NEWSLETTER JULY, AUGUST 2008
LET'S TALK ABOUT: GETTING BACK TO BASICS

In previous issues we spoke about your own Telephone Policy.  That is how your company incorporates the telephone into your business.   What are you doing in your business to address: 

• Keeping your clients
• Adding new clients
• Increasing the value of existing clients

Most of my clients, or those I talk to about earning their business, have a level of business that keeps the company surviving.  Every one of those that I talk with want more business; they want to grow and thrive - not just maintain their status quo. 

These business owner invest in their web site, in marketing, possibly in training their managers with the latest corporate message they want to get across or they send their sales people on another sales course. 

In today's fast paced business environment, you may need to do all of the above in order to remain competitive. I won't dispute that, but sometimes we get caught up in all of the "stuff" that we think needs to be done and we forget about the simplicity of thinking about how we talk to these customers and prospects.

 « How often do you talk to them?
    How often should you talk to them?
  « What should you say to them? 
  « What do you say to them when you do talk to them?
  « Who do you talk to? Who should you talk to?

You have a choice, really.  You can spend time constantly trying to get new business and forget about your existing business or you can build a business that incorporates a Telephone Policy to ensure that you are doing both.

                  

By talking, I mean picking up the telephone and actually speaking to someone.  You can talk to your customers using newsletters, webinars, web casts or even podcasts.  This is you talking at them, this is not you talking with them and communicating by giving and receiving information.

When I say Getting Back to Basics, I mean keeping it simple and using the telephone to reach out to your customer or prospect base as often a necessary with the right message at the right time.

How to Contact Me

Phone (727) 421-8818
kathy@telephoneeffectiveness.com

What's up with that?

Recently our auto insurance was coming up for renewal.  A month before the date we did our due diligence and checked out some rates in anticipation of our renewal notice. Well that renewal did come in, it didn't look too bad but we had a few questions to clarify the cover.  I happened to be in the neighborhood so I popped in to see the agent who had sold us the policy (a referral from a friend).  I got my questions answered and I asked very simply:  Did you know that this renewal had been sent?  She said:  Yes.  I replied:  How come you didn't call us to make sure everything was ok with the renewal?  She replied:  " We are too busy to call every customer who has a renewal!!!"

What's up with that?  I buy other insurance products from someone else and she lost an opportunity to have that business AND I don't know if I will renew next year! 

             

Who is your CWE?

I am a total fan of www.wirelesstoyz.com because o their professionalism, their product knowledge and the dedication that they have to their staff and to their customers.  If you have not yet visited Dominic for Pinellas (e-mail him at:  store 345@wirelesstoyz.com) or John in Hillsborough (john.corcoran@wirelesstoyz.com).  In the interest of full disclosure they are also a client of mine.....One of my favorites! 

Don’t forget to check out www.bnireferralexchange.com
and see who I know! 

I can help you identify what needs to be done and put success drivers in place to help you manage your Telephone Policy and the basic principal of reaching out to get business - or keep the business that you already have.

TIPS: About 5-30% of a face to face meeting is spent on business.  70-95% on small talk and extraneous matters.  With the telephone you should reverse these numbers   think about the cost of getting business? 

TRICKS:  Listening when you are using the telephone is a 'given' and probably more important than face to face.  When you hear "no" or "not now" don't hesitate to ask, with a smile in your voice, is that "no never or just not now?"  or:  "is that not now or not ever?"  (This reminds me of something I heard a salesman say to a prospect who told him to go away, but not so politely. His quick retort was:  Is that go away forever or just for today.....

TRADITIONS:  The mis-conception that you need to mail, then phone, then send out information, then phone, then mail is a tradition that some businesses have adopted and this is their way of incorporating the telephone into their sale strategy.  Break that tradition NOW!  There is no tradition, there is a process that you need to employ that is measurable, effective and gives you the results you need.  Let's talk about that and put a test in place that doesn't need to take too much time or cost too much money, we can test and measure and re-test and measure and then change and test again.  (Speaking of measuring:  The tool many of my clients are using is a product from Infusion.  I'd like you to know more about this by checking into: http://crm.infusionsoft.com/go/crmdemo/kathy/

Quote of the Day

"Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it."   Lou Holtz

kathy@telephoneeffectiveness.com
727 421 8818

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