Customer Service: How Will They Know I am Smiling?

Hi, to anyone out there who might remember me. I was a SCORE blogger from June through December 2008. I missed you all so much that they are letting me be a guest blogger for March.

Anyway, I called a local business the other day and was really sorry I woke the woman up. I called to make an appointment and later when I went to the location, I could see she wasn’t a happy camper. What I used to do was hang a mirror by every phone and ask anyone that answers the phone to look at themselves in the mirror and smile while answering. My premise was that if they knew they were smiling the person on the other end would know it also.

The process feels a bit strange at first, but try it — it really works. Answering the phone is the first contact your clients and customers have with you and your business. Take that extra step to make them glad they called. Question, though, how do you control the answering of cell phones? Do they help or hinder the smile and voice?

What do you think? Leave your comment below.

-Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Dream: Your Life’s Time Line

I’d like you to get a roll of that brown wrapping paper and starting at one end of your largest room roll it totally across the floor. One end is your birth and one end is your death. Since we know your age at birth, that is a good place to start. With a marker pen start at the beginning of your life and move across the paper noting all the significant events in your life. Do them all – the good and bad Odds are very strong that the good will outweigh the bad. and the kind people you remember will outnumber the cruel.

When you come to your life where you are at now you will probably be about 1/3 across the paper – if more, just add paper and double back. Now think ahead. What will happen next year, 5 years from now, 10 years from now? In reality you are writing your life’s time line or script. Take your time as this is pretty important stuff. Maybe the line can’t all be done in one day. No problem, as you have the whole roll of paper ahead of you.

Visualize your dreams, but put them into a reality paper time line. You will be surprised how easy it comes to you and how life will unfold as you project. The new year is a good time to do this project and should replace the resolutions that get broken. I like this idea better as I probably will never lose those 7 pounds I resolve to lose each year anyway. What do you have to gain in your future. If you live to be 100 (which is not out of the question if you are faithful about taking your vitamins) how will you spend the time? Let me know what you think of the system and if this works for you. Make yourself a very happy 2009!

-Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Blogging: Why blog?

So, here it is the first day of Hanuka and 3 days away from Christmas. Makes me wonder if anyone is out there until after the 1st of the year. For you one or two brave souls still reading this, I thought we’d talk about blogging. Not so much how to do it, but why do it. Blogging makes you think about who is your audience. Is impossible to contact everyone and when looking for on line associations, takes time and effort to determine exactly who you want to reach. This is a real benefit in any marketing venture and business blogging is by its nature a very effective marketing tool.

After you know who the reader is, need to carefully consider how to reach her. Again, another important marketing tool. What sites do the reader follow and how often? What kind of information is she looking for and how does that relate to your product or service. Now that you know all about her, how can you get her involved? Only 1-2% of blog readers respond so how can you make your content and design so interesting that she wants to comment. Isn’t enough to capture her attention, but need to get her involved insuring her return.

So, why blog? Yes, you want to reach your future clients, but, as important, blogging forces insight into demographics and the lifestyle preferences. In short, helps you know your market. Who is your client? What is your market? Important information for any marketing plan. Do you blog? If so, why are you not blogging me back? Happy holidays.

-Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Time for Compulsory FUN!

This time of the year always reminds me of a physical education teacher I had. We had to put on our PE clothes and she would tell us to go outside for COMPULSORY FUN. It is the holiday season, but after the first flush of parties, I begin to wonder if I am having fun sharing yet another puff pastry with someone I see once a year or else with someone I see every day at work. That is when I have to push my thoughts to go beyond the party stage and to the outside sharing stage. By that I mean sharing with someone who can’t possibly return the favor. Good time of the year to give the gift of personal time and treasure to others in shelters, nursing homes, children in the social services homes, etc. The truly amazing thing is by giving we receive so much that sometimes it becomes an all year habit. Not a bad idea.

Real fun starts in the heart and goes to the brain. I tried it and it works. Have you?

Have a meaningful and joyful holiday season.

-Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Takes Focus to Focus!

I was talking to a client the other day who was unnecessarily repeating her story. I felt like saying, “I got it the first couple of times,” but didn’t as I figured she needed to vent her concerns more than once in her mind. Priding myself on truly listening to what clients are saying, I had to really focus. Made me realize that it takes focus to focus. How easy is it when talking to a client or customer to step on their words with our own words or to let the mind wander in and out of the conversation. To truly listen to someone, you need to not only hear the words, but to watch the body language including the facial expressions.

Small children are good examples of focus. Although their focus may be short lived (short attention spans), when they are talking or listening it is with every ounce of their being. Do you have trouble listening to a boring customer or employee? Go past the words to what is really going on in their heads. As I learned, it takes focus to focus. When has this happened to you?

-Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Manage: Should I Panic?

OK, so Ann Taylor and Macy’s are closing down stores as well as Zales Jewelry (limiting my opportunity for a diamond tiara for the holidays), but should I panic? Probably not. Should I tighten my receivables, should I cut costs, should I watch inventories and downsize when necessary? STRONG. yes. If we maximize cash in then the yin yang of that is to minimize cash out. Now is the time to think strategically and act tactically.

At SCORE we have always promoted entrepreneurism, which we still do, but now our emphasis is more directed to helping our clients conserve resources and focus on cash flow for the next 3 to 6 months. Panic only prevents a good night sleep; creative strategic planning gets us through the tough times and keeps us running for the good times ahead. In America, we have always bounced back and so we will again. What are your immediate business concerns? Do you have a SCORE mentor? If not, why not? Call your local SCORE office and get one. Let me know what is happening in your world.

Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Is Trust Related to Relationship?

In many Asian cultures, the sales process is delayed until a relationship is developed. As Americans we like to get on with the deal and go on to the next. What is the hurry? Do we even know who we are dealing with much of the time? The period building the relationship is crucial for many reasons, but the most important one is TRUST. Trust builds integrity in our lives and in our business. The basic question is which is more important the relationship or the transaction? That is why women make such good networkers. We enjoy knowing our clients as our friends and our natural nurturing instinct helps us build the trust for not one sale, but multiple sales. Products don’t make the sale, people make the sale. Good for us, ladies. We have know this all along.

Been burned with a trust? So have we all, but what is your story?

-Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Do you Prejudge?

Sales is a numbers game and my background is sales so when I started volunteering for SCORE I had the same problem of NOT prejudging as I did in sales. One of my, what is now a very long term client, came to me with a large sum of money (golden handshake) and an idea that seemed a little unrealistic to me. (Actually, more than a little unrealistic). WOW! Should I give her my opinion (which wasn’t asked for) or ask questions that would lead her to the right decision. The decision gods were with me and we moved forward with a business plan. My head started to turn around. We checked out the competition. I was surprised there WAS competition. (Made me think I may not be a bright as I thought I was.) Now 4 years later, she is looking for a second location. Scares me when I think what damage I could have done by prejudging. Same as in sales – clothes do not always make the woman! So, do you prejudge?

-Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Mentoring on a Bus

At SCORE we love mentoring our clients, but on a bus? Yes and no. I was on a shuttle bus going from the airport to a conference hotel when the woman next to me started talking about her business concerns. I starting asking her probing questions to help her think through what she was saying and suddenly a light bulb went on and she thanked me for my help. This I call short term mentoring.

There are many kinds of mentoring situations, but we often just think about the long term formal mentoring situation. Sometimes we just need a mentor for the moment as in my example above, sometimes we need long term mentoring (which is my favorite kind of SCORE client mentoring) and sometimes we need a secondary mentor. Example: At SCORE I often get clients with marketing or franchising needs, but as we work through their business concerns, the financial portion of the business plan always pops up. This is where we call in what I call a secondary mentor. Someone with a financial background.

As a business owner, your job is to find good mentors — someone who has been there done that and sometimes just talking things through with another person solves the problem. A good mentor keeps you on a positive track both mentally and businessly. (Yes, I know there is no such word as businesssly, but can you think of a better substitute?)

Isn’t it fun to be a mentoree after you have been mentored? We are constantly on both sides of the mentoring fence as we change and grow. What mentoring experiences have you had? I hope to see you on my next bus trip.

-Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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Does Visualization Work?

Do you ever wonder if visualizing works or if it is just psychobabble hype? Well, let me tell you — IT WORKS!

I wanted to own my own company so for years I collected business cards of company presidents. My plan was that if I collected enough of these “important” cards, someday I could have this title on MY card. I have to say, it didn’t happen overnight as it took a couple of years, but by a strange quirk of fate, an opportunity arose from a very unexpected source and I became President of my own company!

Do you call this luck or positive expectations? Would it have happened with or without my business card collection? I leave that decision up to you. It is like why do I buy expensive face moisturizers when a little Crisco would do the same thing (per my husband). Well, maybe the Crisco would work, but is it worth taking the chance? Your choice. Do you visualize? Does it work for you?

-Betty Otte, SCORE Orange County
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