Can Customers Truly Be Our Friends

Writen by Dr. Gary S. Goodman

I was smack in the middle of delivering a breathtaking seminar in Texas, when this older gentleman interrupted.

"Excuse me," he said. "All I know is that I refuse to sell anybody an insurance policy until they're my friend, first!"

(I said a silent prayer for him—May he have many, many friends!)

He went on to explain that he feels he has to have a personal relationship with somebody before he can feel comfortable replacing his Stetson with his salesman's hat.

I found it an odd encumbrance to saddle oneself with. Quickly scanning my customer base, I thought I'd have very little business if I took on that burden.

Customers are hard enough to find, but friends? Well, that's just asking a whole heck of a lot. If you have a handful of true friends in a lifetime, I think you're ahead of the game.

So, what's all this we hear about relationship selling? Are its promoters simply urging us to think and to act as this gentleman did? Is this an efficient or desirable way of going about our business? Can our customers truly be our friends?

I doubt it. Moreover, I think we delude ourselves and waste our time if we buy into this concept. Here's the logic:

(1) Friendship is a voluntary association between people. You can stop being friends as fast as you can say, "Can you lend me a hundred bucks?" Seriously, when you have a customer or a client, you must live with each other, so to speak, until your contractual obligation is fulfilled. A business relationship is one that a court of law will enforce if one party decides to breach it. Try telling a judge that your friend is giving you the cold shoulder, and see what relief he offers you.

(2) Friendship isn't about power. Both people in a friendship have equal power to leave it or to enhance it. Buyers and sellers don't have the same bargaining power. Usually, one needs the other at least a little more, as in supply and demand.

(3) The object of friendship isn't economy or profit or productivity. It's a lot of other things, intangibles, such as harmony, trust, identification with each other, laughter, tears and a shared history.

(4) The "whole" of a friendship is much greater than the sum of its parts. With a friend, you can occasionally say the wrong thing, be stupid, yell and emote. Try that with the person who's calling about his cable subscription or phone bill.

(5) If you lose your job, you're sick, or you suffer a personal loss, who is it that cheers you up, or comes over and cooks a meal for you?

There is a highway sign in Texas that always makes me smile. It says, "Drive Friendly."

Now that's something you can do in the presence of strangers and customers—you can be friendly, and it's a great idea.

But a sign saying, "Make Friends," could just take us down the wrong road, altogether.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman © 2005

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service. A frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide, Gary's programs are offered by UCLA Extension and by numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. Gary is headquartered in Glendale, California. He can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

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Credit Repair Services

Writen by Jay Conners

If you are in the business of credit repair services, You may have at one time considered purchasing credit repair leads.

The benefit of purchasing credit repair leads, is that the customer is committed to having their credit repaired by a professional such as yourself.

These customers are not playing games or surfing the net looking for information and merely contemplating the idea of credit repair, they are very serious about it, and they are waiting on a phone call.

Wether or not you are an established credit repair business or a start up, credit repair leads are a good option when considering lead sources.

So where is the best place to get credit repair leads?

The obvious answer would be to find a credit repair lead company, but that isn't always as easy as it sounds.

Yes, it is easy to find the lead company via the internet, but finding a good one with reasonable pricing is where the challenge lies.

For starters, find a lead company that obtains their leads through web sites they own and operate themselves.

Steer clear of the companies that buy their leads from other companies and recycle them. You never know how many times that selling company has sold the lead.

Try to find a company that not only sells their own leads, but sells them at a reasonable price, exclusively, and in real time if possible.

Make an attempt to contact someone in their customer service department. Ask them as many questions you feel to be appropriate. If you are not satisfied with the answers to your questions, or the quality of the service you receive, than move onto the next company.

The quality of the service you receive is usually an indication of the quality of the lead you receive, so proceed with caution.

Jay Conners is the owner of two mortgage related lead sites where he obtains leads from people looking for credit repair. Please visit his sites at http://www.callprospect.com/credit_repair_leads.html And http://www.callprospect.com

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Easy Ways To Crank Up The Sales Volume

Writen by Allyn Cutts

1. Supersize It!

Okay, okay... the real marketing term here us upsell it, but the word association takes me to McDonalds. You've been there... you pull up to the window, place your order and they always say... "Would you like to supersize that?"

What bugs me is that I instinctively say, "Yes!" After all, for a few cents more I'm getting nearly twice the amount of fries and beverage. We won't discuss the fact that a person with normal size kidneys couldn't possible drink the supersized drink before it goes flat... and that if I were to eat all of the supersized fries I'd be perfect advertisment for an acne medicine company... but hey, I got a good deal!

When your customers have their wallet out and are reaching for their money, they are ripe for shelling out just a few more bucks to sweeten the deal. In fact, about 50 percent will say yes without a second thought. It's the perfect time to offer an upgrade or an extra warranty.

2. After The Sale Offers.

Have you noticed that novel sequels seem to go like hotcakes? Once the author has caught the audiences attention with the first book, they can't wait to get their hands on the follow up.

The same idea carries over with your customers. A customer who is happy with the product and service you provided the first time, is much more open for a second experience.

The backend product you offer doesn't even have to be your own. Affiliate marketers are rolling in proceeds on ebooks that cover material associated with their products. It's an easy and painless process to market this way... the affiliate handles all the sales, while you collect the commission.

3. Reward Referrals

Customer surveys that ask 3 basic questions: What did you like best about the product?, How can we improve the value of the product?, and Who do you know that would benefit from the product?

In a nutshell, you are letting the customer know that his needs and opinions are important to you, and that you want to help someone else fulfill their needs too. You'll gain valuable insight into customer satsifaction, provide material for valuable testimonials, and get tips on potential customers.

Upselling, backend selling and referral selling work together to increase the number of sales you net, without increasing advertizing budgets. Try it... you'll be surprised at how easy it is to increase your marketing effectiveness within your current customer audience.

Copyright 2006 Cutts Group, llc

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Who is Allyn Cutts, and why should you care?

Allyn has spent over 24 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales to current customers. Allyn is a marketing and sales fanatic, providing measurable marketing solutions that drive huge results for small-to mid-size business clients. Allyn works personally with clients to design and deliver off-line and on-line direct marketing strategies that focus on metrics and measurable results.

You can learn more about Allyn Cutts at http://www.AllynCutts.com and you can call 610.437.4106 between 10 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time Tuesdays and Thursdays.

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