Customer Service for Those in Direct Sales

I have been a member of DNA for several months now. They offered a valuable service to law enforcement officials who were looking for lost kids by paying folks to collect and report license plate numbers in public parking lots. They have since expanded their services and even offer excellent business-building articles in their member area.

I just read a great article regarding customer service for those of us in direct sales. It is service that really builds our business. I am providing a copy of the article below.

Direct Sales: Customer Service the Magic Bullet to Getting and Keeping Clients

"These are great times for Direct Sales professionals. Knowledge and best practices for building a successful business are so widespread that anyone can learn whatever they need to know to get customers without breaking the bank. But did you know that it's easier to keep a client than to get a new one?
A lot of distributors end up spending too much time chasing new business because many direct sellers don't understand that customer service is the core of business, not something that gets slapped onto the business as an afterthought.
Here are four tips for getting and keeping clients with superior customer service.

Compete With Service And Value Because You Can’t Compete on Price
As a Direct Sales person, you often have some of the best products in your respective industry. However, often times when you go to market your customers want to talk price. Since you don’t control the prices focus on what you can control. Make sure you are pointing out the unique qualities of your product or service and blow your competition by offering VIP customer service. Smart businesses fight differently.
Netflix and Blockbuster fought over prices at first, but eventually came to a standstill with almost identical prices. To gain an advantage over their behemoth competitor, Netflix decided to offer phone customer service, while Blockbuster's phone representatives encouraged clients to use their website. Netflix removed the option to get customer support by email and placed their call center in Oregon, while most companies outsource this part of business overseas.
What can you do to provide more support to your clients? Here are some suggestions: 1) Offer a newsletter to your customers answering the most frequently asked questions. 2) Do webinars demonstrating how to use the product or service 3) Create customer appreciation events with special promotions for your best clients.

Give Your Direct Sales Team Room to Improvise
All Direct Sales Companies have policies and procedures in place about what to do if a customer is not happy with your product or service. But what is your policy? Remember this is your business. So even if the company has a policy that may leave the customer unhappy you have to think about what this is going to do to your business. Think about creating a policy that if the product or service has not been used but your company can’t take it you will so that you keep a good relationship with a person who could potentially give you more business later. And remember a disgruntled customer is sure to complain and it is easier to try to come up with a win-win solution. This allows you to build a human connection with your customers and create goodwill that will spread much faster, and have more lasting impact.

Understand That Satisfaction Does Not Equal Loyalty
A research study showed that up to 40% of customers who are satisfied can switch suppliers without thinking. Another study reported that more than 80% of customers who switched suppliers were satisfied with their former providers. Finally, an average American company loses between 15 and 20% of customers each year. In Direct Sales just delivering a fairly-priced product on time does not always equate to loyalty. Creating a relationship based on loyalty requires ongoing commitment to make clients incredibly happy.
Zappos does that very well. All of their clients are encouraged to buy as many products as they want and return those they don't like. Zappos also surprises clients with overnight shipping and encourages call center employees to be creative and flexible in solving clients' problems. Start to create a customer service philosophy and policy in your business.

Avoid Making Excuses
Every company makes mistakes at some point in business. And if you are in business long enough it will happen to you. Maybe it’s the wrong thing gets delivered or something did not get delivered at all. However, it’s not what happens it’s how we respond to what happens. Don’t make excuses. When something unexpected happens, do your best to fix your mistake and go above and beyond what is expected. Then improve your business and customer service to avoid making the same mistake in the future. Turn errors into possibilities for growth instead of sweeping them under the carpet with excuses.

Great customer service is the foundation of your business. It's what makes you different from many other entrepreneurs that are selling similar products. If you follow these simple tips, you will establish customer service that will create loyal clients who will happily talk about your products and services truly helping to make you a word of mouth business."

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More Americans Looking for Apartments in the First Quarter of 2010

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I thought this was very interesting. Cycles come and go. The last cycle was that everyone had to own their own homes--even those who couldn't really afford them. Unfortunately, many have lost their homes and are now moving into apartments.

The question is, who will provide the apartments for them? The answer is: Entrepreneurs who are willing to grab their own destinies by the tail. Those brave souls who insist on captaining their own ships--who understand that having a business is the best legal tax-reduction strategy available in our great nation. And those who want to create win-win situations.

To those courageous souls,....happy hunting. May this wave bring you success and prosperity. But always remember to pay it forward.

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Time Management

I just came across this great summation of Stephen Covey's 4 Quadrants for time management. It's a YouTube video that is less than 4 minutes in length, and is presented by Jim Tatem in his Motivational Minute.

I have used Covey's method for many years, and it does work. Give a quick listen and see if this idea may help you. I'd love to hear from you

VoicePoint is Truly Going To Be The Next Technology Revolution In The Net Work Marketing Industry. "Believe It"

VoicePoint is Truly Going To Be The Next Technology Revolution In The Net Work Marketing Industry. "Believe It"

Check it out at http://budurl.com/exrx

The Dangers of Dehydration

Have you ever tried to drink, everyday, at least half as many ounces of water as you weigh in pounds? I really work at drinking at least 96 oz. (about 3 liters) of water each day, in addition to my morning and afternoon tea (No, I don’t weigh 192 pounds!). I carry water with me all the time. Last year at Christmas, I even asked for--and got--an insulated carrier for a quart bottle, and it goes with me whenever I leave the house.

So, imagine my surprise when I found myself crumpling to the floor at our local K-Mart—the apparent victim of dehydration. Concerned faces hovered over me. I heard a manager ask a clerk to get me some water (I had my bottle with me). Store personnel called the paramedics. I had abdominal discomfort, could I be the victim of a heart attack (that is the most likely symptom for a woman)? I was too faint to drive myself home, so I ended up in the back of the ambulance. An EMT started an IV, and began pushing fluid into my vein. My blood pressure was too low for the EMT to be comfortable. At the hospital, everything checked out. After 4 hours and 2 liters of IV fluid, they let me go home. They seemed convinced I had become dehydrated and the fluids corrected that.

I believe I was the victim of food poisoning. But this episode got me to thinking about how important drinking water is. Could not drinking enough water cause my blood pressure to be that low? Experts say it could. In fact, dehydration is a leading cause of fainting, lightheadedness, drowsiness, confusion, and fatigue.

For instance, if you are feeling tired--or like you aren’t thinking clearly--try having a glass of water. Often, clarity will return almost immediately, and that problem that looked insurmountable will seem to solve itself. Many gerontologists recommend that their older patients increase their intake of water to help counteract minor confusion.

Let’s do an experiment. Try drinking the recommended amount of water everyday; then, tell me how you feel. Here’s the formula for figuring out how much you should drink:

Weight in pounds/2 = minimum number of ounces of WATER to drink

Remember, if you live where it is hot and dry (i.e. desert), or you work hard physically (i.e. construction worker) or exercise avidly, you will need to drink more than this. It’s hot in Hawaii, so I drink far more than my weight divided by 2.

I’m looking forward to hearing your results. I’ll share mine, as well.