Promise a Rose Garden and Your Business Will Fail

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Article Title: Promise a Rose Garden and Your Business Will Fail
Author: Helmut Flasch
Category: Customer Service, Leadership, Sales
Word Count: 568
Keywords: sell, sales, how to sell, salesman, salesmanship, saleswoman, prospect, client, product, promotion
Author's Email Address: articles@doctorrelation.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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I have been a sales person of some form or another.

Whether it was selling mom the idea of a sleepover, or that pretty girl to go out with me or the job interview I was on or the dish I gracefully convinced the hotel guest to order for himself while I was the waiter or for 300 people while a manager in one of the largest and best hotels in the world.

I have done selling in about 10 countries.

In fact in many cases when you are buying, you really are selling.

Sure, look at the professional purchases you make for you in your company. You try to get the lowest price. That is selling.

What about the house you bought - did you try to get the lowest price? Sure. That is selling. Now, there are way too many times that I dare to admit that I was promising a rose garden.

-We can deliver fast. We will drop in this and that feature.-

-We have the highest quality and the lowest prices.-

Sorry to say that it has never worked out.

First of all, economical circumstances do not really allow lowest price and highest quality.

I made the client to accept the top of the top in my service and when we fell short just a bit he complained. He complained even though we delivered way above and beyond of our competition.

What happened? Why would he complain? Because we promised something we could not deliver. In most cases the prospect did not even ask for it. It was my fear of losing the business, which made me promising more than I could deliver.

I have learned the hard way and have to admit it is still difficult not to slip into promising a rose garden. It sounds so good and feels like it will clinch the sale.

Sometimes it does, with the repercussion I mentioned above. But in many cases it actually backfires right away. No sale. Oh yes - no sale. Why is that?

The prospect (he is not a client yet) is not dumb and he realizes that you say yes to everything he asks, and more.

He can see and feel your nervousness all over your face. He will not trust you and your company.

If you are one of those sales people who think that buyers are liars (which is totally not true at all) you should think twice what buyers are saying about sales people and I have to add buyers are way more often right with their accusation than sales people are with their accusation.

So the solution is to not even mention some goodies and freebees and higher qualities you will be giving him but make the sale on the basics alone.

When the costumer then gets your service or product he will be overjoyed with the extras and this is what will make him coming back and send other customers your way!

Oh by the way - by doing things the hard way, you will also get better at selling all by yourself, your confidence in you will rise (never mind the product) and you will because of this holding back always have a few goodies just like - never use the last bullet - principle to win the prospect over.

As MARK A. CLEMENT said, leaders who win the respect of others are the ones who deliver more than they promise, not the ones who promise more than they can deliver.

Helmut Flasch is a marketing consultant who uses Un-advertising rather than the traditional advertising methods. Find out more information about his marketing strategy at http://www.unadvertising.info
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Choosing To Outsource Work Overloads

Obinna Heche offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Choosing To Outsource Work Overloads
Author: Obinna Heche
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 463
Keywords: outsource,home business,extra income,writing,clients,workload,work,accounting,make money,home based,
Author's Email Address: edgar_biggs@yahoo.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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Outsourcing is a common practice with businesses today, whether they are home based or not. For the home business operator, outsourcing can be a great way to bring in extra income by taking on additional work. You find this method used frequently with those who perform office related functions as well as in the freelance writing and editing fields.

If you choose to outsource any of your additional work, you must be sure that those you choose are equal to your abilities and knowledge or you will find that correcting the errors takes more time than it would take if you did the work yourself. If you choose to use outsourcing in your business, remember that the final product falls upon you.

Your client or customers depends upon you to deliver a finished quality product so if you hire someone else to do the job for you it will be your responsibility to make sure that any outsourced work meets your same high standards. In some business, the clients know that there are others sharing the workload but that does not mean that they expect any less than they expect if the same person is doing all the work.

Another thing a business owner must consider when outsourcing work is the client for whom he does work. Some clients, especially in the creative fields, tell you directly that they do not accept outsourcing. You could try to come in under but you are taking a chance. If someone does not want their work outsourced, do not expect that they will be unable to tell the difference and if they detect that you have outsourced any of their project, there is a possibility that they will refuse to pay you.

Since you violated the terms of the agreement, there is nothing you can do. It seems fussy of the buyer but remember, they are the ones paying, so they have the right to decide to whom they wish to give their money. In other fields such as accounting and office functions the clients do not have such a hard line on outsourcing. The other question arises whether you can make money by outsourcing instead of doing the work yourself and the answer to that question is simple. You are being paid a set amount for a project or portions of a project.

If you outsource the work, you are going to pay less to that person than you are being paid, so the difference is your profit. Think of it like a company hiring someone through a temporary help agency, the employee is paid, for example, $10 per hour but you are billed at least $15 per hour for their services. Outsourcing projects works in reverse you charge less than you are being paid.

Obinna Heche:

Delivering the best home based business ideas and opportunities so you can work at home successfully..

http://www.homeincomeportal.com/obhmy365/
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Customer and Employee Loyalty: How Do You Rate?

Amy Nutt offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Customer and Employee Loyalty: How Do You Rate?
Author: Amy Nutt
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 483
Keywords: customer service training
Author's Email Address: amy@searchenginepeople.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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The average company loses half their customers in 5 years and half their employees in 4 years(*1) This has significant impact to overall customer, employee, investor and supplier loyalty. Loyalty is the degree to which these groups are loyal to your product, service and organization.

In today's market, being customer focused is a key to survival and longevity. High levels of loyalty have positive impact on customer satisfaction, profitability, and reputation. Happy employees work harder, produce more and stay with an employer longer. Investors and suppliers feel increased confidence in the organization and their actions reflect that.

So how do you know if your organization is lacking in loyalty or strong in it? Here are just a few key steps in gauging and improving loyalty:

1. Evaluate current levels of loyalty. Information can be gathered from customers, employees, suppliers, partners and investors. Ask questions such as: How satisfied are you with our product and service? How well are problems handled? How can we better serve you? Ask your employees how satisfied they are in their jobs and how well are they communicated with. These all affect loyalty. Find areas to improve on, and then act on them!

2. Create clear mission, vision and value statements and goals. These provide the map to guide daily behavior and long term performance; it invites people to adjust the activities, projects, tasks to support and shift the organization closer to the set goals. Clearly define these and communicate them.

3. Invest in your employees. An attitude of indiffence to your customers causes an average of 68% of customers to stop doing business with you.(*2) This attitude of indifference is displayed and communicated by employees both within the organization and to customers. A commitment to communication, on-going learning, culture development and rewarding performance all help in creating a positive attitude and work environment.

4. Create a customer focused organization. Gauge how customer focused or internally focused your processes are. Does your Eastern Canada order desk close at 5 p.m., yet your customers in Western Canada cannot order when it is convenient for them? Utilizing simple mapping techniques can allow you to display these processes and quickly identify areas for improvement - both in efficiencies and with the goal of creating more customer focused processes.

5. Identify the target customer group that will purchase your product and service. These customers should clearly see the value in what you offer, have the funds to pay for it and be looking for long term customer-supplier relationships. Are you currently selling to your target audience? Should you be targeting other groups? The closer you are to your defined profile, the higher loyalty and profitability you will experience.

The bottom line is that Loyalty has significant impact. Customers, employees, suppliers and investors are important to the success of your business. Take the time to re-evaluate your success with each group, and watch as your performance, profitability and potential increase!

Canadian Management Centre's Customer Service Training seminars, provide the skills and techniques to improve customer satisfaction.
http://www.cmctraining.org/
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Creating Customer Service Excellence

Amy Nutt offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Creating Customer Service Excellence
Author: Amy Nutt
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 529
Keywords: customer service training
Author's Email Address: amy@searchenginepeople.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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In a fast paced, dynamic environment like a customer facing group, there is potential for great wins and some losses as far as attracting, gaining and retaining customers go.

So who is responsible for customer service? Anyone who touches the customer, either directly or indirectly is providing a level of service. This includes the people in such varied roles as: product planners, IT staff, shippers, billing clerks, human resources and service team members. Bottom line: service is everybody's responsibility. The service chain includes all people and functions that link up to final delivery to the customer. To find out who is in this chain begin at the end: who delivers the product to the customer? Then ask who provides a product or service to that person? Continue tracing it back to the originator. You now have your service chain.

It is critical that everyone in the service chain know the impact of their actions. Each person in the chain should focus on creating excellence in the following areas:

1. Create customer focused processes, not company focused processes. If what you are doing is done to make the internal processes work better and not better for the customer, how long will they be with you? Your customer wants to know that you put them above the inner workings of the company. Focus your efforts on your customers; then let the internal processes follow.

2. Respond to your customers inquiries quickly. Statistically the longer it takes to respond, the less likely your customer is to deal with you in the future. And remember, for every 1 customer that tells you they are dissatisfied there are 24 more out there that will never tell you something is wrong. But they will tell their colleagues and friends. And that hurts business, one way or the other.

3. Keep a positive service delivery attitude. It's a moment by moment attitude choice: you can present yourself positively, or allow yourself to get caught in the stress of the day. Don't be fooled: your customers hear what kind of day you are having.

4. Ask your customer how you are doing and Listen to the response. It's important to stop and check in with your customer. Ask how you can serve them better or better meet their needs. And then Listen to what they tell you. Respond to what they say. (Did you notice the capital L in the word Listen? That word is so very important, as is the action that goes with it that we decided it deserved a capital.)

5. Treat your customers with respect and integrity. This goes for customers both within your organization and outside it. Imagine what it would be like if all the interactions you ever had were based on mutual respect and integrity...

So you get the point: focus your efforts on your customer; make them feel special by listening to them and solving their problems. Be their champion and treat them well. Customers see it, feel it, know it and want to share it. So go ahead, make their day. Show them how you feel about them. It will make both your day and theirs a better one!

With Canadian Management Centre Customer Service Training seminars, you'll discover the strategies and best practices used by highly successful, world-class organizations that deliver superior customer service.
http://www.cmctraining.org/
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10 Reasons to Implement a Customer Service Program

Kris Koonar offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: 10 Reasons to Implement a Customer Service Program
Author: Kris Koonar
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 558
Keywords: Business Coach Opportunities, Business Coach Training
Author's Email Address: salil@crackmarketing.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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Customers are the most important elements for the success of a business. Attaining and retaining the customers is one of the most important and essential tools for the success of any business. If the customers are satisfied with your services, then they are more likely to refer your name to others and also purchase additional products and services from you. There are various strategies for retaining your long-term customers and also to make sure your new customers stay with you for a longer term.

1. Teach your employees how to anticipate the customer needs and to serve beyond expectation. The existing customers should be treated well for them to buy from you again and also refer your name and service to others. So focus most of your time and efforts on the resources to serve them better. Always go into in-depth service, instead of widening your customer base.

2. Always achieve a certain level of integrity that speaks about you and your company to your customers. Be very consistent with the quality of your service and treat your customers with honesty and respect. Consistence always portrays you as being dependable, credible and trustworthy.

3. Provide an environment, where the customers can express their views regarding your services. At some point of the time, you should solicit feedback. A customer suggestion and feedback helps you to improve and thus, will also increase your working relationship. By asking for their opinion and suggestions, you show that you care about their views and value their contribution.

4. Always set a customer service standard for your industry and follow up on your commitments, if you promise to follow up or send information. Make sure you dont avoid it. This will gain you loyalty and trust.

5. Keep educating the employees about new customer service techniques. You should also keep learning, as the more you focus on gaining knowledge and skills, the more you can offer the best to your customers. The more you offer, the more they benefit. The more they benefit, the more they stay with you. So always be focussed on your own professional growth and keep learning.

6. Keep in touch with your customers and find out about their lives, goals and desired outcome of the business you share. Ask questions to share a deeper understanding. The greater the level of connection, the greater level of mutual satisfaction. So, guide your employees towards providing flexible, caring patient and positive service to the customers.

7. Always encourage your employees to be good listeners, as the customers are the lifelines of your business. Always be around when your customers need you because they look forward to your care and concern. Let them know that you will always be there to help them out. This can help differentiate your company from your competitors and in turn, will encourage your customers to stay longer with you.

8. Customer service should be enjoyed, as the customers want to work with people who enjoy what they do.

9. Acknowledge and appreciate employees who provide quick and efficient service, as this encourages the customer service program. You can also reward the customers for staying a long term with you, by implementing a loyalty program. You can offer them gifts, products or even services.

10. Customers generally talk about excellent services and they are the walking advertisements for businesses, so they should be served well.

Business Coaching Opportunities are rated as one of the best new business models. To learn more about Business Coach Training please visit http://www.businesscoach.com.
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Relationship Building - Keys to Lifelong Online Income

Gordon Lee offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Relationship Building - Keys to Lifelong Online Income
Author: Gordon Lee
Category: Advice, Affiliate Programs, Customer Service
Word Count: 482
Keywords: Online Income, Internet Marketer, Business Online
Author's Email Address: earn_your_way@yahoo.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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One of the biggest misconceptions that people have about working in an online business, is that they seem to think that they will not have to face their customers, much less have to talk to them. This is not the case at all. If you are planning to own an online business simply because you won't have to face your customers or have to talk to anyone at all, you will never have success in your pursuits as a business owner.

Having a successful business online will require you to constantly work at building relationships with your customers, as well as business partners and associates. Think of your online business just like a traditional brick and mortar business in the way that you conduct your business relationships, with the added benefit of not having to deal with the usual office politics. Office politics is probably one of the biggest reasons you may want to build your online business.

Relationships are universal. To maintain a healthy happy life, you need relationships with other people, such as family and friends. In business, you need to build relationships with people that are vital to your businesses health and well being. This includes your online business as well.

Relationships With Business Partners and Associates

Just one business relationship that you create and build out of mutual trust could have the potential to make you rich. This is because, when two people come together and make the commitment to work together, it has the potential to be the best thing that ever happened to both of them. Strong working relationships must be forged and maintained with those you are working with.

Many an online marketer suddenly made it to the big time when a series of joint ventures with well known internet marketer gurus goes well. How did they get to work with these marketing icons? Well, they took the time to build a trusting and solid relationship with the well known marketers and this has in turn, led to their success.

Customer Relationships For Business Success

Customer relationships are also an important factor in making an online business a success. Unlike traditional brick and mortar customer relationships, you are not required to work face to face with your clients, but you must still make your presence felt. Keeping regular contact with clients through email or even postcard marketing can do wonders for making your presence felt and making your customers feel they are important to your business.

Autoresponders may be great time savers and automates your business fully. But do not look down on the human touch. I was once debating between purchasing two different software systems, so I emailed to both authors, requesting for information. One of them called me on my mobile! Guess who got the sale?

So work on relationship building as an internet marketer. This will separate you from the many and bring you satisfaction in the long run.

Gordon Lee provides free education to how to make money online @ ReadyInfoToGo - Internet Marketing resources & training for online business to make you a strong steady income. Instant free access to all resources by visiting http://www.ReadyInfoToGo.com
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Customer Relationship Management For A Higher Level Of Customer Service

Susan Jan offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Customer Relationship Management For A Higher Level Of Customer Service
Author: Susan Jan
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 421
Keywords: customer relationship management,crm,crm software,crm solution,small business crm,online crm
Author's Email Address: secmit1@yahoo.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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For businesses large and small, their profitability and success depends upon customer retention, customer relationship enhancements and customer acquisition. This is often known as Customer Relationship Management or CRM. CRM is the managing of all business and interactions with customers. The main purpose of Customer Relationship Management is to allow businesses to better manage their customers through the introduction of reliable systems, processes and procedures for interacting with those customers. A good CRM program helps the business acquire customers and service the customers. Good CRM also helps retain good customers, and identify which customers can be given a higher level of service.

CRM is a complex mix of business processes, enterprise strategies and information technologies, which are used to study customers' needs and behaviors to help businesses develop more substantial relationships with them in order to get greater results.

In the late 90's, customer relationship management mainly consisted of just an index file, an answering machine and a telephone. Today, an advanced CRM system has evolved into an Excel spreadsheet and more. CRM systems normally consist of email and/or snail mail, marketing campaigns, contact manager programs, sales tracking program, and multi-media contact center or voice mail system.

A successful CRM strategy doesn't just mean simply installing and integrating a software package; it also involves a wider approach including modifying business processes based on the needs of customer, training of employees, adopting relevant IT systems and software, and IT services that allows firms to track their CRM strategies.

Good CRM software can help run an entire business by allowing companies to maintain all customer records in one centralized location that is accessible to the whole organization. Front line offices have systems that are set up to collect data from the customers for processing at the data warehouse where data is stored, orders are filled and tracked, and sales data analyzed.

One of the most common causes for customer relationship management system failure is poor data quality, which can be easily avoided. CRM systems are as useful as the information it provides. The old saying "garbage in, garbage out" can be applied to CRM data quality. To ensure good CRM data quality, be sure to input the data accurately; check data entries twice to minimize the possibility of duplication; if there is an error in the provided information or if the information is not complete, then re-establish contact with the customer to recheck the data. Customers generally do not get annoyed at this; instead it makes them more appreciative of the extra customer service.

For a more comprehensive look at Customer Relationship Management, visit Susan's site at http://www.top-crm-solution.info. Susan also enjoys writing on a wide range of topics at http://www.health-and-fitness-hub.info.
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Tips on How to Become a Mystery Shopper

Joseph Then offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
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Article Title: Tips on How to Become a Mystery Shopper
Author: Joseph Then
Category: Home Business, Customer Service
Word Count: 543
Keywords: secret shopper
Author's Email Address: nkthen@yahoo.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
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For those who want to enter the career as a mystery shopper, you might be asking yourself, what should you do to become one. To fully know what is the nature of the work there are two things to realize:

1.The job
As it might have already entered your mind, mystery shopper is an individual who works for the company to observe, evaluate, and make a report on the status of the store from the costumer's point of view. The mystery shopper or sometimes referred to as secret shopper will enter work not as an employee but as a regular costumer enjoying shopping while getting paid.

2.Kinds of Service it Offer
Mystery shopper is not limited to shops. They also go to restaurants, cruise liners, movie theaters, department store, casino, service centers, fitness centers or heath clubs, salons, banks, homebuilders, amusement centers and parks, and everything in the business area that are customer oriented. With these, you get paid while getting a new haircut, gambling, dinning in style, traveling and shopping, at work.


Now that you know these, here are tips on how to become a mystery shopper.

First things first: apply to as many mystery shopping agencies as possible.

Good thing here is that mystery shopping companies does not charge registration fees.

Another thing you need to know if you want to become a mystery shopper is to know the difference between real and a fictitious mystery shopping company. Real mystery shopping company does not charge fees their shopper while fictitious mystery shopping company do the opposite. All the manual, instruction materials, and trainings are provided for free.

Once you get your first assignment, grab it immediately. A good mystery shopper commits to accept assignments in short notice. This would generate good reputation to each company you serve. As the old saying goes "first impression lasts." If you play hard to get, you might not get the second shot.

Although it might sound fun- shopping, dining, and enjoying while getting paid- there is a level of professionalism in this field. If you agree on specific date, make sure you can complete it. If you feel you cannot make it to the given date, ask of a reschedule or an extension. In this way you would not have to punish yourself doing your job or sacrificing another work.

Make sure also that you accomplish your reports and evaluations and submit it on time. There is no better way to please your client than getting your job done on time. Many mystery shoppers failed to get more assignment because of delayed if not incomplete reports.

A legitimate mystery shopping company also reimburses the amount of money spent for shopping as well as paying for the service you provide. Most companies pre-arrange the salary of the mystery shopper as well as the amount of purchase to be done.

One point to remember: although the money earned as a mystery shopper is enough to make a decent living, most mystery shoppers do this as the secondary source of income.

Finally, enjoy your work. There is no better way to create a good day on the store while working than having fun. Never treat it as a job but be mindful that by the end of the day, you can create a report/evaluation on the experience.

Joseph Then operates a Mystery Shopper website that offers the user a HUGE list of resources for Mystery Shoppers. Check it out at http://www.MysteryShopperResource.com
------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------

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Attitude and Appearance Pay Big Dividends in Growing a Service Business

R.T. Markovsky offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum.
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Article Title: Attitude and Appearance Pay Big Dividends in Growing a Service Business
Author: R.T. Markovsky
Category: Home Business, Customer Service
Word Count: 423
Keywords: service business,home business,business communications
Author's Email Address: msg4@mindspring.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------

Even though your occupation may require getting a little dirty, looking neat and professional when meeting potential customers is still important.How you look will be interpreted as to how you work. Look sloppy, and you'll give people the impression you do sloppy work! Clothing such as T-shirts with certain printed designs or slogans can be a real turn-off to some people. A simple type of uniform eliminates this risk entirely. If you feel the need to make social or political statements with your dress, do it when you're not working... at least you won't lose money as a result of it.

All consumers, including you, expect to be treated a certain way in a business situation. How you are with people in a social environment may or may not work in the business world. You may be the best at what you do and offer the lowest rates in town, but if your business manners are lacking, so too will the amount of customers you have. A poor business personality will usually guarantee that people will take their business elsewhere.

A good way of avoiding this problem is to identify any traits you have that may rub people the wrong way and making every effort to change them. Not smiling, being confrontational, using bad language, and acting annoyed are some good examples of what will turn off potential customers.

Poor service-oriented attitude on the part of your employees can be just as fatal to your business as doing it yourself. Don't assume for a moment that your employees share the same degree of concern about your business as you do.

If an employee is in a position to come in contact with potential customers, be sure they're fully versed on what to do. Here again, the quality of your work and the image of your business may be viewed inferior due to the attitude or actions of an employee. Teach an employee how to answer basic questions the way you would do it. Have a friend call your business periodically to evaluate your employee's phone skills. Draft an information sheet covering the proper procedures for handling incoming phone calls and encounters with the public.

Limiting the possibilities of turning off potential customers in every facet of contact is just as important as the quality of work you provide. Establishing and maintaining effective communication skills will bring you more business, reduce advertising costs, increase profits, and furnish your company with a good reputation!

Paying attention to appearances and attitudes is a major key to service business success.

Millennium Services Group, run by R.T. Markovsky, hosts an informative web site with a wealth of information on starting your own Service Business. Check out http://www.Service-Biz.com to see more.
------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------

Work From Home Answering Phones

Jeff Casmer offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum.
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Article Title: Work From Home Answering Phones
Author: Jeff Casmer
Category: Telecommuting, Entrepreneurship, Customer Service
Word Count: 519
Keywords: work from home, customer service
Author's Email Address: support@24hourwealth.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------

One way to work from home is to hire yourself out to companies wanting to hire people that want to stay at home and work. This is great for people who do not want to commute back and forth everyday. This is known as telecommuting. There are a number of companies you can do that for. There are many places to find employers looking for employees.

These companies break down the jobs into categories including website design, sales, artists, freelance, programmers and more. One way to work from home that these companies offer has is to do customer service work and answer the phone. This type of work includes inbound sales where you get paid to offer solutions and then ask for the order.

There is one company who is unique in how they do this is. This company offers a customer call center that is staffed with people who work from their homes in the United States. These people work as an independent agent. Many times you here of companies moving their call centers over to somewhere like India. There are many companies that are proud to work with American companies providing employees who work right here in the USA.

An Agent is an independent contractor that develops and manages their own business. An Independent Agent contracts with LiveOps under an Independent Contractors Agreement to receive calls from people requesting products or services from clients.
The type of people who successfully work from home with these companies according to them:

1)They are professional and capable of providing a high level of service to all phone calls they receive
2)They enjoy the freedom that working at home allows
them but will be available to work a certain amount of hours a week
3)They are positive and optimistic
4)They are tolerant and accepting of differing view points
5)They are even tempered and handle frustration well
6)They are comfortable with numeric reasoning
7)They log on time, and honor all time commitments

They require you have a computer with high speed internet connection and a separate phone line to receive calls. This is true for many work from home positions. Since you are answering the phone for companies they want no noise in the background. All pets have to be separate for where you are working.

A separate phone line makes sense with all of the interruptions your home phone can bring including the most obnoxious of all, call waiting.

Other telecommuting positions will require you to have a fax number, unlimited long distance, learn how to operate a client resource management system (crm system) use email, and Microsoft windows systems.

If you have a background dealing with customers on the phone working from home in the telecommuting industry may just be for you. You have to be disciplined enough to work when you are working and not get sidetracked with the many distractions working at home can bring.

This is why many companies require a separate work area because they know how difficult it can be at times to focus on working. The rewards of telecommuting are many and worth whatever it takes to get yourself and your home set up properly.

Jeff Casmer is an internet marketing consultant with career sales over $25,000,000. His Top Ranked (http://www.24hourwealth.com/) Work at Home Directory gives you all the information you need to start and prosper with your own Internet Home Based Business.
------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------

10 Tips for Better Seller Representation

Roselind Hejl offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum.
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-----------
Article Title: 10 Tips for Better Seller Representation
Author: Roselind Hejl
Category: Selling, Customer Service, Ethics
Word Count: 1249
Keywords: real estate,Realtor,seller representation,real estate business,seller disclosure,property disclosure
Author's Email Address: roselind@weloveaustin.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------

As Realtors, our fiduciary relationship with our clients requires a high level of good faith, loyalty and confidentiality. We have a duty to protect our clients' best interests. Here are some tips to improve the representation of your seller clients.

Please note that these are only based on my personal experience as a Realtor, and are not intended to be legal advice. If you have a legal question about your duty to your clients or your clients' disclosures, you should contact an attorney.

Get to Know the Property

It is crucial to take notes while you inspect the property that you will represent. Make sure the sellers understand what will convey with the property under the sales contract.

Clarify items that they do not wish to convey. Ask about porch swings, fountains, play structures, mirrors, speakers, pot racks, etc. Understand the property lines, and find out about adjoining properties. Check the ownership of any nearby land that the sellers believe is a greenbelt. A thorough inspection and understanding of the property is fundamental to good representation.

Prepare Complete Disclosures

In most cases the sellers are required to fill out a disclosure form, answering questions and disclosing facts about the property. After the sellers have completed the form, take the time to review it and ask questions.

The sellers may not have understood a question, or were reluctant to say something negative, or may have forgotten an item that needs work. For example, a seller forgot that, years ago, he had replaced some damaged wood floor with plywood under an area rug. Ask the seller to think carefully about repair items that will not be easily noticed.

Sometimes the sellers have copies of inspection reports or previous sellers' disclosures. These documents are a part of their knowledge of the property, and should be a part of their disclosure. If the property has been rented, the seller may have a log of repairs that have been done.

Disclose Significant Repairs

Sometimes sellers ask if previous repairs need to be disclosed. Of course, it is not necessary to write down every repair that was done during the sellers' ownership. However, it is prudent to disclose repairs related to water, fire, structural integrity, or termites.

In addition to these types of repairs, all major construction should be noted. By disclosing these items, the sellers give the buyers an opportunity to investigate them further during the inspection period if they wish.

Put the Sellers' Interests Ahead of Your Own

The disclosure process may require that we make recommendations that sellers do not want to hear. For example, the sellers mentioned that a beautiful tree is diseased, and will die in a few years. Our obligation, as their agent, is to recommend the safest position for the sellers, and that position is to disclose the defect. Ask the sellers to think about what they would want to know if they were the buyer.

Thorough and complete disclosures are a risk reduction measure for sellers. If the sellers knowingly concealed a defect, or appeared to have concealed a defect, they might be vulnerable to a serious claim by the buyer after the closing. If you think that the sellers might have a duty to disclose something to a buyer, advocate for disclosure. This is a part of your obligation to represent the best interests of the seller, both for the short term and long term.

Recommend Inspections

Inspections are a protection measure for both the seller and buyer. Although inspections are normally obtained and paid for by the buyer, the inspection protects the seller as well as the buyer.

The inspection will reveal items that the seller was not aware of, or did not think to disclose. (Yes, water runs into the garage, but we never considered it a problem.) Sellers should consider getting a pre-marketing inspection. This will help them to get prepared for marketing, avoid surprises later, and build buyer confidence in the property.

Avoid Acting as an Inspector

During visits to the house, avoid attempting to assess problems for the seller. (Those cracks are not from settling. All homes in this area have some slope in the floors.) All questions of this nature should be referred to an inspector, engineer, or construction specialist. You are not the interpreter of maladies. Home inspection is a difficult job to do perfectly, even for trained professionals.

Include Service Contracts

I often recommend that the seller and buyer have a service contract included in the contract. These policies provide a one year repair service for the buyer. They can often reduce the potential that a future repair issue will cause them frustration and anger toward the seller.

Do Not Allow Misinformation to Stand

Be alert to potential problems that could result from a misunderstanding of disclosure requirements or of the property itself. For example, the sellers may mention something that they do not consider to be a problem, and have no intention of disclosing. (We fixed all the sheetrock cracks. Or, it flooded once a long time ago.)

If you let this pass, your silence may be taken as approval of the non-disclosure. In the event of a problem later, they might feel that you advised them not to disclose the item. A common response by sellers to a lawsuit by the buyers is - My agent told me not to disclose this.

Similarly, speak up if you feel that the buyer is making an erroneous assumption about your client's property. (We love the greenbelt behind the house.) The best representation for seller is proactive.

Open Communication

An open line of communication during transactions is a good defense against misunderstandings. No matter who complains, a quick response is more likely to resolve the problem before it escalates. People need to feel that their concerns are being heard. Many problems can be avoided and anger kept to a minimum by simply being in communication. Emotion often drives the escalation of a problem.

The communication and file storage power of email is a great tool to help you fulfill your duties to your clients. It is a good idea to save the complete file of messages relating to a transaction. If a decision has been made verbally, it is easy to send a quick note by email to place it into the email file.

When new information about the property is delivered to the buyer, an email follow up will document the file. While it is important to provide accurate information, it is also important to document.

Set Standards

Set your own standards, and do not allow other people to run your business. This includes clients, other agents, lenders or any other party. Walk away from deals, rather than get entangled in unethical or imprudent activity.

Not all clients are a good fit for your business. Select good clients; walk away from bad ones. Good business practices include a proactive attitude toward property disclosure, and a system of communication and documentation. They will help you to fulfill your obligation to put the best interests of your seller clients first, as well as to treat other parties fairly and honestly.

Roselind Hejl is a Realtor with Coldwell Banker United in Austin, Texas. Her website - http://www.weloveaustin.com - offers homes for sale, market trends, buyer and seller guides. Let Roselind help you make your move to Austin.
------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------

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5 Guaranteed Ways To Retain Your Online Customers & Keep Them Away From Your Competition

Jeff Casmer offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum.
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PUBLICATION GUIDELINES
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- If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links.
- Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to support@24hourwealth.com
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Article Title: 5 Guaranteed Ways To Retain Your Online Customers & Keep Them Away From Your Competition
Author: Jeff Casmer
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 673
Keywords: online customers, customers online
Author's Email Address: support@24hourwealth.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------

Whatever the product or service you offer on your website; there are probably hundreds of thousands or millions other websites which a potential online customer can go to. It takes a lot of hard work to get the visitors to your website in the first instance; now that some prospects have visited your website, you have a very high chance of converting them into your online customers. It is very important for you not to lose them to your competitor.

How can you retain your leads and prospects, and ensure that they buy from you and not from your competition?

· A friendly, professional and easy-to-navigate website is a necessity. You must ensure that you have a friendly website; and make it easy for your customers to navigate. Have you ever visited a website which is simply confusing? You do not know what is being sold, or there are so many things on offer on that website and it is all very confusing? Well, you must avoid having such a website because it will make you lose your online customers. A customer-friendly and clearly laid-out website is a definite way of retaining your online customers. The prospect may really want to buy from you, but if your website is not easy to navigate and takes a lot of time for the prospect to find what they want; they will leave. Time is of essence for online customers. Have a 'Frequently Asked Questions' on your website to explain more about your website or the product / service that you offer.

· Your website must be full of BENEFITS. This is another necessity if you want to convert your prospects into online customers. Everyone appreciates something for free. Offer free tips, information, 'stuff' or anything else related to what your website offers. It helps to make a your website a 'one-stop-shop' where the prospects or online customer can get more information about the topic related to your products and services - so make sure you have a lot of free information, tips and articles on your website. It is important to have some valuable benefits which your online customers would really appreciate getting if they bought from you. Be creative and make sure that you have some valuable free offers to your online customers.

· Easy, free and speedy communication. Your website is your 'shop' that operates 24/7. You will need to make it easy for your prospects and online customers to contact you. You must have many contact alternatives on your website; namely email address, toll free fax or telephone number - whatever you see suitable for you and your business. Allow prospects or online customers to contact you by email, and it helps to hyper link your email address so that they do not have to type it in. You must check your emails on a regular basis and respond to any queries as soon as you can.

· Keep in touch. This ties in with the above aspect, but focuses more on proactively staying in contact with your prospects and online customers. Offer a free e-course or e-zine subscription on your website so that you keep in touch with your website's visitors. This will help you create trust and build a relationship with your prospects, and soon they will be your online customers. Having a 'list' is a definite way of making money online as you can make regular offers to them. After every sale, follow up with the customer and see if they are satisfied with their purchase. Retain their email on your list and offer them any services or products you may have in the future.

· Go that 'extra mile' for your customers and be nice. This is a critical factor which is often underestimated in its importance. Always be ready to help, answer any questions or offer some advice. Be polite to your customers. Show them that you really care about them.

By simply following the above recommendations, you can be sure to convert your prospects into online customers and also keep them away from your competition.

Jeff Casmer is an internet marketing consultant with career sales over $25,000,000. His "Top Ranked" (http://www.24hourwealth.com/) Earn Money at Home Directory gives you all the information you need to start and prosper with your own Internet Home Based Business.
------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------

The Secret To Building Customer Relationships

Jeff Casmer offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum.
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PUBLICATION GUIDELINES
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- Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to support@24hourwealth.com
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-----------
Article Title: The Secret To Building Customer Relationships
Author: Jeff Casmer
Category: Customer Service, Sales
Word Count: 551
Keywords: customer service, customer relationships
Author's Email Address: support@24hourwealth.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------

It's tempting to concentrate on making new sales or pursuing bigger accounts. But attention to your existing customers, no matter how small they are, is equally essential to keeping your business thriving. The secret to repeat business is following up in a way that has a positive effect on the customer.

Effective follow-up begins immediately after the sale, when you call the customer to say "thank you" and find out if he or she is pleased with your product or service. Beyond this, there are several effective ways to follow up that ensure your business is always in the customer's mind.

1. Let customers know what you are doing for them. This can be in the form of a newsletter mailed to existing customers, or it can be more informal, such as a phone call. Whichever method you use, the key is to dramatically point out to customers what excellent service you are giving them. If you never mention all the things you are doing for them, customers may not notice. You are not being cocky when you talk to customers about all the work you have done to please them. Just make a phone call and let them know they don't have to worry because you handled the paperwork, called the attorney or double checked on the shipment - one less thing they have to do.

2. Write old customers personal, hand-written notes frequently. "I was just sitting at my desk and your name popped into my head. Are you still having a great time flying all over the country? Let me know if you need another set of luggage. I can stop by with our latest models any time." Or, if you run into an old customer at an event, follow up with a note: "It was great seeing you at the CDC Christmas party. I'll call you early in the new year to schedule a lunch."

3. Keep it personal. Voice mail and e-mail make it easy to communicate, but the personal touch is lost. Don't count these as a legitimate follow-up. If you're having trouble getting through, leave a voice mail message that you want to talk to the person directly or will stop by his or her office at a designated time.

4. Remember special occasions. Send the regular customers birthday cards, anniversary cards, holiday cards - you name it. Gifts are excellent follow-up tools, too. You don't have to spend a fortune to show you care; use your creativity to come up with interesting gift ideas that tie into your business, the customer's business or his or her recent purchase.

5. Pass on information. If you read an article, see a new book, or hear about an organization that a customer might be interested in, drop a note or make a quick call to let them know.

6. Consider follow-up calls as business development calls. When you talk to or visit old clients or customers, you'll often find they have referrals to give you, which can lead to new business.

With all that your existing customers can do for you, there's simply no reason not to stay in regular contact with them. Use your imagination, and you'll think of plenty of other ideas that can help you develop a lasting relationship.

Jeff Casmer is an internet marketing consultant with career sales over $25,000,000. His "Top Ranked" (http://www.24hourwealth.com/) Earn Money at Home Directory gives you all the information you need to start and prosper with your own Internet Home Based Business.
------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------

Enhancing VOC Data Collection To Jump Start Six Sigma Projects

Tony Jacowski offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum.
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PUBLICATION GUIDELINES
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- Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to tjacowski@yahoo.com
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-----------
Article Title: Enhancing VOC Data Collection To Jump Start Six Sigma Projects
Author: Tony Jacowski
Category: Customer Service, Business, Management
Word Count: 506
Keywords: VOC, voice of the customer, voice of customer, improving voice of customer, voc six sigma, voc 6 sig
Author's Email Address: tjacowski@yahoo.com
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------

VOC certainly helps in designing products and services based on specific customer needs and requirements, but the problem is that the data collection process is not easy. Lack of proper data can seriously undermine the successful implementation of Six Sigma projects and in turn, leads to frustration, reduced process capability and missed deadlines. In such a scenario, it would become quite impossible to satisfy the needs of the customers, leave alone delighting the customers, which is one of the primary aims of most Six Sigma projects. Given below are some of the techniques that can be employed by project managers to jump-starting Six Sigma projects.

Verifying The Applicability Of VOC Data Collection Tools

Six Sigma makes use of different types of standardized statistical tools for the purpose of VOC data collection. Each of these tools has a specific utility and is meant for use in specific business processes only. While selecting tools for a particular project, the project manager should carry out the necessary checks to ensure that the selected tool will be able to give the desired results.

Selecting tools for use in simple business processes is quite easy, but the task becomes quite difficult when the project involves making changes to complex business processes. In such cases, what that matters most is the experience of the project manager, which can be utilized for selecting the most appropriate VOC data collection tool. Qualifications and theoretical knowledge are also necessary, but it's the experience that counts when it comes to selecting the most effective data collection tool.

Understanding Customer Behavior

Analyzing the inputs provided by customers for understanding their specific needs is no doubt an essential task, but when you consider the amount of effort that goes into data gathering and analysis, its importance is certainly reduced. Large established organizations with unlimited resources at their disposal may not feel the pinch of carrying out such mammoth tasks, but small organizations are certainly not as lucky and have to plan properly if they do want to invest in carrying out a similar task.

The best option for these organizations is to skip this step altogether because if we think rationally we find that in reality most customers are not certain about their needs. The only things that they are sure about are the things that they do not want such as high prices, poor quality and late delivery. Therefore, instead of spending vast amounts on VOC data collection, the organization can simply concentrate on designing cost effective products or services, something that most customers really want. Skipping VOC data collection process is however not possible in case of products or services that are targeted at a niche market, where customers are far more critical of what is being offered to them.

Six Sigma may be based on standardized statistical theories and concepts, but it does not mean that it cannot be altered to suit the requirement of a specific business process or industry. More than anything else, Six Sigma is a practical approach for improving quality and increasing efficiency.

Tony Jacowski is a quality analyst for The MBA Journal. Aveta Solution's Six Sigma Online ( http://www.sixsigmaonline.org ) offers online six
sigma training and certification classes for lean six sigma, black belts, green belts, and yellow belts.
------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------

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Enhance Customer Service with Call Center Outsourcing

Ray La Foy offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print.
Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum.
-----------
PUBLICATION GUIDELINES
- You have permission to publish this article for free providing the "About the Author" box is included in its entirety.
- Do not post/reprint this article in any site or publication that contains hate, violence, porn, warez, or supports illegal activity.
- Do not use this article in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act. If sent by email, this article must be delivered to opt-in subscribers only.
- If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links.
- Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to win@bizbin.biz
- Article Marketer (www.ArticleMarketer.com) has distributed this article on behalf of the author. Article Marketer does not own this article, please respect the author's copyright and publication guidelines. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this article.
-----------
Article Title: Enhance Customer Service with Call Center Outsourcing
Author: Ray La Foy
Category: Customer Service
Word Count: 545
Keywords: outsourcing, business outsourcing, outsourcing guidelines, outsource tips, how to outsource
Author's Email Address: win@bizbin.biz
Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com
------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------

Have you ever tried calling a help desk? If you did, you may think that the help desk is located within the company's building. However, because of the availability of high-speed internet access, chances are, you are probably calling a customer service center building located half way around the world.

A call center is a kind of outsourcing company that companies in the United States are hiring in order to save a lot of money. It is a fact that setting up an in-house call center can prove to be costly. However, you will need to set up a calling center in order for your clients to reach your company regarding their inquiries and complaints. If you don't have a call center, your company will find it hard to communicate with your clients.

Therefore, outsourcing is the answer to your problems. Because of the advancement in the internet, it is now possible for companies to hire businesses for call services outside the country. Companies do this in order to communicate with their clients more efficiently.

Outsourced call centers are cheaper in developing countries because the labor is relatively cheap compared to developed countries. There are also plenty of skilled workers in developing countries with limited employment options.

So, these telephone service centers are one of the best choices for professionals in other countries. This particular job is preferred by a lot of people in other countries because of the high amount of salary which is above their minimum wage.

However, before you hire an outsourced calling center for your company, you should first consider the fact that not all such services are equal in terms of quality and the amount of money they charge. Here are some of the things you should look for in order to get your money's worth:

* Amount of calls answered. A good center should be able to handle large amounts of calls in a single day. Ask the call center on how many average calls they can handle in a single day.

* Average call waiting time. Find out about the average waiting time before a client can be connected to an agent. The shorter time they wait the better.

* Average call time. It is also important to find out about the average time an agent spends in a single caller. It is important to keep the calls as short as possible in order to entertain more clients.

* Professionalism of call center agents. Try calling in to find out if the agents they hire are competent at handling calls. Agents must be skilled at handling frustrated callers and able to handle emotional and physical stress.

You should find out how agents handle the calls and if the information they give you is sufficient and effective. Language skills should also be considered in call centers' agents. If they are unable to communicate, they will be considered incompetent.

These are the things that you should find out about a particular calling center firm. Once you hire an outsourced call center, you should frequently make calls in order to find out if they are indeed doing their job.

Outsourced customer service centers can be a great way to save money. If you need a service for inbound and outbound calls, outsourcing is a great solution that can save buisnesses considerable costs.

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