5 Steps to Service Excellence

Complaining about bad service has become a national pastime, but has the complaining diminished our crisis? Not in the least. If we want our service landscape to change, we must band together to proactively transform the people, places, and processes that are driving us to distraction. If you or your organization do not consistently satisfy and surpass customer expectations, your clients will take their buying power elsewhere. It’s that simple. But by establishing service excellence as your top strategic and cultural priority, you will foster the strong relationships needed to win – and retain – loyal clients. In How You

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7 Steps to Hiring Right the First Time

“30% of job applicants make misrepresentations on their resume.” Have you ever hired someone and found out the person you hired is the evil twin of the person you interviewed? Have you ever hired someone and subsequently had to fire that same person? If you have answered yes to either of these you read on. Some people are just professional interviewers and can sell you a bag of goods in the process. How can you avoid being taken by the new thief? Studies reveal that as many as 30% of job applicants make misrepresentations on their resume. In the October

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Factors to Consider in Franchise Contracts and Agreements

In the article “Understanding Franchise Agreements and Contracts”, we talked about the key points you need to look at when negotiating your franchise agreements and contracts. When and if you decide to proceed with entering into the franchise contracts and agreements, here are some key items you will want to cover with your future franchisor and franchise lawyer: Get it in writing! Check and see if you have made any verbal agreements with the participating parties that you are not seeing within the final contract, or you think have not been adequately covered. Once you’ve signed on the dotted line,

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Should Social Media Replace Cold-Calling?

People continue to say how cold-calling is dead and how in today’s environment, it no longer can be cost justified. The answer in my book is both “yes” and “no.” Let me deal with the “no” first. In the past few months, I’ve watched numerous salespeople shift all of their prospecting efforts to developing social media with such vehicles as Linkedin, Twitter and Facebook. The problem with this is it becomes a giant time sucker. The payout of social media in terms of developing sales short-term is very poor. To develop a social media strategy requires time, and I’m a

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Do You Believe in the Products You are Selling?

You will always be your number one customer. It’s not the big account you service, nor is it the hot new prospect you just uncovered; it’s you. The reason is simple. If you’re not completely confident in what you’re selling, you will never come close to maximizing your sales potential. The current sales environment makes the need to sell yourself even more important. If you think you’re the exception to this rule and you’re not completely confident in the products or services you offer, ask yourself this simple question: Have you ever offered a discounted price to either keep a

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How to Use Promotional Products to Market Your Business

Promotional products are one of the oldest – and most effective – ways of advertising a business. Every year, American businesses spend an average of $20 billion on promotional products, giving away anything with logos such as wearables, writing instruments, bags, desk items, calendars, glassware, and many more items. The success of promotional products hinges on the idea of the time-honored concept of reciprocity: if you give something, you will be honor-bound to return the favor by giving something back. As such, big and small businesses have used promotional materials as part of their marketing strategies. Even non-profits and research

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9 Steps to Achieve Your Goals

How many times have you smashed up against a road block when you were after a goal, and wondered if you would EVER get there? There really are only two types of goal seekers — those who “get it” and achieve their goals, and those who spend their lives wondering WHY they keep smashing up against those road blocks. Here are nine ABSOLUTELY PROVEN keys to immediately “get it,” achieve your goals and finally make some fast and lasting progress: Get Clear! That amazing 3-pound brain of yours is the ultimate goal-seeking machine! You have trained it from childhood to

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Think Success: The Power of Visualization

How often do you hear or read the question “What’s the secret to succeeding in business?” I don’t know about yourself but I read it each day and hear it almost as often. As if there is a so-called secret! If it was a secret no one would know about it! If no one knew about it then nobody would be successful. There are many reasons why most businesses fail and only a small percentage take-off. I would like to concentrate today on what I believe is the most important attribute that I have used in pursuit of my online

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5 Step Formula for Creating Your Marketing Message

As I was visiting with a friend of mine in the funeral business not long ago I asked him what his marketing message was and he replied, “We sell piece of mind.” I said, “Yes, but explain to me what your message is to your prospects. What do you say in your brochures and advertising?” He had a puzzled look on his face as if I was from another planet. This is not uncommon. Most small businesses are confused about their marketing message. Some think it’s their slogan and others think it’s a regurgitation of all their awards and how

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Simple 3-Step Selling Process to Increase Sales

Rarely are we in a position to sell to a customer something that is so unique and compelling that they have no other choice but to buy from us. To help create a competitive edge in the marketplace, we must find ways to distinguish our selling process from our rival’s. One of the most effective ways to do this is to use each call to “learn” something about the customer and to “teach” them something about the business. When we take the time to both “learn” from and “teach” the customer something, then we have earned the right to “sell”

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How to Use Complaints to Increase Sales

When times are rough, when everybody is hunting for new business, it is the best opportunity to listen to your frustrated customers. Actually the best time to find out how you can improve your service is now – before they complain. You might have experienced this: you call a supplier to complain or to request that a mistake be corrected. To your dismay, he does not answer up or does not follow up on your request. They give the impression that they are overwhelmed with problems – too busy trying to make money. What a wasted opportunity! Take every single

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Why You, Why Now – A Critical Component of a Winning Business Plan

Business plans continue to be an essential element of the capital-raising process. A winning business plan must convince investors to take notice – investors that are shrewder today due to the ups-and-downs they have experienced over the past few years. Adding to the financing challenge is the plethora of high-quality companies, both public and private, in which investors can choose to invest. In this environment, more and more investors are asking companies seeking capital the question “Why You, Why Now”? The question seems simple at first, but has many complexities. The management team must clearly delineate what it is about

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