Home Based Business
Tuesday, October 9, 2007, by Leigh Anne
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
So to finish up our post on asking for referrals from yesterday, I wanted to share with you an idea you might want to incorporate into your business -once a year, send your customers a unique referral offer. Promote it as a special campaign or event. Hold a month long “Refer a Friend Month” ( am sure someone will come up with something more clever to call it) The idea is that you promote a special time period to your customers (a month or so) where they will receive extra benefits for referring a friend to you. You may want to take what you normally give for a referral and double it -since this is just for a limited time period you can afford to offer a little more than you usually do. Be sure and tie the gift to “doing business with their friend” not just getting a name. You could also give them a very small gift (costing you a few pennies) for each name they give you and then the larger gift/incentive when you actually do business with their friend.
You may want to tie this special promotion in with another customer event you hold each year or pick a month when business is slower and it could help boost your sales.
This special offer of course gives you an “excuse” to contact your customers to let them know about your special promotion and what they can receive for participating in it. The follow up phone call is what will really help make it effective. Notify your customers of it via email or mailing but to truly make it work you are going to want to get on the phone. People are much more likely to respond to your offer during a personalized phone call then they will via email or having to pick up the phone and call you. During your follow-up phone calls you may need to prompt them a bit as to whose names they could share with you - have them think of people on their school directory list, parents from the soccer team, cub scout den, their Christmas card list. You will be amazed how many people they can think of when you give them just a little prodding!
The most important thing is that you are ASKING for referrals - this can be a way to keep that “pipeline” continually full to overflowing!
If you have a special way in which you reward referrals in your business I’d love to hear!
Popularity: 20% [?]
Categories: Connect, Home Based Business
Subscribe
Monday, October 8, 2007, by Leigh Anne
Last week during my coaching calls with team members there was a common theme that kept coming up - getting new leads. Keeping your customer “pipeline” full of new names is an important part of keeping momentum going in your direct sales business. When you begin your business, your family and friends become your first customers - people you know. But we all only know so many people and after we have contacted and shared our business with the people we know we may find ourselves with a “dry well” - we’ve run out of people to talk to about our business or have we? Have you really “talked to everyone you know?” Well maybe you have but I promise you, you have not talked to everyone that everyone you know knows!!
One of the benefits of having a direct sales business is that you establish relationships with your customers - hopefully they like you and they love your product! A happy customer is the best form of advertising you can have - better than any form of paid advertising by far because that happy customer is going to tell others about you and your products. That customer may need a little prodding and encouragement to share with her friends but that is your job!
If you have not done so already you need to develop a system for creating on-going customer leads which will give you an unending supply of new customers - that “pipeline” will always be full. So how do you do that - well it’s actually quite simple - YOU ASK!
But first -
1. Offer exceptional customer service. When your customers are happy with your products and your service they are more anxious and willing to share with their friends. Always focus on your customers satisfaction first. Once you know she is happy you are ready for step two.
2. Always ask for the Referral - it’s that simple. This can be done verbally at your home event after you’ve taken their order, during a customer phone call, etc. or in a follow up email also. You will have the most success getting referrals at the point of sale - that is when your customers enthusiasm is the highest. Don’t miss that opportunity.
Let your customers know that you depend on and build your business through referrals. “Suzy, I am so glad you came to Mary’s show tonight. I know you are going to love the products you have purchased. I build my business on referrals from happy customers like you. Like most of my customers I am sure you have friends who would love our(product) just like you. Would you be willing to share the names of a few of your friends that I could contact and let them know about our great products. (you can also use this same approach for asking for referrals for new team members!)
Your customers may or may not feel comfortable sharing their friends information with you. If they don’t, encourage them to contact their friends and give them your information or forward your email to them and then ask their friends to contact you directly. This is not the most effective way - direct contact from you is better - but this is another option when information is not given directly to you.
3. Offer a referral gift to your referring customer - offering a free gift, or a discount on a product as a thank you for referring a customer to you is always a way to increase referrals. The gift should be given to the referring customer after you have made contact with their friend and done business with them. The gift does not have to be expensive - just valuable. Of course a handwritten thank you note should also accompany the gift.
Find out as much information as you can about the person to whom you are being referred so you will know how you can help them. You will also be able to personalize the call to them.
4. Call the referred person ASAP! Have a system for keeping track of those leads. If I am at a home event I will write the name and number of the referred person on the referring customers order form and then transfer the information into my notebook when I get home. I have a section in my daytimer for writing down referrals. Also, have a system for connecting the referral with the referred. In my customer data base I have a spot for keeping track of who referred them to me. When you contact the referral you may begin the conversation as follows: “Hi Lisa, this is (your name) from (your company). Your friend Katie gave me your name and number because she thought that you might be interested in learning more about (your product). Is this a good time for you?”
5. Call the person who gave you the referral and let them know the results, get them their gift for the referral. Again, thank them for the referral and ask if there is anyone else they can think of that you might be able to help.
When a customer shares with you the name of one of their family or friends they are showing trust in you. They believe in you and what you represent. Prompt follow up and timely response on referrals shows that you are a professional and worthy of their trust.
Your happy customers are one of your most valuable business tools. Do not ignore the opportunity to keep that “pipeline” full..
Provide great customer service, ask for the referral and follow through and you will find that your “well runneth over!”
Tune in tomorrow for another idea to promote more referrals from your current customers.
Popularity: 16% [?]
Categories: Connect, Home Based Business
Subscribe
Friday, October 5, 2007, by Leigh Anne
Each Friday, I would like to share with you one of my “Recommended Reads” - something I have been reading recently that I think is worth sharing. I am a pretty avid reader - about a book a week. I try to keep a balance to my reading mixing self-improvement, fiction and non-fiction. I love reading for pleasure (my latest pleasure reads have been the fun Young Adult series - Twilight, New Moon and Eclipse) but I know the importance of reading in my chosen field (homebased business, sales, recruiting, leadership, time management etc.). You may have read the studies that show that reading 1 hour a day in your chosen field (which is about a book a week - except for us speed readers) will make you an expert in your field in 3 years, a national authority in 5 years and an international authority in 7 years. Truly all leaders are readers!
Several weeks ago I received a phone call from the mother of one of my daughter Tessa’s friends. She was calling to thank me for something Tessa had done. It was the first week of school and her daughter, along with my daughter Tessa, were just starting high school - freshman, in a very large high school - 2,600 students. Her daughter had had a rough couple of “first days” of school, feeling overwhelmed, lost and coming home in tears. Tessa knew that Katie was having a hard time so she decided to leave Katie a surprise in her locker. She put a plate of cookies together (I had just made some homemade cookies) and wrote her a note - letting her know she was thinking of her and hoped that she was having a better day. Tessa had the combination to Katie’s locker so left it inside her locker. Well, Tessa’s act of service made the difference in Katie’s day and Katie’s mother’s day! Tessa was a Fred! So what is a Fred?
A book I recently read and recommend is ”The Fred Factor” by Mark Sanborn. To quote the inside cover of the book, “In his powerful new book, The Fred Factor, motivational speaker Mark Sanborn recounts the true story of Fred, the mail carrier who passionately loves his job and genuinely cares about the the people he serves…Where others might see delivering mail as monotonous drudgery, Fred sees an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of those he serves.”
We have all experienced great customer service and terrible customer service -Fred is a true example of what great customer service is. But the book didn’t just get me thinking about times when I had experienced great customer service but made me stop and think - what kind of customer service do I give?- to my customers, my downline team members, my family and my friends? Like Tessa and Fred, do I make a difference in the lives of those I come in contact with daily?
Each of us has the opportunity every day to make a difference, in fact we all make a difference - the question is “What kind of difference is each of us making?” Mark Sanborn outlines 3 difference-making strategies.
1. Identify when you’ll make a difference- we have dozens of opportunities each day to make a difference in the lives of those around us. Be conscious of wanting to make a difference and look for opportunities to make a difference. Sometimes it may be a planned “difference” or it may be a spontaneous “difference” - either way we are making a difference.
2. Target the people to whom you’ll make a difference - Fred the mailman chose to make a difference to the people he delivered mail to each day. Tessa chose her friend Katie. The most important people in our lives deserve our best attention and service - our customers, our team members, our family, our friends. I know when I am rushed, stressed and under pressure it is usually those closest to me that get my worst “customer service”.
3. Be the Difference- it’s the little things that really matter. So often we are so busy and stressed that we don’t take the time or make the effort to make a difference in someones life. Adding a little goodie into a customer’s order, putting a note in a child’s lunch, leaving a “I’m thankful for you because” voice mail for a friend, or cookies and a note in their locker can really “Be the difference” in someones day.
One of the most important things we have as homebased business women, the thing that really sets us apart from our “retail competition”, is the difference we can make in our customers lives. Whether it is leaving an extra little something with their product order, sending a note to remember a birthday or other special event in their life, or remembering some seemingly unimportant little details we have the ability to make a difference - we are the difference. As mothers we are also the difference - in the lives of our children, our husbands and our family members.
So pick up a copy of “The Fred Factor” or go online and request it from your local library. It is quick read at 112 pages. Let me know what you think and if you’d like to share a way someone made a difference in your day or how you were able to “Be the Difference” I’d love to hear - just click on comments below.
Popularity: 21% [?]
Categories: Home Based Business, Inspire, Recommended Reads
Subscribe
Monday, October 1, 2007, by Leigh Anne
Well, here in the Northwest, fall has arrived. The trees are changing color, the furnace turns on in the morning, I can see my breath when I go out for my walk and the rains have arrived! I love fall and all that comes with it - even the rain. This past week I was having a conversation with a woman who had grown up back East and had just moved to Portland via a couple of years in California. We were discussing how much we loved seeing the change of seasons and how much she had missed it while she lived in California. She made the statement that it was “boring” when each season was the same.
That got to me to thinking about my homebased business and the different “seasons” I have been through the last 17 years. First of all I am thankful that I have a business that is flexible enough to allow for different “seasons” and that although some of the seasons may have been easier than others they definitely weren’t “boring”.
There was the first season of my business - I was the mother of 3 small children, ages 2, 5 and 7. I ran another homebased business (children’s sewing school) and I had a husband that worked 2-3 evenings a week.
Then there was the season of being pregnant, adding a fourth baby to our family.
Next was the season where we were building a new home, living in a small apartment where my husband and I slept on the hide-a-bed in the living room with the new baby in a portable crib by our side for six months. Holding customer events, open house etc. in this little apartment was an exciting “season”.
Then the season of moving into our new home, across town, which in Portland is like moving to a whole new city, meeting new people, making new customers etc. A challenge but not “boring”!
Next came the season of teenagers - need I say more! I always use to tell myself - when the kids get older, running a homebased business will be so much easier - guess what? I was wrong. It is not easier, only different. Although I may be home alone during the day - those after school hours, evenings and weekends are crazy! Trying to schedule in customer events, team meetings etc. can be a real challenge.
I know there are other seasons to come. I look at many of my team members with such admiration and respect as I see them going through various “seasons” in their lives. Several who are dealing with major health issues, multiple surgeries yet still work their business - in fact they have had record months while experiencing these seasons. There is also the team member whose husband has undergone cancer surgery - she didn’t allow this “season” to slow her down. She loaded him up in the motor home and took off driving to the next rally she had a booth at and had record sales!
What is it that has allowed me and these other women to weather the “seasons” and even excel during these times and what can help you to enjoy the “seasons” of your business?
1. A passion and love for what they do. A real belief in the mission of your company.
2. Consistent effort -treating your business as a business. Your business is not something you do “when you have time” or “if it is convenient” It is something you do on a regular, consistent basis. The amount of time may vary for individuals but the one thing that is the same is that they work it on a regular basis - whether it is 20 hours a week or 5 hours a week. They are consistent in their efforts.
3. Momentum- as a result of consistent effort they have created momentum in their business. This momentum keeps them going through the rougher “seasons”. The hard work and effort they put in during the easier “seasons” continues and pushes them through the hard times.
So whatever “season” it is you find yourself in with your business -love what you do, be consistent at whatever level you can and you will create momentum. Most importantly - enjoy it, make the most of it and remember - at least it’s not boring!
Popularity: 16% [?]
Categories: Home Based Business, Motivation, Team Talk
Subscribe
RSS Subscription
E-Mail Subscription
