Five rules to keep in mind when engaging customers
Gone are the days when righteous companies pronounced their message from on high and eager consumers flocked to purchase the latest breakthrough life-changing product. Those days – if they ever existed – where times of integrity in business where buyers got exactly what was advertised and sellers knew a person’s word was their bond.
Nowadays the business world is full of ambiguity and outright confusion, mistrust and outright fraud, suspicion and outright deceit. It is not all bad but the bottom line is that that both buyers and sellers are wary and get burnt every day by spending time and money on people who are simply not serious about doing good business.
Here are five rules to keep in mind when engaging customers.
1. Be Principled
Sales and marketing is not about the customer being first. Rather, like everything else in life, principle comes first which means integrity and good business. You should certainly put the customer before yourself but not before principle. Do not demean yourself do do business with anyone. Rather make sure you always maintain your dignity and that you do not feel belittled or that you need to compromise your values. Offer respect and insist on respect in return
2. Give And Take
Many – if not most – customers today do not always do what they say they will. Remember that sales and marketing is a two-way street. If you continue to offer your time and work and get nothing in return then you are wasting your time. Hold customers accountable to getting back to you when they say and doing what they say. When you begin the sales process expect a reciprocal step for every step you take. A “one strike”rule is sometimes appropriate with new customers. If they let you down twice then politely withdraw until they are serious
3. Time Is Money
Imagine if each hour of your time was a hundred dollar bill. Would you better qualify folks to spend your time on or hand out money to all and sundry? Your time as a sales and marketing professional is worth more than that so make sure your minutes count. If a customer does not demonstrate they are engaged through their actions then do not spend sales and marketing time on them. Plenty of people sound interested on the phone but don’t fall into the trap of “first conversation high” where you never hear back from them again. Serious customers act (which includes returning calls and e-mails!)
4. Call Them Out
“I am confused, didn’t you say…?” This may sound like a cheesy line from a 1960s sales book but is actually a powerful question that will help you close more deals, weed out customers who are not serious and make you a better overall sales and marketing professional. If they told you they have a problem and that they are ready to purchase if you can show them a solution then call them out on it. If they ask for a call back on Tuesday and then blow you off ask why. Get out of your comfort zone and get customers out of their comfort zone. Then gently guide the process forward
5. Be Nice but not Naive
The greatest customers to do business with are the greatest people and you should definitely spare no opportunity to be as nice as you can to everyone you meet and speak with. However, do not be naive and go all out for customers who are not serious. Remember to temper your niceness with realness. Otherwise people, despite their good intentions, will end up taking advantage of you and minimize you in their minds. Think about that really nice and well-meaning salesperson you talked to on the phone the other day who you don’t really connect with or take seriously for some reason. Don’t be them!
Generating Financing Performance Reports is No Longer a Problem!
If there was one word that could easily summarize what the financial world is all about, it would definitely be this: data. Everything is about data, because numbers are what every organization uses to drive performance, make key decisions, and look to the future with. If you’re not in a position to generate the proper reports to keep all of this running smoothly, there will come a time where there’s trouble in paradise.
Take bank financial reports. A lot of people depend on these reports in order to make decisions, both internally and externally. If those reports aren’t in place, it’s only a matter of time before there is going to be critical problems.
Thankfully, you don’t have to choose between complex confusion and inaction — why not let another company handle the reporting issue? It goes without saying that financial performance reports are complex tools that need to be respected — whether you’re just calculating the overall interest rate risk or you’re doing something more with it — but you don’t have to leave all of the calculations to chance, or try to struggle through them. Building a system where performance metrics and data are clearly computed is the key to moving forward in any financial organization.
If you’re ready to move forward, you definitely have options. You don’t want to just go with any company that seems like they can handle the task. You will want to go with a company that truly puts calculating data and handling it in a proper, systematic way as a true priority. There are a lot of businesses that claim to do this, but they tend to fall a bit far from the mark. It may take you asking the tough questions, but your organization depends on that — why would you do anything else? Get started today!
Things to do to help you get the best from your Leaflets and Pamphlets
Here is a Top ten checklist of ‘do’s’ to help you get the best from your leaflets and pamphlets.
– Objective & Audience
– Know what your leaflet is for. List your goals and check them throughout the design to make sure you’re on track. Understand your audience to make sure you’re speaking clearly to them – in both copy and pictures. If it’s useful, write a short paragraph explaining who they are. Headline
– Your brochure is competing with other brochures so make sure your headline draws attention to what you’re selling. Keep in mind that in some distribution racks, only the top third can be seen. Keep your headline short and to the point. Reinforcing Pictures
– Understand that copy carries your sales message but pictures reinforce it. Make sure they’re right for your target audience and remember that when your customer scans a rack of leaflets, there’s a lot of information competing for their eye so keep your images simple and uncluttered as this will help them understand your leaflet. Also, make sure you include a map if you’re wanting your customers to visit you. Concise Copy
– A leaflet can’t contain everything you probably want to say – so be selective. Make sure your copy is easy to read and is ‘skimmable’. Keep sentences short and break up blocks of copy by using small paragraphs. Use headings to help they eye find what it’s looking for more easily. Use a serif typeface as it’s easier to read. Full Colour
– There’s a reason most leaflets are full colour – research shows a 50-70% increase in retention of full colour leaflets over black and white. Perceived value is higher in your customer’s minds so they tend to keep hold of them longer. Get the Correct Size
– It depends on what you’re using your leaflet for and where it’s going to be displayed, but conventionally, most leaflets tend to be A5 (folded down from A4 or A3 size) or DL size (1/3 A4 folded). Producing leaflets this size should make them fit in nicely with most distribution racks and are a convenient size for most readers. Paper
– Floppy leaflets hide your message, slip from racks and might even get removed if they interfere with other leaflets. Make sure you print your leaflet on the right paper weight and cutting is done down, not across the grain. Don’t make your leaflets too tall and fold them down the left hand side. Vouchers
– Incentivise customers to pick up your leaflet by adding in offers or vouchers. Make sure you advertise them prominently on the front cover and it might be an idea to use the whole leaflet as the voucher as that keeps it lying around at home, reminding customers you’re there! Track response rates of your leaflet (to calculate a basic ROI) by adding in voucher codes and leaflet codes. Clear Call-To-Action
– Check over your leaflet, make sure you’re clearly asking readers to take an action – then run through everything that they’ll want to see to take that action. Phone numbers, addresses, maps, opening times, email addresses, website addresses – can all be easily missed off. Checking before Printing
Check your copy again and again – and get someone else to have a look too. Spelling mistakes and bad sentence structure can put off readers and reduce comprehension of your sales message. If you’re self-checking, leave a good night’s sleep before you re-check; It’s amazing what a fresh pair of eyes will spot that you missed before. Similarly, before you print, make sure you see at least a pdf proof before you push the button – mistakes are cheap to rectify before they’re printed, but costly afterward.
