Putting your customer first

If you want to learn more about customer service, go to Nova Scotia.

We found in our recent trip that staff at hotels, restaurants and in local stores all treated you with such a friendly, helpful manner. It was refreshing.  Everyone was cheerful, asking questions and would strike up a conversation with you. As a result, you left feeling respected and valued. 

And who doesn’t want to feel that way?   It was almost as if they were thrilled to see you.  When I think about how you are received elsewhere, it can be way different.  Sometimes you are lucky to get a smile and everything seems a chore to the person "helping" you.

We chose to stay in bed and breakfasts as we travelled around, and that’s where we noticed some real differences.  At the first B & B, the owner, who in fairness was heading off to Europe the following day, was a bit curt.  Quick to tell us all the rules and regulations of the establishment, and we had to say exactly what time we would be down for breakfast, with three choices provided.  And when we selected the latest time possible, it was met with a frown of disapproval.

Fortunately for us, the “guest hosts” were charming.  Hannah Clare was warm and friendly, taking an interest in those staying there.  She’d just retired as a palliative care nurse, and I am sure she was amazing with her patients and their families.

At our next stop, the welcoming reception was so different.  Maps, advice on local places of interest and restaurants all provided. Breakfast was available for three hours and you just came down when you were ready to eat. 

Whereas the first B&B was focused on what worked for them, the second one was paying attention to the needs of the guests. Now, there’s a real customer service lesson to be learned here. 

When we focus on what we want to deliver, whether it suits the customer or not, we somehow miss the boat. On the other hand, when we think about what the customer needs and wants, and provide it, we hit the jackpot.

I know I have been guilty of putting my needs first.  For the last couple of years, for example, I stopped offering evening events.  Oh I kidded myself that the women were busy and didn’t want to come out at night, but truth is, I was the one who didn’t want to work evenings.  Wrong decision, made for the wrong reason.

When we let go of what we want, and focus on what our customer wants – we are way ahead.  I am pleased to say evening events are back at Company of Women.  I don’t come to them all – but then I don’t need to.  I have a great team – but that’s a whole other blog.

To wrap up this one, I thoroughly recommend Nova Scotia and if you want to know where to stay – give me a call.

Pushy sales tactics can backfire

When you are shopping for clothes, how do you like to shop?  Have someone help you select what might work or potter around on your own?   Personally I prefer to wander around on my own and check stuff out.  

To me there is nothing worse than an assistant hovering at my every move, maybe throwing in a comment or two at an item I am showing some interest in.

I was reminded of this recently when shopping with a friend who was looking for something to wear for an upcoming wedding.  We had no luck at the first store but then moved on to another where there was a wider choice available.

Now my friend likes to be helped and there the assistant, Renata, was most attentive, selecting clothing she thought might work and really listening to my friend’s likes and dislikes.  Now we were there for some time, as my friend tried on numerous outfits, narrowing it down to a few choices.

However, then the manager came over and started to apply pressure – both on Renata and my friend, and started to argue with us about items already rejected.   I could see this was not going down well, but clearly the manager felt it was time to close the deal.  Wrong move.

That’s the challenge with sales – it is a fine line between being helpful and being pushy.  The manager was being pushy and her interference was not appreciated. Fortunately a phone call came in for her, and she left the scene.

Just as well, as if she’d kept up the barrage of comments meant to “force” my friend to make the purchase, we would likely have walked out the store empty-handed.

It actually reminded me of a time when, as a teenager, I worked in a shoe store.  Their rule was that if, after a certain amount of time, the person had not made a purchase, you were to call in the manager as back up to close the deal.  It was my first taste of the world of commerce.

The key I think is to respect the customer. Usually they know what they like and want, what they have at home and what their budget is around the purchase.  When you just see the customer as a sale, as money in your pocket then you’ve crossed that line.  It is the respect for the individual that matters, not your sales figures for the week.

My sense is when you do your job well, when you listen to your customer, no matter what you are selling, then you are more likely to make the sale. 

It’s like when we have speakers come to talk at a Company of Women meeting, we ask for no sales pitches.  Sadly not everyone remembers that, but my premise is that if you’ve impressed your audience, they will seek you out if they need your services, so the hard sell is not necessary, nor frankly professional. 

Pushy sales tactics can backfire on you as this manager might have found out, plus who would rush back for a repeat experience?

Renata on the other hand, earned her salary that day and we left the store mission accomplished. 

A cautionary tale

“Flattery will get you everywhere.”  Well that almost worked with me, I humbly confess. It is amazing how your ego can trip you up.

It all started with an email saying I had been selected as a “woman of outstanding leadership.”  I was then invited to take my “place among other remarkable women: you have earned it and you deserve it.”  OK – I’ve worked hard – why not.  So I click on and sign up for their free registration.

But… and here’s the catch, a few weeks later I get THE call. I’d frankly totally forgotten about signing up but the woman on the phone mentioned it, wanted to hear my story…( more stroking of my ego)… offering opportunities to highlight me in their magazine.

Then comes the crunch… $700 plus to join.   I thought it was free? With great persistence the sales gal carried on to say since I was so special (read reluctant to shell out $700+) she’d do me a favour and offer payments by two installments. 

Still I resisted and then the price went down. But like a broken record, she continues to try and close.  What level of membership did I want x or y?  She’d ask over and over again.

I am embarrassed to report I caved in, and signed up.  She was wearing me down and I didn’t know, short of hanging up, how to extricate myself. But just a few seconds later, I totally regretted it and started to question myself … Why did I let myself get suckered into this? I don’t have money to burn. What was I thinking?. I spent quite some time berating myself.

When I looked into their website I could see a group of women who likely had also been coerced into this purchase.    Well not me. Quoting the Ontario law whereby you have ten days to legally cancel contracts, I got out of it.   

Then two days later, I receive the same email that started it all.  It is in my junk mail – where it rightly belongs. I guess I am still considered a woman of outstanding leadership J

So if something like this arrives in your inbox – my advice – delete..  Don’t get caught in a scam that plays to your ego.  Leave your ego at the door and say no.

As for me, I’ve been there, done that and embarrassingly getting rid of the T-shirt.

Telemarketing - I am fine thanks, but no thanks.

Because I have been home more the past few weeks with the puppy (don’t worry, not another dog parable),  I have noticed how many telemarketing calls we get.

Whatever happened to that “no call” program the government introduced?  Sure isn’t working.  I particularly resent getting calls on the weekend or in the evening as that’s family time as far as I am concerned.  But even the government seems to have got into the game, with some survey they want completed.

As I told the person who first called, it is a Sunday at 7.00pm and I don’t appreciate you phoning me now.  But they don’t give up.  Got another call on a Saturday, same survey, same time. I realize that this is likely when they catch people at home, but really…

It leads me to ask does telemarketing work?  I have to wonder because certainly if their success depended on me, they wouldn’t be doing well at all.  I never, ever purchase anything after a cold call. Plus no one seems to keep any records, because without fail the same company will call you again about window glazing, heating or construction.  You’d think they’d save time and keep track of who says no.  Plus no one wants repeated rejection. I recognize these sales folks are just doing their job, and I feel sorry for them, but not enough to make a purchase. 

You can always tell when the pitch is coming.  First there’s a silence on the line while they connect to you.  Then they ask how you are before launching into their spiel.  While I try to remain polite, it’s after they ask how I am that I start to cut them off.  I don’t want to waste their time or mine. 

What’s been your experience?

Are you losing sales, without realizing it?

Cold calling.  It is something you either love or hate.  There is nothing neutral about it. With Company of Women, I am lucky really as I don’t have to do cold calling, except at times when I am trying to recruit a speaker, but more often than not, I try to use my network to open up the introductions, so not cold calling really.

Trouble is, I am not into sales be it cold, warm or hot.  I just want people to love what we do and offer, and sign up which is perhaps a tad unrealistic.  I always remember Kim Duke, the Sales Diva, explaining that when you look at sales as helping people, then it become much easier to reach out.  And that is true.

Finding customers – especially the ideal customer – is something that most small business owners struggle with, yet in the struggle to find new “suspects,” we forget about the existing customers who have already sampled your products or services, and who likely, if asked, would repeat the experience or better still, make a referral or give you a testimonial.

But you know what, we don’t ask.  We don’t follow up with the tried and true.  Yet it is much easier to keep an existing customer happy, than to spend all our time and energy chasing after new ones.

How often do you touch base with your existing clientele?  Once a  month, every two months or do you just let them fade off into the sunset.  Well you certainly can’t accuse Company of Women of not touching baseJ  In fact it could be argued that we do it too much, and for that I apologize, but you know what, it works.

Who is your ideal client?  When you first start out, a warm body willing to pay will suffice, but as you get more established, wouldn’t it be better to do business with people you like, people who appreciate what you do, and get your offering?

When I am giving workshops on finding your ideal customer, I often ask the audience to spend a few minutes thinking about their ideal client – let’s call her Suzy.  Who is she?  Why did you like working for her?  And… here is the important one – how did she find you?  Once you’ve answered these questions and hopefully you have several ideal clients in your database, it can become easier to narrow down who you want to work with, why and identify the best resource to finding another client like Suzy.

How do you keep in touch?  It can be through special offers or a monthly e-zine or updates on what is happening in your world.  A word of advice about the e-zine, include useful, practical information for your clients.  It shouldn’t be all about you. 

In fact the same is true when you are out there networking too.  Spend more time listening and less time talking about your company, and you may find you get further than if you are pushing sales on someone who is not interested.