Social media sites are often a great place to vent. It can be a very effective place to vent, as well. I remember having one of those unbelievably frustrating times with my phone company where the inability to make them understand an incredibly simple request had turned me into a screaming banshee. Unable to have them simply flip the switch to have my service activated, I finally posted my anger on Facebook. The result was a call from their Canadian head of Customer Service and my problem fixed immediately.

However, it’s very important to realize that more and more your words can come back to haunt you. If you call people names, accuse them of wrongdoing – whether it’s your ex, a former friend or a business, you could be hauled into court.

If criticism is due it’s best to first do that in private, calmly and with facts firmly in place. If there’s a need to do it publicly make sure it’s unemotional, backed up with facts and documented evidence, and checked by several people (preferably one being someone who understands legal matters) before you put it up there.

Remember, once it’s on the net it’s ALWAYS accessible, even if you delete it. If you’re not willing to stand up in public and speak it out loud for all to hear and have your name attached to the statement forever, don’t put it on your Facebook or post it on your blog.

Remember what your mom used to say? “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all”

You have been warned!

Darlene

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When was the last time you connected personally with one of your clients?

The Internet has made marketing so incredibly easy and accessible to the masses, but if you’re going to stand out in today’s market, you’d better make sure you go the extra mile. Pick up the phone.

In fact, if your business is such that you can actually answer the phone yourself, without the menu jungle, you’ll be so far ahead of your competition they won’t even be in the same field.

When else can you use the phone?

1. When something changes. Has your offering changed? Has the industry changed? Has a particular situation affecting your client or yourself changed?
2. When you discover something new. Have you realized something you didn’t know before that will help your client? Have you found a new product or system that would be of benefit to your client?
3. When you need fresh input. Are you working on developing a new product or service that might be of use to your client? Call and ask them for feedback on your proposal as to what they are missing at present or what they would find most helpful.
4. When you need to keep the client “in-the-loop”. Are you working through a process that takes time, like an investment offering or a legal case? Instead of leaving your clients hanging, give them a regular two-minute update call, enabling them to keep tabs on your progress. This helps them to feel involved, assures them that you’re watching out for them and that the case is proceeding on schedule.
5. To go the extra mile. Did someone purchase something from you? Call them up and find out how they like it. Ask them if they have an issue. Do they need a bigger size? A different model? An accessory to go with it? Do a search and call them back with the information. As memory serves, I’ve had only one company call me to confirm my satisfaction, which tells me that this kind of calling is an untapped opportunity for someone out there, especially a smaller company who isn’t separated from their buyer by miles of middlemen. Do this and your customer’s mild amazement will be a powerful motivator. When your clients start to mention you, the company who takes tender care of them, to their family and friends, people will be moving their accounts faster then you can say,”mass hysteria”.

I’ll wrap this up and show you how incredibly simple this is, by telling you what just happened. Talk about happy serendipty! I’m hyper-focused writing about the importance of a phone call and the phone rings. It’s our dog’s groomer (www.caninecountry.ca). It’s 9:10 in the morning and I was supposed to have the dog there by 9:00. For some reason, I hadn’t yet shown sufficient love to my iPod and I missed the reminder.

I don’t otherwise miss appointments, but the dog groomers obviously aren’t that special to me. I typically remember the appointment two weeks after it’s passed and no one has ever called me from there before. Here are the problems with that:

1. We only book an appointment when my Bichon Shih Tzu starts bumping into walls or can no longer catch treats, because his hair’s so long he can’t see. If I miss an appointment at my busy groomers, the poor thing is tripping over fur before I can get him booked in again. Put the phone down, please. There’s no need to contact PETA. Rest assured, in all other matters this dog is spoiled!

2. My very busy groomer finds herself with holes in her day that could have been filled with paying customers.

But…

Because she took two minutes to pick up the phone and call, I jumped in the car and had the dog there in 10 minutes. She had a full day, I had a groomed dog and we both avoided the hassle of re-booking. It’s just a phone call, people!

Tips for getting started right away:

1. Look through your list for a client or prospect that is celebrating something – did their son just graduate? Have they been dry for 365 days? Did they get a promotion? Give them a call to congratulate them. Start keeping track of these kinds of events in your clients’ lives in order to use them as a basis for a friendly touch from you.
2. Is there someone on your list who’s under the weather? Are they undergoing some kind of treatment or getting some medical testing done? Have they recently experienced a loss? Call them to encourage them.
3. Is there anyone you can give a quick reminder call to?

Take a minute right now to check through your contacts and find a couple of people you can give a call to.

Does the thought scare you? Overwhelm you? Not sure where/how to start? Well, call us at 403-374-0167 and let’s brainstorm some ideas for getting started!

Darlene

(note: Part of this article is reprinted with permission from the upcoming book “The Nectar Effect” by Darlene Hull and Polly Mayforth Krause

Be Irresistible and Attract What you Want in Your Business

I’m so excited to announce my upcoming book, “The Nectar Effect: Be Irresistible and Attract What you Want in Your Business”. Written together with a wonderful friend of mine who is a true wordsmith, the book is a practical “how to” for applying the principles of relationship marketing to your business. Some of the chapters included are:

1. Getting Up Close and Personal (Face to Face marketing)
2. The Customer is Gold (customer service)
3. Picking up the Phone (build relationships through phone calls)
4. Schmoozing on Social Media
5. The Magic of a Greeting Card

and more!

Currently we’re running a poll on Facebook to choose the cover. There is a choice of three, and we’d love to have you participate. Head on over to https://www.facebook.com/TheNectarEffect, “like” our page, vote for the cover, and get a download for the first four chapters.

There are share links in the book we’d love to have you use to spread the word. We’re also looking for some JV partners so if you’re a B2B business and want some more exposure, the details are in the free download. If you have your own ideas, please contact me through this website.

Looking forward to hearing your reactions!

Darlene

Happy New Year!

I’m so excited about this new year, aren’t you? So many fresh possibilities ahead of us.

Today I want to encourage you to start your year by joining a networking group and helping to turn that group into a thriving, productive place. Here are a few ideas for making it work for you and for the group you join.

Don’t go to a networking meeting to make a sale or gain a client on the first day. The chances are great that this won’t happen. Referrals are made when people know, like, trust, and remember you. That doesn’t happen in a 15 minute conversation except on a rare occasion.

These meetings are where you must show the best side of your nature and business acumen. Do you have a handout that could help everyone in that room that doesn’t blatantly sell your services? For example, if you’re a real-estate agent you might put together a sheet on how to find new business that might be applicable to other businesses, too. Do you have a list of tools that help you to run your show smoothly and efficiently that you can share with others?

In your conversations, when people bring up issues they’re struggling with, look beyond the frustration and endeavour to help them find a solution. Refer them to another business or online resource even if – especially if – it doesn’t involve you. Whether they take your suggestion or not, make a note to check back and see if they were successful at straightening things out.

Keep the presentation of your own business brief, sweet and focused. Don’t break out the marching band. State the fundamentals in one fun, relaxed take and let others take the floor. For a great resource on developing a powerful elevator pitch, check this out: 12 Steps to an Awesome Elevator Pitch

Treat the meeting as if it were your own. Create the atmosphere you would like to have if you were in charge. Model good meeting manners by allowing people equal time to present, by listening thoughtfully and raising a hand to ask relevant questions and by not talking out of turn. Remember how much cache a sincere compliment can give you. Hear something you like from a participant? Let them know at the close of the meeting what you appreciated and thank them for their input.

Commit yourself to riding the train to the final stop. If the group is small, remember everyone starts small. Keep coming and bring your friends! Spend a full year in a networking group before you decide that it’s not right for you, unless, of course, the group is truly offensive or clearly targets a market that will never be of benefit to you.

After every meeting take a moment to reflect on what new things you learned and how you will adapt and utilize them yourself. A vital key to a successful networking relationship is follow up. If you have success after taking someone’s advice make sure you tell the story and thank the individual who proffered the tip publicly in the next meeting. If you were able to add your own twist to it, include that information as well. No one need be threatened by this, but all should applaud any innovation that occurs in the course of helping each other to succeed.

Which brings us to the topic of competition. Because we we live in a capitalistic economy, there will always be others vying for the same clients you are. I run a chapter of a local networking group and right at the beginning a new person walked in whose 30 second elevator speech was pretty much the same as mine. I had a few options:

• I could show him the door
• I could create a permanent “one-upmanship”
• I could find a way to cooperate and even collaborate

I chose the third option. We sat down over coffee and chatted about our different backgrounds, philosophies and strategies. We discussed what we enjoyed and what made us cranky and near insane. In so doing, we discovered that each of us has different strengths and weaknesses and that if we worked together, sharing our positives, we could make both of our businesses better.

If you’re confronted by your competition somewhere, I encourage you to do the same. Our unique giftedness as individuals, when conveyed freely, enables us to create new, fresh ways of doing things. Your competition may be a whizz at prospecting and help you land new clients while you can teach them a thing or two about follow-up and client nurture. When competing businesses work together, both parties are stronger for it.

If your competition doesn’t want to play nice, spread nasty rumours about their abominable lack of attention to health and safety standards. Just kidding! I wanted to see if you were still with me. An integral part of the networking is giving others the space to be who they are without judgement. If someone rejects you, even squashes you, turn the other cheek. Someone out there is going to be into you and into the idea of creating a partnership for the mutual nourishment and growth of both your businesses. This kind of professional camaraderie will be seen as asset by those who are considering using your services.

If you’re looking for a group here in Calgary, I manage one up in the North West corner (Crowchild and Nose Hill) and we’d be delighted to have you join us! Check it out here: Calgary Business Network. There are also other chapters in the city. Go to the site, click on Locations and see if there’s something that will serve your needs!

Darlene

Be A Star! Post your comments below and join in the conversation (or get it started!) and then share this post with your friends using the different share buttons on the blog. I’d sure appreciate it! Thanks!

Hello!

I hope you’ve survived the partying, the overeating, the lack of rest, the awesome excitement, and the general stress and chaos of Christmas!

I think I get almost as excited about the New Year as I do about Christmas. I absolutely love new beginnings, don’t you?

This year I thought I’d offer you a special gift to kick start your business year with 5 Great Marketing Tips. Each tip comes in the form of a .pdf file and each is several pages long busting with practical “do ‘em now” tips that you can apply to your business to make it a huge success in 2012. And it’s all free.

How do you get your hands on this great gift?

Simply go here: http://hotspotpromotion.com/5tips/ fill in your information, and check your email. You’ll get one report each week for 5 weeks.

Why not invite your business buddies to get one for themselves as well, and work together to build prosperous thriving businesses in this new year.

If you get the tips, I’d love you to come back here and post a comment or two about them!

Darlene