Maximizing Your Potential!

Fact: It costs 5 to 8 times more to get a new client than it does to keep an existing client.

Fact: A happy client will tell 2-3 people about you and your awesome product or service. An unhappy client will tell as many as 10 people how dissatisfied they were with you and your service.

With that in mind it is extremely important to keep your existing clients very happy. Here are 10 sure fire ways to do that!

1. Confidence is the ultimate ingredient in selling – Your client must understand that he can count on YOU, not some customer service rep within your organization. They must feel confident that you will be there for them, reassuring them that they were right to put their trust in you.

2. Take entire responsibility for your client – Once you have closed the deal, tell your client that NOW is when your job starts. Too many salespeople consider that the job is done once all the paperwork is signed and the money is collected. Bbut top salespeople consider that they’ve only just begun!

3. Communicate regularly with your clients, current and past – Regular follow-up is imperative. Whether it is faxes, phone calls, emails or a visit, you need to stay in touch with all of your clients. I recommend mailing monthly and calling quarterly. It’s truly up to you. The main thing is to be consistent!

4. Have your happy clients sell you to others – Always check with your client to ensure that you are exceeding his/her expectations. If you are, ask for referrals. If you aren’t, find out why and get back on track with them so that you can get referrals on the next visit!

5. Always confront and handle ANY upset which occurs – Never let a client stay unhappy with you and your product or service. Find out what is going on and handle it immediately!

6.Keep informed and interested in your clients – Know what’s happening in the market and share that information with them, especially if you feel it will help them grow their business.

7. Avoid ‘false sales’ which can crash your morale – If your newly acquired client suddenly has second thoughts, find out what is going on immediately and take them back to their original reasons for moving forward. Never let them go, if they were closed once, they can definitely be closed again!

8. Make your customers your ambassadors - Don’t hesitate to ask for referrals and be sure to get a testimonial right there as soon as you close the deal. You’ll be glad you did!

9. Keep your database updated – as soon as a client changes there email, mailing address or numbers, be sure you take the time to update your records. You’ll be glad you did. I have been guilty of this one and could kick myself as I lost the data and have lost touch with someone I really cared about!

10. Remember: Communication is the universal solvent – It is your greatest success tool -  this thing called communication. Use it to help you and your clients and you will never go wrong. The wrong thing to do is nothing. Whenever an upset occurs find out why immediately and talk through it until there is resolution! You and your clients will be happy you did.

Good luck!

Technorati Tags: Confidence, Crash, Current, Customer Service Rep, Emails, Faxes, Job, Money, Mor, Organization, Paperwork, Phone Calls, Referrals, Sure Fire, Top Salespeople, Unhappy Client

All of us have some concept of ‘Good’ time management.

Make a list of things to do, block out the time required to do it and then take the steps necessary to achieve the desired result. Right????

So, why, oh why are people spending hundreds of millions of dollars every year to become better time managers???

Let’s face it, opinions vary on exactly why people do not actually DO the above mentioned steps but the fact of the matter is that this is a HUGE problem for some people and they can never seem to get a handle on it no matter how much money they spend.

I’m going to take a few minutes to very quickly educate you on what Time Management IS and then how to apply these principles to your life.

First, let’s define the words…

Time -  ‘Any specified or defined period.’ From World Book Dictionary

Management -  ‘The process of dealing with or controlling things or people.’ From Oxford American Dictionary

What is Control?

It is defined as, ‘The power to influence or direct people’s behavior or the course of events.’ Again from Oxford American Dictionary

Control could further be defined as the ability to start, change or stop people or things related to life.

OK. So, how do we use this to help us to be better time managers.

Each of us has 24 hours in the day and 7 days in a week. How is it that I could help one gentleman go from doing 44 deals per year as a Realtor to 110 and still have more time off?  I did not wave a magic wand and make all his paperwork disappear. Nor did he hire ten additional staff to help him get everything done.

The God’s honest truth, we removed all the distractions from his life. We handled anything and everything that was preventing him from getting the job done and then we focused on getting the job done. Simple, right???

The biggest drain on a person’s ability to stay focused and get stuff done is all the backlogged and incomplete projects hanging around the person.

I’ll never forget working with another gentleman. He was in a very cramped office and he had tons of clutter and incomplete projects around him. I spent a full day and helped him clean it ALL up. He was so thrilled that he raced home and cleaned up his office and the garage. His wife called to thank me. Needless to say, he was twice as productive that year and made more money in that one year than he had in the previous three years.

Of course, you can do this on your own but most people that I know are too easily distracted and fail to handle every thing. It really helps to have someone there to help you sort out what you should do with each and every thing you come across.

Next I’ll teach you about the 4 D’s of good time management!

Have a productive day!

Technorati Tags: Better Time, Dictionary Management, Distractions, Fact Of The Matter, Few Minutes, Gentleman, Good Time Management, Honest Truth, How Much Money, Job, Magic Wand, Oxford American Dictionary, Oxford Dictionary, Paperwork, Realtor, Time Managers, Time Off, What The Heck, Why Are People, World Book Dictionary, World Dictionary