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United Breaks Guitars – A Potent Lesson in Customer Service

August 20th, 2010 · Customer Service

On March 31, 2008,  Dave Carrol and his band Sons of Maxwell began a week-long-tour of Nebraska by flying United Airlines from Halifax to Omaha, by way of Chicago.   On that first leg of the flight they were seated at the rear of the aircraft and upon landing and waiting to deplane in order to make their connection a woman sitting behind Dave, not aware that they were musicians cried out: “My god they’re throwing guitars out there.” The Sons of Maxwell bass player, Mike, looked out the window in time to see his bass being heaved without regard by the United baggage handlers. Dave’s  $3500 710 Taylor had been thrown before his.

Of course they complained to United Airlines but were given the cold shoulder.

So in the end, Dave decided to write a song about the experience (actually 3 songs).

You can see the first song below – at the time of posting this it has been viewed over 9 MILLION times on YouTube alone.

Sweet revenge? Perhaps – but definitely a powerful lesson for United as whenever their name is mentioned people in the millions now think to themselves: “United Breaks Guitars!”

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Customer Service and You!

August 7th, 2010 · Customer Service

Regardless of what business you are in – you are really in the business of satisfying customers.

The degree of customer satisfaction you deliver determines the level of long-term success you will achieve in business.

Make Customer Satisfaction Your Top Priority

Don’t just make sales. Create customers – satisfied customers. In addition to the immediate profit they provide on the first sale, satisfied customers help you build your business in 2 other important ways:

1. They become a reservoir of repeat buyers. For some businesses that means repeat buyers for more of the same product or service. For every business, it means buyers for additional products and services.

2. They automatically refer more business to you from their friends and business contacts. This is highly profitable business for you because it doesn’t cost you any time or money to get it.

Never Promise More Than You Deliver

Never make any promises you can’t (or won’t) keep. Nothing alienates customers faster than getting something less than they expect from a business transaction. They won’t do business with you again. And they will tell everybody they know about their unhappy experience – causing you to lose future customers.

Tip: Handle customer complaints quickly and with a positive attitude. Strive to preserve your relationship with the complaining customer instead of your immediate profit from them. They will reward you later with more sales and referrals.

Always Give Customers More Than They Expect

“Over deliver” on quality and service. Always exceed your customers’ expectations. You will win their long term loyalty. It also makes it difficult for competitors to steal customers from you – even if they have lower prices. Customers will not risk an uncertain experience with a competitor when they know they will get more than they expect from you.

Tip: Surprise your customers with unexpected value. If you sell products, include an “unadvertised bonus” with every order. If you sell services, get into the habit of doing something extra for every customer or client without charging for it.

Let customers know how much you value them.

Let your customers know you are always thinking about them. Communicate with them regularly. For example, create some special deals just for your existing customers. And announce new products or services to them before you announce them to the general market.

Tip: Convert your customers into publicity agents. Develop an incentive for them to tell associates and friends about the value of your products or services. An endorsement from them is more effective than any amount of advertising – and it is much cheaper.

For example, reward them each time they refer someone who becomes a customer. Your reward can be as simple as a credit toward their next order from you.

You are in the business of satisfying customers regardless of what products or services you provide. The satisfied customers you create will help you build your business by becoming repeat buyers and by referring new business to you from their friends and associates.

Copyright  Bob Leduc

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards …and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You’ll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com

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3 Special Benefits Every Customer Wants

August 7th, 2010 · What Customers Want

Every customer looks for 3 special benefits when they do  business with you. They may not specifically ask for these benefits. But you’re losing sales if you don’t automatically  provide all 3.

1. Fast Results

Prospective customers may take a long time deciding whether  or not they will buy from you. But once they decide to buy,
they expect instant results. When people buy a car they want  to drive it home today. When they sign up with a health club
they expect to look and feel better by the end of the week.

Look for ways you can reduce the time your customers have to  wait after a transaction before they can start enjoying the
results of their decision to buy. Try to deliver your  product at the point of sale. When that’s not possible, look
for creative ways to provide a benefit your customer can  start enjoying immediately.

For example, a publisher I know recently created a special package combination of his latest “how-to” book in print and
several eBooks on the same subject. When customers order his  new book, they can immediately download the eBooks on their
computer. They don’t have to wait for the hard-cover book to  arrive before they can start enjoying the benefit they paid
for.

2. Easy Procedures

Customers want products that are easy to use and services that produce results without disturbing their daily routine.
You can increase your sales by stressing the “easy to use”  characteristics of your product or service in all your promotions. Convenience and ease of use are often more important to customers than price.

Simplify your buying procedure too. Make it easier for customers to buy from you and you will get more sales.

For example, many online shoppers are impatient and won’t  tolerate a lengthy ordering process. Minimize the number of
times your customer has to click to another screen when  ordering online. Use a simple order form instead of a  shopping cart if you only offer 1 or 2 items. And don’t ask  them to give you more information than you need to process  their order.

3. Personal Attention

Every prospect and customer wants personal attention. One  way you can provide it is by giving them an opportunity to
ask questions.

Only interested prospects will take the time to ask  questions. Many will buy from you if they get valuable  information from your answer. You can often include a promotion for your product or service as part of your answer.

Answering questions is not time consuming. The same questions will be repeated over and over again. But you only have to answer each question once if you save your answer to a permanent file. Copy it into your reply whenever you get  that same question again …and revise it slightly to personalize your response. You can answer questions quickly and your prospects will appreciate your personal attention.

Tip: If you find yourself personally answering a lot of questions, add a Questions and Answers page to your web site. Post the answers to your most frequently asked questions. It will reduce the number of questions you have to answer individually. But remember, it also deprives you of an opportunity to impress prospects with your personal
attention.

Every customer wants fast results, easy procedures and personal attention. Most won’t ask for these benefits. But they won’t buy from you unless they get them. Make sure you provide all 3 of these special benefits …and look for ways to improve the quality of each. Then watch how quickly your  sales increase.

Copyright  Bob Leduc

Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find new customers and increase sales. He just released a New Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast With Simple Postcards …and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You’ll find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com

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Is it Really Possible to Predict the Future?

August 7th, 2010 · Vision

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10 Steps to Improve Your Conversation Skills

August 7th, 2010 · Communication Skills

Improve Your Conversation Skills1. What you know.
Education is all about learning the basics, but to be an effective speaker is to practice what you’ve learned. My stint as guest at every Toastmasters’ meeting I go to taught me that we all have our limitations, but that doesn’t mean we can’t learn to keep up and share what we know.

2. Listening.
It’s just as important as asking questions. Sometimes listening to the sound of our own voice can teach us to be a little bit confident with ourselves and to say the things we believe in with conviction.

3. Humility
We all make mistakes, and sometimes we tend to slur our words, stutter, and probably mispronounce certain words even though we know what it means, but rarely use it only to impress listeners. So in a group, don’t be afraid to ask if you’re saying the right word properly and if they’re unsure about it then make a joke out of it. I promise you it’ll make everyone laugh and you can get away with it as well.

4. Eye Contact
There’s a lot to say when it comes to directing your attention to your audience with an eye-catching gaze. It’s important that you keep your focus when talking to a large group in a meeting or a gathering, even though he or she may be gorgeous.

5. Kidding around
A little bit of humor can do wonders to lift the tension, or worse boredom when making your speech. That way, you’ll get the attention of the majority of the crowd and they’ll feel that you’re just as approachable, and as human to those who listen.

6. Be like the rest of them
Interaction is all about mingling with other people. You’ll get a lot of ideas, as well as knowing what people make them as they are.

7. Me, Myself, and I
Admit it, there are times you sing to yourself in the shower. I know I do! Listening to the sound of your own voice while you practice your speech in front of a mirror can help correct the stress areas of your pitch. And while you’re at it you can spruce up as well.

8. With a smile
A smile says it all much like eye contact. There’s no point on grimacing or frowning in a meeting or a gathering, unless it’s a wake. You can better express what you’re saying when you smile.

9. A Role Model
There must be at least one or two people in your life you have listened to when they’re at a public gathering or maybe at church. Sure they read their lines, but taking a mental note of how they emphasize what they say can help you once you take center stage.

10. Preparation
Make the best out of preparation rather than just scribbling notes and often in a hurried panic. Some people like to write things down on index cards, while other resort to being a little more silly as they look at their notes written on the palm of their hand (not for clammy hands, please). Just be comfortable with what you know since you enjoy your work.

And that about wraps it up. These suggestions are rather amateurish in edgewise, but I’ve learned to empower myself when it comes to public or private speaking and it never hurts to be with people to listen how they make conversations and meetings far more enjoyable as well as educational.

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Differentiate and Grow Rich: The Importance of a Strong USP

August 7th, 2010 · USP

“With 50 other companies selling the same products and services, why should I do business with you rather than one of your competitors?”

The number of competitors you face as an online merchant grows daily. If you can’t answer that one question, it’s only a matter of time before you go out of business.

If you can answer that question and answer it clearly, communicating it to your prospective customers in everything you do, your road to eCommerce success is paved with gold!

Your USP or Unique Selling Proposition answers that most critical question. If you have studied business for very long you’ve probably read or heard about the importance of having a strong, clear USP. However, it doesn’t take much surfing online to see that few companies listen. Most know that they need a USP, they just don’t know how to develop one.

The process of developing your Unique Selling Proposition is fairly simple (note that I didn’t say easy.) I conduct intensive on-site USP development workshops for my clients around the world. By doing these workshops

I’ve discovered 4 critical steps to developing your USP.

First, study your competition. Search online for potential competitors. Pick the top 5 to 10 and try to determine their USP. Most will lack a clear USP, for these look for some of the features or services that they stress.Now look for the gap in their products or services. What area of the market could we better service?Second, examine you own business. Sit down and brainstorm with your staff possible USP concepts. Don’t judge the ideas, just write them down. To stimulate thought and ideas ask the following questions:

  • What do we do the best?
  • What do we do better than our competition?
  • What awards have we won?
  • What do our customers say about us?
  • What praise do we often get from our customers?
  • What celebrities or well know organizations endorse us? What endorsements could we get?
  • What does our product or service do better than anyone else?
  • What makes our business model different from our competition? How could we make it different?
  • What market category or niche could our industry better service?

It also helps at this stage to interview and survey your current and past customers. Ask them why they bought from you rather than your competition? What do they want from a provider of your product or service? What’s important to them when making a buying decision? What feature or benefits do they value most or would like to see added to your product or service?

Third, begin to write down and crystallize your ideas. Don’t worry about length at first, just write down the key points of your USP concept. Focus on the benefits to your customer of each concept.

Develop a list of 5 to 10 possible USPs.Show this list to your staff, friends, family and current customers. Get their input and suggestions and use these suggestions and comments to narrow your USP concept down to a single main differentiating concept.

Once you’ve settled on the most unique and compelling feature of your product or business, begin to distill it down to one paragraph that clearly communicates and sums up why your customers should buy from you. Use this paragraph on your website or in your print marketing materials where you have more room to explain the unique benefits that you bring to your customers.

However, it’s still too long to for an effective tag line or slogan.You still need to distill your USP down to one or two focused sentences that clearly and concisely communicate the benefits of your USP to your customers. This statement should leave no question in your customers mind about what you do and what makes you different than your competition.This USP statement will become your tagline or slogan. This process will take some time and your USP statement may require several revisions before you’re comfortable with the final draft. 

Fourth, integrate your USP statement into everything you do. Put it on every page of your website, on your letterhead, in all of your advertising and marketing. Communicate it to your employees, managers and staff. Let it infuse into your corporate culture. Every time you talk to your customers, employees or suppliers you should mention this USP. You cannot just give lip service to your USP, you must live it and breath it! It must become a part of you.Every product, business or service needs a USP that will make it stand out from the competition. It’s up to you to discover or create this element of uniqueness. Differentiate yourself, your business and your products from your competition and watch your profits soar! 

Here are some examples:

Domino’s Pizza: “You get fresh, hot pizza delivered to your door in 30 minutes or less — or it’s free.”
FedEx: “When your package absolutely, positively has to get there overnight”
M&M’s: “The milk chocolate melts in your mouth, not in your hand”
Wonder Bread: “Wonder Bread Helps Build Strong Bodies 12 Ways”

About The Author Eric Graham is the CEO of several successful online companies. A top authority on eCommerce & Internet Marketing, he’s an in-demand speaker & consultant. Visit www.web-site-evaluations.com for a FREE subscription to his eCommerce Mastery newsletter.

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Make Sure Your Business Solves a Problem

August 7th, 2010 · USP

Here is a simple tip that many excited entrepreneurs forget: your product or service MUST help somebody… preferably a large group of somebodies. In other words, to be successful, your product or service must meet a consumer’s unmet need.

To make it more clear: a person has a problem, and you have the means to fix it!

Think of it as the difference between “push marketing” and “pull marketing.” With the push method, a company has a great idea for a product or service, develops it, and then unleashes it on the world. There has likely been little to no consumer market research, so the company only knows if the product or service will work once it launches. This is a gamble that many small business owners cannot afford to take.

The other method, which I advocate for, is pull marketing. This is where your business has an ongoing dialogue with your potential target audience about the products or services it would like to see. The key here is to ONLY develop products or services that are wanted by the market. I can imagine your next question being, “How do I know what these people will want?”

My simple answer – Ask them. Many small companies do not have the budget to contract out consumer testing to a research group, so you may have to be creative. This could be a survey you conduct with the members of your Facebook group or fan page, developing a low-cost prototype that you offer to bloggers for review or something else more in line with your potential customer base. I’ll give you a quick example.

Back in 2002, I was designing web sites as a freelancer. I thought it would be cool to offer these services full-time to the African-American small business community. Instead of just opening shop and announcing to the world, “Here I am. Come buy my services!” I took a step back. I scoured the web and library for statistics on the number of African-American businesses opening up each year and the number of them with web sites.

 There was definitely a gap I could fill. I also polled entrepreneurs I met at Chicago networking events and offered free web site critiques to those who already had a web presence. After the research confirmed my company would fill a consumer need, I opened up shop.

Remember: before launching that new product or service, ask yourself – better yet ask your potential consumers – if it will meet a need. If not, consider holding off. I know you have likely been through a lengthy research and development phase, but it’s better to stop now than have 100K unsold pieces of merchandise in a warehouse somewhere or an office location with no client visits.

If you are already in business, make sure to take a step back and really understand the group of people you are trying to serve.

Dequiana Brooks has been an entrepreneur for as long as she can remember. She now focuses her energy on helping other businesses succeed through her marketing strategy & design company, Inspired Graphics Media. Let her inspire your business to new heights by visiting http://www.inspiredmedia.net and scheduling your free consultation today!

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7 Pillars of Life-Long Personal Development for Business Owners

August 7th, 2010 · Personal Development

 Becoming a life-long learner is an extremely valuable self development trait to acquire.

Here are the 7 Pillars of Life-Long Personal Development  for Business Owners:

1. Your Local Library

Do you have a library card? Do you even know where your local library is located? Becoming a frequent visitor to your local library is a great way to build your knowledge base without spending a dime! I make a trip to my library twice each week. One time to drop off anything due and the second time to find more knowledge!

I also use my time at the library as research. I spend a lot of time in our business section reading all of the titles and making note about which ones catch my eye. This is a great way to inspire creativity. Before I leave the library, I sit down and write down a list of 10 article titles. When I get home, I use this information in my idea file. When I’m not feeling inspired or creative and it’s time to write, I simply pull out my idea folder and pick a topic that jumps out at me.

2. The Internet is the Information Highway

There is a HUGE database of information online. There is probably way to much information for the average person to spend 10 lifetimes to discover in the online world. Sometimes you will find hidden ‘gems’ of content that you can’t believe you didn’t pay a dime for, but often you get what you pay for – especially if it’s FREE.

3. Listen and Become an Expert with Audio Programs

As a business owner, time is money. Most of the time you do not have the opportunity to dedicate a whole day to a book or home study course. Audio programs are a great way to learn while you’re on the go. Whether you listen in your car or you download it to your ipod, you can digest an entire book in a day!

If you are driving, make sure to bring an audio recording device with you. It’s very unsafe to try and write while you’re driving. A non-expensive audio recorder will help you make note of your thoughts and ideas.

4. Home Study Programs

I love home study programs! They offer a ton of value and a solution to help you grown (either your business or personally) on a specific topic. Many home study programs walk you step-by-step through creating exactly what you need. I recommend several that I have used to grow my business, and you can find them here.

5. Membership Programs

There is an association out there for every type of business. These membership programs are a great way to start networking with other who provide a similar service. Support forms are phenomenal because generally there are members from all levels of business from beginners to long-time veterans who answer your questions.

6. Masterminds

Masterminds are different from membership programs in almost every way, but they are often thought of as one in the same. Just about the only similarity is that you’re working with other people. Generally, masterminds are a select group of participants (between 4 – 10 individuals). Any less than four people can become difficult to reach enough feedback to be successful. Any more than ten can take up too much of your time. Masterminds are a GREAT way to really dramatically increase you’re knowledge and your skill level.

7. Live Events & Seminars

Live events are my favorite way to really kick start your business! If you find yourself stuck where you are now (especially if it’s not where you want to be) find a powerful seminar and book a seat! If you’re attending a multi-day event, it is very important to keep a journal of each days events and your reactions (separate from all of the notes you’re taking during the seminar).

I find it best to make note of your feelings (not just what happened). This way you can go back to that place of inspiration at anytime in the future.

These 7 Pillars are by no means an all-inclusive list of the best ways to continue to you and your business through seeking knowledge. They are simply the 7 that no one should skip.

Leave a message below about your favorite ways to continue building your knowledge and growing your business.

Self-made entrepreneur Jenna Drew, “The Savvy Marketing Queen” is devoted to empowering women through entrepreneurship. To learn how to create the wealth you dream about and while enjoying your life now, register for her free weekly articles at http://www.savvyandstrongwithjenna.com

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How to Reduce Your Stress Levels by Raising Your Self-Esteem

August 7th, 2010 · Self Esteem

Stress usually comes out of a feeling of not being able to cope with the situation, not knowing what to do or doubting that what one does will be good enough. All of these three feelings stem out of low self- esteem. If you raise your self-esteem you will experience less stress.

Of course stress can also be positive. It can for example keep you alert when you need to concentrate on something important. I’m not referring to this kind of positive stress in this article. Positive stress is not reduced by higher self-esteem. Only the negative stress that is dangerous for body and soul is reduced when you raise your self-esteem.

Not feeling that you can handle an upcoming situation or a situation that you are in at the moment makes you feel stressed. For example, you may have too many tasks to do that you doubt that you will be able to finish them all in time. Whatever the source of the feeling is (lack of time, the task being too difficult etc), it is still the same feeling of not being good enough to cope. This feeling of not having what it takes to deal with the situation is more commonly experienced by people with low self-esteem. They doubt that they are competent enough, valuable enough, good-looking enough and so on. People with low self-esteem have a lower threshold for when they start to feel like this, so that they start to feel stressed more easily than people with high self-esteem. Even with relatively small triggers, people with low self-esteem start to feel in this negative way.

Another underlying feeling behind stress is the feeling of not know what to do. You may be faced by a situation that is totally new to you, such as when you visit another culture and you don’t know what is expected of you. You get stressed because you are not in control of the situation. People with high self-esteem and people with low self- esteem of get into new situations equally often, but people with high self-esteem are better able to cope with being in situations when they don’t know what to do because they know that whatever they do, they are still good people. They are not afraid of making fools of themselves because they still have a sense of personal worth. Raising your self-esteem will therefore protect you against getting stressed because you do not know what to do.

Finally, stress sometimes comes from the feeling that what you do (or who you are) will not be good enough. People with low self-esteem encounter this feeling more often because they measure their value in terms of what others think about them. People with high self-esteem on the other hand feel their personal value within themselves and are not equally affected by what others think about them. Consequently, they do not worry as much about what others think about them. They do not get stressed as easily because of the possibility that other people will think that they are doing a bad job. As long as they feel that they have done their best, they feel good. Raising your self-esteem will thus help you to avoid this kind of stress as well.

Liv Miyagawa – The Self-Esteem Coach

The Self-Esteem Coach Liv Miyagawa helps adults with low self-esteem through personal coaching, self-esteem courses, self-esteem books and other self-esteem materials. Liv Miyagawa helps adults who want higher self-esteem to understand themselves better. She makes people realise their dreams by helping them to clearly see what they want and how to get it. Liv Miyagawa Self-Esteem Coach

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5 Keys to Boost Your Self Confidence

August 7th, 2010 · Self Confidence

Improving your self confidence is one way for you to avoid being left out and to stay at the top of the game.

Improving self confidence is easy.

You don’t need to see a doctor or pay somebody just to build your confidence in your self.

 

Here are  5 easy ways in improving self confidence and see the positive changes in your life:

1. Change that attitude
Improving self confidence begins in changing your attitude especially the negative ones. If you are shy to stand up or too lazy and afraid to seize the opportunities that come your way, now is the time to change all that. You’ll never be able to succeed in improving self confidence when you lack the guts to even go for it.

2. Never compare
Do you know why there are people who are not confident of themselves? It’s because they are fond of comparing themselves to others. This is very unhealthy since it can lower your self esteem and makes you look at yourself negatively. Remember that you are unique and you were created with a different purpose in life. Love yourself more and you’ll find improving self confidence an easy and enjoyable endeavor.

3. Look at the brighter side of life
Are you easily disappointed? Do you find yourself worrying too much? Lighten up and start looking at the brighter side of life. We all have our ups and downs and there’s no use pining over the failures that we had. Think positively so you’ll be able to see your mistakes and learn from them. Never allow failure to overtake you otherwise you’ll also end up a failure when it comes to improving self confidence.

4. Seek professional growth
Never rest on your laurels. You may be confident about achieving so many things in life today but later on, you might be outshined by others. Improving self confidence goes with achieving something very lasting in life like education. Not everybody ends up with a Master’s or Doctorate degree. Isn’t it that we often look up to those individuals with titles affixed to their names? Grow professionally and you won’t only be improving self confidence but your career as well.

5. Say yes to opportunities
Every now and then opportunities come knocking at the door. Unfortunately, many of us fail to grab these chances in life because we lack self confidence. We don’t believe in ourselves that much plus we have our own apprehensions and doubts. In improving self confidence, you have to grab every opportunity that comes your way. How else will you grow and learn? Don’t let your chance to shine fade away or go to the hands of other people. If you want to be confident, you have to grab every opportunity offered to you. You need every exposure you can get.

Neelima P, author of this article writes for SelfHelpZone.com. For more information on Self Help, Self Improvement, Happiness, Depression, Anxiety, Phobia etc… visit: Self Help Zone

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