January 27, 2010

Sometimes a Delayed Answer Is Better Than the Wrong
Answer... Take Charge When Dealing with Complaints...
Focus on What You Can Control... 2010 Is the Year to Make
Your Own Opportunities... and More.

I'm always trying to build my business and looking for new opportunities to do so.

Recently, it was recommended that I call a company that manufactures a healthcare product. They were looking for some partnerships and wanted to talk to me about selling their products and creating channels to do so.

So, I called the company and spoke with their president. Now, I've actually met this person before very briefly a few years ago. However, it was a quick exchange and we never really established a relationship. But reflecting back on my article on January 21 regarding telephone etiquette, well, this guy obviously didn't read that article.

I can honestly say he called me "buddy" and "dude" about four times in the first five minutes of our conversation and interlaced his conversation with a couple of expletives. Now, like I said, I have met him briefly before. But it was obvious he'd forgotten about that when he asked me, "We've never met before, have we?" When I told him we had a brief introduction, his reply was, "Cool, man."

As you can probably already guess, I wasn't thoroughly impressed. But, I still wanted to hear what he had to say about his product because, despite his roughness in conversation, I could see his product being a great moneymaker.

So, after some banter, I had prepared a couple of questions. The first one was simple enough: "What is your product manufactured from?"

His reply: "I don't know. Some kind of stuff."

What an answer...from the manufacturer of the product. As you can probably imagine, my eyes bugged out of my head. I had enough of this and decided to cut the call short.

"Okay, well, that's not a good sign, as I can guarantee that any future partners I can get for you will surely need to know this information. When you get your facts together, give me a call and we can try this again."

Honesty is the best policy. However, when doing business, don't be afraid to delay if for some reason you don't have the answer. If this guy would've simply answered, "I can get you a full product ingredient fact sheet in 24 hours," I would've continued on.

However, on the flip side, this is the kind of information he should have memorized and, if he didn't, he should've had the information in front of him.

So, his immature phone demeanor and his lack of knowledge of his own product were the downfall to him not making what could've been a great business deal.

Don't let it happen to you. Either know what you're talking about or briefly delay the answer to buy some time to get your facts. A simple "I don't know" might be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

Over the years, you've probably heard the old adage, "The customer is always right."

That's because your customers have a lot of power over your business. They not only provide you with income from sales, but they can also determine whether or not to send more business your way.

When things are going well with your customer relations, you can certainly see firsthand the benefits of providing friendly, accurate and timely service to each and every client or customer who comes your way.

Typically, the customers you overjoy will come back and hopefully bring along their friends and continue to make future purchases.

But, at the same time, the ones who aren't happy can also come back. However, they are not looking to make another purchase, but instead are returning to issue their complaints.

When times are busy, meeting the demands of each and every one of your customers can sometimes feel impossible.

Now, granted, there will be some people you just can't make happy. This is just the way things will always be, and your discount offers and apologies will never be enough. So don't dwell on the small minority of people like this.

Instead, focus on the things you can do to prevent complaints and dissatisfaction. The way to go about this is to proactively address as many of the needs of your customer as you can.

I believe that the biggest need customers have, no matter what product or service they are paying for, is to get excellent customer service, not only during the initial contact, but also each and every time they are in touch with you.

So, you want to provide the same excellent response when they are first inquiring about your services as when they are expressing their dissatisfaction. Here are a few simple things that you can do when an upset customer approaches you.

The first thing to do is take control of the situation. Get all the details you can from the customer so you can identify exactly what the problem is.

Next, sympathize with them. Let them know you understand their frustrations or concerns and that you aren't going to let the issue go any further without action.

By taking control of the situation the minute you are approached, you should be able to steer the conversation to what it is you can do to remedy the problem. And if prepared ahead for customer concerns, you should already have a plan for dealing with a situation like this.

Dealing with complaints can be a major challenge, but by planning ahead and taking control of the situation, you will be taking big steps toward continued success.

There are some things in this life you can control, and there are
some things -- try as you may -- that you can't control. It seems however, it is the things that are beyond our control that we spend the most time worrying about. Take our nation's current economic troubles. The lack of credit, job losses, and a handful of other issues are weighting heavy on people, but there is rarely anything we can do about it as individuals.

These types of conditions and external forces play a large role in how we shape our outlooks and live our lives. For instance, many are looking at this current economic situation with great fear, resulting in negative attitudes devoid of hope. The problem is that they're focusing on the wrong things.

When it comes to finances, it's best to focus on the things you can control to maximize your money. After all, when the economy is in a slowdown, everyone is affected, so you've got to do your best to work within these new conditions.

Of course, it may be hard to ignore the things you have no control over, because they are everywhere you look. They're in the newspaper and on the television, and your friends are likely talking about them as well. Remember that you can't change the greater economy around you, so you need to focus on your personal economy. You have to say to yourself, "Well, these are the conditions under which my reality exists right now. What can I do to get the best out of it?" Keeping positive, proactive and hopeful will help greatly.

Focus on how you spend your money. Make cutbacks where you see fit, and do your best in maximizing every dollar. If there are certain expenses you need to cut to make it through a rough patch, cut them.

When you focus more on the areas you can control, you will be freeing yourself from the negativity taking place around you, while realizing that you have the power to control your financial future.

Tomorrow, I'll discuss some ways to switch your focus and cope with money issues.

** 2010 Is the Year to Make Your Own Opportunities
By James Burt, Online Marketing Expert

It sure seems to me that the news is getting better these days. You see a bit more optimism in the media and things appear to be better in the economy and consumer marketplace in general. A year or more ago, things seemed bleak and very pessimistic for everyone. Job security and getting the biggest bang for your buck anywhere just weren't there. But for every valley there is a corresponding peak and I think it's safe to say we are out of the valley and going up the peak.

I don't say any of this to tell you what you want to hear. Recently, I started contributing to an automotive publication and was assigned to research the status of some of the "Big Three" car manufacturers. GM in particular seemed to have some good news. Even though they were predicted to be closing 1,350 dealerships nationwide, their current CEO announced just a few weeks ago that some of these dealerships will be reopened.

I know what you're thinking: "Really?!" I said the same.

Obviously, a deal like this hasn't been cast in stone yet and there are a few hitches to the deal. But however big or small, for a company like GM to make such an announcement is a step out of the deep, dark forest.

With this in mind, I get e-mails from a lot of fellow info marketers these days. They see that times aren't so tough anymore and now there might be some opportunity out there. Overall they're really interested in taking their businesses to the next level. What should they do?

Here are some things I'd consider:

--- Get a partner: I got some news from some fellow info marketers recently who I've conversed with intermittently in the past. They're both sports info marketers, one doling out American football info and the other World Cup Soccer, Euro Football, etc. Each one asked me if I knew of anyone who could help them beef up their info content. I gave each the other's contact info. Would you believe that they just joined forces and created a new joint publication about all matters of global football? It was pure coincidence, but both thanked me for introducing one to the other, as they've both now got double the success that they had before. The lesson is a good one: two proper heads are better than one. If you think someone else could help you and your business, go for it. Get a partner who has the same vision as you and work together to realize a mutual goal.

--- Offer a new product: With new times and now a new decade, it might be time to dust off the drawing board, get the creative juices flowing, and create a new product. I wrote recently about doing content for those pocket digital eBooks, but obviously there are other ideas as well. If the economy is on the mend like the papers say it is, you might want to consider something more high-end, like a small book or print publication. Also think about something clients could pay for online and get a special product sent right to their inbox in digital format. In info marketing, routine info is great. But don't get too comfortable, as you might lose client interest and some potential new income in the process.

--- Take requests or ask the client what they want: "Can you create a baseball stat sheet for the last 20 years?"..."Help! I need some info on Ford car repair from the sixties!"..."My web site content pages stink. You wouldn't consider rewriting them for me for a fee?"...these are all requests both I and some info marketing friends have gotten over the last few months from both existing and new clients. They often e-mail both me and my colleagues on what to do. Our answer is always the same: do it! You get experience writing custom content and get paid
as well. How great is that?

--- Invest in yourself: The year 2009 was not a bad year for most info marketers I know. In fact, it was pretty good. A lot of them had great success and came into contact with some extra cash. When this happens, the big question is always: what do you do with it? Even though that new flat screen over at the electronics store is looking pretty good, there might be other outlets for the cash. I always suggest investing in yourself. If your software is slow, you might want to update it. There might be some new info or business opportunities that require some cash to access. In short, if you can make your business that much better with a little dough, it might be a wise move to do so.

Times can be tough and there's no question that we've seen some real tough times over the last few years. But that was then. There's no excuse for any info marketer not to better themselves now. You love what you do, right? That should be enough. With a little elbow grease and some new ideas for the road ahead, you will see success time and again.