Category: <span>Business Building</span>

Performance Evaluations, How NOT to Hate Them

My stand-out memory of a formal performance appraisal ” I was the reviewee, not the reviewer ” was as a young, inexperienced production underwriter at Aetna Life and Casualty. I’d been promoted from a casualty desk underwriter to a field marketing and underwriting position. Up until this time, my reviews had gone well. As an underwriting trainee, Aetna offered a very structured education program. Expectations were clear and feedback was frequent. Monitoring and measuring employee progress was done according to schedule. We trainees knew where we stood at all times.

This new job was different. It had more freedom to prioritize and plan work, schedule agency visits, and make independent decisions. After six months in my new job, I had my first review. It went like this.

Boss: “So, Emily, how do you think you’re doing?”
Me: “Great!”
Boss: “Well, you’re not.”
I burst into tears.

I don’t remember much else about that meeting. But I do remember having a career-changing aha moment. I learned two things. First, I learned how not to conduct a performance review if I were ever a manager. Second, I learned I’d better find out what I was supposed to be doing and do it well or risk losing my job. (It took me a few more years to learn there is no crying in business.)

I’m not alone in experiencing an unpleasant employee review. Every week I hear complaints about performance reviews from both managers and employees. Many bosses say they don’t have the time and feel uncomfortable addressing performance issues. Employees often feel the reviews are a waste of time and one-sided with managers talking at them instead of engaging in meaningful discussion.

Both sides must overcome their dislike of this process and get better at it. One-on-one employee-manager meetings are necessary. Employers should use this practice to evaluate skills, measure performance, and set development plans. Employees want to know how they are doing and appreciate meaningful feedback.
Following are a few key strategies to help both managers and employees give and get value from the performance review process.

Managers:

1. Realize how important these meetings are and how much stress they can cause employees. Avoid canceling or postponing scheduled reviews. Putting off a review insults the employee.
2. To help in scheduling reviews, plan that all reviews be done for the entire organization during a one week period. No one is overlooked and if there is a message to communicate universally, it’s conveyed consistently. I recommend reviews be done twice a year.
3. Have both the manager and employee complete the review form. The meeting should focus on discussing how each views the employee’s work.
4. Know what you want to accomplish in the meeting.
5. Do not use the meeting to discuss compensation, benefits, or promotions. Cover those in a separate meeting.
6. Direct comments to the work, not the person. Use the job description as the basis for review. Keep an ongoing file on pertinent issues such as knowledge, teamwork, decision-making, customer service, quality of work, managing work load, etc. Have your facts and stick to the facts.
7. Discuss development opportunities available to the employee. Create personal and professional growth plans.
8. Maintain privacy of all employees. Do not discuss others’ performance with employees. Conduct the review in a neutral setting such as a conference room where there will be no interruptions.
9. Spend as much time listening as talking.
10. Ask the employee to summarize what’s been said.

Employees:

1. Come prepared. If you’ve been asked to complete the review form, do so. If not required, you should still come with your self-review of how you believe you’ve performed in key areas.
2. Anticipate possible problems and be prepared to respond in a professional and positive manner.
3. Avoid whining or complaining. If you have an issue to address, have the facts and your recommendation to resolve the problem.
4. Know your strengths and how they are or can be an asset to the organization.
5. Ask your boss what you can do to support her in her job. What can you do to better the company? Can you spearhead writing the procedures manual? Train the new employee that’s been hired?
6. Know what you want to accomplish in the meeting.

When executed properly by both manager and employee, performance reviews help both individuals and organizations grow. What do you need to do to make reviews a successful part of your business experience?

Emily Huling Selling Strategies, Inc. P.O. Box 200 Terrell, NC 28682
Phone: 888-309-8802 Fax: 888-309-7355

Are You a Go-Getter?

You’ve read your share of business books if you’re like most professionals with advancing careers. Great business books educate, inspire, and generate discussion among peers. Some of the most popular and best-selling business books are written as parables. Easy to read and relate to, the author tells a story to illustrate lessons to be learned. Og Mandino’s 1968 classic, The Greatest Salesman in the World, was the first book of this genre that I remember reading. One Minute Manager, Who Moved My Cheese?, and Fish! are all parables and continue to be best-selling business books.
It wasn’t until I discovered a book called The Go-Getter, squirreled away in the library of a cruise ship, did I learn that this book is considered the all-time classic of business story telling. Written in 1921 by Peter B. Kyne, this book tells of Cappy Ricks, of Ricks Logging and Lumbering Company. (Other stories about Cappy Ricks were serialized in the Saturday Evening Post and Cosmopolitan magazine.) In The Go-Getter, Bill Peck is a disabled war veteran who served in the same squadron as Cappy. Bill persuades Cappy, the founder of the company, to hire him and prove himself by accomplishing a sales assignment found impossible by others. When Peck exceeds his quota and Cappy sees Bill’s potential, Cappy gives him a near-impossible task to prove his abilities before promoting him to an even bigger assignment. The test is to buy a specific blue vase. Unknown to Bill the test is rigged with inaccurate, changing information and false facts. Time lines are unrealistic and people are inaccessible and uncooperative. (Sounds like a typical sales situation, doesn’t it?) Bill Peck succeeds in the blue vase challenge without ever letting his confidence, commitment, or enthusiasm falter. Even after learning that this was a contrived assignment rigged with obstacles, Bill appreciated his boss’s trust in him to use his creativity, problem-solving skills, and authority.

How would you react if this kind of test were used on you? Would you still persist if obstacle after obstacle seemed insurmountable? If you had been given a task to get a job done no matter what, would you go back to your boss and question the necessity of it? Would you use advanced problem-solving skills to find other solutions to get the job done? Would you risk some of your own finances, uncertain as to whether the expense would be reimbursed?

Bill Peck demonstrated the traits of a true go-getter. First, he used personal past connections to get hired. But he did so only when he knew he had the skills, abilities, and knowledge to do the job. Then he earned the respect of his associates by exceeding job expectations. He was rewarded with an even tougher assignment where others had failed. Throughout everything, Bill exhibited loyalty, endurance, passion, and personal responsibility to achieve his goals.

Eighty-four years after Peter B. Kyne wrote The Go-Getter, Bill Peck’s personal slogan “it shall be done” still holds true as the watchword of successful people.

Are you a go-getter?

Emily Huling Selling Strategies, Inc. P.O. Box 200 Terrell, NC 28682
Phone: 888-309-8802 Fax: 888-309-7355

Letting Go of Your Past Can Transform Your Future

While attending a convention of fellow speakers and consultants, I reconnected with a colleague whom I hadn’t seen in two years. Sandy ran up to me and said, “Emily, will you have time to catch up with me? I want to share the incredible changes in my life and business.” Wow! With an intriguing greeting like that, I figured no time like the present. We sat down with cups of coffee.

First, a little background. Sandy is a talented technology expert who fearlessly speaks to large non-technology audiences on complicated topics ‘ and actually gets them to understand computers and programs. She’s equally as effective doing one-on-one coaching with clients. In my early business years, Sandy spent hours getting me up and running with ACT! the contact management system designed to help users stay connected with prospects and clients. Ironically, even with her proficiency Sandy didn’t use ACT! to the extent her clients did. One day I asked her why. “I hate prospecting,” she said. “I hate putting myself out there to be rejected.”

In spite of that, Sandy’s business grew through word-of-mouth and referrals. She continued to resist what she considered “shameless self-promotion.” No matter how hard I worked to convince her that when you’re good and have something valuable to offer, people want to know about you and what you do. Nothing would change her mind. Given that history, I couldn’t imagine what Sandy was going to share with me.

Sandy told me that two years ago she attended her twenty-fifth high school reunion. It’s the first reunion she ever attended. High school was not a great time in her life. She felt like an outcast and didn’t have any solid friendships. Then an amazing thing happened at the reunion.

Sandy said she went out of curiosity, with no expectations of having a good time. She just needed to go. Well, she had a life-changing experience. Instead of finding classmates unfriendly the way she remembered them, they were warm and interested in her life today. As with most reunions, conversations turn to reminiscing about the past. It turns out that what Sandy remembered, and has been holding onto for twenty-five years, was entirely different from what her classmates remembered. Where she viewed herself as an unpopular outcast, she learned many people were actually in awe of her mind and skills. They thought she was stand-offish and not friendly.

Sandy put it to me this way. “I’ve been living my life afraid to reach out to people who might reject me. It was just so painful back then. That’s why I’ve never marketed myself or my business. What a shock it is to realize I read it all wrong. I’ve been worried about what others think my whole life. Since that reunion, I’ve given myself permission to be myself. If people don’t want to associate with me, so be it. But I know I have something to offer.”

Sandy went on to tell me that she’s started a Women’s Business Organization chapter in her city and joined a networking leads club. Her goal in both is to share her knowledge and connect people. With those altruistic objectives, I told her she’s sure to have even greater personal and business success.

When Sandy and I wrapped up our conversation, she was ten feet off the ground. Her parting words were, “Don’t I look lighter without all that baggage?” Indeed she did.

Emily Huling Selling Strategies, Inc. P.O. Box 200 Terrell, NC 28682
Phone: 888-309-8802 Fax: 888-309-7355

What are customers really buying?

I was presenting my program “Before you Sell Sell Sell, Market Market Market” to an audience eager to learn about personal and corporate branding, value propositions, and how to create customer loyalty. In an exercise to make the point about the importance of branding, I list big company names and ask the audience for thoughts on what the brand represents. For example, I say Disney and someone says Mickey Mouse or family fun; FedEx generates reliable overnight delivery; Nike easily gets “Just do it;” Volvo means safety and Lexus prompts luxury. Then I said Starbucks. What an array of passionate, across-the-board responses! Answers varied from “Great coffee, pastries, and caf’ food” to “A great place to hang out and meet friends” to “A very expensive cup of coffee” to “High-end gifts for customers” to “Convenience – there’s a Starbucks on every corner and in almost every airport and major office building” to “My Starbucks is like Cheers.”

While the other big corporate names mentioned generated matter-of-fact comments, the Starbucks brand generated powerful emotions and comments as to the experience of using the brand. In other words, Starbucks is not just selling coffee they are selling an experience.

Company founder and chairman Howard Shultz plans to keep the experience alive. Not only does Starbucks have a growing number of high-speed wireless Internet cafes, many stores will soon be in the music business as well, giving customers access to individual online music as part of the Starbucks’ experience. You can get a cup of coffee anywhere, but where can you add to your experience with music, Internet access, buying specialty items, or simply hanging out with friends?

Selling an experience is not a new concept. McDonald’s built the hamburger empire not on the taste of their hamburger, but the child-focused appeal of Happy Meals, playgrounds, and Ronald McDonald. Car manufacturer Saturn launched its entry into the auto market by appealing to the buyer who didn’t want cliche car salesman sales techniques used on them when purchasing a car.

What does offering a positive experience do for a business? Plenty.

It raises the price point. It’s widely known that people buy on emotion and then justify the purchase with their own reasons. A decade ago who would have thought that people would spend three or five dollars for a cup of coffee? Yet because of Starbucks, millions of people are doing it all the time all over the world.

It keeps people coming back. When buyers have a good experience, they want to duplicate it. Starbucks strong market share is built on satisfied, repeat customers.

People tell their friends. Good experiences are meant to be shared. Word of mouth sells more products than anything else.

Here are some simple examples of some positive occurrences in my consumer world. My dentist’s office has current, unusual magazines making the waiting time enjoyable. And sometimes, the wait is not long enough to read the magazines! The quick oil change garage I patronize is very clean, has fresh coffee, and the nicest people working there. The grocery store I frequent most has helpful, knowledgeable, and accommodating staff. In all cases my overall experience is great and I leave feeling valued and appreciated.

Now step back and look at your business. What do your customers experience? Do they feel welcome? Do you offer the highest value for the money they are spending? Do all your employees personalize their customer contact? Do you offer an experience unique when compared to your competitors?

Provide your customers an experience that is consistently positive and your business will thrive.

Emily Huling Selling Strategies, Inc. P.O. Box 200 Terrell, NC 28682
Phone: 888-309-8802 Fax: 888-309-7355

What Makes a Sales Superstar?

It’s always a pleasure to observe sales success in action. Although every accomplished salesperson has his or her individual personality and style, there are common qualities all possess.

Sales superstars believe in themselves. Failure does not exist. Instead, the superstar says, “I made a mistake, what did I learn?” “How can I use my new knowledge to go on and succeed?” Thomas Edison believed in himself. After nearly 10,000 futile attempts to invent the light bulb, Mr. Edison was asked, “How can you go on after you have failed thousands of times?” “My good man,” Mr. Edison replied, “I have simply found 10,000 ways the light bulb will not work.”

Sales superstars are fearless. Being rejected is no fun. What differentiates the sales superstar is the ability to move through the fear of possible rejection by asking, “What’s the worst thing that will happen?” “What’s the best thing that will happen?” “What probably will happen?” Think back to the last sales call you resisted and yet completed. How did you feel? Just this week, I moved through the sales call fear, reached the decision maker on the first attempt (unbelievable!), and was hired for the engagement as if he were waiting for my call. To think I was actually considering not making the call!

Sales superstars make decisions. What product will best satisfy your client? What strategy will solidify the client relationship and gain the outcome your client expects? What pricing strategy will meet the financial considerations of the buyer? Identify the pros and cons in a given situation, make a sound choice, and move forward with your sales strategy.

Sales superstars always put the client first. The true test of a star salesperson is the ability to focus on what’s in the client’s best interest. Many sales organizations have sales contests and promotions. Closing an order on a certain date or using a specific vendor may mean rewards for the salesperson. But is it the right decision for the client? When a salesperson focuses only on what’s in the client’s best interest, that’s good business practice – increased sales follow.

Sales superstars have positive attitudes. We all have negative thoughts. The key word is thoughts – not reality. The superstar continually eliminates negative thoughts by introducing positive ones. Supportive thoughts come from coworkers, friends and family, motivational authors and speakers. Review your client list or recent successes to reaffirm your accomplishments. Surround yourself with positive information at all times.

How many of these qualities describe you? If you want to increase your sales success, work on developing these traits and you’ll see significant results.

Emily Huling Selling Strategies, Inc. P.O. Box 200 Terrell, NC 28682
Phone: 888-309-8802 Fax: 888-309-7355

What Does Your Behavior Say About You?

During a recent visit to a client’s office, I was standing outside of a customer service associate’s cubicle, out of sight, ready for our meeting. She was just finishing a telephone call. When she hung up from the call, she said to no one in particular, “What a jerk! That customer is the biggest pain in the rear.” I peered around the corner. “Oh, hi Emily! Is it our meeting time?” We headed down the hall to a small conference room.

Kelly and I had met several other times over the past year to work through her time management and workload challenges. This meeting was to be a quick update on her progress.

Kelly said things were going great. She was staying organized, meeting deadlines, and making time to research issues herself instead of interrupting others. I asked her if there was anything else I could help her with. “No, everything’s great!” she said. I asked, “How about that customer you just spoke with. Tell me about that situation.”

She told me George was a long-time client, who frequently called with questions. I delved a little deeper and learned George is a small business owner who juggles many plates. He has grown to rely on Kelly for answers. Kelly said that his questions are legitimate, but thinks he should research the answers himself. She has sent him the necessary information to do that. Other than that, George was a good, profitable client for her company.

I couldn’t resist saying, “So you’re complaining that you do a good job for George, which is why he’s calling you, and that’s annoying to you? That’s like saying this is a nice place to work except for all the clients I have to work with!” I wondered, did Kelly realized what she was saying?

Kelly justified herself by telling me that she’s certain George has no idea how she feels. She says even with her “closet” attitude, George always gets courteous and prompt service.

While I find that hard to believe, I decided not to press that point. Instead I asked her how she thought her loud verbal statement after the call (calling George a jerk) reflected on her. “What do you mean reflects on me?” she asked. I said, “How do your coworkers view you after hearing your unprofessional comments about a client?” That got her attention and we talked for quite awhile about professional behavior.

Moral to the story: Everything we do creates an impression. It’s up to us to decide if we want people to have a bad or good impression. Mind your actions and behavior even when you think no one is paying attention.

Emily Huling Selling Strategies, Inc. P.O. Box 200 Terrell, NC 28682
Phone: 888-309-8802 Fax: 888-309-7355

Take Charge of Your Time

A friend of mine, Sally, works in a very busy service operation. She handles a steady stream of both walk-in and telephone customers as well as managing a heavy load of paperwork and e-mails. Sally has always been proud of the rapport she has built with regular customers and considers many of them her friends.

The other day, Sally called me extremely frustrated. She said her boss told her that she was spending too much time with customers. “On one hand,” she tells me, “he expects me to give outstanding service. At the same time, he’s telling me to keep it short and get the business done. How can he have it both ways?”

Sally’s not alone in her predicament. Efficiently servicing an assigned group of customers with whom you’ve built friendships can be a challenging assignment. Sally said, “Please give me a few pointers that could help me manage my time and still provide my usual friendly, personalized service” This is what I told her.

Get organized. Walk-in traffic and ringing telephones need to be dealt with immediately, so it’s easy to be reactive and simply stay busy with what’s coming at you. But that style won’t get the paperwork done. I suggested to Sally that she organize her paperwork so that when she’s not directly communicating with customers, she can refocus quickly and do what needs to be done. Create weekly and daily to-do lists. Daily to-do lists are best done at the end of the workday, when what you have to do tomorrow is fresh in your mind. Make that list and keep it visible. Knowing that the list is there will also psychologically help to keep conversations short since you’ll know what’s waiting to be done.

Delegate when possible. I’ve found one challenge in doing business with friends is that one has the tendency to want to do that work themselves. What customers want is to have their work done promptly and accurately. It’s important to delegate what work you can to those who should be doing it. Be supportive of the business relationship your friend will have with your associate. All parties will benefit when this happens, and you’ll find extra time in the workday.

Set up customer meetings with agendas. Since walk-in business is time consuming and people end up waiting to be helped, some customers may welcome the opportunity to set an appointment with a start and finish time. Create an agenda for the meeting. Armed with the agenda and prepared for the meeting, these face-to-face meetings can be both friendly and productive. Doing this will also help you plan your daily schedule.

Use the proper method of communication. Each customer situation can require a different strategy. E-mail is quick, but not very personal. The telephone is personal, but oftentimes with a talkative customer, not very efficient. Leaving a voice mail message can be quick and more personal than e-mail. E-mail shouldn’t be used when the communication is complex and will require a back and forth dialogue. Since there are no written rules as to which method to use when, know your customer and the issue to be dealt with to determine the best way to communicate.

Minimize interruptions. It’s easy to be distracted in a busy office. Overhearing other’s conversations and then volunteering to help, or taking an unscheduled break to hear about someone’s personal or business issue can lead to a lot of unproductive time. Each person must self-monitor where he or she spends time. Pay attention to where the time goes and take corrective action to make the workday productive. If coworker interruptions are recurring, it may pay to talk it over with your supervisor.

Time management challenges are unique to each individual. Finding the solution requires each person to personally examine his or her work patterns, and then commit to making changes.

Emily Huling Selling Strategies, Inc. P.O. Box 200 Terrell, NC 28682
Phone: 888-309-8802 Fax: 888-309-7355

How to Bring Buyers to You

Why do buyers choose to do business with one person and not another? Why are some salespeople held in high regard while others are considered peddlers? What does a salesperson do to keep the phone ringing?

Before you look for a wise genie to answer these questions, read on. The answers come by following a four-step process that will bring buyers to you.

Step 1. Be identifiable. Do your buyers know who you are and what you do? Is your logo, letterhead, and website representative of what you do? Have you established a personal brand, personal style, and personal expertise? Here’s an exercise to determine if you have an identifiable brand. Using a blank sheet of paper, begin writing your personal biography. In addition to your business experience and achievements, include items of note about your family, hobbies, and interests. Are you personally involved in your community, your customers’ associations, and civic organizations? Buyers must be able to recognize you by sight, name, or association. Being active and visible demonstrates commitment and professionalism.

Step 2. Be interested. Once buyers recognize you, the next step is to get to know your buyers personally and professionally. Here’s another exercise. On a blank sheet of paper, list your five top prospects. Complete their personal biographies. How did you do? For prospects and clients to want to know more about you and the products and services you offer, you must first be interested in and know about them. Harvey Mackay’s best-selling book Swim with the Sharks contains his list of 66 questions to help salespeople learn about those they do business with. Knowing people personally is what creates long-term business relationships.

Step 3. Demonstrate how you can help. It’s expected that you know about your products and services, but can you translate what you offer into how it benefits the buyer? To turn the features of what you offer into benefits to the buyer, make a list of product and company characteristics. Consider quality, turnaround, payment terms, expert staff, and so on. Use this model to turn product features into buyer benefits. “Our _________ benefits the buyer because” For example, our expert staff improves our customer’s bottom-line by providing consistent, quality products eliminating downtime and double work. Translate characteristics into buyer benefits to help the customer see how you and your company can make a difference in their organization.

Step 4. Tell them why. Why should you earn the customer’s business? Again, using a blank sheet of paper, list ten reasons why customers should do business with you. Do the answers flow from your pen, or are you struggling? If you as the salesperson can’t recite these reasons, how can the buyer? One way to complete this exercise is to finish this sentence, “My customers tell me the reason they do business with me and my company is”. Consider customer-service success stories, value-added programs, and guarantees and warranties. Verbal testimonials such as this allow prospects to relate to how you’ve helped others.

To lead buyers to you, be identifiable, be interested, demonstrate how you can help, and tell them why others do business with you. Like anything else, to achieve success it’s up to you to take the first step.

Killer “Be’s” Make Sales

When I picked up the phone, an excited voice said, “Emily, I just landed a huge account. I can’t believe it!”

My friend continued, “Competition was fierce. I knew my proposal wasn’t the lowest price offered, so I asked my new client why he decided to award his business to me. He said he gave me the order because several months ago I had sent him an article from the Wall Street Journal. The article discussed what businesses like his, an independent grocery store chain, can do to survive in a break-neck competitive environment. He said I had offered him more value in my courting relationship with him than his present supplier had under contract. Wow, that value-added, low-profile visibility contact really works!”

Low-profile visibility contact, what’s that? There are four fundamental low-key sales principles, when used continuously, that enable you take business away from the competition. They are the four killer (sales) “be’s”:

Be unforgettable. What are you doing to make yourself memorable to your best clients and prospects? Sending articles pertinent to their business as my client did, being visible at industry events, and having a pre-planned schedule of courtesy calls on your calendar can make the difference when your proposal is in a dead heat with your competition.

One of my clients created an Excel spreadsheet listing her clients and hot prospects in the left column and the months of the year across the top. She has entered in the trade shows, account service commitments, mailings to send (including newsletters and birthday cards), and phone contacts for each month for the year. She carries the chart with her and looks over it frequently to remind herself whom she can drop in to see or what special something she can do to enhance their business or personal lives.

Be believable. One of the top reasons prospects award their business to particular vendors is the high level of trust they have for the sales person. When the trust relationship continues, the business relationship does also.

Consultative selling is what will differentiate you from the competition. Assessing the clients’ individual needs and giving them sound advise, even if it means not getting the sale (this time), is the highest form of salesmanship. We all like to think our product or service is suffering from the stiffest competition in the land. With technology, people’s preferences and company strategies are changing quickly and dramatically. It’s just a matter of time until the market situation changes for you and your product or service. If you always give your prospects and clients sound, honest advice to help them in their businesses, in the long term your sales success day will come.

Be dependable. This is such a basic selling point, but when ignored it can undermine all other sales efforts. Be sure all phone calls, voice mail messages, and e-mail messages are returned and acknowledged in a timely manner. Twenty-four hours is the longest someone should have to wait for a response. Follow through when you say you will. Most sales are made after the fourth prospect contact. What this means is that it may take ten attempts to reach your prospect to make these four contacts. Don’t give up! A good automated contact management system will keep your contact calls on track. These reminders, when heeded, will gently encourage you to make that call. I can’t remember all the times I wanted to stop calling a prospect, yet decided to make that call because of my contact management system alarm feature. When I heard the prospect say “I was just thinking about you,” I knew it had been wise to put those doubts aside. Perseverance and dependability also demonstrate to the prospect how you will handle his or her business after the sale.

Be approachable. What is your image in the minds of your prospects and clients? This trait can be hard to self-assess. One of my clients shared with me that they just placed a large piece of business with one of their companies, who met their unique specifications, but were put off by the arrogant selling attitude of the firm. When the market shifts, my client may move that business unless the vendor changes his attitude.

Don’t assume your client knows of your regard for his business. Do whatever it takes for you to appreciate the hurdles your clients face in their industries, then show your concern. Commiserate with their challenges and share their successes. Not only will you retain their business, you will receive referrals and earn a good reputation in your own industry.

Be unforgettable, believable, dependable, and approachable to achieve the sales success you desire. Are you able to incorporate these principles into your sales philosophy? Or is the competition still stinging you?

Emily Huling Selling Strategies, Inc. P.O. Box 200 Terrell, NC 28682
Phone: 888-309-8802 Fax: 888-309-7355

How easy are you to do business with?

“BMW Service, good morning.”
“Hello,” I said. “I’d like to bring my car in for service.”
“What kind of car do you have?”
“A BMW,” I reply.
“Do you know your vehicle identification number?”
I laugh. “No, I don’t. Do you know yours?”
She laughs. “No, I don’t.”
I go on, “Why don’t you just ask me my name?”
“OK. What’s your name?”
“Emily Huling.” I spell it for her.
“Oh, there you are and there’s all your vehicle information!”

I couldn’t resist asking her why she didn’t ask me my name in the first place. She told me BMW requires that she get all the vehicle information. I told her that if she first determines whether the caller has ever used their service, she’d be able to bring up all the information immediately. She replied, “We don’t do it that way.”

Just another example of how good intention (obtaining accurate information) can interfere with a customer’s ease of doing business. Frequently each of us encounters customer service situations that could be improved. Here are some examples of service trouble spots with suggestions on how to ease customers’ business dealings.

Telephone automation. Automated reception and individual voice mailboxes still lead the list of customer frustration. Callers want to have access to a live person. The trend in business today is to do away with automated answering systems. I have clients who tell me that live telephone reception has actually earned them business. If you have an automated answering system, have someone unfamiliar with your business and system test it and report on his or her experience. Make the necessary changes to make callers feel that you want their business.

Voice mailbox. A very good business tool when used properly. Most people know by now that your outgoing message should be current to let the caller know when calls will be returned. One of my clients has a system that automatically forwards the calls that haven’t been retrieved in two hours to an associate’s phone. Those calls are then listened to and returned. Monitor your company’s voice mailbox usage to be sure all associates are adhering to your customer service standards.

Parking spaces. Customers want easy access to a business. Do you have enough available parking spaces close to your entry? Employees and vendors may need to be reminded that the closest parking spots should be reserved for customers.

Customer service e-mail box. Many web sites advise “E-mail customer service for a fast response.” All too often, three days later you’re still waiting for a reply! This problem is easily solved by using an auto-response program to let customers know the message was received and when a reply will be coming. Follow through on your commitment.

Acknowledge people who are waiting to be helped. All of us have waited in long lines to check into a hotel, return an item at a service desk, or mail a package. Employees who make eye contact and sincerely say, “Thank you for your patience. We’ll be with you as soon as we can.” earn a lot of customer service points. Let your customers know you empathize and appreciate their support.

Every business encounters obstacles that get in the way of providing outstanding service such as staff shortages, technology challenges, and training issues. Successful organizations eliminate or work around obstacles to keep customers happy. After all, it’s customers who sustain and grow business.

Emily Huling Selling Strategies, Inc. P.O. Box 200 Terrell, NC 28682
Phone: 888-309-8802 Fax: 888-309-7355