Reality Bytes

And either do they …

Business can be confusing place for staff. Who’s doing what and how often they’re doing it changes from day to day, week to week. The smaller your business the more everyone needs to be in the frontline. Unlike large corporate companies, there just isn’t the luxury of having one person do one thing.
So it’s not unusual that the most common job descriptions I hear are single phrases like “I do everything here” or “I do all the admin” or “I work in the warehouse”. Written job descriptions are hard to find in smaller businesses. 

Talk about “everyone does everything” often just glosses over the fact that most your team don’t know what they’re supposed to be doing, what’s most important, or what they’re responsible for.

You need to have written job descriptions for your team. It makes your recruiting simpler, induction quicker and managing easier.

Let me show you how to set them up fast.

Setting up a Basic Job Description

Standards - Firstly, work out what the key standards are for the role before you start even talking about what they should do. So what sort of attitude and approach does the person need to bring to the job?  This isn’t just filling out the typical stereotypical “Yeah needs to communicate well; needs to be punctual”. We’re talking about actual requirement for the job.  If someone is speaking on the phone to customers and clients, they do need to have good phone manner, or do need to be able to handle complaints with confidence.  If they’re in production, perhaps they need to have a meticulous attention to detail.

You don’t have time to mould someone’s personality or attitudes, so you are better off knowing what you want up front so if you need to recruit, it is easier to find.

Roles - You need to understand the idea of roles. What I mean by that is, we each have different roles in our lives, say for instance, Partner, Friend, Husband, Wife, Boss, Father, Mother, Son or Daughter.  They are like different hats we wear, continuously through our personal lives. 

Jobs are no different.  Some of us wear one or two hats in their jobs; others wear anywhere up to ten, twelve hats in their jobs.  If you write your own job description, I’m sure you’ll most probably find that number is up to twenty.

Start looking at the different roles for your individual team members.  Someone maybe predominantly production but may also help out with sales, and may also help out with dispatch. So they work with in 3 roles, Production, Sales and Dispatch. 

Duties and Responsibilities – This is the easy part. For each of their roles, get your team to list in bullet points, task per task, what they do in a typical week, in a typical month. (Not how they do it, just what they do). Get them to build up the list over the week and give it to you to put it into the job description.

It’s at this point you may realise how many things people thought were someone else’s responsibility.

KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) - These are the hard numbers your team members needs to meet if they are doing their job properly.  In sales, it’s quite simple; it may be conversion rate, number of appointments booked, total sales.  In production, units made, units without rework. Have some hard numbers written in so people know what their expected performance levels are.

What Not to Add - Never mention pay details or conditions on a job description. You want it to be a functional document your people can pick up, use, discuss and pull out in front of others. If you’ve got their pay on there they will never show anyone else.  Keep these details on a separate employment agreement.

Once you have them typed up get your team to review them and sign them.

There is also one more benefit of having job descriptions in place for your team, it might be possible that for the first time, that you know what they truly are doing.

GET MOVING: Get your team to write down in bullet points today what it is that they do in a week.

They are so good that you might just get an extra day off next week

I haven’t met someone in business yet that says they couldn’t use more time to get more done. I’m pretty sure you’re no different. 

I thought I would let you know about some top time tips that can help you get back on top of your work week.  I don’t believe in anyone silver bullet that for everyone.  When it comes down to it, its all about your environment, your behaviour, your beliefs and the techniques you use.

I do think there are some key areas that do make a big difference. So what are they?

Phone, Meetings and Sales

Batch phone calls - Don’t take phone calls all manner of the day, all the time.  Group your calls up so you can return them quickly and effectively.  Do them back-to-back with a clock sitting in front of you.

Get to the point - if you returning someone’s phone call say “Hi this is <YourName>, I am returning your call. How can I help you this morning?”  It cuts through the small talk and gets you there fast.

Don’t do Face-to-Face what you can do on the phone - It’s possible to be a lot more intentional on the phone. You don’t have to waste as much time drinking coffee and getting people settled you can just get straight to the point.

Organise Visiting Hours - If you a being called on by sales reps frequently, book them in back to back on the same day. It will make them briefer and more to the point.

Confirm all meetings first – Don’t ever turn up without confirming whether they will be there.

Use wasted time – get hands-free kit in a car and return calls in the car.

At your Desk

Plan your time - work out you what to Work to Cover and the next day.  Look at your list to do and work out what you CAN give to other people and what you SHOULD be giving to other people to do.

Remove distractions - close the door. Turn off the phone for an hour. Tell your team to interrupt you only if the place is on fire.

Learn the five line e-mail reply - See if you can get your replies on e-mails down to less than five lines.

Concentrate on one task at a time - don’t believe in the multitasking theory it doesn’t work.
 
Team

Run weekly meetings - It may seem to take more time but if your team knows that they can bring things up with you at least once a week, they will interrupt you with less irrelevant things throughout the week.

Hold people to account - make sure that you team underneath you is delivering. Get them to report to you on what they are doing this day or week and then get them to report back to you on their progress.

Delegate - Don’t do what others should be doing for you. Create a list of those things other people should be doing for you. Then …

Create systems - Write out how to do a task that you want someone else to do. Even better, get them to watch you do it and get them to write the procedure!

Physical

Get a decent night’s sleep - understand that often the amount of trashing you do if you’re working long hours increases just because you can’t focus effectively.

Meditate - No, don’t shave your head and dress up in a robe. Meditation can be a powerful tool to increase ability to focus. (If you would like a great free ebook on how to do it, just email me and I will forward it on)

Eat well - make sure you get a good lunch without overwhelming yourself.  It’s natural to feel tired in the afternoon so make sure your body is well fuelled enough to take it.
 
GET MOVING: Make a change, write down 2 things out of this list that you can do (or else you’ve just wasted another 3 minutes of your time).

The 4 second question that will double the value of your business

Have you every wandered into a shop. Picked something to buy, bought it with a “Just this thanks”, paid and walked out. It’s like no one would ever have known that you had been there. And if they wanted you to come back, they wouldn’t know where to find you.

Businesses make this problem time and time again. Their customers buy from them but they never get their details. Then they just sit around and hope and pray that they will remember them. That somehow the “exceptional” service they have offered will keep them coming back for more.

The problem is you may not have realise it but you have just cheapened the value of your business.

Where is the value in your business?

Think of when you buy a business. What is it that you are buying? Where is its value?
- The equipment (just go to any auction site to see how “valuable” this is).
- The team (would you have employed them?).
- The goodwill. Its all about goodwill. And what is goodwill but a bunch of customers that already buy from the business.

Imagine for a second the difference between the following 2 statements if you were buying a business. Which would you pay more for?

• Well we do about $21,000 per week.
• We have a database of 5,475 active customers, who we market to once a month. This brings in $21,000 per week on non-promotional weeks and $29,000 when we run a promotion.

Most buyers would be looking for the sure thing and are willing to pay more for it. Where is the value in your business? Its in your list of clients or customers.
If you haven’t got a list, you better start building one now.

How to Do it

Step 1: Work out roughly what you are planning to send them. Is it to: Inform them, Educate them, Amuse them, Offer something to them (Promote something).

Step 2: Work out how to ask. “Hey from time to time we have some really great specials that we let our existing clients know about. Would that be something your interested in” (suits retail).

Or “Hey we have tips and tactics that we send out to our clients regularly so they can [save money|make money|add your benefit here]. Would that be something your interested in receiving?” (suits business to business).

Step 3: Create something to collect the details on. Put a form together. Make sure you ask for full details, remember email and mobile/SMS. Have a computer system to put them in. At worst Excel or Email, or better a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) system - (if you are interested email me on stevensmit@realityconsulting.com.au and I’ll let you know what I use).

Step 4: Do something with it. Send out an email newsletter, post out a new product offer, ask for referrals, or send them a birthday card. There are hundreds of what you can communicate to keep yourself in the front of your customers mind.

Get Moving: Your profit is waiting out there for you.

This week a client of mine sent an email to just over 100 of his clients and signed up an extra $8,500 of monthly profit within 39 hours. Yes, from a single email.

Don’t wait for business to call your phone or knock on your door, go out there and get it!

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If you’re ready to boost your profits and get better results from your team and business, get your FREE weekly strategies and tactics at www.realityconsulting.com.au

You might want to double check that you aren’t making the same mistake …

I am constantly amazed by how businesses don’t pay careful attention to their pricing. Its a big problem and I thought I would share with you 3 outrageous pricing mistakes that were costing businesses a fortune in profits.

They are even more outrageous when you realise that the business owners thought they were doing the correct thing. It’s a case of good people just making bad decisions.

“But I Wanted To Keep My Clients Happy”

Situation: A service based business (which does onsite service) where the business owner is working long hours but just never seems to be making any profit.

Pricing Mistake: He decided that as a strategy to get and retain more clients he would keep a lid on his prices. Whilst everyone else raised their prices over the last 2 years he stayed “competitive” But the pressure was too much, so he was forced to raise his prices. In its place he got rid of his call out fee just to make the small price rise easier on his customers.

Impact: I spoke to this guy at 9pm at night (he was eating his lunchtime sandwiches at the dinner table). That is because he had to work 14 hour days just to turn a measly profit.

Solution: We raised prices $10 per hour instantly on all new quotes. Re-instated his call out fees.

Result: Not 1 customer comment or complaint. $30,000 profit increase projected for the year, another $25,000 projected in call out fees. All straight to the bottom line.

My Question for You: When was the last time you reviewed your pricing and your competitors? If you aren’t passing on ALL price increases you are crazy! Never undercharge.

“But We Are Making A Good Margin”

Situation: Business that does onsite installations, always seems busy, profits are low.

Pricing Mistake: Their pricing model was built years ago on markup (cost of goods + profit) and didn’t factor in fixed expenses (rent, electricity etc). Their fixed expenses had risen considerably.

Impact: Jaw was on the floor, when after we did an analysis, he realised the $4000 job that his guys had completed in Newcastle, netted him a total of $4.00 (couldn’t even afford a Mars bar and a Coke with that one)

Solution: We changed the quotation system to reflect all costs overnight. 50% Net Margin was the minimum a job could be priced at.

Result: Turnover dropped (don’t panic not a bad thing), Profits start to increase, more capacity and time to get new profitable business, that they were always too busy to spend time going for.

Question for You: Is the way you run your pricing based on gross or net profit? When was the last time you checked if how you do your pricing is accurate?

“But I Deliver Great Service That’s Why People Work With Me”

Situation: Service based professional business, that has high overheads, and profit isn’t as high as it should be.

Pricing Mistake: Chose the worst service/pricing mix. High Service, Low Price.

• Low Service – Low Price (think Audi, you need to bring your own bags or boxes)
• High Service – High Price (think Myer, they open the door for you)
• High service - Low Price (think bankruptcy)

Impact: Penny dropped when they realised that their best client spent 6 hours with them in the past 6 months, and their worst client 6 hours in the past month. The income that they make from their best client is x 56 greater.

Solution: Raised prices. Sent Price Increase Letters to “D” grade clients.

Result: Most have gone, a few have stayed (need to raise them again!), profitability is up, annoying “pay pennies, demand the world” client calls are reduced.

Question for You: Are your “D” grade customers and clients the ones setting your pricing agenda?

Get Moving: Book an hour aside this week to review your pricing.

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If you’re ready to boost your profits and get better results from your team and business, get your FREE weekly strategies and tactics at www.realityconsulting.com.au

Your sitting across the table, they are a hot prospect. They seem interested in what you’ve been trying to sell them for the past hour and then they say “Have you got a brochure or something?” Those rookies in business or poor performing salespeople take it at face value and say “Great they are interested! They just want more information.”

Everyone else know that  - They’ve Just Lost The Sale.

It’s the Fob Off. We’ve all done it. At some stage you may have even had to clean out your bottom drawer full of all the old brochures that you’ve collected from dejected salespeople in the past.

Why did YOU do it? Was it because you really didn’t want to say:

• You’re really pushy
• The other guys were seem to be better
• I just wanna get you out of here
• I just wanted the specs so I could shop around on price (I would never buy here!)

You get them to leave you a brochure as a token to keep them happy and give yourself some space. The sales, marketing and promotional material you give across the table, poorly used are just waste paper.

Effective sales aids NEVER replace a salesperson and but when well used they can dramatically improve your conversion rate.

Some Don’t and Do’s …

Don’t

• Send out without asking “No problem. I can send that through to you. What sort of information do you need?”. Resist the urge to send out information at their first request. This will give you a very clear picture of whether they ever intent to read what you send.
• Don’t ever expect your brochure to generate enough interest to book a meeting. Either they are interested in meeting with you now (when they are talking with you) or they aren’t. A brochure won’t change that.

Do

• Always view your brochures and sales aids as tools that your sales people explain to someone what you do. Practice using them in front of prospects to explain features or benefits. They aren’t the focus of you meeting (asking questions should be) but they assist in getting people to see the benefits.
• Create a sales presentation process that you and your salespeople can use day in and out to get consistent results. (If you’re not getting the consistent sales you want, it’s probably an excellent investment of a few minutes to email me for a chat about creating a sales process for your business).
• Change your marketing material to reflect the benefits as well as features. For example, monthly service calls which means that your equipment is running smoothly at top capacity.

Get Moving: Change your sales aids today.

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If you’re ready to boost your profits and get better results from your team and business, get your FREE weekly strategies and tactics at www.realityconsulting.com.au

A little know fact … up until the 1800’s debtors who didn’t pay up were locked up in debtor prisons until their family paid their debts or they were released to become indentured servants until they paid off their debt in labor.

Now before you go setting up a new desk for some of your prize customers (+60 days and counting), maybe you need to look at what you can do up front to stop them sucking the cash out of your business and leaving you struggling to pay cover your bills.

Preventative (Shut The Gate)

This is the clean slate approach. Stop thinking about your existing customers and clients for a minute. If you had to rebuild your business from the beginning how would you setup your accounts? Should you put in place before you loan someone your money:

• Deposit, COD or Payment up front - Work out under what conditions you would allow them to buy from you.
• Qualifying for an account - Is an account a privelege of doing business with you? Don’t extend credit automatically.
• Credit Reference Checks - Find out if they are customers for others.
• Stronger trading terms - Something that will stand up in court. Get some professionals to help you with this.
• Outsourcing Debt Collection - Get a relationship with debt collection company, to handle those that become unmanageable.
• Use Credit limits - Don’t keep sending out stock or doing work if they still haven’t paid you what they owed. You to monitor WIP or stock for those who are behind.
• Proactive payment system - Eye catching devices on invoices (do them in bright yellow, its easier for them to find).

Once you have worked this out, plan on how to shift your existing debtors into this way of doing business.

Reactive (After the Horse has Bolted)

• Get Organised - Have a step by step system, which escalates the problem. Make sure its firm but fair. If you would like to know what I recommend to my clients, send me an email.Include: Scripts (What do I say to them), Letter Templates (What do I send them)
• Delegate it - Often the business owner is the worst person to chase a debt because there is a tendency for people to draw on the relationship. Get someone objective, unemotional, detached.
• Keep a Record of Their Promises - If they promise you something make sure you remind them of their promise.
• Set Targets - Have a plan, what % of sales do you want to be within terms.
• Weekly Meeting - Focus on it weekly until you have the situation under control.

The cost to your business of bad debtors is financially and emotionally too high to leave to chance. Remember to be Fair but Firm. To be Quick and Systematic.

Get Moving: Print your Debtors list today and check it. Bank your profits.

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If you’re ready to boost your profits and get better results from your team and business, get your FREE weekly strategies and tactics at www.realityconsulting.com.au

(And They Aren’t “Increase Your Turnover”)

Imagine you are in the top 50 of your industry Australia wide out of a field of 1600, and you get introduced to the owner of the No 1 performing business in your industry. You arrange for private lunch, a chance to speak one on one with a keynote speaker at industry functions, someone that runs a team of 7 to your team of 1 (just you). He is the real big dog on the block. This is your chance to find out what they do that makes them No 1.

You’re sitting at the table in anticipation, waiting for some pearls of wisdom to come forth to help you get bigger and better. And then he arrives. You ask and he talks.

After an hour you work out 2 critically important things. Firstly, he is on his way to a heart attack and an early grave by working ridiculous hours each week, and secondly (because you know the industries pricing structure) you know that …

… every month you are making 34% more Net Profit than him.

That’s right 1 person outperforming 7, a difference of 938% profit per employee. A true story.

The 3 words that will change YOUR business … “Focus On Profit”

It’s Whats Behind The Veil That Matters

Its easy to sit in awe of your competitors, and try to do the numbers of how much they are doing in sales. But big numbers are irrelevant. They are only part of the game and when you constantly focus on turnover you are leaving out the key parts of the equation. You can’t survive or flourish unless your business is making a healthy profit.

Remember this one most important phrase:

“It’s Not What You Make That Matters, It Is What You Keep”.

What’s You Can’t See Can Hurt You (BIG TIME!)

The problem for most businesses is that they don’t increase the visibility of profit in their business.

To have a proper profit focus in your business you should stop waiting till the end of the year to find out if you have made any money or not. You should be looking at your figures weekly or at most monthly. Get your bookkeeper or accountant to do this (if its too much trouble for them, get someone else)

If you are doing quotes, build your overheads into your quotations so you know on each quote how much money you are REALLY making. (If you are interested in a Product/Service Profitability Calculator to make your quotes more profitable, just email me)

Other Profit Focused Strategies

Measure your profitability per employee per month (as I did above). This gets you focused on getting the maximum bang for your buck out of your team.

Check your profitability per customer or client.  It most probably wouldn’t surprise you to know that those “problem” customers who expect the world and want to pay peanuts are costing you money. Focus on “A” grade customers.

Reward your salespeople based upon your most profitable lines not necessarily on highest sales figures.

And obviously keep a tight control on your expenses, don’t spend on things that aren’t going to make you a profit.

It may seem obvious, it may seem basic, but don’t fall into the trap of NOT looking at the bottom line at least once a month.

Get Moving: Print your Profit and Loss report today and check it. Start asking questions (of your accountant, suppliers, team) …

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If you’re ready to boost your profits and get better results from your team and business, get your FREE weekly strategies and tactics at www.realityconsulting.com.au

White lies they tell to hide poor performance … and what you need to do about it.

If you have ever found yourself looking at the last quarters sales figures and wondered what your salespeople have been doing … before you have the overwhelming urge to confront them and say “what did you do last month?“, brace yourself for these most common sales person excuses.

Excuse: I just don’t have enough time, to meet prospects and follow-up the customers that I need to.If you are afraid or reluctant to get out there, this can be a great one (I mean your boss can normally relate to it, “I’m busy“).

But their time in selling is only valuable when they are speaking on the phone or are face to face with a prospect or client, everything else is just paperwork

What to do:

• Get them organised. Work out forward call cycles, “who will you call this week?”, “who will you visit?”
  
• Get admin people to do admin work, I have about 45 minutes of work post a sales call which is now distilled into a 3 minute voicemail to an admin person that gets it done. Get paperwork people to do admin and sale people to do selling.
  
• Group their calls, Tuesdays North, Wednesdays West, Thursdays South etc. This cuts down on time stuck in traffic.
  
• Get friendly with the phone. Look at what sales and servicing they can do over the phone. Don’t do drop ins, call to make an appointment first.

Excuse: They always say let me think about it. They never do you know.

Often the biggest competitor in sales is apathy. It’s not them choosing the competition, it’s them choosing to do nothing. Your sales people, process and interactions need to create a sense of urgency. Why do they need to buy it today? To save money now, to get the convenience now, to lock in the price now … whatever it is you need to build a sense of urgency into your selling.

What to do:

• Get your sale people to commit to getting a decision today. Don’t pull punches.
  
• Train your sale people how to ask for the sale (just email me if you want to know a great book that can help you with this). Learn to ask for the sale multiple times in the same sitting.
  
• If you have a long sales cycle (one of my clients has a 460 day sale cycle), create a sales process that moves people to the next step rather than leaving it in limbo.

Excuse: We just can’t compete, our competition is out pricing us.

Maybe or Maybe not.

Price is the most common reason why sales people are told they didn’t get the sale. Why? Because no ones feelings get hurt. Are they are going to say “You were too pushy and I didn’t trust you” or “I have heard rumors from my other suppliers that your in financial difficulties”, NO, they will say “It’s the price“.

So first, is it the real reason. Or is it because you don’t sell anything other than the price. Lazy sales people expect price to do the job for them. Do you add value? Is it service, delivery, quality? What are the other reasons they should buy off you. Make sure your sale people know how to show the value of these.

If you can’t then you are selling a commodity and you better build your business to suit.

What to do:

• Identify where your product is different and why this is worth more (make sure this is something that is important for your customers first).
  
• Identify why your company is different and why this makes it a safer bet to buy off.
  
• Make sure your selling process lets the prospect know these.

Excuse: It’s the global economic crisis. The market is just dead.

Yeah, we all read the papers. BUT generally this is a very timely crutch for most poorly performing salespeople.

Take your mind back to when you market was up. Your sales people telling you the market is just so great, it’s “so easy to make sales“. I doubt it. They were most likely griping about how hard it was back then too.

It’s easy to blame someone else when you are not performing. Who better to blame than EVERYONE.

Don’t believe the hype, if fact 10 out 12 of my clients have just had the best quarters in their history.

What to do:

• Stop entertaining this excuse. Maybe your targets need to be adjusted BUT the targets should still be met.
  
• If you haven’t set targets, set them.
• Focus your sales message to how this can save you money. Or work out

Get Moving: Stop the Excuses. Reset how you want it to work with your sales people. Hold them accountable and track the results weekly.

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If you’re ready to boost your profits and get better results from your team and business, get your FREE weekly strategies and tactics at www.realityconsulting.com.au

If you have ever been married you will know how much planning goes into “the big day”. 9 months + of sweat (oh yeah … and tears) to plan how the day will work. What happens when, where you will be by what time, what has to be ready by when. The day is planned like clockwork.

You spend 9 months getting ready for 24 hours. Why? Because it is important to have things go right (otherwise it is expensive and embarrassing).

How much effort do you put into planning your workday? Do you put any time into it?

YOUR SINGLE MOST VALUABLE ASSET IS YOUR TIME.

Most business owners have an amazing capacity to get busy and when you ask them “What is it that you do during a day?” The answers are normally “I have no idea”, “stuff”, “everything”, or “crap”.

The problem is simply this … If you don’t have a vision to how you want your week to run, you will be at the mercy of how everyone would like to run your week for you.

Remember that it is YOU who allow people to use your time.

So how do you focus your efforts for the week and make sure you are doing what you should rather than “stuff”?

How to Break the Pattern?

Try this simple exercise.

Step 1:
Grab a piece of blank paper an lie it on its side so it is landscape then divide it up into five columns.  At the head of each column mark them - Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

This is now your default diary. Your tool to help you focus on what REALLY needs to be done.

Step 2:
Now close your eyes and imagine how you would like your week to work.
For every day:

• When will you start.
• When will you finish.

Work out what the single most important thing is that you should regularly do that day. It may be responding to quotes, it may be working on your business, it may be visiting a new client or an old one.

Step 3:

Write these things into the appropriate spot on the week. Book these in regular appointments for yourself on the page. (If you are interested in seeing a live example, just email me and I will send you one).

Step 4:
Start reorganising you existing week and the week coming up to reflect this. Be brutal. Shift meetings, lock the door, stop answering the phone. Do what it takes.

Take for instance a client of mine who needs to create 8 articles a month for a paid newsletter that he sends to his clients. It was taking on average 9 days in the month to complete this, from the time he sat down and started on the first article till he sent it off to the printer. He had incoming calls, he had sales appointments, he had admin to handle, all whilst trying to complete the articles.

He decided enough was enough and I got him to do something different:

• He chose 2 days to get the articles done and booked them in his default diary.
• He told clients not to call on these two days.
• He changed his mobile number and didn’t give it out to clients anymore.
• He arranged bulk block time to return phone calls and emails everyday.
• He left the office and took up residence in the back stall of his local coffee shop.
• The result: He has managed to slash the amount of time taken to create those 8 articles from 9 days down to 2 days a month.

What would you do with an extra 7 days a month?

Get Moving: Create a default diary. Workout who is wasting your time the most and eliminate dealing with their “pressing” demands. Stop answering every call within 3 rings (even Pavlov’s dogs weren’t that well trained). Get control of your time and your business.

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If you’re ready to boost your profits and get better results from your team and business, get your FREE weekly strategies and tactics at www.realityconsulting.com.au

F— I’m Good Just Ask Me. I used to work with someone who used to use this phrase regularly to describe their ability. Sadly, they were FULL OF IT. Unfortunately Business is FULL OF IT.

If you have ever caught yourself saying “We provide great quality, competitive prices and excellent service”, you most likely are living in denial.

It reminds me of something Jerry Seinfield said: “Every time somebody recommends a doctor, he’s always the best.  “Oh, is he good?”  “Oh, he’s the best.  This guy’s the best.”  They can’t all be the best.  There can’t be this many bests.  Someone’s graduating at the bottom of these classes, where are these doctors?”

Are you at the bottom of the class?

What Do Customers Say Behind Your Back?

After a while of blowing your own horn (which don’t get me wrong, you need to do in business) you just need to be sure that you get a decent dose of reality.

How would you even know if you are still doing a good job for your customers? And don’t say repeat business (even those Nigerian email scams are getting repeat business). How would you really know?

I mean when was the last time you could be bothered to go back and complain about bad or apathetic service? Where you bothered or did you just mutter to yourself that you won’t be going back to them again.

And The Truth Shall Set Ye Free

The best way to ask is to survey your customers or clients. And if possible those who inquired but didn’t buy.

So quickly the best approach:

• BE PREPARED FOR THE RESPONSE - DON’T ASK IF YOU AREN’T WILLING TO ENDURE THE TRUTH ABOUT WHAT YOU DO. Ignorance is bliss (and expensive).
• Treat all feedback seriously - Even if you don’t feel that what they say is right. Your customers perceptions equal their reality.
• Make the questions measurable. “How would you rate our service on a scale of 1 to 10?”
• Make some questions open ended. “How could we have made it a 10 for you?” (If you aren’t certain you’ve got a good question or not, just email me your for some feedback).
• Make it safe - either anonymous or get someone other than you to ask the question.
• Do it regularly.

No Pain - No Gain

Feedback is the breakfast of champions. I had a client a number of years ago sit down with me and complain about the results of their latest survey.

“I am disappointed. I mean we didn’t get any negative feedback, every thing was 9 out of 10 or more, how can we improve if we can’t find the problems?”

It was no coincidence that they are award winners in their field, year in year out. The pursuit of excellence never finishes.

Get Moving: Get together a questionnaire. . Get your team to ask customers or ex-prospects to answer them. And be prepared to accept and act on the answers.

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