Good or Bad?

Unhappy customers can be bad news for any company, yet properly dealt with can be a huge benefit. It only takes one poorly handled one to ruin your day, and perhaps even your reputation. One handled well can do just the opposite.

The first rule is, “Don’t take it personal”. The customer may not be right, BUT, the customer is ALWAYS right. It could be a “mood thing” on the part of the customer. Never let your mood become a factor. Some customers have unrealistic expectations, while others may have a legitimate gripe. The important thing is for YOU to make things better.

Here are some things that YOU can do to make unhappy customers your ally rather than your enemy.

1. Listen, and do not interrupt customers while they are venting. They need to tell their story and feel that they have been heard.

2. Say, “Thank you”. You do not have to agree to be thankful. You can say, “Thank you for calling this to my attention.”

3. Apologize: Again, you do not have to agree. You can say, “I’m sorry that you feel this way”. Do not attempt to lecture the customer, make excuses, or attempt justify what has happened. Doing so will just make it worse.

4. Seek a Solution: Ask your customer, “What do you think we should do about this?” Oftentimes the customer’s solution is easier than what you might have in mind. Sometimes the venting and apology is enough.

5. Agree: Look for a solution that will satisfy the customer. The cost of the solution is most likely less costly than a tarnished reputation would be.

6. Do It Now: Show a sense of urgency. Your willingness to fix the problem quickly will do more FOR YOU than the problem DID TO the customer.

7. Follow-up: Make sure that what you agreed to do was done, and done right. A lack of follow through can undo all of the good you just did.

Remember; STUFF HAPPENS. It’s how you handle the STUFF that is more important than the STUFF itself.

You CANNOT “Train” People!

I am oftentimes introduced as a “trainer”, or “sales trainer” and I quickly deny that description of what I do.

Some people claim, “People are a part of the animal kingdom, if you can you train one, you should be able to train the other”. I can accept the “should be” part of that statement, but the reality is that there are some major differences between the human animal and the others.

A dolphin can be “taught” and then “trained” through repetition and reward to jump over a bar every time the whistle blows and the little stick is held out. The dolphin (or other animals) will do what they have been “trained” to do, regardless of their mood that day, the weather, or what the other animals are doing.

People can surely be taught to do something, however they may or may not do it depending entirely upon their mood that day, the weather, or what other people are doing.

Head Coach

In the game of football the head coach never misses a down. People need coaching, watching, critiquing, praising and sometimes even reprimanding just to get them to do what they were taught to do.

Why the Rooster?
Many people do not know that the sound the rooster makes in the morning (cock-a-doodle-doo) is called his “Report”. The rooster “reports” early; sometimes too early.

Our Morning Report also arrives early. We say, “Send us your numbers at closing time, and you will have your Morning Report BEFORE the rooster crows in the morning.”

The Lion King musical had a great Morning Report tune in the play. You can see and hear it HERE:

Businesses are famous for reporting monthly numbers after it’s too late to do anything about them.
When you get the Morning Report you will be able to see trends in plenty of time to impact them, well before the month ends. CLICK HERE to see examples of how it works.

It Pays Off
To have greater results in life, have a positive attitude. Your attitude will determine the impact of your experiences. There is a chapter in Success Made Easy entitled STUFF HAPPENS! You cannot control the “stuff” but you can determine the attitude you approach the “stuff” with. A positive attitude creates more positive thoughts and results. Choose to have a positive attitude and you will live extraordinarily - Every Day!

Half Full!
Always see the glass half full. It works for me and it will work for you. You choose your attitude and your attitude shapes your surroundings.

People Love It
Of course there are exceptions, and some e-mail is better received than others, but generally speaking, “You have mail” are welcome words when opening your e-mail program.

Yesterday’s Inbox
The same was true in times past when all mail came to your physical mail box. The more there was, the better you liked it.

“Thank You.”
When was the last time that you went shopping, came home and opened up your e-mail to find a simple “Thank you” e-mail from one of the stores where you shopped? Such e-mail would likely be well received, especially if it came from someone you did NOT buy from, and does NOT have a “sales pitch” as a part of it. A link to your web site is enough. Everyone likes being appreciated.

CRM’s
I talk with many companies that have Customer Relationship Management systems (CRM) in place to gather e-mail addresses and other customer information, but in too many cases it stops there. Or, they go into a data base somewhere with good intent to send e-mail about upcoming sales, promotions or new merchandise. In some cases even that doesn’t happen.

Pick One!
A good way to get e-mail addresses is to have a weekly or monthly drawing of some sort with winners posted on your web site. Be sure that you do not ask for too much information on the drawing ticket; name and e-mail address is all you need. I dropped my business card in a fishbowl at a cafe recently and got a return e-mail telling me who the winner was (not me), but offering me a consolation prize of a free bowl of soup with my next purchase.

Get it Together!
The names in your data base are pure gold. Get creative; e-mail is free, and properly used can be the most effective and inexpensive marketing tool of all.

Tick - Tick - Tick
The five minutes before you are supposed to be somewhere can be stressful or calm, and you get to decide which it will be. Needless stress is unhealthy, yet too many people experience it by simply arriving someplace at the last minute or even worse, late. Arriving at the last minute can leave you breathless, perspiring and stressed, with no time to mentally prepare. When you arrive late your reputation is tarnished, and depending upon the situation, lost business as well.
When you arrive just five minutes early, those five minutes can be spent relaxing and preparing for what you are about to do. I have this little “trick” I play on myself. I keep my watch five minutes fast. Although I have done this for many years, and I know well that it is fast, it still works. When I do arrive at the last minute (by my watch), I go, “Whew” and relax.
Try It! Life is too short to be stressed, and even shorter if you are.

WIIFM?
Whenever asked to do something, most people filter the request through “WIIFM” which stands for “What’s in it For Me?” Unless there’s good answer to that question it many times will not be done. This is true both in parenting as in managing salespeople.

Do it For the Customer
Too often salespeople that want to sell more are thinking more of themselves than their customers. The customer will benefit more from the sale than anyone else. When a sale is made, there are a lot of people who benefit; the salesperson, the store or company, the vendor, the landlord, plus the state and country. All of these benefits are monetary. What the customer gets out of the deal will last longer than the money will last for any of the others.

“Mine, No Mine!”
One of the worst things that can happen in sales is salespeople arguing over whose sale it is. Whenever I am asked to referee one of those arguments, I ask, “Who did the customer give the money to?” When you get good service in a restaurant you don’t drop your tip on any old table on your way out.

Teamwork Works!
Those that work together get more done. Here’s a good rule to keep in mind; “The commission on any one sale is never more important than your relationship with your co-worker.” If you make this and the “Customer First” a part of your being, you will succeed more than the selfish people who get it turned backwards.

“TIAD” is a disease that successful salespeople are susceptible to, and it is most prevalent in the last week of the month or final hours of the day.
“TIAD” pronounced Tie-Add, stands for Thumbs In Armpit Disease. This is a syndrome where people start celebrating their success before the end of the game. It occurs in sports as well as in selling.
“You can get your thumbs so far up there that they block your vision of current new opportunities.”
-Ron Martin
The nice thing about TIAD is that only successful people catch it. And when accused of having TIAD, remember that denial is a symptom of the disease.