Your Dollars, My Sense
I get emails each week from dedicated readers looking for answers or help about their sales or service situations. Today, I’ve got a little green Q & A that may relate to your business, your sales or your company right now:
Turning the Tables: What kind of customer are you?
Being a better customer can often get you better service. Think about how good you feel when a customer of yours is pleasant and understanding of a situation that might not have gone very well. In my experience it just makes me want to help a whole lot more than when they come on strong and say agitating phrases like, “That’s not acceptable!”
I remember a time when my flight home out of Chicago was canceled after we were on the plane and ready to go. People were freaking out. They went running up to the counter and some even started yelling obscenities at the young lady working there, who had no fault in the matter and was trying to help rebook passengers on other flights. I was about 20th in line and could see her frustration mounting while each passenger in turn gave her a verbal beating. It got to the point where she started telling them all that there was nothing she could do about getting them out that night and that they would have to go to the ticket counter all the way back in the main terminal to make other arrangements.
Motivating Managers
If you are reading this article and your manager is upfront burning the shop down, keep your seat. I started out as a manager, but most of my career I made a living by managing transmission-shop managers. They are a group who require from time to time, shall we say, a little motivation. There are ways that I know of to do that and I am willing to share.
The New Guy
Instead of hoping that the new guy gets used to the way things are, work hard to leverage his excitement and ideas – they’re often more creative than anything you’ve thought of. Try looking at your business through the eyes of the new guy.
Seven Business Facts You Need to Know
There are, fortunately, seven facts that you can learn and use continually. These facts could help you avoid the mistakes that trip up so many others and go on to achieve your ultimate success.
6 Steps to Getting Your Big BUT Back in Line
Most people allow their environment to direct their actions. If you work for a boss who is not interested in your new ideas, you stop creating new ideas. If your coworker avoids teamwork, you retreat to your cubicle. If your spouse fails to uphold his/her end of the bargain, you stop trying.
Fearful Leadership: Do You Suffer from It?
It’s a tough time to be a leader. What with the economy being so unforgiving, making smart business decisions is crucial. That’s true in terms of not only strategy (whether to change your service mix or move into a new marketplace) but also relationships (whether to fire the high-volume performer who drives you nuts or address the conflict head-on). All actions have consequences. So does lack of action. And with the margin for error so slim, you want to make sure you’re thinking as coolly and clearly as possible.
Choices
Business, as life itself, always seems to come down to the choices we make. I’ve found that we are usually presented with two options at a time, rarely more. It’s a matter of picking the best road to go down in almost any instance.
Last Impressions
The last impression your customer has of you is as important as, if not more important than, the first impression. Many times we get busy and take short cuts we know we shouldn’t. Car delivery is an easy one to neglect. You talk with any sales manager and he will tell you that the last step of any sale is the reassurance step. In this step, you reassure the customer that he has made the right decision about buying from you and ask for referrals. Car delivery is the reassurance step in the sale of a transmission repair. Proper car-delivery procedure accomplishes several things, but reassurance is the most important.
Try Answering Your Phone for a Change
I learned that there are opportunities at my fingertips to improve efficiencies, to increase sales and to provide better service. I learned that what I thought was happening on a minute-by-minute basis was actually pretty different from what is actually happening. Some things are worse, some are better, but most are different.
Pilot Error
It turned out that about 90% of accidents resulted from pilot error. Even some of the weather-related crashes could have been avoided if the pilots had followed proper procedure in checking the weather beforehand or not taking off when the weather was too bad. There were even incidents in which planes ran out of fuel because pilots, who did not anticipate weather problems, thought they had enough to get where they were going.
Managing the Manager
The word “manage” basically means to handle. It could be the handling of anything, but in the case of business it generally means people. Managers handle people. Some do it well, but others seem to make a career of barely getting the job done while seeing how many employees, customers and business associates they can alienate along the way.
