Five Guys Burgers — How to Absolutely ensure Customer Happiness

 In yet another great and revolutionary statement “5 Guys Burgers” does it again!!!!   This is the sign in the famous eatery.YOU DESERVE TO BE 100% SATISFIED– If not please inform the manager who will make things right.  I love that last part “WHO WILL MAKE THINGS RIGHT” there is no doubt to what their intent is when it comes to your satisfaction. All small business should adopt this very strong stand when it comes to the customers experience while they are guests in your establishment.

Giving meaningful gifts to your employees to show your appreciation of their hard work

I’m sure that you would agree the the two most important things in your business are your employees and customers. You know the great ones are rare and hard to find and only after you lost one do you see the impact they created to overall well being of your company. So finding ways to show them how much you value what they contribute to your success as a small business owner is of extremely high importance. If your one of my regular readers you probably have read my other post on customer value so here is the other part of the equation. If you haven’t read my primer on understanding my view points it is here.

I wanted to save this post because this is the time of year most SBO’s are looking for gift giving ideas for the most important people in their business or professional life. Finding unique and powerful way to show employee how much you value them can truly create less employee turnover and a more positive work environment than you may realize until it happens. This is truly something that giving once in the right ways can last you for the rest of the year … and next year. The power to make a difference in someones life with just a small but well thought out token is something that may last for their lifetime you never know. However it has to be WELL THOUGHT OUT _-not expensive to gain full effect. Most employers give bonuses and I say when they see the benefit to this way they wouldn’t never give a bonus again as a way to show employees you care. Why? it’s only money and it will be forgotten about two minutes after its spent so shelf life is a week max. I show you reasons/thoughts, others examples and a simple way to create your own way of starting to give thought–fully. Don’t get me wrong employees should definitely get bonuses but not a way to say thank you but rather as pay for the work they accomplished. The two should NEVER be confused with each other.

So getting back to the gifts– the personal the better shows how much you are really paying attention to them. Try your best to give memories not things. What I mean by that is anybody can get you something off a list so your goal is to be powerful and unique. You want the memory of the experience to last for the next 180 days at least. However if you do have to pick a present get them something that nobody else would think to get them. For example you notice that once every two weeks your co worker goes to the same place for lunch because they like it get them a gift certificate for two lunches at least. You save them money and they be thinking while eating those lunches.

Now for the great gifts the memories. Find favorite activities of hobbies that your employees have. Or sometimes if you find other things they are passionate about. Then give them the experience as a gift. So let me give you an example –I found out that one of my employees favorite baseball player was Tony Gwynn how ironic the same as mine. So I found out when the Padres where in Philadelphia playing the Phillies then I got us field seats. Now for the great part the surprise. When I scheduled I overstaffed he thought it was because of a big shipment coming in. When he showed up I handed him a Padres cap and said lets go needless to say he was blown away. One afternoon that YEARS later we still reminisce about.

Now he was a good employee before but afterwards if their was anything I needed he volunteered –I didn’t even have to ask. I can honestly tell you that $100 gift made and saved me a couple thousand. Now that’s not what I had in mind but after it happened I realize the magnitude of my gratitude combined with my thoughtful gift giving. When ever I do it the benefits FAR outweigh the cost. Whenever I need something my employees want to help me out because they know how much I care, how much of an impact they have and that I’m willing to sacrifice to show them that.

So the lesson is this give with your values and heart instead of just with your money and your company will grow in ways you can never imagine.

AS always if you need any ideas for your employees PLEASE email me — Tom Titlow Jr @ Tom4change@gmail.com

How can you make your customers lives easier this time of year?

we all how extremely stressful this time of year can be. However for small business owners it can create several opportunities that the benefits of can last the whole next year though. People remember the intangible things you did to create VALUE in their lives. what did you do out of the ordinary for them? What did you give they they couldn’t find anywhere else?( ex muscle relaxation through having a massage therapist on site as a free service on busy days, holding your customers gifts until they find a way to hide them or having a gift wrapping party –you supply the wrapping paper free of charge they get to wrap their presents in a fun environment where they are away from home and getting to network with other customers) I have tons of other ideas for you just email me. The overall idea is this–

In what completely UNIQUE ways can I make my customers lives more fun, less stressful and /or more productive during the holiday season?

How am I making my customer lives better?

Something that everybody related to your business should be asking themselves everyday. Great answers to this question build solid strong businesses regardless of everything else because your intention is a perfect one. If you don’t know the answer then you better start thinking about it cause sooner or later your going to have a identity crisis with your business that you built from scratch. I’ll explain it if you want me to just ask.

3.75 keys to eliminating sales objections

One of the toughest parts in business is overcoming objections that your potential customer has about your products, people or your company.  So here are three general key I use without fail to save the customer.

1.Build confidence in the customer objections.Just remember that all an objection is them trying to find a reason NOT to buy. THEY WANT to buy if they didn’t they just walk away without saying anything. Most salespeople think the customer is saying no where they are trying to say yes they just need more information to back up their willingness to do so. I love objections because the customer is trying to buy what I have. It’s my job to make it as easy as possible to do so. So I always tell them I welcome objections and then when they occur I always start with ” I’m glad you brought that up” or “Many of my customers feel the same way you do….” I want them to feel good and confident for bringing up these points. Most people are scared at this time because they want to buy but they don’t want to here they aren’t able to.

2.Face the challenge head on. Customer are trying to see if you really stand behind the product because if you do then they can. ALWAYS be honest!!! If your not the customer will see it no matter how good you think you are. Make sure that if you put the objection do for now you get the customer to agree to it. Say something like ” That’s an good point you have brought up and I will get to it in minute okay?” Then make sure you do.

3.If your are ever unsure to the answer to an objection say this” That is an excellent point that I hadn’t considered,I don’t know the answer but I will find it out for you.” Then find out.

0.75 — Never make something seem less than ( ex a competitor) in order to make your product look stronger. It make your look weak and pushes their decision more toward them. They see it as you think they are better that’s why you have to knock them down you can’t compete on a level playing field.

Little things that make the biggest difference

Many business owners are so close to every part of their business because  they are responsible it ALL of it.  What I do most often as their consultant is I show them the impact that the little things have on the bottom line that they never noticed.Unfortunately those negative little things absolutely destroy businesses. Listen businesses don’t fail because somebody stopped trying  just the opposite is true. Most business fail because they are trying to hard in the wrong direction. So many time I teach business owners how the little things they do make more of a fundamental difference than the huge things. I show them how specific actions or intangible assets are the things that create long term success. For the most part the physical aspects of any business don’tmmake nearly as much of a difference as the things that you can’t see.

An biggest of them all is attitude (yourself, your employees and your customers) and it surprises me how many people in businesses think that it doesn’t matter. They think people don’t care or notice attitude. Everyday you wear you attitude on your sleeve and there is not a single person that doesn’t notice it. Like in the earlier post on colors and judgements, your attitude you have is how people judge you what you do, think, say and in your case if they will do business with you or not.

The reason I’m bringing this up is I was doing some shopping tonight myself.  It astounded me how many salespeople at the mall (one of the most successful in the country) had either bad attitudes or apathy(they just didn’t care about the customer). I began to wonder how we got to a place where we accept this as customers. The experiences I witnessed other people having some where scary and downright disrespectful. Then I watch CNBC and see retailers are having tough quarters and cutting 4th quarter forecasts. Do this people (CEO and board members ETC) actually go to their store and look at the product they are putting out? By that I mean the sales person on the floor that argues with a customer or is on their cellphone with a friend(yes I saw both tonight)? There are customers that those employees don’t realize that are making judgment about their WHOLE company based on that ONE person. GREAT attitudes are free if you make sure you hire them in the first place.

S o I want to leave you with this question for all of you and your employees that will create a minefield of gold where these other people see only losses.

What have I done today to give my customers OUTSTANDING service?

So where are your ideal customers AT NOW?

I was one the phone with a client of mine who just started a part time computer company called All Access. I’m helping him set up the structure of the business (registration, accounting you now all the stuff the customer never sees you do). He asked me if the next time we meet that if I wouldn’t mind taking a few cards. So if there was somebody having trouble with their home computer if I wouldn’t mind give them one. I said absolutely I would because I have other clients that could use his service.

Then I asked a very important question.

How do the majority of your customers find out about you now?

“I ask my satisfied customers to do what I just ask you to Tom” was his reply. Now that is an excellent, simple and free idea many business owners don’t think of. I then asked his this

Where are you customers going now or thinking about going to solve the problem you solve for your customers?“A computer store where they bought it” Then go to a computer store that doesn’t do service(conflict of interest if they did) and start talking to sales people that who be helping out their customers if they offered your service and work out a dollars for referrals deal. They are making more money (additional sales from add on product AND your referral money) You a gain a prime customer that is looking to solve a problem and got your name from a trusted source.

SO what related market that your customers already use that you and them could benefit from a relationship to you ? Go there

B2B Sales–build your business –getting more customers

One of the things I love in business is watch the different ways businesses grow through discovering new customers. I love business owners that like to think out of the box. See a lot of business owners think that if thy advertise in the right places or market to the right people then people will show up at their doorstep. I say “maybe” but what is your back up plan if that doesn’t happen? If you don’t have a good back up plan I’ve got a successful one I have used in all the businesses I’ve had the opportunity to be a part of.

Being in outside and retail sales for many years I learned that if my customer wasn’t standing in front of me it was my responsibility to go out and find them. So I used to ask myself a series of questions in order to find my BEST customer. Notice I didn’t say just “a customer” I wanted to find the person or company that most desired my product or service. So I would imagine somebody using my product– sounds stupid but the details of the visualization were extremely helpful. Rather than explain this let me show you how I did it.

One of the companies I worked for was Sprint. I was lucky enough to get in right when people where realizing how much having a cellphone could change their life for the better. I primary enjoyed focusing on business customers when I wasn’t busy at the store. So I asked myself the most powerful question that you can ask in sales “who would benefit most from having the ability of the features that my product offers?”

Then I just sat down and wrote out a list of who and more importantly why they would be able to use my product to better their business. If I understood and could communicate the reasons why it showed them that I had their best interests in mind. What also separated myself is that I wasn’t just a salesperson rather I was someone that was trying to help them achieve their long term goals while achieving short term savings. Then I looked at the areas that I had the greatest opportunity of positively impacting the bottom line. Why did I do this? Those where the areas which I would be able to utilize my time and get them to say yes the fastest. After that I look at the who and wheres of that industry, company of division.

Who is the best person in this segment to prove my products worth to? I never looked at normal purchasing channels which really helped my success in that I never fought through red tape. So if I knew that a sales manager could make the most money I lent him out the phones for a couple of days so he could see it himself then he sold the purchasing manager on the decision. Most others started with the purchasing manager instead of the end user.

Where is the best place to find get in touch with that person? I molded my schedule to where and when was the best time for them. This was critical for me because I into place that others couldn’t access. I was always looking for the back door if you will. So if they were on the road I met them for breakfast, or I would show up at a trade show that I found out they would be attending. Needless to say I was never that guy waiting in the office for the appointment unless I absolutely needed to be.

I have this little thing I say to myself in business to business sales “If I can find the area which I can make the most difference to any business it will help me to penetrate the whole business”

Does your neighbor 4 houses down know what business you own?

Small business owners are always looking for that great idea that will make their marketing and advertising bring more customers to them. Start with yourself and work your way out instead of advertising in some magazine or newspaper and guessing if it will work.

<>When I started in retail sales and management years ago I started with the easiest and least inexpensive way to grow your sales. I went around to all the stores and I introduced myself and told the employees where I worked. Then afterwards if I walked by their store on the way to lunch I always waved saying hi.Now I was doing this at first for many different reasons and creation of sales WASN’T even a goal. It was primarily for safety reasons “I keep an eye on your store if you do the same”–etc.

<>However I noticed that over 20% of the people I talked to never even realized that my type of store was even in the mall they had been working in. Many others came down to buy from me specifically just because I was thoughtful enough to reach out to them. I created SEVERAL employee and family appreciation events that grew my businesses over 10-15 % in profits just by this one activity. How these people gave me great refferals without having to ever ask for one is a whole other topic.

So if you can find time to take a walk through your neighborhood and knock on doors and introduce yourself and your business. If your can’t get another family member to. Don’t try and sell them just introduce yourself and get to know them. Just how they will help you out by returning the favor of you being a good neighbor will make the walk(s) worthwhile. Just watch sooner or later they will come though your businesses front door when they are ready for what you have to offer. They will choose you just because people naturally want to do business with people they know and like.Your neighbor would LOVE to support the local businesses and once you tell them that you own it they will start coming in.

The line” if you build it they will come” from Field of Dreams is absolutely true here. The “it” is the relationship with your neighbors

Customer Appreciation and Gratitude why saying Thank You is so important

Earlier tonight I was having a conversation with small business owners that was very enlightening to me. We had a round table discussion about why somebody else that owned another business and why he should have been really busy on a Satuday night but he wasn’t. As I was listening in somebody said “boy when he first bought this place he used to have a ton of repeat customers but they all just stopped coming in.” Of course I asked “Does anybody know why?” The answers all came at me at once —comes in to work on the business (inventory, bookeeping) while the business is open and doesn’t say hi to employees or customers, doesn’t care if people come back, doesn’t ask customer if they are enjoying their time there, let’s his emotions show. Now this isn’t a bitch session and he is a friend of all of ours and we all are patrons of his business. To the everyday person he runs a great business who is extremely social on most days with customers. However since we have know each other over a long period of time we all understand the ebbs and flows of each others business and we all help each other to be successful.

So now I ask what do you do to keep customers coming back to your business? These are the responses I hear “I serve a good product”, “If I have a customer who is unhappy I give them something free”,”I make sure all the employees are running a top notch business”, “I alway smile and say thank you to all my customers”. Now they are all good replys but none of them answered my question. They are all things that help to give a good experience but they don’t get customers to directly to come back. That’s where the light bulb went off for me these business owners don’t understand the difference between good customer service and showing customers gratitude and appreciation.Being humble enough to share how their patronage allows to be  the business successful creates an enviroment where they really want to come back again. Taking the extra steps to show your customers that you care and they really mean everything to the well being of your business. Because without them there is nothing.

So I started telling them about the different ideas each of them could do with their specific business some of which I have share about in the other posts in this blog on customer appreciation. I related how they could implement each one why it would be so successful for each of them. They were blown away how extremely easy it was to do and how inexpensive also. They asked me how I knew this and I simply said how much experience I had helping other businesses across alot of industries implement these programs and watching them blossom because of it.

Just remember customer appreciation and gratitude is part of who you are as a person and as a business owner, IT IS NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU DO WHEN TIMES ARE TOUGH AND BUSINESS IS SLOW. The attitude behind customer value and appreciation is the reason i’m writing this. Honestly none of the customer appreciation ideas in the world will work if you aren’t truely grateful for every single one of your customers.

Here is the absolute key to all of the customer appreciation ideas that you will learn about here— What can I do right now to make this person feel better about themselves than they did before they walked into my business? Sometimes it is a just a smile or a complement. But the universal answer to my question about customers coming back is this. A customers feels something postive about you or your business that they can’t get if they went to another business. Simply when the have that experience they want to come back because people want to feel good as much as possible. Just look at the place you’ve been that you would recommend to a friend. It’s not because you didn’t like it something occured that was memorable enough to you that it suck out enough to tell you friend about it. I compare it to the idea of all the cars you see everyday on the road but its not until you get a new car that THEN you happen to notice all of ones like your make and model car. Your commitment to YOUR car caused you to notice the other cars without really ever thinking about it. Have you ever noticed how good you feel when that happens? Showing customers how important they are to you and making them feel good is by far they best thing you can do. THEN you will be that business that they are telling everybody they know about.

Starting a new business in a competitive industry

I had a friend walk up to me last night after I was done playing pool another passion of mine. He has seen some of the previous consulting work I had done for other small business start ups and asked me a question I get alot. So I figured I’d share this because I’m sure some of my readers may be asking the same thing.I have this idea for a business that I know other people make money at what do I do?What are you doing differently then they are to separate yourself in the potential customers mind? In other words why are people going to choose you over your competition. He then gave me a little info on what business it is  and I gave him some example that he hadn’t thought of yet. A really great question I love to ask people to help them with this concept is the oppposite minded. What need is not being met by the businesses right now that you could fill? What is it that you see other companies NOT doing that you have a passion toward?I call it looking for the gaps and if you find a gap big enough you can have a amazing business. So often though people have such enthusiam for starting the new business which I commend. They don’t stop and ask if the need is already being met. So why be one of many when you can create a new alternative? Business that ask if what can they do better than those already out their are the one with people beating a path to their door.This is a tried and true concept of the USP unique selling point. Which you find out what makes you business unique even in a crowded industry. Your businesses “voice” is what potential customers are going to use to decide if they will do business with you or not let me give you a great example of what I mean.The other day I went out to rent the movie “Wild Hogs” at Blockbuster they wanted $4.50 for a two day rental I thought that was a little crazy and didn’t know if I could watch if that night so I walked out. Before I went home I stopped at Hollywood video and they had it same price and same movie but one BIG difference to me. They had a five day rental at $4.50 BUT if I was done with it tommorow and I bought it back that would credit $1 to my account. Instead of punishing me for not watching the movie fast enough  (the late fees at blockbuster) Hollywood video would REWARD me for getting it back to them sooner BUT I the customer was in control and didn’t have too (I could keep it for 5 days it’s only a buck). So now im changing my habits because of how I felt like the getting back the rental was more important to Blockbuster than me then customers EXPERIENCE. Hollywood gets the visits first and probrably the majority of my rental income because of this shift. I made my decision because of each businesses voice and what each was saying to me.

Customer Appreciation #2-The most meaningful way to say “Thank you” to your customers

This one is really simple but still so profoundly powerful. Everybody on this planet that I have met up to this point they want to feel important and like their life while they are here has meaning. I sure as heck know I do and I have pretty good idea that you do to. So the best thing you can do for a customer might not even to be to give back to them directly. WHAT?!?! Tom you’ve lost it—I can hear you now. However hear me out you are going to be glad you did.

Let me start off this idea with an example of a great friend of mine Helen who is an animal lover or should I say activist. This woman who is in her 70’s defends the rights of animals that are being abused by their owners because they can’t defend themselves. <On a personal note–She is the reason that when I found a kitten that was left to die by her previous owners I was NOT about to let that happen and she’s healthy and on my lap as I type this>. Now this woman’s passion on the subject was simply amazing to me and helped me to open up my view of the world. She is one of those people that is so giving she would never even think of having you buy her a present.

I wanted to show her how much she meant to me (no I didn’t buy her a cat LOL) I gave a donation to the organization that helps animals in need the SPCA in her name. When she got the thank you from that she was on the verge of tears. She said “Tom that is the most thoughtful thing anybody has ever given me –THANK YOU”. I might add whenever I’m in her company and probably more when I’m not and I meet one of her friends she says this is my friend Tom Titlow and listen to what he gave me she there by launches into the story of that gift. Did I do it to draw attention? NO. Did I expect her to brag about it? NO. I was only trying to give a gift that would be meaningful to her.

However I took this idea and I applied it to my business. I did one thing that has worked like a charm to make my customers feel extremely appreciated, important and valued as human beings instead of just as my customers. This thoughtful approach has earned me many repeat sales. Do I do it for that reason? NO, but it is a nice bonus. The real reason I did it was to show how grateful I am to my customers for giving me the opportunity to serve them.

So instead of having sales I let them know up front if that I will donate any of the dollars off to what is their # 1 non profit organization. Now of course I make the donation in the customers name and nobody has ever told me no. Several have asked me if I would do the same for a second or a third sale? At this point I like to disappoint them (just for a second) and I tell them no unfortunately it is not good on the next sale……..pause, pause,pause I will be donating MORE to them with that purchase. Of course we both have a nice chuckle.

There are several times where I never mention a sale or discount and it works better. I just off- handed ask what organization means the most to them or I figure it out in conversation and I make the donation without their knowledge. Which then of course has them scratching their head asking “why did he do that if he didn’t have to?” In my mind I did have to because anything I can do to show my customers appreciation and how important they are to me is an absolute necessity whether I ever see them again or not.

Start donating on your customers behalf and watch how it impacts your business in every area.

The simple path to make EVERY marketing program successful

SBO’s often think that the primary piece that their marketing program has to accomplish is to get prospective customer(s) to become interested, educated and willing to purchase the product. Here’s a surefire way to get a customers attention faster, better and keep it longer than your competition— DO the one thing that nobody would ever expect, but don’t offend the customer. Get crazy go nuts@!@!!@@! REalize that the beSt marketing, advertising, and sales programs ever created did one thing better than the rest before getting the customer to listen to YOUR message. The get the person to S-T-O-P paying attention to whatever they are doing. It’s called pattern interupt and its is crucial because your goal is their undivided attention and the funniest most creative , and ALMOST bizaarre way you can get it the more business you’ll get and the faster you’ll close sales because you’ll be in that persons forefront when making a decision to make a purchause in your industry. The more crowded the environment the more creative you have to be. Now this doesn’t nessarily mean the loudest. Sometimes taking away and being the quietest is what gets people to pay attention.

Step#1 pull peoples attention away from where it is now.

Step#2 then immediately create the desire to want to pay attention to what you want to say next.

Step#3 after you’ve created the desire then you give your message

here’s a few hints –If you have to compete for somebodys attention you’ve already lost.

Remember first you have to sell–needing undivided attention

Then and only then you say what you trying to say keep it short, Shocking and interesting. Remember the customer doesn’t feel they need your product as much as you feel they need your product–So you win in the delivery not the message.

“If you have a great product but you haven’t go peoples attention YOU will go broke it’s just a matter of when”

however

“if you make somebody enjoy their life a little bit more(maybe making them laugh) they will remember you and will go out of the way because you created interest.”

REMEMBER THIS—-
The more enjoyable you can make their life is the short term the more success you will enjoy in the long term.

MASTERY QUESTION–
“What can I do today for my customers that they wouldn’t EXPECT but would actually ENJOY?”

Customer Appreciation –Great ways to say “thank you” for being a customer

I’ve said before that showing your customers you appreciate them is so much more powerful than saying it. the reason is simple because your backing it up with action. So I want to do a quick little post(I promise lol)on ways that have been successful. So you can get your own appreciation action plan STARTED. Remember this one thing it is not that you have the best idea or most unique but that you start IMMEDIATELY so you can start seeing the dividends. If your looking for personalized ideas email me — tom4change@gmail.com or call me 302-757-0210

• Host a after hours preview party for new product, a new store opening, or just a party to celebrate your gratitude toward your customers. Great example #1
• The more ways that can SHOW your customers that you truely care about them (beyond their purchases) the more appreicated the will feel which leads to the more comfortable they will feel around you in the future. When people say hi to you on the street you are succeeding they want to be around you outside of your business.
• Using customers first names in conversation after the first purchase — There is nothing that sound sweeter to anybody than the sound of their name.
• Learn the first names of your top 30 customers and use them often (for a bonus find wives and kids names also). Like next time they walk through you door or call.
• Saturn (the car company) took all of it’s owners to Great Adventure theme park for a day for $20 (I think) which included free parking, all you could eat barbecue and admission to the park. All for their 10th anniversary.
• Have a presale open an hour hourly to let invited customers only have 1st chance to purchase during a big sale.
• Have a friends and family event where either employees or your best customers get a great coupon(say 20% to 30% off any purchase) to use during a specific time period.
• Send a thank you card for every purchase somebody makes
• Tell your customers that if they have a friend that comes in to make a purchase with in 3 week s and they mention their name you’ll give then a $25 gift certificate to any restaurant they choose
• Send them a birthday card with a gift inside (a pool room I worked with has play two hours for free on your birthday )
• Send out half birthday cards( there is a resturant in my neighborhood that give you half off any meal with regular one purchased during the month halfway to your birthday —The card says Happy HALF birthday)
• Treat every single customer like it’s the first time doing business with you. Putting your best foot forward goes a long way making your customers feel worthwhile
• Go all out an do a few free home deliveries to customers that call in an order offer to bring it to them to save them the hassle of making a special trip
• Donate something in their name to those protecting us or any other charitable foundation
• Sponsor a little league team or a school that your customers kids attend

When people feel appreciated they will go out of their way to reciprocate to you by either purchasing, bringing you new customers or just giving you great ideas to make you even more successful that you already are.

I personally have turned many customers into friends from using ideas and many more like it. The key is to be completely genuine in your approach and let the interaction and the ideas do all the work for you.

What can you implement NOW to show your customers how much they mean to you?

Now to show your employees how much your value them read this.

What happens IF you don’t sell that customer today?

So often in the different companies I work with they use HOPE as the number one tool to get the customer to come back. That’s right the do nothing to help guide the customer back in. They feel that if the customer comes back then it was meant to be and they did a good job. Well let me tell you a big secret (that you already know) people forget. I do it and so do you there is simply to much we HAVE to remember and our brains aren’t getting any bigger. So no matter how great you, your business, or your product are if that customer leaves and you only have the memory of what the were interested in. Your pretty much outta luck .

I trying to drive this point home because you MUST, MUST, MUST create a follow up system to touch base with those people to remind them of what they like while they were with you. Look at your business–How many people per day are first timers? how many do you sell on the first try? How many people on avg of previous lookers come back in? multiply your daily numbers x 30 for monthly.

Those numbers should make you sick if your interested to increasing profits. In all honesty though even the BEST businesses has a 66% failure rate when looking people that look at you and those who even up deciding to buy from you. Now most business owners are scared to look at what they are missing because they A)don’t know how to do anything with it to improve the circumstances or B)Are doing so incredibly well every day the don’t care, they can’t keep up with what they got(LUCKY DUCKS) Now I am going to drastically change for the better of course by getting you to fundamentally realize one amazing fact.

All you need to do is REMIND potential customers not to forget about you. Yes its sounds really STUPID and EASY but the best things in life are always the simplest ones. This one GEM has made me and every business owner that uses it A TON of money. Look at it this way.
How much is one sale worth to you? two or three? Look at the 66+% of lost sales earlier. You only need one or two to improve your bottom line. Lost customers are pure profit. So create a follow up form(contest entry, profile to serve you, referral credit—if your interested in how tell me). Then use it with every body that you deal with . Then create a follow up system. Send out thank you for considering me immediately after they leave and call them in 3 to 5 days and reintroduce yourself, remind them what they like about the product and then as them if in the past few days have they thought of any more questions.

1st you reminded them. 2nd they’ll feel that you cared enough to call. 3rd you asked if you could help them again which makes them feel important. Buy the way those three simple things aren’t separate they COMPOUND upon each other. They do one big thing get that person to have confidence in your business which WILL bring in more sales.