Brian Tracy, our mentor and author of more than 60 books on business and sales, says if you really want to be successful, ask yourself this question: “How can I increase my service to my customer today?” We couldn’t agree more.
Getting to know your customer is the first step in increasing customer service. What is your customer’s business and needs? How can you deliver your product or service in a way that will remove… Read More
Customer Service Trumps Price
Build Your Business using Guiding Principles – Part 2
Ever wonder what goes through a creditor’s mind when they decide whether or not to give you credit? Creditors, like suppliers, vendors, and bankers who extend credit to you, are a bit anxious and for good reason. They don’t know how you’ll behave when times are tough. They don’t know if you will be a “beg pay” or worse. On the other hand, they want to increase their business with you, so they hope you will succeed… Read More
Mayans Under Investigation! World Doesn’t End!
According to some interpreters of the Mayan calendar, the world was supposed to end December 21st 2012. We wonder if they were somehow disappointed when they woke up the next morning and discovered that their plans fell through.
Seems like every ten years there’s a new doomsday scenario grabbing the headlines and pandering to our natural survival instincts. Whether it’s a calendar, comet, or polar shift, the planet… Read More
World’s Best Sale Pitch: “My Product will help you Increase Sales”
We’ve spent over two decades in sales, and it’s true – nothing happens until the sale is made. We have a friend who described her sales job as “conveying the value proposition of (her) product to (her) buyers.”
There are many books written on the subject of sales, sale techniques, and best closing strategies. We’ve often said the best sales person is the “Assistant Buyer”. The key to sales success… Read More
Gaining Traction in the Marketplace takes Tenacity and Focus
You may hear about a brand that “just took off.” From our perspective, very few brands just take off. What’s more likely is that they started out small and sometimes took years to gain traction.
As we’ve said many times before, it’s not the quality of the product, the price, or the demand so much as it is mastering the distribution and timing.
They say you can move the Queen Mary if you exert enough pressure over… Read More
Outword Magazine Interview
Barefoot Wine’s Founders Do Well By Doing Good
The story of how Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey in 1986 launched a scrappy new brand that would transform the US wine industry is one of accidental opportunity and the vision and courage to seize it. “We fell into business backwards,” Harvey says today.
And seize it they did. Houlihan, a wine industry business management consultant, and Harvey, an office manager,… Read More
B2B or Not to Be? That is the Question!
We often hear, “Oh, we’re B2B (business-to-business), so we don’t have to worry about customers at the general public level.” The fact is, you do.
It is an erroneous assumption that B2B is somehow insulated from the source of most income, the general public. If your client goes out of business, your B2B loses that account, and you lose an income source. Of course you need to worry!
The more your company understands… Read More
5 Ways to Increase Your Service Business
In this two part series we are addressing service businesses. Last time we identified a way of classifying your clients and customers. This time we will offer some ways to increase your business.
Your goal is to get more referrals. These are new customers who were sent to you by your existing customers. They will only do that for you if their first experience was beyond their expectations.
How then can you ensure that their… Read More
How to Improve your Service Business
Over half of all businesses are service businesses. These industries include many professions from legal and engineering to hair cutting and plumbing. All these services require excellent management, positive company culture, and most important, return clients.
Brian Tracy says, “If you want to be successful, ask yourself this question: How can I increase my service to my customer today?”
More than any… Read More
A Solid Business Foundation is Necessary for Success
When you build a house, the foundation must be laid strong and straight. If it’s not, the framers try to make up for it. When they can’t, the drywall guys try to make up for it. When they can’t, the painters try to make up for it. When they can’t, you’re going to have to live with it. So rather than cause problems all the way up your structure, lay your foundations straight and true.
It’s been said that it’s not the… Read More
