We
Said It Before. We Will Say
It Again. |
If
you look at our three articles this month bashing Best
Buys, Circuit City, And “Downer”
Savings And Loan, you can see a common thread.
Very poor customer service.
Why?
Is it that those companies don't care?
Is that they don't want the business?
No, It is because they (at least the employees we dealt with) have
forgotten all about the biggest rule of customer service.
Listen to your customer
To
refresh memories here is a little bit of advise we first ran in August of 98.
Are Your two eyes, two ears, and mouth connected To Your CPU?
Use
Your God Given Senses.
God gave you two eyes, two ears, and a mouth, so use them!
How
many of you reading this article want to have money? Safe to say everybody wants
to have money. It is also safe to say that most of us would like to win the
lottery or inherit the money, but that’s not likely to happen; so, we work for
it. No matter what business you are in or what "profession", the goal
behind the time you spend "working" is to make money.
No
matter the "work" you do to make that money, it is always easier if
you use your god given senses. Now I don’t mean that thing we call
"Common" sense, but your senses, as in your eyes, ears, and mouth. You
know, the sense of sight, sound and the ability to use speech. If you dig
ditches for a living you use your sense of sight to see that when you empty the
shovel full of dirt, you empty it out of the ditch, not in it. After all, why
work harder than you have to in order to make money?
Why
is it that so many business people seem to have lost the use of their eyes, and
ears, along with their mouth, to ask questions?
I
see stores full of sales people just standing around waiting for a customer to
come over to them to buy something. These store clerks believe they are not
working any harder then they have to. In reality they are working much harder
then they have to.
I
see business people at trade shows and meetings …taking it easy. Not doing any
more then they have to. Just as above, they think they’re not working harder
than they have to. But they’re wrong. They are all making more work for
themselves.
Let
me explain. Now remember we all work to get money. Don’t confuse this with
killing time at the office and collecting a paycheck. If you’re not doing the
best job that you can (that is, making the most out of every opportunity) than
you’re not going to make as much money every day that you can. The end result
is that you are going to have to work longer to get to the point where you have
all the money that you want.
So
please, if you’re going to be lazy, then be smart. Don’t work harder by
having to work longer. Work smart and, use your senses to make the most money
with each given day. Listen for the opportunity. Look for the opportunity, and
ask questions to find it.
When
you’re looking for prospective clients, ask questions. By finding out about
people, you can find out if they need your goods or services. Listen when people
talk. You may just hear them offer you an opportunity. If your not sure of what
was said, use your mouth to back up your ears, and ask a question or two.
Lets
look at those sales clerks again. Instead of just standing around, if they use
their eyes, they would see a customer looking though a stack of shirts trying to
find the right size. Do you think the sales person would make a sale if they
stated to the customer " I would be happy to locate the shirt you’re
looking for." Get the Idea. Now, they have a customer and one sale. What
would happen if they would say, "If you like that style of clothing, may I
recommend that you look at the jackets we have on sale?". Now they have
made two sales. They look better to their boss, get a promotion, more pay, and
bingo, they don’t have to work as long, to make that money.
Let’s
look at that trade show person again. Instead of sitting at his table waiting
for the opportunity to come to him, what if he went to it? If traffic at the
show was slow, he could talk to the other business people at the show. By using
his mouth and ears he could ask questions about the other participating
businesses and possibly discover the need for his services. Now, I do not mean
just walking up and saying "Hi, I’m Joe, with Joe’s Moving, Need a
mover?" I mean taking the time to really inquire about the other person’s
business. Ask what they do. Ask what is special about their company. Ask if they
use outside suppliers, etc. If they use someone in your profession, ask if you
can talk to them about the services that they are paying for, as you believe
your company can provide the better service at the same or reduced cost.
Starting to get the idea? Here is more food for thought. If you’re at a
business event, look at the nametags people are wearing. You will note some
people put just their name on the badge.
Others
will put down their name and company name. In either event, make use of those
nametags. Address the other person by name. Try something like, "Hi, Tom,
I’m Jim. What is it your company does?" Note that we asked what his
company does, not what they do. Now we get to listen about their company, and
listen for a possible opportunity to market our company.
Get
It?
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Last modified: November 08, 2002