Slacker Manager

Give More To Get More

by Phil Gerbyshak on April 18th, 2008

Guest article from Bridget Wright of Leadership News and Changes

As a small business manager, owner or entrepreneur, networking and finding new clients can be a real challenge. Every business has a period where it seems that nothing is happening: no new clients, no new projects, nothing. This can be especially hard for the solo-preneur who relies exclusively on their freelance income to make a living. Notwithstanding marketing tips and strategies, social networking both online and offline and advertising your product or services, increasing sales and your customer base can be fairly easy to do.

How?

By over-delivering your services.

Become totally consumed with the idea of customer service and stop focusing on the bottom line and desired profits. Trust me, this will take care of itself, I promise. To customers, being genuine and real in your approach is the ideal way to get their business and create a loyal customer base. Customers want professionalism, but they also want to do business with people who are genuine in their business approach. Let me give you an example…

In my quest to become healthier, I hired a personal trainer to teach me the ropes and help me on my journey to get fit. Now anyone that has hired a personal trainer knows what’s basically involved. They show you how to exercise effectively, how to have proper form with your free weights and offer instruction in basic nutrition. The information they share with you is well worth the steep fees they charge because you are armed with knowledge that, if properly followed, guarantees results. But what is so impressive about the personal trainer that I’m working with is his impressive approach to customer service. Rodney feels that the customer is the most important factor and that delivering outstanding service is not optional, but is required and demanded from his staff in order to ensure that the business thrives.

Rodney offers his customers outstanding service by giving them, in addition to the basic services, email follow-up, a pre-consultation, mid-contract consultation and a post-contract consultation. These are all designed to assess the customer’s level of satisfaction and to ensure that he and his client are both striving for the same goals. Rodney also offers small prizes as you reach each goal and also offers additional services at discounts for existing clients. Not to mention that he makes a noticeable effort to be extremely pleasant to his clients, genuinely concerned and ready to answer any questions that the client has about nutrition, exercise or health in general. Not only have I shared this gem of a businessman with all of my friends, but with his exceptional approach to customer service, I am definitely going to extend my contract and buy additional training hours so that I can reach my goal quicker. Rodney has the right idea: give more to get more.

Whatever business you’re in, whatever your role in the company is, whether it’s a service or product industry, guarantee your success by over-delivering your services. Give your customers (and your employees) more than what they expect! Wow them with your customer service and be genuinely interested in getting results for them. I guarantee, you’ll get more back than what you put in.

Besides, no one has ever complained about having too many profits, have they?

Bridget Wright is a church and non-profit marketing specialist who takes great joy in helping those organizations in developing a strong message. She has been an entrepreneur and a small business owner for over ten years. Her approach to effective communications makes her “in demand” in her industry and shows that by giving multiple motivational keynote speeches, workshops and seminars that are high energy and full of relevant information for the non-profit sector. As a professional speaker, she effectively equips non-profit organizations on how to stay abreast of economic changes in the business world and how these changes can affect the industry. To receive a free copy of her booklet, “Seven Things Every Minister Should Do Before Speaking”, email her at bvwright@gmail.com. Or, you can check out her websites at:
Church Marketing
Professional Speaking
Women in Business
Leadership News and Changes

Image credit to Amazon.com

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POSTED IN: customer service, guest posts