"What this post and the “open letter” campaign are really about is a determination to end the the tolerance of bad service. We as customers have become so accustomed to bad service that we just pretend like it’s something we have to get used to. But we don’t. We get to choose. Just like the business has a choice in whether or not they want us as customers, we have a choice and we need to exercise it more often."

Read more of Jerry's post at his Motivation 101 blog.

If you're in business, you're in sales. So let's think about how we can sell our services the right way. Here are 3 things to consider:

1. Diagnose - How can you make a recommendation to your prospect about how your services are their solution when you haven't yet diagnosed their problem? And how can you diagnose until you've come to thoroughly understand the prospect's situation?

2. What do they want? - Just because you and your prospect agree on the problem does not mean you agree on the desired outcome. Find out what they want the desired outcome to be so you can then offer the solution that will result in that particular outcome.

3. How will you provide what they want? - Explain in as much detail as possible exactly how you will provide their desired outcome. Be specific in what they will get, how you will work with them, what will happen. The more they know, the more reassured they will be that you can provide the desirable outcome they want.

This requires communicating with prospects. Listen to them, understand their situation and needs and desired outcome. Explain clearly how your solution will benefit them. Give your prospects solid reasons to work with you. Then invite them to get started!

Here's my opportunity to be authentic and admit that recently we made a mistake on a client project. Of course it was completely unintentional and accidental. Upon review we still don't even know how it could have happened. But it did. Our client brought it to our attention in a very kind manner. He knew it was accidental and unintentional. Though the mistake couldn't actually be fixed, he expected us to offer some sort of compensation for the error. And we completely agreed!

We were mortified that a mistake had been made! This client is one of our favorite clients. We really enjoy working with him and we weren't sure if this was going to be the end of our working relationship. We needed now to make sure we lived up to our customer service superheroes policy. So we discussed exactly what we could offer this client to make amends for this mistake. We wanted to be sure that what we offered far exceeded any expectations he had.

We called our client and apologized for the mistake, no excuses. Then we proceeded to explain what we could do to make amends. We made a generous offer of additional time at no charge and offered to take on a project we knew he needed done at no charge. We wanted to make sure our client felt well taken care of and hoped he'd continue working with us.

Our client was very happy with our offer of additional work at no charge! He explained that he'd wondered how we would handle the situation. He realizes that mistakes happen and that it's the way they are handled that makes all the difference. He was very excited to continue working with us and had a project we could start on immediately. He was so impressed with the results of that project that he offered to write a testimonial if he hadn't already (he already had though).  We continue to work together and our client continues to refer others to us.

Yes, we will make mistakes. It's how we handle them that determines the outcome. So here's my 3 simple rules on how to handle mistakes:

1. Own up to your mistakes. Take responsibility for what you did. Don't make excuses. Figure out how the mistake was made, if at all possible, and then put into place processes to prevent that mistake from happening again.

2. Apologize. Give your client a sincere apology, without excuses, for what happened. If you used a sub-contractor and the error was made by your sub-contractor, you still need to take responsiblilty.

3. Make generous amends. This does not have to be monetary. It can be additional time or product. Be sure your client feels they got more than enough compensation. If the error resulted in a $500 loss for your client, make amends of double that value.

When you own up to your mistakes, apologize, and make generous amends, you'll find that your clients appreciate your openness, honesty and integrity.

Our customer service goal is not just to meet your expectations, but to exceed them.

Okay, that's not true. Our real goal is to crush them to a fine powder, throwing them under Charon's keel to drift down the River Styx, never to be heard from again. We want your expectations to know they don't hold a candle to the reality we deliver.

There is, though, an obstacle.

Read the entire policy at my website.

Then let me know what you think!

Are you satisfied with getting a new customer, having them buy from you once, and then never seeing them again? Of course not! We want them to come back again and again and to tell all their friends about our business. How do we get them to do that? Provide outrageous customer service.

Every once in a while do something totally unexpected and over the top for one of your customers. See if it doesn't get them coming back and telling everyone they know about you and your services.

I highly recommend that you read Positively Outrageous Service and think about what you can do to provide it to your customers.

I'd like to hear what you've done for your customers that keeps them coming back.

Wednesday, September 24, 2008
5:00 pm–6:00 pm Pacific

Join us for one hour to learn how focusing on the customer in every aspect of your business, not just those we traditionally associate with customer service, will help your business thrive.

Who Should Attend? –Solo professionals and New Small Business Operators

Customer–centric thinking is vital to service related small businesses. Too many service related businesses have gotten so wrapped up in process, cost–cutting, and gimmicky advertising that they've forgotten that without customers, there is no business. Even those who remember the customer don't always know what customers want and how to provide it.

Customer–centric thinking means focusing on the customer in every aspect of your business, not just those we traditionally associate with customer service.

Know the four basic consumer needs. Get inside the minds of your suspects, prospects and clients to see how they make decisions, how they learn, and how meeting their greatest unfilled emotional need can help you succeed.

You will learn:

* The single most important thing to know about a client or prospect
* The four basic consumer needs
* How to avoid 'zero sum' thinking in persuasion
* How to achieve synergy instead of compromise
* The core of effective ethical persuasion
* How to avoid three consumer decision–making roadblocks
* How to use emotional bank accounts in permission marketing
* Why communication mirroring is important
* How most people's self-perception affects how you do business

Format: Barbara Davis, life and business coach, will have a one–on–one discussion with Joel about The Commonsense Entrepreneur.

About Joel D Canfield: Joel D Canfield, The Commonsense Entrepreneur, speaks, writes, and consults on customer–centric thinking as a primary tool for service related small businesses to reach their business goals. His topics include Commonsense Customer–Centric Thinking, Effective Entrepreneurial Etiquette, Commonsense Small Business Marketing, and Cultivating Quality Employees.

Joel has written two business books this year, 49 Commonsense Business Observations and The Commonsense Entrepreneur.

Registration: This is a Complimentary Teleseminar - Just go to Uncover Your Brilliance and click on the button below (Register!) click on Check Out and fill out the form; that's all you have to do! We'll email you the teleseminar telephone and pin number. We'll send a reminder a few days before the call.

Marketing
Many larger businesses hold back from spending money on marketing during difficult economic times. This creates an opportunity for smaller businesses. Since the larger companies have cut back on marketing dollars, most media outlets offer special pricing to smaller businesses in order to get the business they lost from the larger companies. So now's actually a good time to invest in marketing. While your competitors are holding back from marketing, you can take advantage of the special pricing and get your business noticed.

Since consumers are looking to save money, your marketing needs to appeal to their need for both value and quality. This is your chance to help them see why doing business with you can help them during their financial difficulties.

Blogging
Can a blog really help you grow your business? There are small business owners that know it does. A blog can be beneficial to a business. It can humanize your business, improve customer service, give your target audience valuable information they need and want, drive traffic to your website, build your credibility and establish you as an expert in your industry, promote your services and generate income.

Consumers are always surfing the internet looking for information. A blog can provide the information they are looking for. It can be used to ask and answer questions from your readers. Search engines like blogs. They give blogs exposure because they contain fresh, newsworthy content.

Be consistent by posting regularly, three times a week if possible. It will take about three to six months to get exposure and establish yourself as an expert. So persistence is key. If you don't have the time to do it all yourself, hire a virtual assistant to help you create and maintain your blog. You can also prepare a week's worth of entries at once and schedule them to be posted on specific days at specific times.

I'd love to hear your opinions. Let me know what's worked for you.

Yet too often we find small businesses not providing remarkable customer service. I recently read Dan Kennedy's Column in the Sacramento Business Journal. He relates a story of being in a fish market a friend of his no longer goes to because of the poor customer service he received a couple of years previously. Mr. Kennedy thought he'd bring this up to the manager now to see how he would respond. The manager blew him off with "that was two years ago...you know about dealing with customers...I don't see what I can do at this point." Nothing more.

Mr. Kennedy states that the business owner should have encouraged him to ask his friend to come in to the store to see him. He should have shown that he cared.

This happens all too often. A customer lost, maybe more if that customer then leaves and bad-mouths the business. What could be done to turn this around, keep the customer and create remarkable service? It doesn't take much. A small personal gesture can make all the difference. In fact, a customer that has a problem solved to their delight is much more likely to tell others about your remarkable customer service.

Today I had to make this decision. I had arranged a meeting with a potential prospect tomorrow just to talk about our businesses to each other and see if there was a possibility we could refer one another and maybe, just maybe this potential prospect could use my services. Then a current client had an emergency job that needs to be done by end of day tomorrow. There was no way I could commit to getting this job done if I kept the meeting with the prospect. So I called, sincerely apologized, and rescheduled.

My current client is going to get her emergency project taken care of within 24 hours and just imagine all the great word of mouth that can generate. Can you imagine it - 'she took care of me, put everything else on hold, and got the job done'? A for sure thing instead of a possible new client. It makes me feel good to be able to take care of my clients like that. I call that 'remarkable' customer service.

As a side note, since my business is focusing less on accounting and more on helping service businesses with their self-promotion, Thursday's blog will now be more about customer service. Watch for tidbits on accounting here and there though.