First Word

I don't know if I should say this surprises me or not, but I am constantly shocked when I see business owners treat poorly their own clients. What I've come to realize is that these business owners are either too "green" to know better or just don't get that poor treatment of one leads to a bad reputation with others. As important and referrals are to new business, the converse applies to bad customer service. The old "and he told two friends and so on and so forth" goes -- and in a culture that gets caught up in gossip and negativity, that kind of reputation can easily do harm to your bottom line. So, here are three things you should never say or do to a client. I can't make your deadline because of my vacation . We all need vacations absolutely. Time off is important to re-charge your batteries and prevent burnout. No one will begrudge you time off; however, if you missed a deadline or failed to make appropriate progress on a project, best to kee...

Before I launch in this morning's rant about bad sales techniques, I have to give you a warning. I hate aggressive sales ... period. So as you read this, realize I would not feel all aglow about any of these techniques even if I was an infomercial host looking for a new job. If you are in sales, I strongly recommend you avoid the following: Recorded voice messages sent to my smart phone -- let me be clear, anything impersonal and recorded sent over the phone is ineffective. The only time this works is when my kids' school sends out a notice about an open house and I don't want to talk to the school secretary anyway. Do not send marketing or sales messages either a) recorded or b) to my expensive smart phone where each minute you waste costs me money. My smart phone will think you're a dumb drone! And I don't mean the mobile kind. Infomercial Irene Strikes Again -- another super annoying way to sell is what I call the 21st century snake oils salesman aka infome...