Life Success Strategies for Soulpreneurs®

Tired of the Prosperity Gloom and Doom Predictions?

I read an uplifting article in Forbes, October 27, 2008 this morning titled "Pockets of Prosperity".  It actually gave me hope that everyone is not looking at only the problems, instead some are focused on the solutions.  I am one of the small business owners they mentioned who are "struggling, yet chugging ahead". 

Our construction business is most definitely down from where it was a year ago, but we still have new customers calling us regularly who want work done on their homes and on their businesses.  We have stepped up our direct marketing efforts significantly, and make it a point to be visible by being out in the community.  Heck, we even passed out brochures for our business at a garage sale we had recently.  Guess what, we got a call from one of those garage sale attendees who needs home improvements!  You never know...

Other businesses mentioned in Forbes that are still growing in this "challenging" economy are farming, the Campbell Soup Company, Walgreens, AAR Corp. (an aerospace outsourcing firm), Microsoft, and Pediatrix Medical Group of Sunrise, Fla.  Campbell's stock is up 26% since late January.  Gives you hope doesn't it?

Farmers in particular are experiencing a strong economy due to global demand for food, as well as for corn and other feedstocks used to make ethanol.  This, of course, helps the sales for farm equipment manufacturers, companies who finance the equipment for farmers, and it goes on and on...  We are all connected, after all...

So, the next time you turn on the TV or radio and hear about how bad the economy is, take it with a little bit of a grain of salt.  It just may be possible that you can find a way to create your own prosperity, whether it be through learning new marketing outreach techniques, becoming creative and finding something new to offer, or changing your business entirely to a new direction.  Remember, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, but you may have to look for it in unexpected places...

© 2008   Sandy Reed - All rights reserved

Want to use my articles in your ezine or website?

You're welcome to, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Sandy Reed is the President and Founder of the International Association of Women in Family Enterprises (IAWIFE).  She is a professional business coach, writer, and co-owns her own successful family business.  If you're ready to take your family business to the next level of success; receive support, education, and connect with like-minded women, join her members at www.iawife.com.  Sandy's business building articles have been published in True Wealth and Simply Home magazines."

Give Up the Stress Gremlins...

Well, here I am in my new home. I have once again survived a move – almost… We are over ¾ of the way moved in our house. We still have "stuff" at our previous house, but nothing that takes a mountain of effort to figure out how to fit in our smaller space.

 

During the times I was so exhausted I didn’t see how I could keep going, I was given the gift of insight. These insights relate not only to my recent move, but to life and business in general. I hope they help you in your next big move, whether it’s a move of your home, career, or just a move from one way of thinking to another.

Here are 5 things you can do to survive the stress of moving, or whatever life is throwing your way…

1. Believe you can do it, even when you can’t see how. Trust there is something bigger than you are holding you up and moving you right along to the next step you need to take to get the job done. You don’t have to, nor do you want to, know all the steps to get where you’re going. If I had known what I’d have to do to be where I am today, I probably would have stayed in the corporate prison, where I worked for 24 years. I’m so glad I couldn’t see that far ahead. I have loved every minute of my freedom the last 13 years. The personal growth I have experienced is, as the American Express commercial states, priceless.

2. Have faith. When you’re exhausted doubts creep in and you’ll wonder why you wanted to do this thing in the first place. When these doubts pop up, stay focused on why you decided to go this direction and know that it must be the way to the next best thing in your life. You may not know how it will get here, but you can trust that it will. I still have many ups and downs in my ability to overcome the negative thinking I grew up with, but now I know how to deal with those thoughts. You don’t banish them from your mind, you just learn what tools to use to move into better feeling thoughts and move on.

3. Get help from someone who has been where you are. In the start-up phase of our construction business, we had no experience in marketing ourselves. We hired a coach who had experience in the construction industry to help us get over the learning curve. It took time for our marketing efforts to pay off, but today we are still serving customers who called us 10 years ago as a result of that initial marketing campaign.

4. Keep learning – ask what has worked for other people. In something as generic as moving, this advice works well. In business, however, you may find challenges. Your competition will most likely not be too keen on giving away their secrets to success. In this case, utilizing online sources and surveying your customers are your best bets. We participate in group calls and receive newsletters from our original coach who interacts with contractors across the country. A contractor who lives 2,000 miles away is happy to share their secrets to success, unlike one who lives 2 miles away and is in direct competition with you. You can also approach your previous customers and ask them to respond to a short survey of what they need. Offer them a gift certificate or a discount on your services for responding.

5. Never give up. If you’re doing what you love to do, find someone to help you be successful and, take the time to listen to your inner guidance. Many of the changes we have implemented came to me as ideas out of the blue. If you wake up with an idea at 4am, don’t go back to sleep. Keep a pen with a built in light and a pad of paper by your bed and jot down those ideas when you receive them. If you honor ideas when they come to you, they will begin to show up on a regular basis.

These 5 insights can help you stay on track with whatever project you happen to be working on at the moment. But the most important thing you can do is always, always, always keep your focus on the good things you will experience as a result of what you’re doing, whether it’s in your life or in your business. As long as you stay in that place of enjoying life, all else will work out for your highest good, whether that looks like what you expected – or not…

© 2008   Sandy Reed - All rights reserved

Want to use my articles in your ezine or website?

You're welcome to, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Sandy Reed is the President and Founder of the International Association of Women in Family Enterprises (IAWIFE).  She is a professional business coach, writer, and co-owns her own successful family business.  If you're ready to take your family business to the next level of success; receive support, education, and connect with like-minded women, join her members at www.iawife.com.  Sandy's business building articles have been published in True Wealth and Simply Home magazines."

5 Keys to a Winning Website

As a new business owner you may wonder how important it is to have a website.  When you have multitudes of other tasks on your plate to get your business on its feet, you may think that a website is not that important.  However, a study by Interland (Dec. 2003), a web-hosting firm for small and mid-sized businesses, stated that 78% of small businesses believe their company benefits from having a website. 

In the same study, between 20 and 30 percent of these small businesses said that they rely heavily on their website for sales and that it helps them reduce other marketing costs.  Personally, I have found that our website provides the best return on investment, as compared to direct mail, which costs a significant amount of money to implement.

Once you have decided to invest your time and money on a website, you will want to make sure it has all the ingredients to give you the best return for your money.

Here are 5 key ingredients you will want to include on your website.

1.    Be clear on your website to whom you are marketing your products or services.  Picking a niche market makes your marketing easier, and gives you a specific area in which to focus your time and money.  Think of it this way, if you were in need of heart surgery would you want to see a heart specialist or a general practitioner.  Your clients will feel the same way.  They will be attracted to those businesses that specialize in their specific needs.

 

2.    Use keywords and meta tags that apply to your specific target audience and the products or services you offer.  If this sounds like Greek to you, your web designer will be able to help in this area.  Just be aware that keywords and meta tags are needed to drive the right traffic to your website – the traffic that needs what you have to offer.

 

3.    Make sure your contact information is on every page of your site.  You want to be as accessible as possible to your potential clients.

4.    You need a compelling message and a clear call to action.  There are thousands of websites out there just like yours competing for the same customers.  Make sure you use copy on your website that gets attention as soon as someone navigates to your site.  Don’t assume people know what to do once they get there.  Tell them in big bold letters what you want them to do, such as call for more information or sign-up for your newsletter.

5.    Have a way to get back to those people who may not be ready to buy now.  Offering a free report or monthly newsletter with information of value to your clients goes a long way towards building good will and credibility.  Have an opt-in box on the top of your home page with a prominent place to sign-up for your free offer.

There are many more elements of design that can help you market your business more effectively.  A good web designer, with experience in driving traffic to your website, is a worthwhile investment in the start-up phase of your business.

A website has been proven to be a necessary part of your marketing strategy.  The more professional it is the more clients you will attract, and the more opportunities you will have to prove your products or services can add value to your customers.

Want to use my articles in your ezine or website?

You're welcome to, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Sandy Reed is the President and Founder of the International Association of Women in Family Enterprises (IAWIFE).  She is a professional business coach, writer, and co-owns her own successful family business.  If you're ready to take your family business to the next level of success; receive support, education, and connect with like-minded women, join her members at www.iawife.com.  Sandy's business building articles have been published in True Wealth and Simply Home magazines."

© 2008   Sandy Reed - All rights reserved

Want to use my articles in your ezine or website?

You're welcome to, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Sandy Reed is the President and Founder of the International Association of Women in Family Enterprises (IAWIFE).  She is a professional business coach, writer, and co-owns her own successful family business.  If you're ready to take your family business to the next level of success; receive support, education, and connect with like-minded women, join her members at www.iawife.com.  Sandy's business building articles have been published in True Wealth and Simply Home magazines."

Did You Hear What They Said? 3 Tips to Make Sure …

It’s no secret that the world is full of diverse and unique beings.  My husband, who is left handed, never fails to amaze me in his method of solving problems.  Since I’m right handed, we always go through two different thought processes to reach the same conclusion.  He, of course, loves to remind me that he is in his “right mind”.

Not only do we think differently, we hear differently.  People tend to hear other people based on their perceptions and what they have lived through.  What we hear is what we expect to hear much of the time.  Sometimes the customers we’re talking to aren’t telling us the whole story, so it’s even harder to get a clear picture of how we can best serve them.

Our range of understanding and our ability to serve our clients expands with deeper more intuitive hearing.  As we listen closer and repeat what we believe we are hearing, it gives our customers a clearer understanding of how their needs are received by us.  Many times there is a disconnect between what our customers want and what they are communicating to us.

In our construction business, we recently had a long-time customer come to us because he wanted to replace his unsafe deck and build a new garage.  After talking to him over a period of time, we discovered that what he really wanted was to make his vacation home more livable, so he and his wife could potentially retire there someday.

After much more talking and fact finding with him and his wife, it became obvious to him, and us, that his wife didn’t like the house and did not see it as a potential full-time home.  In light of this discovery, he is now rethinking the project and is considering selling the house and buying a newer home they would both enjoy more.

Taking the time to intuitively “hear” your customers will allow you to give a deeper level of service that many service professionals don’t take the time to deliver.

Here are 3 tips you can use to learn to hear intuitively.

·         If your customer has a significant other, and your product or service will be used by both, request that they both be present during the initial consultation.  This will give you the opportunity to see the reactions of both customers and observe the body language, tone of voice, and level of interest in what you have to offer.

·         Repeat back to them your interpretation of the conversation for clarification.  You will be surprised at how often you did not hear what they were really saying.

 

·         Provide a detailed description of the product or service you discussed in your written proposal or order confirmation.  This will avoid misunderstandings at a later date.

All the efforts you make to actively listen, intuitively hear and confirm what you heard from your customers will set you apart from the competition, and new customer referrals will surely follow.

© 2008   Sandy Reed - All rights reserved

Want to use my articles in your ezine or website?

You're welcome to, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Sandy Reed is the President and Founder of the International Association of Women in Family Enterprises (IAWIFE).  She is a professional business coach, writer, and co-owns her own successful family business.  If you're ready to take your family business to the next level of success; receive support, education, and connect with like-minded women, join her members at www.iawife.com.  Sandy's business building articles have been published in True Wealth and Simply Home magazines."

Show Me the Money! 3 Tips to Visualizing Success

“When you visualize then you materialize.”

-         Dr. Denis Waitley

Bill Gates, Jack Canfield, Robert Allen – what do they have in common?  You’ve probably guessed it – they’re all rich and successful!  So, what’s the secret to their success?  My guess is they all “see” themselves as successful.  How do you see yourself?

The quote above, by Dr. Denis Waitley, describes the process to materialize success.  It’s short and to the point – but for most of us, it’s not easy.  In fact, there are many who would adamantly declare that visualization is a waste of time. 

In the best seller “The Secret”, Dr. Waitley describes the visualization process used in the Apollo program.  He used this process, called Visual Motor Rehearsal, in Olympic training.   Here’s a quick overview of Visual Motor Rehearsal.

Using this program, Olympic athletes ran their event –but only in their mind.  They visualized how they looked and felt when they were actually participating in their event.  The athletes were then hooked up to a sophisticated biofeedback machine, and its results told the real story about the value of visualization.  The same muscles fired in the same sequence as when they were actually running on the track!  This proved that the mind can’t tell the difference between whether you’re really doing something or whether it’s just a practice.  Dr. Waitley says, “If you’ve been there in the mind you’ll go there in the body.

When I sit down to create an article, first it’s in my mind – then I record it on paper.  When we build a new home in our construction business, first it’s in the mind of my husband, the designer, and then our crew builds it in the physical.  These ideas come from an unseen source, one we all can access, if we’re open and receptive to the power of inspiration and visualization.  Everything you do starts in your mind – including your business.  So, it’s critically important that you see it as a smooth running, profitable business.

Here are 3 tips to help with your own visualization process.

1.       Since it all starts in your mind, it makes sense to take time to do the mental work first.  I find it easiest early in the morning before I start my daily routine.  You may also try visualizing what you want your business to look like at night just before going to sleep.  This will give your mind time to work on it while you sleep.

2.      Don’t overwork yourself.  When you get so wrapped up in “getting the job done” it’s easy to let all the good intentions of visualization go out the window.  When this happens to me, I find my creativity suffers.  It’s difficult to think creatively, when I’m on overwhelm dealing with the tasks at hand. Give yourself a break - go outside and enjoy nature.   A pause and refresh break can do wonders to jog your memory about why you wanted your own business in the first place.

 

3.      Consistency is the key.  When you spend time every day seeing your business the way you want it to be, something magic happens.  Just like William H. Murray says in this famous quote:

 

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness.  Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:  that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.  All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.  A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamed would come his way.”

 

In other words, the Universe moves to help those who know what they want, and are willing to be bold and take action to get it!

 

If you feel like you don’t have time for this visualization stuff, I’ll leave you with this quote from C.J. Hayden’s book “Get Clients Now!”™

 

“You are the biggest asset your business has.  Taking care of yourself is taking care of business.”

© 2008   Sandy Reed - All rights reserved

Want to use my articles in your ezine or website?

You're welcome to, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Sandy Reed is the President and Founder of the International Association of Women in Family Enterprises (IAWIFE).  She is a professional business coach, writer, and co-owns her own successful family business.  If you're ready to take your family business to the next level of success; receive support, education, and connect with like-minded women, join her members at www.iawife.com.  Sandy's business building articles have been published in True Wealth and Simply Home magazines."

 

Leave Your Competition in the Dust by Using These Three Creativity Strategies

Business owners are always trying to figure out how to do things better and different than their competition.  I am always looking for unique ideas that will catch the attention of my clients and help them build a healthy and profitable business.  These ideas are limitless and can be found all around us.

It’s all too easy, however, to lose sight of this creativity when your business is in a slump and the phone isn’t ringing.  Here are 3 tips to stimulate your creative thinking, so you can get back on the track to higher profits and peace of mind.

1.       Keep your creative juices flowing by looking for the TV, magazine, newspaper, and direct mail advertising that motivates you.  Notice what entices you to buy someone else’s product or service.  If you like it, you are probably not alone.  Use the same concept behind those ads in your own advertising.

2.      Research and listen for what people don’t like in your competitors products and services.  This is an ideal way to set your business apart from the competition.  Make sure you address any complaints you may hear by offering your own unique solutions.  Here’s an example.

In our construction business we’re heard many complaints that contractors don’t return phone calls.  We make sure our brochure and website lets prospective clients know that we return phone calls with 48 hours – and then we do it!

 

3.      Trust that you have all the creative solutions inside of you that you need.  I read many publications on a regular basis – spiritual, business, health, etc.  It never ceases to amaze me how ideas can pop into my head from articles that would appear to have nothing to do with business.  Here’s one technique I use to remain open to finding these ideas.

Write down on a sticky-back, post-it note pad the issue you need help resolving.    Put the note in a conspicuous place that you will see several times a day.  I put mine on the mirror in the bathroom.  Read it whenever you see it, and say, “thank you for the ideas and solutions that are coming to me right now!”

Look for evidence of the answer as you go through your day.  Answers may come from what people say, what you read, or what you watch on TV.  Be open to all possible avenues.  When you get an intuitive hit, take it seriously.  Write it down and take action!

I’ve noticed that if I get busy and ignore the ideas I get, they tend to stop coming.  If that happens, never fear!  Just start over and eventually you’ll learn to trust your intuition.  Let your subconscious mind do all the work while you focus on your To Do list.

As you use these three strategies this process will become the most valuable tool you have in your creativity toolbox, and will give you the insights to leave your competition in the dust!

© 2008   Sandy Reed - All rights reserved

Want to use my articles in your ezine or website?

You're welcome to, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Sandy Reed is the President and Founder of the International Association of Women in Family Enterprises (IAWIFE).  She is a professional business coach, writer, and co-owns her own successful family business.  If you're ready to take your family business to the next level of success; receive support, education, and connect with like-minded women, join her members at www.iawife.com.  Sandy's business building articles have been published in True Wealth and Simply Home magazines."

Boost Your Business with Target Marketing

Often the most profound bits of wisdom are revealed in mundane situations.  This morning I finished up a bottle of body oil and noticed that it felt really good to know I had used it all up, wasting none of its contents.  This led me to think about my life.  When I get to the end of my life, I want to feel really good about having used it all up, and know that I wasted none of the gifts inside of me.  What a terrible waste it is when any of us leave this world without taking the time to discover our gifts and use them in a way that can benefit our world.

That’s what your business truly is.  It’s a love offering to the world.  It’s an expression of your soul in such a way that it brings value and happiness to your life and to all your clients, whose life it benefits.  It is your privilege, and responsibility, to find ways to let people know what you have to offer them.

What you have to offer will be unique and will express your gifts and talents, that come from expressing what is in your soul.

My definition of a successful business is - a business that provides a vehicle for you to express in the world what makes you happy, expresses your unique gifts and talents, and provides the means to create the lifestyle you long for in your heart and soul.

As I mentioned, in order for this lifestyle to come to fruition, the right people must know what you have to offer.  So, the question becomes, who are the right people?  Do you know who your ideal client is? 

You may ask, “why should I care about who my ideal client is?” 

Here are 3 reasons to take the time to discover the identity of your ideal, or preferred, client.  Choosing an ideal client will help you:

1.       Market your products and services.  If you don’t know who you’re serving, how do you know the right advertising venues to utilize?  For example, if your preferred client is 25 – 35 years old, you would choose a very different marketing approach than you would if your preferred client was 45 – 55.

 

If you decided to place an ad in a magazine or online publication with readers who are 25 – 35 years old, you might choose Cosmopolitan or Working Mother or New Lifestyle Magazine.

If you were targeting 45 – 55 year old readers, you might place an ad in AARP Magazine, Grandparents, or Slate Magazine. 

2.      Get a clear vision of where your company belongs in the market place.  Take home buyers for example.  New home buyers have very different needs than retirees looking to downsize.  You would use a different marketing strategy in both cases. 

3.      Helps you write your ad copy when you can address it to one person who represents your ideal client.  For example, the verbiage and images you use to reach a real estate agent is very different than the words you would use to communicate with corporate executives. 

If you know who your ideal client is, it will help you decide how your gifts and talents can best benefit them.  So, when it comes to the end of your days, you’ll have a feeling of satisfaction and completion knowing that you’ve expressed your talents and gifts to the people who needed it the most – your ideal client. 

© 2008   Sandy Reed - All rights reserved

Want to use my articles in your ezine or website?

You're welcome to, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Sandy Reed is the President and Founder of the International Association of Women in Family Enterprises (IAWIFE).  She is a professional business coach, writer, and co-owns her own successful family business.  If you're ready to take your family business to the next level of success; receive support, education, and connect with like-minded women, join her members at www.iawife.com.  Sandy's business building articles have been published in True Wealth and Simply Home magazines."

To Do Lists – Where Do You Find the Time To Do Them?

If you're like me, many days are jam packed with more items on your "To Do" list than any human could possibly handle in one day.  Why do we tend to put ourselves in this situation, when we end up with little or no time to enjoy life?  Most of us work until 7-8pm, go to bed at 9-10pm, then get up early the next morning and do it all over again.  Before you know it the week is gone, then a month is gone, then you're celebrating New Years Eve wondering if you enjoyed the year that just flew by...

While I'm not a big fan of most time management systems, it's becoming obvious to me that I need to get a better handle on my work days, not only to get done what I need to do, but also to learn how to alleviate stress and overwhelm - since they both pop their ugly heads up all too often.

 

 

So in the interest of keeping my sanity, and finding some balance, here's the plan I'm using.  You may want to give it a try.

 

1. Begin documenting each task you do during work hours, including the time you spend doing laundry, having lunch, and going for a walk.  This definitely sounds more analytical than I consider myself to be.  You will hopefully be able to tolerate this extensive documentation for about a week.  This should be enough time to determine where you may be losing time to tasks that are not helping you reach the goals that are most important to you - in other words the goals that keep you healthy, happy, and that feed your bank account.


2. Decision Time!  After a week, analyze where you're spending unproductive time and make decisions based on your priorities.  This, of course, assumes you know what your priorities are, which leads to #3.


3. What do you want?  Many people won't make it through the first two steps, unless they are ready to live an authentic life.  An authentic life means that when you are drawing your final breath you will have no regrets.  You won't look back and say, "I wish I had..."  On the surface it may appear that making money and having a successful business is what will lead to happiness.  In reality, however, it's how making money and having a successful business makes most of us feel that leads to happiness.  What's important is how we feel - more than what we have.  For most people that includes such things as spending more time with family, friends, and having fun.


4. What can you give up to get what you want? Can you hire someone else to do the things that are keeping you from your priorities?  Can you reorganize, refocus, reinvent a new system, or just plain quit doing something that's not really that important?  There is a wonderful feeling of spaciousness in your life when you decide to give up events, situations, obligations, or even people that are eating into the precious time you have to do what you really want to do.


5. Make a commitment - to yourself - to take action towards removing what's not important, what you dread doing, what doesn't make you feel good about yourself and where your life is going. I know there are many different ways to approach time prioritizing.  This time next year, with a whole year of thinking and testing to look back on, I will most likely give you a new system to consider.  In the meantime, I would love to share with my readers what has worked for you.  Just send me an email at sandy@iawife.com.  

© 2008   Sandy Reed - All rights reserved

Want to use my articles in your ezine or website?

You're welcome to, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Sandy Reed is the President and Founder of the International Association of Women in Family Enterprises (IAWIFE).  She is a professional business coach, writer, and co-owns her own successful family business.  If you're ready to take your family business to the next level of success; receive support, education, and connect with like-minded women, join her members at www.iawife.com.  Sandy's business building articles have been published in True Wealth and Simply Home magazines."

 

Challenging Customers – Love Them or Leave Them?

My husband and I have been blessed with many wonderful customers over our 25+ years owning and operating a residential construction business.  In fact, I could count on one hand the challenging ones.

One customer in particular caused me many sleepless nights and more than a little stress for a few weeks.  The relationship started out on a positive note, but quickly turned south when it became clear that their expectations and ours could never meet at a place of compromise.

If you own a small business, you will likely run across some customers who try your patience and may even cause emotional turmoil and undue stress.  Here are 7 tips, from a Soulpreneur’s perspective, to help when you encounter disgruntled customers.

1.       Keep Your Cool.  When you’re upset, don’t make rash decisions.  Remove yourself from the situation, if possible, so you can look at it with fresh eyes.  Time and distance can give you time to think about the interaction from all points of view.  

2.      Everyone is unique and different.  Understand and accept that personalities will clash from time-to-time, and it’s a normal part of doing business.  If you understand it’s normal, you can learn techniques to help you handle them without getting excessively defensive and taking it personally. Customer conflicts happen to the best of us. 

3.      Customers are human too.  You don’t know what’s going on in their lives.  Maybe their dog just got run over, or they just got fired.  With intuitive listening you can hear what they may not be saying.  Observe their tone of voice, body language, and the key words they use to get clues about what may be going on in their life.  Try putting yourself in their shoes for a while.  Empathy can go a long way towards resolving the issue at hand.

4.      What are you learning that you can use in the future?  We learn with every customer interaction, good or bad, what we can do differently in the future.  In every experience are the seeds for a new way of looking at life – and the potential for doing it better in the future.  This becomes clearer once you’re past the emotional aspect of the interaction.  Again, time and distance will give you a new perspective on the situation.

5.      Where are you placing your trust?  Are you stuck on looking at the challenging customers you’ve had in the past, or are you able to trust in the basic goodness of most people and focus on the ones you want now?  If you keep your mind on the type of customers you want, you’re placing your trust in the ability of the Universe to deliver them to you.

6.      Visualize and affirm what you want.  Your thoughts send magnetic signals that bring back to you what you think about, in the same way tuning into a radio station picks up that station’s frequency in the ethers.  Make sure you’re tuning your thoughts into the frequency of the specific type of customers you want – customer’s that are prosperous and easy to serve.  I have a 3x5 index card on my refrigerator that says, “Wonderful, prosperous customers call us daily wanting our quality construction services.”

7.      Trust in yourself.  You can’t always trust in other people, but you can always trust in your inner guidance.  If you’re meeting with a prospective customer and get that feeling of dread in the pit your stomach, it may be a warning that it would be better to refer the person to someone who is better suited to their personality.  Always listen to your feelings. 

Turning challenging customers into great, easy to-do-business-with customers is not usually an easy task.  Sometimes it’s better, as we found out, to let them go as quickly as possible, learn from the experience, and focus on bringing the customers you really want to your business.  Then you can focus on meeting, or exceeding, their expectations and getting those valuable referrals. 

© 2008   Sandy Reed - All rights reserved

Want to use my articles in your ezine or website?

You're welcome to, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Sandy Reed is the President and Founder of the International Association of Women in Family Enterprises (IAWIFE).  She is a professional business coach, writer, and co-owns her own successful family business.  If you're ready to take your family business to the next level of success; receive support, education, and connect with like-minded women, join her members at www.iawife.com.  Sandy's business building articles have been published in True Wealth and Simply Home magazines."

Surviving Technology – 5 Tips to Keep Your Customers from Firing You…

As a business owner, how you perceive your customers trickles down into all aspects of your business.  How you feel about them, talk about them, and serve them provides a filter that your employees and service providers see through, and that your customers can perceive right away.  This is a filter that your customers are intuitively aware of in their interactions with you.  They will be attracted to you, or not, based on how you feel about serving them.

When you’re starting out in a new business, you may be looking for ways to best utilize your time, since it may be just you juggling all aspects of the business.  Utilizing the latest technology is one way you can potentially alleviate some of the stress of being the only person answering the phone.  As a small business, you may be competing with many larger companies, so customer service is especially critical.  One major advantage of being small is that you get to interact with your customers on a more personal level, and this is where you can shine.     

If you decide to use technology in your business it may be one of the first interactions your customers have with you as a service provider.  Their first impression of your business through this technology can start you off with a warm, friendly relationship or an adversarial one.  Once a relationship starts off on the wrong foot, it’s always harder to change its direction…

A common example, I encounter on a daily basis, is the use of directive recordings for the first contact with customers.  As a continuous user of technology, I want it to provide me with a reliable way to access information, so I can connect to the people and resources I need to build a financially viable business.  When I call for support and receive recording after recording, with no option for talking to a live body quickly, it’s wasting my time and causing me stress and frustration.  In this way, technology is keeping me from experiencing the very ease of communicating and accessing information it was supposed to provide!

The maze of companies that have gone to this method of providing customer service is astounding.  In many cases, by the time a person reaches a live body they are so frustrated that the service rep has to first overcome their irritation before the problem can be addressed.  In addition, you need to take great care in choosing the tone of the recording, since reaching a recording, as the first point of contact with a company, can make customers feel like you don’t want to be bothered with their requests for service.   My mission, as the Soulpreneur’s Coach, is to provide my clients with alternatives for serving their customers from a soul-inspired perspective.  How would a Soulpreneur create a better customer experience, and serve the company’s best interests at the same time?  Here are some possible answers to this dilemma.

1.       Give the customer no more than 3 or 4 recorded options when calling in for customer service.  One of the options should always be allowing the customer to dial zero to reach a person, who can immediately direct the customer to the department that can best help them.  I suggest using zero since it’s the most universally recognized number for operator assistance.

2.      If you require that the customer input their account number, don’t ask them for it again when they reach a service provider.  If your technology doesn’t allow you to transfer the account number to a representative, don’t require that the customer provide it up front.  If the account rep needs to verify the account number, tell the customer they are asking again for verification purposes, or verify other personal information instead.  Repetition is a small, but irritating, inconvenience.

3.      Always provide a call back option if customers have to wait more than five minutes to speak to a representative.  Show your customers you respect their time and you will find the respect is returned.

4.      Always call back the same day, if possible, but no later than 24 hours after the initial contact.  Unresolved issues that go on for an extended period of time cause customers to be even more irritated when they finally speak to someone who can help them.

5.      When talking to customers, always listen to all the issues before responding.  I have had more than one customer service representative interrupt me before they heard all my issues.  This led to me repeating the problem several times, and more frustration, because I was not being heard.

When you look at your customers from a Soulpreneur’s perspective, you see them first as normal people with fears, insecurities, and obligations just like you.  These are people who are looking for your business to help them:

·         Solve a problem.

·         Enjoy life more.

·         Feel better about themselves.

·         Provide something they need.

·         Feel more secure.

The bottom line is, they are coming to your business because they want help.

In the technology arena it’s easy to get side-tracked by the latest and greatest thing to make your life and business “easier”.  But technology alone won’t pay the bills.  Always come back to the basics of great customer care strategies. 

© 2008   Sandy Reed - All rights reserved

Want to use my articles in your ezine or website?

You're welcome to, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

"Sandy Reed is the President and Founder of the International Association of Women in Family Enterprises (IAWIFE).  She is a professional business coach, writer, and co-owns her own successful family business.  If you're ready to take your family business to the next level of success; receive support, education, and connect with like-minded women, join her members at www.iawife.com.  Sandy's business building articles have been published in True Wealth and Simply Home magazines."