Becoming A Solution To Your Customers Problems
By Sue and Chuck DeFiore
Those of us in home based and small businesses are in
effect selling our product. So becoming an effective
salesperson is very important. Remember, however, that selling
is not the only thing you do. Don’t forget to use your time
wisely.
What you want to do to help you move forward is to:
Plan and prioritize. If the majority of your day is spent
with your customers, you will need some down time. You need to
have time to look at the trends in your business. By this I
mean go over your customer records, see where patterns are,
what changes you need to make and then set up a plan to
implement those changes. If you spend a little time at the end
of each day going over what transpired during the day and set
up your plan and schedule for the next day, you will be much
better prepared for the next day and the subsequent days.
At the beginning of each week, take a look at where you
want your business to be and make plans on how to get there.
If something you are doing isn’t working, make changes.
However, then you need to give those changes time to work. If
they don’t work, change them again. Most important is that you
spend the time each week to figure out what your business
needs are and what your needs are, till you come up with what
works best for you, your business and your customers.
As many of our long time readers know, I am a big proponent
of To Do lists. Make up a daily to do list, a weekly and a
monthly. Remember to consider your goals when making up your
To Do list. Where do you want your business to be in five
years, ten years? When you ask yourself these questions, you
focus on the direction you want your business to take and the
income you want to make.
Remember, after you have determined what your goals are,
then take your goals and figure out the steps you need to take
to get to that particular goal. Do this with each of your
goals. Since we are concentrating on sales in this article,
ask yourself: Do I need a new product? Do I need to look for
other ways to sell my products? If I make these changes will I
need additional funds? If I need funds should I get a parnter
or find an investor? If I increase my business will I need to
hire someone? Once you have answered these questions, then
take the steps you have come up with and put them on your To
Do list.
It is very important that you have a calendar and that you
set deadlines. Your calendar can be paper or electronic. The
most important thing is that you use it. Put all your goals,
the steps needed to get to your goals, and deadlines to meet
those steps in your calendar. Remember, if you use your
calendar wisely it will help you accomplish what you need to
and help you to get things done efficiently and on time.
To show you how your calendar can work for you, let’s set
up a marketing campaign. First, you want to schedule deadlines
for everything that needs to be done before you can even start
the campaign.
First set a deadline of September 4 to re-price all your
current products. By the 12th of September contact the media
you will be using for rate information along with their
readership information, and what their ad copy requirements
are. In our example the media would be newspapers and
magazines. However, you can also do the same for television,
billboard, etc. By the end of September (the 30th) make up
your ad budget for the year. You will want to determine how
much it will cost you on a monthly basis, so you can have an
accurate determination of your monthly expenses. By the middle
of October (let’s say the 15th) set a deadline for your ad
copy and any art so that you can meet their deadline. Let’s
say in our example it is the 1st of the month. So that would
be November 1st.
The above example illustrates how to take a large project
and break it down into smaller projects and to set deadlines
for them so that you can get the whole project done.
As any successful business owner will tell you, of
paramount importance is to keep in touch with customers. You
can call your regular customers often, perhaps every six weeks
or every month. Or if calling is not feasible in your
business, keep in contact by sending post cards, flyers, or a
special announcement. Be sure to keep track of when you last
talked with each individual, or were in contact with them.
Also, if possible, make some comment that personalizes the
call, or written contact. For example, ask about new
developments in their business or mention the spouse or
children by name. Know your customer. Make your customer feel
important.
A great way to keep in touch with your customer is after
you’ve made a sale, send a thank you note. If your business
warrants it, if your customer will probably run out of
supplies in three months, send a reminder note.
As we all know catalogs are great, however, they are very
costly to mail. Rather than send a catalog why not just send a
postcard to your customers announcing the new items you have
added to your catalog. If they use a particular product,
mention that on the post card. The holiday is a great time of
year to contact customers. If your business warrants it, a
birthday card is a nice touch. For example, my insurance
company sends me a birthday card every year, along with a
calendar.
Some other ways to stay in touch is to send them an article
about your business or a catalog sheet (these usually focus on
one or a couple of items) or start a newsletter and send it to
your customers on a quarterly basis or more often if
warranted.
Another excellent way to keep in touch with your customer
is to become a resource for your customers. Remember, many
times when you make a sale, you provide a solution to a
problem. Lease purchasing is a solution for those who need to
move their home quickly. A repair service is a solution for
wear and tear that comes with time. Tax preparers provide a
solution to those that dread tax time and all the paperwork
involved. Newsletters are a great way to become a resource.
You could have a FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) article on a
particular product you sell. Make your customer aware that you
can provide them with solutions for a certain type of problem.
If your customer has a problem that you can’t solve refer them
to another expert. If you are not sure of something when your
customer asks, don’t bluff your way through it. Tell your
customer that you will get back to them with an answer.
One of the most important things is to deliver what you
promise. If you say something will go out on a specific day,
be sure it does. If you say you will get back to them with
certain information, be sure you do so. Never let your
customer down.
When your customers and others think of you, you want to be
thought of as a problem solver. Someone who is reliable,
organized, and cares. If you do all of the above you can
accomplish this and customers will call you, and more
importantly, refer others to you.
Copyright 2003 DeFiore Enterprises
Interested in having your own successful, home based
creative real estate investing business? Chuck and Sue have
been helping folks start successful home based businesses for
over 19 years, and we can help you too! To see how, visit
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