with giving your clients something special, from 2-for-1 deals, buy 1 get X free deals, dollar or percentage discounts, free or discounted design services, etc.

Tip #7. Connect Clients Who Share Similar Interests Or

Ideas - If you have a client who needs help in a particular area that you know another client is proficient in, get the two together. You will look like a hero by finding someone who could solve their problem, and in the process foster a sense of friendship and trust.

Tip #8. Know Thy Competition - In today's ever-shrinking business world, you need to know how your competition is doing. Google your competition, visit their website and call them up as if you were a prospective buyer. What you find will amaze you, not to mention provide you with valuable information to help your business.

Tip #9. Shop Your Own Company - Hire a third party and have them call your company posing as a prospective buyer. Afterwards, ask them about their experience. The details they can provide will help you develop a better understanding of how you should be handling new clients.

Tip #10. Your Customers Are Always Right - For many, practicing this philosophy can be tough, especially when you know a customer is wrong. No matter what, work on making a client happy.

Executive Summary: Word of mouth advertising is the most powerful advertising there is for any business, but it is only attained by having clients who trust and believe in you. If your clients hold you in high esteem, they will not only tell people about you but also buy from you again and again.

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