business

How to Wow your Customers/Clients

/ inkspeare / 6 Comments

The busy Holiday Season has ended and a new year is here.  For those who are independent contractors it means a fresh new start and the continuation of past business.  Keeping clients isn’t easy, whether you do retail or offer a service.  You have to find that balance that makes clients happy as well as yourself.  But what are the things that make your clients/customers go Wow?

  1. Attention to detail – I have found that this is very important in keeping your customer happy.  It goes beyond good and basic customer service.  You can be polite and go thru the motions of the sale, but when you take a good look at what your customer likes and strive to magnify that a bit, you are putting some love into the sale or service.  It is popularly called “going the extra mile;” however, you can go the extra mile out of duty or you can walk it loving it – there is a difference – and there is the balance.  To put it into perspective, when you give attention to detail, your packages are neat, extra well-packed, beautifully wrapped, and you include a little something special inside for your customer – they will remember you for that.  The online world has open many retail opportunities for online shops, and this is good.  However, I have seen many things that I don’t consider desirable; for example, receiving an item packed in a cereal box without any lining in it or any extra layers of protection.  I am all for recycling and saving the planet, but if you need to use a cereal box, you can pretty it up by wrapping/camouflaging it with some nice paper, putting some tissue inside to protect the item … and so on.  Recycle but also Upcycle.
  2. Being honest – Honesty in business goes far, and customers/clients notice.  Maybe for you, the extra dollar in shipping doesn’t make much difference, but it does to a customer.  These days, shipping packages is expensive, online sellers know that, and many times, they cannot compete with the free shipping or low shipping deals that other large companies offer.  The way I see it, it is not about competing but about being different, and you do that by refunding the difference if shipping was less and eating up the cost if it was more than you quoted.  Customers will notice and they will thank you for that, usually.
  3.  Giving the Royal Treatment – Even if you operate a very small online store, you can treat your customers as royalty.  Strive for an excellent shopping experience in all levels – communication, delivery of the product, and resolving any issues that may arise.  From offering tracking numbers, returns, and striving for making your customer happy at the end, there are many ways to wow your customers.  If you offer a service, excellent communication practices and prompt delivery, as well as following up are key.
  4. Saying Thank You – This is one of the most important things that you can do, whether you work an online business, brick and mortar store, or are an independent contractor.  It says to the  customers/clients that you value and appreciate their business – in other words, you don’t take them for granted.  You are stepping away from the “clerk treatment” so common at the street and letting your customers know that they are appreciated and that you would like to continue serving their needs in the future.  You do this by thanking them verbally, sending an email or a personalized card, including an appreciation gift or a discount coupon, and most important, following up with them briefly.  There are as many ways as far as your imagination can go.
  5. Personalizing the sale – This is of most importance, at least in my eyes.  Treating customers as people and not as dollar signs is what it means.  You can chat up a storm with a client and ask many questions to find common ground, but if you still see that person as a dollar sign, you will give that vibe back to him/her – everything is energy and energy passes thru.  Instead, think of a way in which you can truly help that customer with his/her need.  If a customer/client came to you, it is because there is a need and it is up to you to find a way to please that customer.  Next time, he/she can go somewhere else.  These days, there is a whole worldwide of choices out there in the concrete world and in cyberspace.  So, when a customer visits your online site or your brick and mortar store, be honored that they have seen your tiny dot shining in this huge retail universe.

Dreaming Your Reality

/ inkspeare / 4 Comments

Many times, we entertain fantasies of dreams and goals for the future, and we take them as far as we can in our minds.  The sad part is that as soon as we come back to reality, this is where it stops, and we delegate them to the file drawers of our mind, until we decide to fantasize again.  Why do we do this?  Is it because we think that there is no way we can reach our dreams and goals?  Or is it that the daily grinding puts a lid on our dreams?  Is life making it impossible for us to reach our dreams?  Living should be part of attaining those dreams; instead, we act as if by living the daily routine, we are removing ourselves from those same dreams and goals.  We end up adopting an “impossible” way of thinking, and instead, we replace our dreams with fantasizing about them.

The first step to achieve our dreams is to remove the word impossible from our vocabulary, and our minds, and from our belief system.  Let us adopt a different thinking.  What was one impossible becomes probable, then, it becomes possible, until it becomes a reality.  Many inventions have followed this path.  If we adopt this way of thinking, we will reach our dreams, turning them into probabilities, possibilities, and finally into reality.  This doesn’t mean that it will be an easy journey – it is different for every person and each person needs to learn the lessons in the process.  For some, it is faster than for others; it may even take an entire lifetime, for some.

When we give room to self-doubt and self-limiting assumptions, we are saying the word impossible, over and over, and we start to believe it.  Therefore, the next step is to remove the self-doubt and self-limiting assumptions that we entertain daily.

You can dream, but you have to be proactive at your dreaming.  To put it simple, you can dream that one day you will win the lottery, but if you never play a ticket, you are self-limiting yourself.  You are not acting on your dream.  What would someone think if you told them a hundred years ago that one day you would send them mail that will take seconds – you would probably use another way of expressing yourself, maybe by saying that you will one day send a letter that will take an instant to arrive.  They would have told you that time traveling is impossible or that you are going nuts; maybe even commit you.  An email makes this impossible possible.

This is just an example to illustrate that your dreams are not impossible; it is up to you to dream them into reality.  When you start working towards your dreams, step by step, little by little, as you make progress, they will start to look more real, more possible.  And don’t forget to send the naysayers an email when you get there.

Planning Your New Year – Resolution Solution

/ inkspeare / 2 Comments

The New Year is around the corner, and we start thinking about new goals, plans, starting anew, and the inevitable – all the goals that we set and did not accomplish.  We feel guilty, and at our worst, as failures.  So we take the pen and paper and start all over again, sometimes repeating the same goals – promising ourselves:  “this year for sure …”  I’ve been there.

Setting goals and naming things that we want to accomplish should not be a painful or shameful process.  It should be a guide, a road map of what we want to do and where we want to end up.  But goals should be realistic and measurable.  Just saying: “I want to lose weight” is not enough.  Instead, go thru a series of questions like:  how many pounds, how, when will I schedule the how, and most important – why?  Why do I want to lose the weight?  Your motivator is your best weapon.  If you don’t know your why, most likely, another year will pass, with no results.  This formula should be applied to every goal or project that you plan for the New Year.

Take a planner or your PC and schedule in your goals, daily, weekly, or however you figured out that you will work at them throughout the entire year.  If you have a reminder every day of your goal schedule, then it is likely that you will work at them with more enthusiasm and determination.  Set an automatic reminder in your PC.  The list of goals written on December 31st is not enough – it has to be planned.

Start thinking realistically of the things that you want to accomplish this coming year; make your list, but don’t stop there – map out a schedule to make them real.  At the end of the year, even if some of them did not work out, most will – and you will feel better and more productive.  I find that by doing this, by the end of the year I see that I have crossed out a good part of my list.  Some goals are still there, but I am a few steps closer to them, and I can always continue to work on them.

One thing that I have observed in some people if that they take their goals as written in stone and will not deviate, even when there is a need for some modification.  Many times a goal is missed just because of this, which is ironic.  In addition, goals should be taken as a guide to where we want to be and not as a horse blinder that will prevent us to enjoy the scenery in the process.  It is good to set some goals but it is also good to leave some room for flexibility, change, and modification.

Happy New Year Planning!

Success – When it is Not About Me

/ inkspeare
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This morning, I had a conversation with my sister about how successful some entrepreneurs become, and how financially rewarded they became.  Some examples seemed too simple to have landed in success.  When I looked at the simplicity of their plan and at the product/service, if  I had not known that their ventures were successful, I would have thought that there was no way that would work.  There was only one thing in common among these people – their venture met a need, filled a void, in a different way.  These people were helping other people with their product and they were making a difference with it.  One of the examples my sister talked about was of a woman who gave a pedicure/manicure to a pregnant friend who couldn’t go out to get it and certainly could not do it herself.  The result was that from helping that friend a lightbulb went on and she started her business, helping women in the same situation as her friend.

For many people, the first issue in mind when starting a venture is to make it financially, to make money at it and see results.  The more I look at other examples, the more I see a pattern – you have to want to help people first, and the success and the money will come as a result.  If you start thinking about getting money first, and helping people later, it just doesn’t seem to work.  This applies to any example, product or service.  It is understandable that people go into business to make money, but it seems that it is all in the approach, on how they approach the venture – the more worried about money, the farther from success.  On the contrary, the happier they are offering their services/product genuinely helping in that way the clients who need that product/service, the more successful they become.

By observing many of those examples, one has to conclude that success is not about me, on the contrary, it is about someone else.  And maybe, that is the only lesson we have to learn to become successful in our craft.  Once you have gone thru self-discovery, found your niche, heard your call … or whatever you want to call it, money should become second to helping your clients.  When you think about it, nobody wants to be seen as a dollar sign.  It seems to be more about being a genuine entrepreneur than being in business for yourself.

To Self Publish or Not – That is the Question

/ inkspeare / 2 Comments
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I’ve been working on my novels, perfecting them as much as I can, and getting ready for publishing – maybe next year.  However, the issue of going the traditional route or self publishing has been on my thoughts especially because self publishing is not the taboo it used to be, and more reputable authors are self publishing.  At the same time, there is a lot of crap out and the stigma may hold true these days, so that is my dilemma.

I have read much on the various routes that I can take – publish on demand (POD), going with a small but long-time established publisher, taking the traditional route and pray for an agent … Although this will not happen now, I worry about the decision – simply, because this is not one to take lightly or to rush.  Once you self-publish your name is out there, therefore, you want to present to the readers your best work at the time.  In addition, English is not my mother tongue, so I have to make sure that there are no linguistic errors besides the usual grammatical, style, punctuation … and so on.  That is why I am not rushing and that is why I see it as a huge responsibility – as if I have been entrusted something to deliver to the world.

In preparation for the big day – the day I decide which route to take – I’ve been following author Cliff Burns’ blog – Beautiful Desolation (a pro at it) and I ‘ve been reading lots on the topic.  One interesting series is the How to Get Published Series that As the Pages Turn is doing.  A few authors get to tell their story on how they got published, some of the challenges they met, and other interesting issues.  I like to read Claire Cook’s blog, who is a best-selling author and have gone through the traditional method of publishing.  Her blog is full of insight and great topics of interest to aspiring writers.  Check out her section dedicated to Aspiring Writers and watch her videos.

Thanks to the development of the internet, there is a lot on the topic that I can research before deciding on which road to take; however, there are tons of scams out there and that is something to be mindful of to avoid making the mistakes that many people in the rush of publishing their books have made.

Wether it is self-publishing or traditional publishing, both require a lot of focus and work.  There are advantages and disadvantages for both, and many will be of a personal matter (financial, likes and dislikes, freedom …)  which is different for every person.  In addition, there is the move to another state, the restoration of a dilapidated farmhouse that will become my permanent home, and many other issues that are pushing the decision to publish further away.  It will be in due time.  I am a firm believer of the adage “things always work for the best.”

Clothes Shopping – An Eye Opener

/ inkspeare
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I consider myself observant, and many times I look for clues on my daily living – I believe that messages are everywhere, as well as inspiration.  While wandering at a few stores, I decided to check out the clothes section, I’ve always been fond of fashion.  When I started touching the many fabrics, I noticed how thin the articles of clothing have gotten over the past year.  I compared inexpensive brands to expensive designer brands and found that this was not related to price, as the more expensive brands were also lacking in fabric thickness and even quality.  Then I wonder, why is this?

I had to ponder this some more, so once at home, I thought about it some more.  I came up with a few possible issues that may be influencing this trend.

  • Signs of the current economy – My first thought was that it is probably a reflection on the overall worldwide economy and the need for cutting costs and save on materials and manufacturing costs.
  • Signs of conservation – Then I thought that it could also mean that we are being more sparse with resources and conserving on materials, as the Earth may be lacking, due to the many climate changes that have been felt worldwide.  This has also affected production, import/export of material, and of course, money.
  • Signs of a new world order – My last thought on the issue hovered on the planet’s resources and the need for using less raw materials and the need for recycling materials, which may probably end up in products being less dense and a bit lighter, thin …  At least, if this is the case, it is a good thing that manufacturers are using less material and recycling what they can – it helps the planet.

I did not ponder the issue much more than that, most likely, it is due to a combination of factors – resources, climate, economy, production/manufacturing issues …. however, it is certainly a sign of the times.

Working Through Transition Stinks!

/ inkspeare
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I have started my second novel.  It is hard to work and plan your work when you are in the midst of change.  I will be moving to another state in the next few months – or at least, those are the plans – and I feel disconnected in some areas; one of them work.  My husband and I are moving south, to a simpler lifestyle, and to a rural area, where I will have to slow down to the pace of slow internet, among many other things.

Once we arrive, our efforts will be on restoring (just the two of us) an old farmhouse that will be our home.  That will take all our time.  Most likely, I will be offline for sometime, and will blog very sporadically.  We will hope for a wi-fi signal, mostly in the evening, as we will be staying with my sister and brother-in-law, for a short time.  We will change our pace and lifestyle totally – this is a big change we are in for, one that will require a lot of focus and effort, as well as patience.

This upcoming change has tied my hands a bit with my writing.  I have several projects that I cannot evolve due to this, and in a way, I am in some kind of limbo now, and very limited as to the work projects that I can take on.  This has left me feeling stuck for a while; however, it is making room for finishing my second novel.  It gives me some time to plan, but I cannot start much now.  This is as working against my grain, since I am one to dislike sitting for long with projects or decisions.  According to my personality type, working like this truly sucks – it stinks.

My writing has come to a halt in certain aspects.  Not due to lack of work, but to the limits to advancing my writing career, as during that time, I will not be able to commit to long-term or big projects, or maybe any writing projects at all.  Now, I cannot commit to long-term projects that will require my availability during that time.  So this is my dilemma.  For now, I can only dedicate this transition time to some short-term projects and to  finishing my second novel, maybe start my third one.  If anything, once I am in a position of stability again, I will have two, maybe three, ready to publish novels, and I will be able to resume my long-term writing projects.  It drives me nuts to not be able to go all the way with something, to feel restrained.

Have you gone thru a big change or transition? Please, feel free to share any coping tips and techniques that relate to handling your work during transition.

 

The Power of Change

/ inkspeare
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I have met people who do not like change.  They simply don’t like things around them to be different, whether change is for the better or not.  There is risk in change – the unknown.  For some people, this is scary; simply put, they prefer the known to the unknown.  The known comforts them.

I welcome change, whether good or bad, if there is such a thing as bad change.  I believe that when we see our circumstances to be changing for the worst, it is just a matter of perception.  Change always bring something new and different.  With this, it brings the opportunity for new challenges, growth, and new lessons.  It brings the chance – requested or unrequested – of creating something new of the experience or change.  In a way, change is creation.  Change is always forward, even when it is perceived as a step backwards.

Some people may disagree with me on this.  For example, if you were to lose everything you own, you would perceive this as a negative change in your life.  However, this could be the best opportunity for you to start anew, to create a second life, an exciting opportunity.  Yes, no one thinks of being in that situation, and I don’t know of anyone that would consciously welcome it; however, many people in today’s economy have gone thru similar change.  The perception of this change is what will make them powerless or powerful individuals.  This is the power of change.

What Makes You Dance?

/ inkspeare
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I have a sign that reads, “Sunshine makes the flowers dance.”  The sign is full of primary colors and has a busy bee attached to it. I have it located way above my visual line, on top of the frame of the door, in the room where I work.  It is at that height for a reason.   When my eyes get tired, I tend to look up and then to my right; the first thing I see is that sign, instinctively I read it.  It is a way to remind me to dance thru life, to enjoy the things that make me dance, and to push those buttons as often as I can.

When I push those buttons, I end up feeling refreshed, inspired, and renewed.  It makes me feel like dancing. 

Have you ever thought of the things that make you dance?

The Measure of Success

/ inkspeare

Success sounds like a distant word for many, unattainable to others, as far as the stars, to most.  This is far from the truth.  Success is just a state of mind and appreciation.  It is what you think is happening in your life after you put effort and work into something. 

Maybe, when we think of success we think in terms of comparing ourselves to very successful people – millionaires, hollywood stars, best-selling authors, novel prize winners … and so on.  However, the true measure of success is very personal.  When we measure our success in terms of another person’s success, we are denying ourselves.  We are saying to ourselves that we don’t matter as much, that we must be like someone else to be happy, that our dreams can only be measured by the dreams of others – who have attained theirs.  We should see the success in others as fuel to propel our own, as mentors, as inspiration, not as a ruler or measure stick.

I have learned to celebrate my small successes and big ones all the same.  I have learned to appreciate every effort and its results, because learning to appreciate small and big success in our lives helps us attune ourselves to receive the fruits of our labor, the blessings, and all the great things to come.  When we learn to see and celebrate the good happenings in our lives, only growth can follow, and we are aligning ourselves for bigger and better things.