Archive for the ‘Communication’ Category

Customer Service

Monday, January 11th, 2010

It is an opportunity for you to gain the confidence of your customers. If you are successful, you can rest assured that you will never be in need again. However, if you cut this critical aspect of running a business, then God save you!

If you are a business that sells a creation or a service, there will be times when digit or more of your customers will need to talk to you about something related to what you have sold. It could be a simple question about how to use your creation or it could be a call to tell you that something you sold to them is not employed the way it should. Customer service reflects the attitude of the company. That is why you staleness take utmost care when selecting employees who will be employed in this department. You would want to hire people who can treat your customers as you would do yourself. Your employees should also understand that they need to treat other people as they would like to be treated themselves.

Employees who work in the Customer Service division should realize the meaning of the responsibility they are carrying and staleness is polite, patient, and genuinely interested to help a client in distress. No matter how great the provocation, they staleness remain dignified and calm. Anger is something that comes out in short bursts. So, if you are an employee, you staleness earmark the client to let out his frustration. Once the client calms down, you can have a better conversation with him and help him better. A customer’s anger is not directed at the person he is conversation to in Customer Service, instead it is directed at the company which has provided with a service or creation he is not happy about! So, just follow this golden rule, if a client compliments you on providing great service, go ahead and take credit for it. However, if a client is angry or dissatisfied about something, do not attempt to pass the buck on to somebody else.

It would be unwise to underestimate the knowledge of a customer. If a client does not seem to understand what you are trying to tell him, it just effectuate that you are not providing him the information in a manner that he can understand.

What Do I Get to Keep if I File Bankruptcy in Tennessee?

Thursday, December 10th, 2009

When considering filing for bankruptcy Knoxville, you will probably have many questions. Many bankruptcy lawyers in Knoxville, TN, asked asked one question in particular, “What can I keep?”. This is a valid question. Bankruptcy lawyers in Knoxville know that people are concerned that they may have to relinquish their home or automobile. Every state has it’s own bankruptcy laws plus there are federal laws as well, so the advice of bankruptcy lawyers in Knoxville, TN is particularly important for those people considering filing bankruptcy in Knoxville.

The advice of knowledgeable bankruptcy lawyers Knoxville is essential. Tennessee does not allow people filing bankruptcy in Knoxville to keep many possessions, in fact you can only keep a few thousand dollars worth of your personal belongings and your home if it qualifies.

Determining the value of your home and personal property can require the services of bankruptcy lawyers in Knoxville. After all, you want to keep as many of your possessions as possible. You worked a lifetime to acquire your possessions, why should you have to sell them just because of financial hardship that may not be your fault.

Bankruptcy laws are notoriously complicated. Filing for bankruptcy in Knoxville requires the services of one of the bankruptcy lawyers in Knoxville, TN to insure that you keep as many of your possessions as possible.

Increase Rates Without Losing Clients

Thursday, December 3rd, 2009

If you are in this situation then a good first step is to check the market to see what your competitors are offering. You may find that if your client could go someone else but they would be unlikely to get the same level of service. Alternatively, you may find that you are about the same but that does not mean that you cannot still increase rates provided you have something additional to offer. Ideally something that does not cost you a lot of money but is valuable to your client and worth paying extra for.

For example, I was working with an adviser who was attracting lots of clients based on low rates but frustrated that he was not making enough money from it. His service level was much higher than it needed to be, yet he was uncomfortable with charging more or taking away some of the services.

One service that he was providing was traveling to see clients rather than them having to come to see him. During the traveling time he was stuck in the car and not earning. He did not charge for traveling time. We worked out some service packages and gave them each a name, list of contents and price. There was a service package that had the current pricing but excluded some things like traveling which went into a higher level package with a higher price.

The outcome is that most of the clients were quite happy to accept the lower service level which meant that although the sales income for those clients did not increase, the service became more profitable and freed up a lot of time.  Some clients did decide that having the extra service saved them time and money and were happy to pay the extra. Giving them the choice made the negotiations so much easier.

If you are currently charging a reasonable rate for what you do then you could still look at the Terracing technique in order to create more revenue by upselling certain clients onto packages that provide extra value added services. Creating lower tiers can make lead generation easier by using price and then upselling to the high value added packages if required.

Resources For Small Business

Sunday, November 1st, 2009

Small business resources help business owners increase productivity and competence of employees. Other resources help in making the small business appear to be larger than they actually are. Resources are also good for your business as they will provide you with a lot of information. This is usually to do with business and banking, management strategies, ways of advertising etc.

When looking for resources, the Internet is a good place to start. There is a whole world of information tucked away online. There are many articles available online that are a great source of information for your small business. These articles are available to you for free or a minimal fee. You will be enlightened about the various aspects of a small business.

Another resource for small businesses is a forum. Here, you get to exchange ideas of how to manage your small business. You get to interact with other people who are in similar types of business. They can give you tips on how to make more profit or even how to introduce a new product or service to your customers. If you are having some setbacks with your business, these forums will give you moral support.

Resources for small businesses can also be found in experienced entrepreneurs. Most of these entrepreneurs are people who have had businesses for many years. They have experienced challenges first-hand and can guide you on how to become a better businessperson. In addition, read more on the subject of small businesses. Visit your local library and you may be surprised at the wealth of information that awaits you.