Who Is Answering Your Phone? Don't Lose Potential Customers To Voicemail Article Source

I have this opinion that communicating with your customers is paramount to a successful business. We are taught from an early age that customer service is important. So, is customer service a cost of business or a cost of sales?The accountants would have us believe that it is a fixed cost to a business on the Profit and Loss Statement. The same can be said of the cost of a receptionist. All this of course is related to how many calls this individual handles in the run of a day. In many businesses the reception person is also a person Friday. Filing, stuffing envelopes and perhaps some book-keeping duties. All these functions are a cost of business.

Let's look at this from another angle for a moment. The receptionist is the first point of contact when a potential or existing customer calls your business. Now we are approaching the question. Is this person a cost of sales? My answer is you bet. Can this person help you convert a new phone call to a new customer. You bet.

What any good business needs to do is figure out what is costs to get a new customer. This is the amount you pay for advertising and marketing. Also add in salaries for outside and inside sales staff along the expenses such as travel related to those people. This starts to become a pretty big number. The next exercise to go through is how many prospects or potential customers do you or your staff need to communicate with to close a sale. You now have the cost per contact or interview of a potential customer. I expect this cost is in the hundreds of dollars per customer. I ask again. Why do so many businesses continue to use voicemail or an automated phone attendant knowing that 80 % of first time callers to their business hang up and move on to call your competitor.

There are several options depending on the size and the make up of your business. If your business is big enough to have a full time reception person go for it. Train that individual on how best to handle product inquires prior to patching the call to the appropriate individual. If your company is not big enough for a full time person there are a number of ways to go that may surprise you how cost effective they are. My suggestion if you are going to keep it internal is have the order desk or customer service department become your reception. If you're a small and growing business I expect that many of your calls are going to voicemail. You have no idea how many hang-ups you are getting. More than you would want to know. But should know.

The following is a suggestion that is extremely cost-effective and puts a human voice and face to the phone call. Yes, consider employing a call centre to do your phone reception. The buzz words are Remote Reception or Virtual Office Reception. The caller never knows. A point of caution is many call centers have different levels of technology when it comes to call handling. The level of detail stored on the server regarding your company is critical. The other important part when hiring a remote reception company is do they have enough phone horse power to handle multiple calls inbound and outbound. Keep in mind the call centre now becomes the phone switch. The operator may have hung up when the call was put through but the call is still running through the call centers phone system. Remote Reception is a fantastic idea for regional companies that may have three or four employees in each of multiple locations. Remote Reception can be the receptionist for all offices. Very Slick.

Essentially how remote reception works is that your main office line is forwarded to the remote reception centre. The telephone line is routed through a server which identifies who the call is for and that information pops on the operator/agents screen. The phone is answered as if they are sitting inside your front door. Beautiful. Now if your call centre supplier has provided you with good communication planning on your company details they should have the names telephone numbers(with local) and the department of all your employees in the system. The call centre reception agent just puts the call through once the person or department can be identified. No need to take messages as the individual will answer the phone or go to their voicemail. Now it should be said that people will leave a voice message if they know the individual they are calling as there is an expectation the call will be returned. The time to patch a call is between 16 and 20 seconds. That fast. Depending on the level of call screening a good call centre can also filter the call to be delivered to a correct department. Keep in mind call centers are about communicating with your customers. Not from over seas where an accent can be detected but home grown right here in the US or Canada.

So the benefits to employing a Call/Remote Reception Centre are numerous.

1. Calls are always answered by a human
2. All the calls are voice recorded in the event of a misunderstanding.
3. The call centre never calls in sick.
4. You do not have to pay benefits to the call centre.
5. You only have to pay the call centre when they actually do work for you.(now there is an idea)
6. You receive a call activity report of all inbound calls( identify where the calls are going)
7. Your front end staff gets to be productive in what they were hired to do instead of playing reception.
8. You will have the ability to handle increased call volume during busy periods.

If you have done the math and know the costs associated with capturing a new customer you will be surprised at the new business that comes your way once a human starts to answer the phone. The silver lining is that your existing customers will also be treated to a human on the line. You can also expect existing customers sales volume is likely to grow as well. We North Americans are so programmed to do the job as cheap as possible that we miss the fact our customers want to talk to a human. The benefits of such turns to increase revenues. How good is that.

Paul is the Director of Sales and Marketing for a Canadian Call Centre Based in Halifax Nova Scotia. Answer365 answers phones for customers throughout the United States and Canada. Answer365 is an award winning company earned by review of an independent panel. The criteria is based on their level of call accuracy and customer wow factor. You can learn more about Paul and Answer365 at their website http://www.answer365.ca

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6041711

Success Related to Money Income Goals, Are Your Projections Realistic?

So you have been writing down goals and trying to come to grip with what your income will be. What path do I take toward my future success. Like most I expect you want it to make more money than you are currently making. So how do we get there? What is a reasonable growth projection? If you are a salaried employee one looks for part time work or running a home based business on the side. These types of activity have the greatest bottom line impact as most of your current expenses are fixed. If you are in commission sales you likely have money goals that usually breaks down into the number of units or programs you sell. If you are a business owner the task becomes more complicated. You have to pay your expenses before you pay yourself. Forget the notion that is a business expense and it is tax deductible. You can only pay your bills with money that you have in the bank. Cash is king. Deductible or otherwise.

The success master in my opinion is Jack Canfield. In his book the "Success Principals" he spends a great amount of time discussing your relationship to money. "Develop A Positive Money Consciousness". In this book he devotes several chapters to money and there is a recipe to obtaining wealth. Like all things in life, it will take some time. What you do have, is control of the rate of that growth. Know where you are now. Know where you want to be next year and know what it will take to live your dream life. Once you know the income that is required to be where you want to be next year you can set out with your plan. It's key not to do a pie in the sky approach for next week. Save the pie in the sky for later. That's not to say don't write it down. Just understand there will be fair bit of space between now and then. Success is more likely and far more enjoyable when you are having fun.

You have to start with measurable numbers that work. For example if you are selling 8 cars a month you will need to know what the average commission per vehicle is. Then you calculate how many additional units you need to sell to get to your target income. In my opinion there are really only three main ways to do this. The first being by picking up the phone and start doing warm and cold calls inviting folks to come to see you for their next vehicle purchase. You generate more opportunities rather than waiting for potential customers to come in the door. You need to measure the success of these calls as this will help you determine what is required to gain one additional sale. Secondly is to enhance your sales skills so you can have a better closing ratio. The third way is to do both. Imagine a 25 percent increase in income. Well it's taking 8 units a month to 10 units a month. Bingo. You now have your number. Success is in knowing the activity you need to obtain success. Make sure its measurable.

If you're in business you will need to come up with some sales projections. Your bank and shareholders will want to know your plan. This is once again going to be difficult to measure. For example in retail you are subject to picking the right products and most importantly retaining your existing customers so your base does not erode. These choices become a balancing act. Remember this. It's easier to keep an existing customer happy than it is to get a new one. You have to ensure that the promotions you are offering to attract new customers is not a better deal than your existing customers are currently paying. So how do you do this. One area to grow your business through what is called organic growth. Increasing the average sales to your existing customers makes good economic sense. It is also the most cost effective way to grow our business. This increase in sales can be found through introducing new product offerings and obtaining more of your existing customers business they may be purchasing from your competitors. This type of growth is the most controllable and affordable way to grow your business. In your plan for new customers you need to figure out what it costs to obtain a new customer. What are you paying your outside sales staff. Advertising and promotional costs. You need to know if you have the available funds to start such a campaign. In a nut shell you need to put a number on the average increase in sales to your existing customers and how many new customers will you realistically bring in. You now have your number. The key to your success will be how you implement and carry out this plan. It's not easy to be an entrepreneur because there are so many variables. Go forward with a good plan and be ready to adjust the plan as you move along. You need that goal or target to focus on. Just make sure the number is well thought out.

Fast and rapid growth can be followed by equally fast decline as these types of sales growth are usually found at the leading edge of a new technology or sales created from new fad products. These periods of fast sales growth also attracts competitors and makes you the hunted. Growing your business based on sound values and solid projections will add balance to your life and balance to your bottom line.

Success Tips - Finishing the Projects You Start

To finish what you start is not as easy one might think. Especially for an ADD like me. Success in your employment or business is very tied to completion of the projects that improve your companies effectiveness. How many times have you heard "give it to Bob or Susan. They will get the job done". Do you suppose Bob and Susan will be the ones who get the promotions and raises faster? Do you suppose Bob and Susan are the "Fast Trackers"? Of course they are. Most jobs have annual reviews to measure your performance and outcomes. Included in those outcomes are goals of the company and goals related to your position with the company. When you think about it we also have the dreaded to do list at home. Fix this, repair that. The list goes on and on. It seems endless. There are numerous reasons we don't get these tasks or projects finished.

1. They are not your goals or intentions.(the honey do list)
2. They relate to change and change can be difficult.
3. It's not fun.
4. You lose interest.
5. There is not enough money to complete the project.
6. Procrastination.

I saved the best one for last mainly because procrastination is a result of some or all the excuses. Yes. Excuses is what they are. I expect if you looked hard enough at the list above you could find more reasons not to get the job done. My objective of this article is to help you get past the reasons for not getting the job done to getting the job done.

There are things one must do to insure success in finishing these projects. This can be difficult because one tends to do the easy goals tasks or goals first and save the tough ones for last. The problem with this approach is there will always more easy ones come along so the tough ones never get finished. If you want to dive deeper into this topic I suggest you read my Article on "Achieve Success by Turning The Daily Have To Things Into the Chose To Things". Remember there is no single recipe for success. If there was one we would have all bought the book. You have to have a plan. You have to have a system. Once that system is in place it becomes habit forming. Now there is a great idea. Here is what I found works best for me.

1. Write down your project/goals.
2. Priortise your projects/goals.(don't put the tough ones at the bottom of the list)
3. Break down the tough ones in to manageable stages (little victories)
4. Write down the importance of finishing the project/goal.
5. Write down how you will feel once you complete the goal or project.
6. Be careful not to accept handed down or transferred projects or goals. (you need ownership)
7. Find an accountability partner who will help keep you on track.

Before you do the oh give me a break! Write all this stuff down! I ask you just stop and think for a moment. Is what I am doing now working? Why should you expect different results if you keep doing things the same old way? Pull out the pen and pad and get at it. Take the dog for a walk after you have done something for yourself. This is one area of your life you need to be selfish. Your family and your employer will thank you for becoming a go to person. Just remember Covey's Second Habit. " Begin With The End In Mind"

Change Your Habits and Expand Your Comfort Zone

Stretch. We do it in the morning as we get out of bed. Our pets do it when they get up. It's our way to loosen up so we can move forward. Athletes stretch before they do a work-out. It leads to the question why they do it? Well, we need to warm up our muscles so they are able to take us further and to new heights. I feel we should do the same thing for our minds.

The Self-Improvement business was built on doing stretching exercises for our brain. We need to prepare ourselves to be better and to accomplish change that will enhance our lives. We train our bodies and our minds to do more. It's human nature. You will note that I have been writing in the present tense as if you all are doing this. Many of us do not prepare our bodies and minds so we can grow and improve ourselves. We slide into the taking the path of least resistance. It's our comfort zone. It's mindless. We don't have to make any decisions. We are trapped. The door is not locked. But we do not venture out.

It is my opinion that being stuck in your comfort zone is what could be holding you back from all kinds of things in life. A better career. A better relationship with friends and co workers. The opportunity to travel. You could become a volunteer and give some of your untapped talents to those in need. The reality is than many people just come home at the end of the day and say I'm exhausted. I deserve a beer and a night on the couch.

I personally feel the most important of all is to create a sense of opportunity and exploring for our children. Our children are after all just little us. I was once having a conversation with a friend and she said "my god, our children are doing better than we are". Well isn't that the plan? I ask did this happen because of you or in spite of you? I say fantastic for the soccer moms and dad's. Just don't flop in front of the tube when you get home. Stay engaged with your children but be careful. You might have some fun.

Could you imagine looking down from the pearly gates and reading your own obituary. It reads. " Bob was a loving father and husband who spent many years in front of the television watching his favorite shows that brought him so much joy". If this is making you feel a little uncomfortable you need to ask yourself the question. My God is that me? Many of us today ask what's in it for me. It is a time when people want instant answers. I believe that one of the reasons that blogging is so successful is that people want instant answers. They don't want to read a whole book. Just let me read something short and sweet that will fix what needs to be fixed. RIGHT NOW!!

Why on earth do you think infomercials are everywhere on the TV. It's a waterfall of money that comes from people trapped in their comfort zones. Claims like "Create a new you in 30 days". "Make a fortune in just 60 days". "You can do this. I just love this claim....We have done all the hard work to make it easy for you". Yes there are lots success stories on each of these shows to support the claims. What they do not tell you is that over 90 percent of the programs purchased from infomercials are gathering dust it a matter of weeks. There is an audience of millions of people out there knowing how they are living, needs to change. Hold it now. That means I have to change my habits. Egads. Hope springs eternal. Hope to is a victim of the comfort zone.

Changing how we live can be easy if we do it in small steps. Habit changing can be fun if you approach it with the right attitude. Don't try to change too many things at once. See things trough. Build on your small but important victories. Success and Happiness will birth from loving what you do for a living and how you interact with your family and community. Everything else in life you can by. Changing your habits to be the best you can be does not cost a dime. Imagine that.

How To Deal With Setbacks To Your Success

Do you sometimes feel that there is always a road block that is holding you back from achieving success? In my opinion the path to success is often the road less traveled. The road less traveled is not the well beaten down path you can travel with your flip flops on. No, it's the path that you need to wear your hiking boots. There are tree roots, puddles of water and large boulders to work your way around. That's why we wear the proper equipment. Life is also much like that to. We prepare ourselves for the obstacles that may come before us.

What do we do when the path we are on has a dead end or lengthy detour. This is the test to your real commitment to achieving your goal and ultimate success. We all face challenges in life. That's why the self-improvement business is so huge. Heck, I know. I have been a supporter of the industry most of my adult life. I have learned so much from what I have read. I have attended numerous personal development retreats. I have hired coaches to help me through some challenging times. Most importantly are the lessons I learned from my failures. It is very important to push past them. Failures can leave us scared and condition our minds to avoid making the same mistake as they most surely bring pain if we go back there. This in my view where many people lose hope. They give up when success is just a few inches or minutes away. There are many things we tackle in life that are totally dependent on getting it 100 percent right. 95 percent just wont cut it. But hold on. With out doubt most of us would be happy to be in the top 5 percent of our industry. The top 5 percent of income earners. To be the best golfer in our club. To be the best you would have been at 95 percent at some point on the way up. My advise is don't set your self up for failure. Life is about the journey.

So how do we deal with the set backs? One of the best ways is to have a support system in place. If you are truly committed to be the best you can be, you most certainly would have a mentor you can turn to for advise. Perhaps you have a life or business coach. These individuals will hear you out and provide some suggestions to go over or around those obstacles. We should not go through life saying that was a waste of time. An NLP coach I spent some very valuable time with a few years ago always used to say to me, "keep your eyes on the horizon". Isn't that where we are headed? I am a sailor so Bob got my attention. I also love to use sailing metaphors. We have no control over the wind and the weather so don't focus on that. So imagine you are here and the horizon is out there. Between you and the horizon are large waves. Often the wind coming in the wrong direction which means we have to tack up wind and not take the direct route. What we need to do is focus on the horizon. If we do this we are not looking at the huge waves that seem to endlessly toss us about. We wear foul weather gear to keep us dry and sea-boots to keep our feet dry and warm. If you can see it, I suggest you don't give up on it. "Keep your eyes on the horizon". Thank you Bob, very powerful words. You ask why would you go out there and do that Paul. It's simple. I don't leave the dock on a nasty day unless time dictates we do so. Under normal circumstances I wait for the weather to clear. My point is that the weather can change while we are out there. Be prepared.

We know we need to have the support people in place but we also need to have a plan. Like on a sailing adventure we plot our course. If the wind changes we make adjustments. You see a plan is just that. A Plan. With out one you have no starting point. No destination. The destination by the way can change to. This is why it is so critical to enjoy the journey. We discover along the way things, ideas and places that motivate us while bringing us joy in the process. Self improvement is a natural thing that lives inside us all. I believe society is becoming more accepting of us showing our feelings and sharing our dreams and aspirations. Life is hard work if your putting out signals of being a rock solid individual when there are things within us we are afraid to share. These fears will catch up with you. Just remember this. If you are always true to yourself and always tell the truth you don't have to remember what you said. Yes, we evolve but we do have a say in how that happens. The joy is in the journey.

Proverb De Papa

Sailing has brought so many wonderful people into my life.   Now to set this up I met the author of this Proverb Brian on a sailing trip last spring from Boston to Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Brian and I share a mutual friend who I have the up most respect for.  Our mutual friend Bill is the type of friend who would drive 100 miles in a snow storm to help you out of what trouble you found yourself in.  Because Brian was a friend of Bill's there was a transferred credibility. Through the passage to Nova Scotia I got to know Brian as we shared the same watch shift. His knowledge of business, true interest in the well being of others was only eclipsed by his love of family.  
It was just this morning that I was trading emails with Brian and of course we were looking at boats. Through the process of the communication I mentioned my trip to cross the Atlantic Ocean this year.  I shot him the link to my article "Missed Goal Becomes An Amazing Adventure" I had written about the trip. Brian took that moment to read a couple other of my articles. Lucky for us that he sent along this proverb for me to read. Brian had sent this Proverb to his own grown children. I can attest that if you live life by this Proverb you will live a life filled with joy and sense of accomplishment.  


From my friend Brian to his children....

Critters

Here are some thoughts that helped me be positive and focused.

I had written them on a small piece of paper and placed  in my wallet.

papa.

1)Strive for Excellence not Perfection.........(perfection is not obtainable).

2)Do everything with Passion and Enthusiasm.....(if you don't then you are wasting your time)

3)Never allow a Bad Experience to Em-Bitter you.......(eat it up and drive on...looking in the rear view mirror is a waste of time.)

4)Be compassionate but never allow someone Else's  Misery invade you.

5)When you point a finger remember there are three coming back at you....(it is your fault, if you make a mistake, do not blame others......do your homework thoroughly before making any decisions, don't be pressured into making quick decisions.)

6) It is the Important People that are Important as they set the level of the bar.

However, it is the Unimportant People who are the Most Important people because they create the Culture and  Karma. 

7) Lastly ....When you Die make sure you Die with Laughter.....(be happy,happy)PaPa Proverbs


End Brian's Letter to his Children..


Wow Wow Wow.  If there was only these 7 lines to model your life the world would be a better place for all. Thank you Brian for letting me share your "Proverb De Papa".  If your wondering why the De instead of Of is used it is that Brian's Children were raised in French however all have a mastery of French and  English. 


To my joy these morsels of a living a better life keep coming my way. They help me stay on my course to live a life filled with meaning and purpose.  I am blessed to have friends old and new who hold them selves to such levels of humanity and sharing in life. 

Trust and Credibility Are Key to Your Success

In a world of people purchasing on line or doing business face to face potential customers make decisions on trust that what they are buying is credible. The buyers decisions for the purchase are varied but at some point the decision to buy was based on buyers confidence the seller will deliver on the promise. But it is not only in business that trust plays a huge part in our decision making process. Relationships are for the most part based on trust as well. Trust and Credibility speak to our character and the type of person we are. Trust and Credibility can also be lost if you do not deliver on what you said or if the product you sold is inferior.

One of my favorite lines is "if you always tell the truth you don't have to remember what you said" Wow. How true is that? So why are Trust and Credibility so important to our lives. In my opinion people do not become friends instantly. There is a period that you get to know each other. You share your opinions, your desires and what makes you happy. If you are consistent and true to your values and you share some of those values the relationship grows. Trust is crucial to a strong marriage so would it not be crucial to a good friendship or business transaction.

In the business world the toughest part of growing the business is attracting new customers. They came to your business at some point because of trust. That trust could have been transferred from another customers referral. The key to remember is that you still have to earn that transferred trust. Trust and credibility can just as easily be lost if you do not deliver on what you say or do. Good luck in getting it back if you have lost it. The most important part of your business is customers. Without them you do not exist. Without trust you will not survive in business. Your marriage or friendships will not survive without trust either.

Are you credible? Are you who you say you are? I suggest you do not get too caught up in the "Fluff" because at some point you will be asked or taken to task on the fluff. You better be able to back up what you say and who you say you are. The commonly used term "Brand" is not just a recognition to what you are but it should speak to who you are.

Trust and credibility should be the cornerstone of your personality and your business. Your company's Mission Statement or your own Personal Purpose Statement should reflect an element of trust and credibility. People want to deal with people and companies they trust. The greatest products in the world will die on the shelf if they are sold under false pretenses or misleading information. As in baseball customers do not like curve balls and change ups. It would be my suggestion you take a look at how you present yourself and how it ties to who you are. Keeping and existing customer happy is much easier and more cost effective than trying to get a new one. Attract the new customers on the values you use to keep your existing customers happy. Remember that Trust and Credibility are earned and can be transferred to others who will help you grow both personally and in the business world.