Friday, December 30, 2005

Bad Support From HP

Dan sent me the following story about his bad experience with HP's customer service. I think this will sound very familiar to most of you since it, unfortunately, is the kind of service that too many large companies delve out to us consumers. I'm glad to hear that Dan is actually practicing what he preaches, though, and offers the kind of support in his job that customers deserve. I'm assuming Dan did not send me this story from his HP laptop :)

Russ
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In December, 2004, I bought an HP laptop from FutureShop in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 54 weeks later, only 2 weeks out of the manufacturer's warranty, I began to have a major problem with my laptop. I called HP's technical support line. Upon entering my model number, the automated system immediately told me that my laptop was out of warranty... READ MORE

Friday, December 23, 2005

Happy Holidays!!

May you, your family and your friends all have a very Happy Holiday Season and a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year. See you all in 2006!!

Good Luck & Good Selling!

Russ Lombardo

Saturday, December 17, 2005

Sales People Should Avoid "Out and Back" Trips

Sales people need to be efficient in how they cover their territories. Too often they will need to speak with a particular customer and will drive out to see them and come straight back to the office or head to another customer location on the opposite side of their territory. This is an example of a sales person who is not planning their days well. Territory coverage is an important part of selling and profitability. Most sales people are not disciplined enough to do it well. But traveling to make one call rarely makes sense. When a sales rep needs to visit a customer location, he/she should make a concerted effort to make other calls in the same trip. There should be a plan prior to leaving home or the office.

Good Luck and Good Selling!
Russ

Monday, December 12, 2005

Expect Sales Territories To Be Profitable

Profit expectations should be broken to levels that make sense. Obviously any defined profit center within an organization should have a unique budget and profit expectations established for it. But an often overlooked "profit center" is a sales territory. When a business has an outside sales force, each territory can be treated as a profit center and be run much like an operating unit. Sales people should be held accountable for making sales and gross profit targets and each territory should meet certain profit expectations. Tracking profitability and sales by territory can help in identifying problem accounts, expense abuse, promotional effectiveness, pricing problems, customer leakage and other relevant issues that can be tracked directly to a particular sales representative. Sales people have a lot to do with territory profitability and treating a territory much like any other profit center allows the business to essentially run a sales territory like a business rather than treating it like a set of customers linked by geography.

Good Luck and Good Selling!
Russ

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Interact With Customers

Too many managers and owners get caught up in the day-to-day activities of the business and don't allocate time to staying in touch with customers. It is important to actively get out and visit customers to learn more about how they perceive your business and to identify problems and opportunities. Successful businesses are very tuned in to their customers and proactively make attempts to visit customers on a regular basis. It is important to take what customers tell you seriously and not discount their comments or make excuses. To what extent are you getting out of your office and finding ways to interact with customers?

Good Luck and Good Selling!
Russ

Thursday, December 01, 2005

Treat Your Current Customers Like Gold

To retain your current customers, you need to keep in touch with them. Let these relationships lapse, and you risk losing the golden goose -- that loyal and dependable source of business and referrals that has been the key to your longtime success. The good news is, there are more ways than ever to stay close to your customers. Here are some ideas for staying in touch:

Acknowledge your customers by sending thank you notes and special occasion cards (birthday, anniversary, holiday, etc.).
Send informational flyers and include a discount coupon or gift certificate.
Celebrate your business anniversary with an open house for customers.
Mail a monthly or quarterly newsletter, chock full of practical information and useful tips. Include contact information, but avoid the heavy sell. Position yourself as the go-to solution source.
Invite them to a networking event or trade conference that you regularly attend.
Make each contact lead to the next. Before concluding a meeting or telephone conversation, schedule the date of your next contact.

However you choose to communicate, be authentic, patient, responsive and consistent. When you treat your customers with respect and give them more than they expect, these relationships will continue to glow like gold.

Submitted by: Cynthia Weber, American Home Mortgage