Author: Ethan Theo

Abe WalkingBear Sanchez is an International Speaker / Trainer / Consultant on the subject of cash flow / sales enhancement and business knowledge organization and use. Founder and President of www.armg-usa.com, WalkingBear has authored hundreds of business articles, has worked with numerous companies in a wide range of industries since 1982 and has spoken at many venues including the Shakespeare Globe Theater in London.

Categories
Starting Up

8 Office Location Tips for Small Business

Article Contributed by Tom Walker

Starting a small business can be quite an undertaking; often naïve first-time business owners believe that the hardest step is discovering what sort of business they want to start – not so! Although choosing a business can be challenging, it is a very easy and even unimportant compared to your choice of location. Many a small store or office has been forced to close because an owner didn’t not give proper attention to the area in which they were basing it. This article will help you to tackle the hard decision of what location you should choose to start your small business.

Meet the needs of employees and clients: The first thing you need to realise is that the location of a small business is ultimately only important to you, the customers, and any present or future employees. To run a good business, it is vital that you reach the needs of all three groups.

The location should work for you: When picking an area to base your business, it is important that it will work for you. Don’t choose something that doesn’t mesh with your dream. For instance, if you want to open a clothing shop and have visions of women looking at your selection of dresses through the window, don’t let yourself be shoved into a shabby back room. If you are unhappy about the location of your business, others are likely to be too.

Accessibility: Choose a location that will be accessible to the public and will stand out yet not clash with the surroundings. For instance, if you are opening a pool supply store, try to open it somewhere nearby the local pool rather than a restaurant. Or, if you are going into practice as a counsellor, veer away from scary neighbourhoods, and instead locate in a cheerful, up-beat part of town. Take into consideration the easy access of your customers; will your customers be able to reach your business by foot, is there plenty of parking space, is the area too congested to make your place seem reachable? Take into consideration the type of people you will be serving and strive to meet their needs with the location of your building.

Locate in a good area: Although a rushed, frantic area is not the ideal location for a business, neither should you choose a forlorn or depressing part of town. No matter how nice a business may be, customers are not going to frequent it if it is located between a dilapidated liquor store and an abandoned apartment building. If it is creepy or located in a neighbourhood that doesn’t feel safe, immediately cross it off your list of possibilities.

Find a location where you can be an original: If you are opening a coffee shop, don’t rent a building squeezed between two other places that serve coffee. Unless you have a product that is off-the-charts spectacular, it will be hard to compete in a business setting where the competition has added experience and a good reputation.

Don’t blow your budget: While we would all love to just forget about it, cost is a factor that plays into almost everything. Before settling on a dream location, make sure that you will actually be able to pay for it. If the building is for sale, do you have the funds to buy it, or would it be more sensible to locate somewhere else and pay rent? Also, don’t forget to consider seemingly unimportant details like the cost of taxes and insurance.

Check out all the details before you sign any papers: Before buying or paying rent, make sure that the area of your future business is not zoned as residental only. Also, make sure that your business will have access to important things like internet, phone service, and electricity. Check to see if the area is prone to flooding or bad weather conditions.

Space for expansion: Although your business maybe a one-man operation now, all businesses that survive thrive; before long you will be hiring employees. Try to think like a future employee when deciding on a location; think about the individual needs they may have and how the building in question could make life easier for them. If your business is located minutes away from apartments and schools, employees may thank you!

The location of any business is likely to have it’s pros and cons; however, by taking the time to consider all your options and all of your priorities, you can be certain that location will help your business to thrive rather than hindering it.

About the Author:

This guest article was authored by Tom Walker who works as a full-time writer and a reviewer for Cartridge Save, providing the best ink cartridges.

Categories
Customer Service

Did You Ask? How Customers are Key to Unlocking Your Company’s Success

Article Contributed by Art Gould

Having worked for several years as a division manager for a busy self-storage facility, it didn’t take me long to realize that the key to success in my business is having a complete understanding of my customers. There are several factors in play that might cause a present or future customer to choose me over one of my competitors. But every person is different and it is up to me to find out what each client considers important.

  • Location. They want a place that is close by and they don’t even consider price. Others don’t mind traveling far as long as my price is the lowest.
  • Cleanliness
  • Security.
  • Unit Size
  • High-Tech Access. They want keypad control and don’t want to mess with keys and locks.

The point is that everybody is different. And the only way I am going to make my customers happy is to get to know each one of them well enough so that I know what makes him or her tick.

The kind of business that I manage is not defined by set transactions, where the customer comes in, buys something, pays for it, and leaves. Yes I am selling a product (storage unit rentals). But the storage unit is only part of the story. In reality what I am really selling is myself. The type of customer I need to please is someone who is going to stay with my company over a prolonged period of time. Therefore it is vitally important that I build and maintain a strong and lasting relationship with that person. Over many years of striving to make this happen, I have refined what some might call a “sales strategy” even though it seems nothing at all like what most people think of as a typical sales approach. The strategy consists of two basic elements: lots of questions and lots of listening! Let me explain.

My typical workday is not spent behind a desk. Instead I spend most of my time walking the floors, wandering around the storage units where my customers are. And when I see a customer, I never hesitate to seize the opportunity to build and nurture that relationship I talked about. This is also my chance to put my sales strategy to work. It starts with a small-to-medium dose of familiar small talk which soon evolves, almost imperceptibly, into a line of questioning that I try to conduct in a very gentle and unobtrusive way. While trying to make the questions flow as naturally as possible from the drift of the conversation, I am also careful to make sure the type of questions I ask fall into one of three categories:

  1. The open-ended question: This is the type of question that induces my customer to answer it by doing a lot of talking. In other words, I make sure to ask questions that can’t be answered by a yes, no, or maybe. Instead, my questions elicit a detailed response; for example, “What kinds of things do you use your storage unit for?”
  2. The clarifying question: In response to a statement my customer makes, I will often ask her to clarify by asking a question like, ‘Are you really saying such-and-such?” Sometimes I do this even when I understand perfectly what my customer just said. My goal is to demonstrate that I not only am listening intently to what my client is saying but that I am doing my best to completely understand it.
  3. The sympathetic question: This one is easy because all I do is listen to something my customer says and then clarify their point in the form of a question. By re-stating his own thoughts, my customer gets the clear message that I am not only listening but am also sympathetic to his feelings.

Asking questions is one key facet of my sales strategy but the other is doing a LOT of listening. And believe it or not, this is even more important than asking the questions. Keep in mind that getting the customer to do most of the talking accomplishes two goals: (1) it helps me get to know my customer better: what he likes, what he wants, how I can best help him, etc.; and (2) it makes my customer feel important, which only serves to strengthen the bond between us.

My sales strategy has proven to be as successful as it is simple! Why? Because it provides me with a complete understanding of my customers and it cements a bond of trust and loyalty between us. In my business, nothing is more important because customers are the key to my company’s success.

About the Author:

Art Gould is a division manager with Self Storage Company, which operates a group of websites, including a Colorado Springs self-storage locator. Though busy, Art enjoys meeting new people and clients when traveling to sites, like Lakewood or the Denver self storage center.

Categories
Customer Service

10 Ways to Differentiate Your Customer Service & Make Your Clients Actually Feel Valued

Article Contributed by Sara LaForest and Tony Kubica

Every business owner and organization knows if they want to attract and retain more loyal customers, they need to provide high-quality customer service. That’s why organizations today focus heavily on communicating how valuable their customers are to the organization. Now, the question is… How much do they truly value their customers?

Most of you probably had the experience of being a “valued” customer, yet you didn’t feel valued at all! For example, you call a company for either customer service or to order one of their products and you enter into the electronic triage system only to be put on hold. You’re told: please stay on the line, your call is important to us.  Sometimes we dutifully follow the electronic request, and we wait, and even wait longer.  Other times we hang up in pure frustration.

Or, have you been asked to complete a customer satisfaction questionnaire?  Again, you are told that your comments are “very important to us”.  Really?

How maddening it is when you have taken the time to complete such surveys after receiving poor service, spelling out in detail what the issue was and why you were dissatisfied, only to receive no acknowledgement of your issue or concern?

Perception, as we have heard endless times, is reality.  The reality here is that you won’t go back or use them in the future. And likely, you will tell your friends!

We believe that providing excellent customer service should be an obsession.

Here Are Our Growth without Sabotage™ Tips That Will Help Your Organization Differentiate Your Customer Service

¨      Have a real, live person answer all of your calls. If you cannot have someone answer all your calls, subscribe to a voice message service and include a message that you will return all calls within one business day – and do it If  it is late in the day, it can acceptable to wait till the next business morning.  Remember, the message and perception in timing/promptness is, “you count”– you are important and a priority to me.

¨      Return emails within one business day (two days maximum)

¨      Learn to be comfortable introducing yourself by your full name. When meeting in person, look at people directly in the eye, especially when you first meet them and insure you know how to give and reciprocate a firm handshake.

¨      Insure you clearly understand the customer or prospects need and priorities.  Do this by listening sincerely and asking clarifying questions. Listen FIRST and actively listen more than you talk. Ask questions to clarify your understanding of your prospect’s motivation to buy – but do so respectfully and carefully.

¨      Keep agreements you make to the prospect or the customer. When you say you will do something, do it when you said you would do it. Emergencies should be the only exception.

¨      Eliminate negative surprises for the customer. If there is a problem, acknowledge it quickly, apologize if appropriate and do your best to fix the problem to the customer’s satisfaction.

¨      Always have your clients’ and prospects’ best interest in mind. Think of ways you can help them improve their needs to be in the forefront.

¨      Think of the long term sale. That means go slow, don’t push now to sell or attempt to up-sell. Think of the longer-term relationship and resulting opportunities forthcoming.

¨      Warming- Flirting and fawning are forms of overselling (as well as demeaning) yourself. Realize how unprofessional and damaging these behaviors are with your customers and prospects.

¨      Warning – Don’t expect the customer to understand that you are busy or short staffed. They won’t and they shouldn’t have to.

You may be thinking that this is obvious.  Yes, indeed, it is not rocket science. While it may be obvious, the truth is that it is also frequently not practiced.   And because it is not done well or consistently, it represents a key differentiator.

You need to capture the attention of your future customers and keep your current customers. Without consistent excellent customer care, customer loyalty is improbable, especially in this economy where buyers are more cautious.  Now more than ever in business, we need to find ways to differentiate ourselves. We find that customer service is a simple yet powerful differentiating strategy.

About the Authors:

Sara LaForest and Tony Kubica are management consultants with more than 50+ years of combined experience in helping organizations improve their business performance. They say, failing to improve customer service by showing your clients that you value them is just one way to sabotage your business growth. Get their complete “Self-Sabotage in Business White Paper” now at: http://www.kubicalaforestconsulting.com/resources.php

Categories
Entrepreneurs

Help! I think I Picked the Wrong Coach: 3 Ways Entrepreneurs Can Tell If It’s a Bad Fit

Article Contributed by Lynda-Ross Vega

The numbers are daunting: one third of all small businesses will fail within the first two years and only one half will make it to year four. When it comes to internet businesses, though, those statistics look positively rosy. According to Sean Donahoe of the ADD Marketing Group, 95% of all internet marketers fail to make any money at all online. According to Donahoe:

“The problem is that people want immediate results and as soon as they hit any form of roadblock they change course or give up. They do not have the helping hand that guides them to success and profits.”

There are so many ‘moving parts’ involved in successful internet marketing (squeeze pages, auto-responders, shopping carts etc.) and the rules change so quickly (video v. audio, MySpace v. Facebook) that it is difficult to master without guidance. As a consequence, there is no lack of helping hands available to fledgling internet entrepreneurs—in fact, the focus of many internet entrepreneurs is to help others build successful internet based businesses.

But taking advice from a successful internet marketer and emulating their style without an understanding of your own skills and talents can lead to frustration, burn out, and failure.

If you are currently working with a successful coach or mentor, but are not experiencing the kind of success you envisioned, the problem might not be on your end—you may simply have picked the wrong person.

Here are three major ways to tell if you have the picked the wrong coach/mentor:

1.    You enjoy what they say, are enthusiastic after a coaching call or mastermind session, but trying to implement what you have learned leaves you feeling tired and worn out.

2.    You try harder but are left with unanswered questions and a vague sense that you are almost getting it, but not quite.

3.    When you ask for clarification or help the response you get can be boiled down to “keep on trying and you will eventually ‘get it’.”

Successful entrepreneurs build their business around a core of the natural skills they have, and when they mentor others, those are the skills they’ll emphasize. Their advice and coaching will be about helping you to do what they have done.

It sounds good, of course—but the problem is that their natural skills are often not the same as yours. As a consequence, what is easy for them is not easy for you.

We all have a large but finite set of skills and abilities that are natural to us. These skills and abilities are always easier to grow and develop than those that don’t come naturally to us—what are known as acquired skills.

We are naturally attracted to people who fill gaps for us—i.e., those who accomplish easily what we’d like to be able to do. The problem is that this focus on “what is missing” leads you to focus on acquired skills. Working hard to develop these missing pieces takes time and energy away from developing the areas where you naturally excel.

Find a coach/mentor who recognizes your natural potential and can open the doors to skills and abilities that come naturally to you, but are underutilized in your business. As for the ‘gaps,’ it makes more sense to hire someone who does what you don’t than it does to try to emulate a mentor who’s too different from yourself. Success is built on doing more of what you love, not less.

This approach requires that you have a working knowledge of your own natural skills and abilities, but the time spent discovering this knowledge is well worth the results and the frustration avoided.

About the Author:

Lynda-Ross Vega: A partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd., Lynda-Ross specializes in helping entrepreneurs and coaches build dynamite teams and systems that WORK. She is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a revolutionary psychological assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their deepest potentials for success. For free information on how to succeed as an entrepreneur or coach, create a thriving business and build your bottom line doing more of what you love, visit www.ACIforCoaches.com and www.ACIforEntrepreneurs.com.

Categories
People & Relationships

Mirror Mirror on the Wall: The Secret & Most Effective Relationship Tool

Article Contributed by Dr. Patty Ann Tublin

I’m sure you know the beloved fairytale “Snow White and the 7 Dwarfs.” Remember the part of the fairytale when the witch looks in the mirror and says, “Mirror, mirror on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all?” And the response the witch hears back is: “Snow White.”

This unexpected response from the mirror to the witch’s question takes the witch by utter surprise and leaves her seething in anger. The mirror revealed the truth that everybody else knew, but that the witch was certainly not expecting. Mirrors reveal truths that we are not always willing to see when we look into them. And the mirror is – beyond a shadow of a doubt – the secret, most effective relationship tool you must have that holds the key for rekindling love and romance in your relationship.

I’m not talking about looks here, but the true you that is reflected in the looking glass. An honest look in the mirror is virtually guaranteed to rekindle love and romance in your relationship because all change starts with changing ourselves. Look in the mirror frequently and with honesty because we cannot change anyone but the person being reflected back at us in the mirror we hold in our hand.

Why is this true? We are often reluctant, and maybe even a little afraid to take a long hard look in the mirror to see what baggage we are bringing to the table that is negatively impacting our relationship. We find it very difficult to take a look in the mirror because, truth be told, it is so much easier to just point our finger and place all the problems in our relationship on our partner.

Take a moment and think about your own romantic relationship. I would bet you dollars to donuts you could provide me with a laundry list of complaints and character flaws about your partner in a New York minute. Right? However, we are often hard pressed to provide a list of our own personal character flaws and limitations. Yet, our character traits and issues might very well be the ones responsible for detouring our relationship off the course of true love and intimacy that we so desperately crave.

So often we are unforgiving, intolerant and most critical when we see in our partner our own imperfections. But we refuse to acknowledge these flaws and we avoid looking in the mirror at all costs so we don’t have to face them! To keep love and romance alive in our relationship, it is imperative that we pull out our mirror and reflect upon what we are really seeing – not what we want to see but what is truly there. The chasm between these two thoughts can be as wide as the Grand Canyon.

Next time you are about to blame and/or criticize your partner – stop and take a long hard look in the mirror. Maybe you will see that you too are also contributing and responsible for the difficulties you are “facing” in your relationship. Whether you face it or not, the truth remains the same. So pick up your mirror and you will begin to change the only person in your relationship that you can truly change – yourself!

About the Author:

During the past 25 years, renowned relationship expert Dr. Patty Ann Tublin has helped hundreds of people rekindle romance and reignite passion in their relationships. The solutions in her Relationship Toolbox™ help couples re-build romance so intimacy inside and outside the bedroom can flourish. Through her successful 25-year marriage and her experience of raising 4 children, Dr. Patty Ann has earned an international reputation for saving relationships. To reignite your flames of passion, visit her site at www.drpattyann.com.