Do you "get it"?

I had a great meeting yesterday. Met with Nigel Edelshain, CEO of Sales 2.0, a company in Montvale, NJ that provides outbound telesales services for B2B clients.

Nigel and the folks at Sales 2.0 "get it." They see the huge ties that bind sales and customer service together. They encourage their clients to make sure they deliver great customer service. They know that it costs five times more to bring in a new customer than it does to sell additional services to a client you already have.

With figures like that, you'd think that more companies "got it." But you don't need to spend much time waiting on hold for "customer service" departments, or desperately searching "Contact Us" pages to find even one phone number, to realize that far too few companies get it at all.

And, sadly, there are more things that those companies probably just won't get. They won't get your business. Or my business. Or the business of others who like to be treated with respect and gratitude for the dollars they leave behind.

How about you? Operating a business or not-for-profit? Maybe "just" operating a family? Try smiling and saying thank-you with every interaction. Try listening hard to feedback, and correcting any things that bug people. Try "service with a smile" that actually does have a smile. You might be surprised at the smiles that pop up in return. And the rewards that come with them.

Don't think of it as customer service. Think of it as sales. Because that's exactly what it is.

Let's Make Our Customers Really Mad

Silly title, eh? Who would really set out to make their own customers mad? Virtually every company today recognizes the importance of great customer service. But, as we have all seen when we tried to reach a living person in some of those same companies, there are lots of automated systems and "forced" email connections out there, instead of real voices or even a hint that there are actually people working at those companies.

What's going on? The answer is, of course, financial reality. Friendly, professional, breathing agents, who can efficiently handle calls and even boost sales orders, are expensive. Having a person on your front line who makes your customers and callers feel like you really do care about them will cost you some money.

But down deep, we all also know that not having those people out there can cost a lot as well. You may be saving money, but you're losing customers. Your cost-reduction numbers may be earning a few pats on the back, but those sales levels and customer satisfaction ratings just keep taking the shine off things.

It's time to reconsider the high cost of saving money. Customer service is available at some level to fit virtually any budget. Tacamor, for example, can give you live-agent capabilities that you probably thought you could never afford, and we do it with a level of quality that rivals the most expensive services out there. And frankly, there are lots of other great call centers out there too (although I have to admit that I haven't found one yet to match our quality at the prices we're quoting!) So, while it may be scary to make that investment if you've been "saving money" until now, remember that there is not much that is scarier than an unhappy customer.

So call a call center. Talk to a real person. Get a quote. Rediscover customer service. And make sure your customers know that you made their satisfaction your priority.

So how exactly has your CRM improved your life?

Ever stop to think about just how much your CRM program costs your company each year? How much money do you invest? How many hours did your management team devote to its selection, and your IT team to its implementation? How many dollars did all of that total? And how many more hours and dollars are spent now, day after day, month after month, to keep it all running and collecting and distributing and updating?

Wow. You must be enjoying some great outcomes to keep justifying those costs. So what are they? Not just general benefits, like "We gain a better understanding of our clients" or "We anticipate client needs and respond to them in a timely manner." In real life, what specifically did all those investments do for you today? Yesterday? What positive changes can be seen today because of your CRM? Go ahead; make a list. I'll wait for you in the next paragraph.

Ah. You're back. How did it go? Are you smiling? Feeling your findings would make your CFO happy? If so, great. But if no, then maybe it's time to take a good hard look at just what it is that your CRM is lacking. After all, if you can't see the benefits, then why are you wasting the money?

Let's get back to the drawing board. Let's make something great. And let's make sure it pays.

Making Saturday Morning Pay

Saturday morning. Time to be with the family, or maybe organize the house a bit after a busy week. Definitely not a time to be thinking about work. But what if just a few minutes -- just five minutes, literally -- could make an impact on the rest of your week. Would it be a nice habit to tuck into your Saturday morning?

I have to admit that I just find I am in a different mode every Saturday morning. I wake up ready to get things done. But on too many of those Saturdays, noon rolls around to find that I have not accomplished anywhere near as much as I thought I would. So I make it a point to make just one contact each week, usually by email but sometimes by phone, with someone who I think could use a pick-me-up. Just a quick note to thank them for something they did in the past week, or to congratulate them for a job well done. Doing that as a separate function, after hours, is often seen as being far more sincere than the same words would have been if they had been said as everyone was walking down a hall or just looking for things to say on an elevator.

Give it a go. And let me know what happens. A few minutes on a Saturday morning can be a great way to set the mood for the rest of the day!

Starting Out

So you're reading a blog. My blog. Just a few years ago it would have been pure science fiction to think that I could jot down a few words at home, and within seconds those words would be available to people around the world. The technology is mind-boggling.

And what is even more amazing is that you're probably not boggled at all. And neither is anyone else. It's not really a big deal any more. There's food for thought... in today's world, the measure of achievement is how much you get taken for granted.

How about you? How good are you as a company? A friend? A spouse? A parent? Feel taken for granted? Don't be offended; it just shows that you're so dependable that people expect you to be good. So take it as a compliment. But find a better way to compliment those who mean most to you.