Archive for Marketing in General
How Good Customer Service Increases Sales
Posted by: | CommentsEarlier this month I spent 4 days in Eastern Washington’s Yakima Valley wine tasting. We rented an RV and set out on the road with some friends. For those of you who know that we (hubby and I) are avid boaters and home winemakers (hubby’s hobby) you might expect that we had a little bit of fun. (Big Grin!)
After the few hour drive across the state – we arrived at our first winery in the Yakima area. The tasting room server was great, we were very well received, and our journey started off on a positive note. Over the four days there was a lot of laughs a lot of wine and some insights for me. As we moved from location to location we noticed a trend.
The trend was that the better the tasting room staff was at sharing about the facility and engaging with us during our “tasting experience” the more we were inclined to buy before we left their establishment. Makes sense right? (And of course we liked and wanted the product).
Well, there were at least a handful of places that the experience was less than fair and I even walked out of one place because I couldn’t take the chill in the air anymore – as if she (the pourer) was doing us a favor by being there and we were inconveniencing her.
I won’t detail all of the trip but I wanted to make this point:
Customer Service is Critical to Your Sales!
As a small business owner most of the time YOU are that customer service person (along with chief cook and bottle washer).
Are you doing your best to take care of your customers?
Do they feel engaged in the experience and enjoy working with you?
Are you upbeat and friendly when working with them or do you treat them as if they are a hassle in your life?
If yes, AWESOME! Keep going. If you have a slight hesitation to any of the questions – then you have a place to start to seek to improve.
Keep at it. Keep going. Keep up the good work!
Without Conviction and Belief – You’re Toast!
Posted by: | CommentsI returned last night from a 12 day vacation and have so many things to write about that will just have to wait until I catch up a little bit.
However, I have to share this experience I had today with you. I am as casual as can in my comfy clothes but I couldn’t wait to share this AHA story. I just got back from running errands but this topic was too important not to talk about NOW. You never know when AHA moments happen. Keep an eye out for them.
Mine happened in the Barnes and Noble Parking lot, of all places!
Click this link to watch a short 3 minute video for My Barnes and Noble AHA Moment.
I believe this applies to all forms of sales (Internet Marketing, Network Marketing, Consumer Products and Services).
I’d love to hear your comments on the topic (not on the wild 80′s hair thing going on!)
Have a great one!
Hard Work and Determination = 18 Hour Days = Success
Posted by: | CommentsIt occurred to me that July 1st has come and gone and July 2nd is just about here. (I am writing this at 9pm) In general, this is great because I love a new month as a new start of things to come. Only problem is that I seemed to blink and June 2010 was gone. Poof. Disappeared. No longer here. And I am not sure exactly where it went. I think I missed it!
Actually, I take that back. I know where it went. The month of June was filled with 18 hour days from start to finish. Lots of ideas, lots of work and little sleep – mainly because of the work but also because of excitement and adrenaline that kept me working. As we head into this holiday weekend here in the United States to celebrate our Independence Day, I am looking forward to some rest and sleep. A much needed reward and calm before the next round.
You see, aside from my current business endeavor TheBDevent which took me out of town for a week in the middle of the month, I started a new company, Genius Netpreneurs, with a new partner and an incredibly accelerated deliverable list at the beginning of the month. Among other operational items we completed our first Ebook, got our website up, and held our first live seminar (which included promotion, content writing and delivery) all within the first 3 weeks of opening our doors.
Both TheBDevent and Genius Netpreneurs are a testament to what happens when there’s hard work, determination, some ingenuity and a lot of faith. (And great people to work with!)
One company is a year old and the other a month old – and both are well on their way to success. In coming posts I will talk about the processes involved in forming the companies, operational struggles and other items that may be of interest to aspiring or current entrepreneurs. While I’ve been through the formation process many times over the years, no two creations have ever been the same. From raising working capital, to technology challenges, to finding the appropriate vendor for a particular item no two days ever seem the same in business. I’ll share some real world examples and solutions to help you see that the old adage, “where there is a will, there is a way” comes so readily into play.
One last thought as I think back on the last month. In these tough economic times, it is up to the individual to step off the main road if there is a roadblock and head onto the beaten path. Passion, a good idea, and some hard work and determination open up possibilities. The problem is that many people either give up or don’t do what it takes to follow through because it gets hard. I understand how that happens. I cannot even tell you how many times over the last 30 days I wanted to “go to sleep” or hit the “snooze” button in the morning. I really really wanted to! Instead I’d drag myself out of bed. I didn’t give in. I didn’t because I knew what the end goal was and I was accountable to others. If you’re on your own – find someone to be accountable to – it will help your drive and motivation.
On that note, I think it is time for me to go to sleep. I’m tired.
Good Night.
