Sandra Martini's Success Strategies

Are You Preventing Sales and Turning Away Customers?

A few days ago, my assistant was looking into toll free number services. After researching the websites of two companies, she called in frustration:

• The websites were a jumble of confusing facts and figures.
• When she called the companies, she got different answers from different people.

I bet you've had this same experience with at least one company.

Has anyone had this experience with you?

In their struggle to get clients and customers quickly, many self-employed business owners make the same mistakes again and again and wonder why no one's calling.

Here's a look at just a few of them:

1. Confusing marketing with sales.

Before asking someone to purchase your services, you need to educate them on what you do and how you do it. By first building a relationship through education (marketing), you'll find the sales take care of themselves.

2. Participating in price competition.

Are you the lowest price in town? Do you check out everyone else's offerings and deliberately undercut them to try and get clients?

If so, you're undervaluing your skills and, through your pricing, telling prospects that you're "bargain basement" -- a sure way to turn away customers. In order to charge what you're worth, you need to differentiate yourself from the masses: you're a boutique, not Wal-Mart.

3. Lack of systems and misusing/underusing technology.

In order to have a successful business, you need processes and systems which are clear and, whenever possible, can be automated, delegated or both.

I see so many business owners who are constantly recreating the wheel in their business and their marketing efforts when, by implementing systems for your prospects, customers and clients to follow, you ensure that everyone has the same experience with the least amount of your personal involvement.

While I've listed three common mistakes above, there are several more and all can be solved by implementing processes within your business. By taking the time to create AND implement processes and systems, you set yourself up for a "lifestyle" business -- one which allows you to work less while earning more.

Your Coaching Challenge

Do you recognize yourself in any of the scenarios above? If so, it's time to take a hard stand to re-invent your business -- otherwise you will continue working in the "job" you've created with little chance of experiencing real success.

For the past 5 years, Sandra Martini has been showing self-employed business owners how to get more clients consistently by implementing processes and systems to put their marketing on autopilot. Visit Sandra at www.SandraMartini.com for details, compelling client testimonials and her free audio series “5 Simple and Easy Steps to Put Your Marketing on Autopilot”.

4 "Must Know" Tips for Pricing Your Services

One of the worst moments in a business owner’s life is that silent moment between when you quote your rate to a potential client and his response. True, that hardly a second goes by, but it can feel like an eternity.

“Will he hire me?”

“Did I go too high?”

And when he says “YOU’RE HIRED!”, a new set of doubts creeps over you:

“Should I have gone higher?”

“Did I lowball the price just to get a client?”

You know the feeling. You’ve got the job, the project, the new client and it almost always turns out to be more work than you thought when you signed up for the task. Be sure that you know your worth and communicate it to the client up front.

1. Know your worth.

If you charge your clients hourly, how do you know what to charge them? Did you pick a number out of the air? What was your rationale?

For those who choose to bill hourly, I recommend the following approach to determining what you charge:

(a) Determine what you want your salary to be.  How much will you take out of the company?

(b)  Add to that any subcontractor expense that you may have.  This is your “labor total”.

(c) List out and then add all your expenses: advertising, promotion, rent, self-employment tax, supplies, etc. This is your “non-labor expense total”.

(d)  Add your labor total to your non-labor expense total.

(e)  Add in any profit goal you may have for your business.

(f)  Bullets (d) plus (e) equal your Total Required Revenue.

(g) Divide your “Total Required Revenue” by the number of BILLABLE hours for the year. Remember that you will not be billing 40 hours/week. The result will be the amount you need to charge per hour to make your salary goal.

If you bill hourly, take the time to complete the above exercise and, if necessary, increase your rates accordingly.

2. No haggling.

It can be hard when you have few clients or need more money, but whatever you do, do not haggle with your clients/prospective clients over your pricing.

You can haggle at a flea market. You can haggle for the price of a house. You can negotiate (a.k.a. “haggle”) for a corporate job salary. As a self-employed individual, you must not haggle over your pricing. To do so immediately lowers your perceived worth with that person and will set you up for a relationship of nitpicking over every nickel and dime.

3. Provide a “solution” and not a “service.”

Insure your clients understand the benefits they will receive from hiring you. You are not providing them a service; you are providing them a solution.

The difference being that people value solutions more than they do services. Whenever discussing price with a potential client, focus on the benefits, the “solutions” that she will receive as a result of hiring you.

Will she have more free time?  Will her business see an increase in profits or clients?  Know the benefits and speak to them!

4. Be prepared to say “Goodbye”.

Not everyone is going to accept your terms. Deal with it. They weren’t meant to be your clients anyway and would have just taken up the time that you could use for a better qualified client. Save your time and energy for those who recognize your worth – you’ll both be happier and more productive.

Pricing your services is one of the most emotional things you’ll do as a business owner. Be sure to take the time to review the project at hand before just blurting out a price – doing so will save you a lot of time and frustration down the road.

Leading small business expert Sandra Martini is the "Automatic Business Coach." Sandra delivers simple proven, yet innovative, ways entrepreneurs can implement processes and systems to create a waiting list of clients while giving them more money, time, and freedom in their businesses. For free articles, free resources and to sign up for her free audio mini-seminar "5 Quick & Easy Ways to Put Your Marketing on Autopilot" visit www.SandraMartini.com.

Do You 'Make a Sale' or 'Provide an Experience'?

You ordered a glass of wine and two bottles of water.  The bill came to US $40.  Are you shocked?  Horrified?

I recently came across a receipt from my trip to Italy last year and, rather than cringe in pain when seeing that receipt again, I smiled at the instant memory of the experience which it generated. It was one of the few nice days we had and I was sitting with my uncle and mother at an outside table in the center of Piazza Navona (Navona Square) in Rome watching local artists selling their works and people milling about.

Why did I smile rather than cringe? It was the "experience". I was immediately brought back to the people, the chatting, the smells, the feel of the warm sun on a winter's day, the sound of the Fountain of Four Rivers -- all of it, generated off a receipt for wine and bottled water.

Now I want you to stop and think for a moment.  What type of *experience* do you/your business leave your clients with?

Are they happy they did business with you? Are they frustrated? Did you answer the phone with a smile? Are your emails friendly or clipped?

In this age of technology-driven companies and recorded receptionists, are you providing your clients with a personal touch? It's the personal touch, the feeling that they are special to you and your business that will bring them back again and again.

With the Internet, clients (and customers) today are extremely fickle. They can quickly and easily "Google" another company that provides similar goods and services. You need to create an iron cage around your clients -- and you do that by creating loyalty. You should be the *only* virtual assistant or consultant or pizza company that they think of when needing your services.

You create loyalty by consistenly providing your clients with a positive experience.

Let's go over that one more time: "You create loyalty by CONSISTENTLY providing your clients with a POSITIVE EXPERIENCE."

Now before you dismiss all of this and say "I can't do this, my business is different!", let's discuss some ways you can create loyalty through positive experiences.

1. Care about your client.

My husband and I went on a Celebrity cruise to Alaska with another couple a few years ago. It was the most amazing trip of my life. If you ask my hubby about the trip, he immediately focuses on two things: the glaciers (a little hard to beat those) and our waiter, Sanchez. Sanchez was, by far, the best waiter we have EVER had. He remembered all of our names, our likes, our dislikes, our quirky requests, everything -- and this was after one dinner.

We felt truly cared about. And how he added to our experience was reflected in the end-of-cruise tip he received -- five times the recommended amount. :-)

Similarly, there was a local used car dealership which prided itself on caring about its customers. They even offered free, no-appointment-needed oil changes for as long as you owned your car and free loaners whenever your car needed repairs. One of their salesmen lived up the street from me and whenever I needed work done, he would swing by in the morning and drop off a loaner and bring my car back that night -- fixed and ready to go (including a wash and vacuuming). He didn't get paid any extra and he wasn't even "my" salesman. He, and everyone else at that dealership, prided themselves on the total customer experience.

The result -- my husband and I told everyone we know how great they were and, within the course of 2 years, 16 people we referred there purchased vehicles. Not including my parents who originally referred us and bought two there themselves. Then they changed ownership and service was never the same -- the company quickly went out of business. Care about your clients and they will care about you.

2. Personalize your approach.

I have a client who is very relaxed in nature. She loves to laugh and joke and have a good time. I have another who is very formal and serious. I enjoy working with both of these clients and personalize how I work with them so they remain in their comfort zone while working with me.

I also do A LOT of reading and clip out and send things of interest to each of my clients as I come across them. It's not always about business, as a result of working together, I've learned their personal interests and send them things related to what they care about.

3. Keep in touch.

In addition to my ezine and regular coaching sessions, I "touch" my clients, past clients and prospective clients, at least six times each year. Each "touch" gives them something positive -- whether it be holiday wishes, a discount on a new product or a gift -- and reminds them that I am here if they need me.

4. Thank them.

As simple as this sounds, many businesses forget to thank their clients for doing business with them. Your clients have a choice -- they CAN go elsewhere. Thank them for doing business with you. Thank them personally, thank them in writing, thank them with discount coupons. . .just THANK THEM!

5. Be generous.

If you have a client who is currently going through some tough times, do something to let them know that you care and will stick by them during this time. Whether you extend your invoice terms, offer them a discounted rate or otherwise "help" them during their time of need, they will remember it. It's human nature to want to do something good for someone when they have done something good for us -- let them "do something good for you" by being a loyal customer.

These are just a few ways that you can give your clients a positive experience when dealing with you and your business. Have staff? If so, you'll want to ingrain this in every one of them -- from the receptionist to the shipping clerk.

What can you do today to insure a positive client experience?

Sandra Martini, the Automatic Business Coach, and award-winning author teaches small business owners how to implement processes and systems designed to take them out of the day-to-day running of their business. For more information and to receive her FREE e-course/audio series, ">"5 Quick & Easy Ways To Put Your Marketing on Autopilot", visit http://www.SandraMartini.com

The Most Common Client Objections and How to Deal with Them

"A desire can overcome all objections and obstacles." -- Anonymous

Think about the above quote for a second. When you want, I mean REALLY want something, you can almost always rationalize getting it. You find a way to overcome that nagging little voice whose job it is to object and throw up obstacles.

I want you to view objections as a good thing. Yes, seriously!

If your prospects have objections, it means they are considering hiring you or purchasing your product. If they weren't interested, they wouldn't waste their time inquiring -- especially in today's world where they can be on your website one second and on someone else's the next.

Chances are good that prospects are visiting your site because they have a problem. Chances are even better that they've had this problem for a while and may have even tried to resolve it themselves.

You are in the problem-solving business -- it doesn't matter what you do, if you own your own business, you need to recognize that you provide solutions. For example, a virtual assistant gives her clients back their time to work on higher-revenue-producing activities while she focuses on the administrative details of managing a business, Nutrisystem delivers diet-conscious meals directly to your door so you don't have to think about portion control or cooking, I provide my clients with simple and proven marketing and systems solutions so they make more money while enjoying more freedom.

Your job is to identify the solutions that your business provides, anticipate what your prospects objections are and have those objections answered *in advance*.

If you are selling a product, your sales page/letter should anticipate and address objections. You can check out http://www.VAGuideToMoney.com to see how the sales page answers questions before readers have a chance to fully ask them. Prospects need to have their questions answered -- even at 3am -- or they will go elsewhere!

If you are selling a service, you want to be sure that your website/marketing materials address objections throughout the copy.

While there are hundreds of objections, I've found the most common to be:

1. It costs too much.
2. It's too hard -- will require too much effort.
3. It's some type of gimmick and won't work (think weight loss pills). 4. It's going to take too much time, my situation isn't THAT bad and I can fix/change it before this [insert your product name/service here] will work (think credit counselors). 5. I know it worked for Mary, but it won't work for me, because my situation is special/unique.

We all have that same nagging little voice whispering in our ear and the fact is, there will always be objections to any service or product you provide. Chances are, you've thought of at least one of the above in the last week -- I know I have!

I want you to take a good look at the SOLUTIONS you provide your clients and then write a short response to each of the objections above. Read your responses until you are comfortable saying them (practice in front of a mirror if you need to) and then pepper them throughout your marketing materials and keep them by the phone for when you are talking to prospects.

You provide solutions to at least one problem. You owe it to your prospective clients to help them help themselves by hiring you sooner rather than later.

Sandra P. Martini, the Automatic Business Coach ™, is creator of the “9 Simple Steps to Creating an Automatic Business” system. To learn more about this step-by-step program for small business success, and to receive her FREE “5 Simple Steps to Putting Your Marketing on Autopilot” e-course/audio mini-series and how-to articles and teleseminars, please visit www.SandraMartini.com.

Common Courtesy as a Client Magnet

I recently needed to contact a vendor regarding a delivery question.  Without naming names, I can tell you that the vendor is a small business and I do a not-insignificant amount of business with them.

The person who answered the phone (not the owner) sounded as if my call were an interruption in her day (ever have this happen to you?).  She was not pleasant and wanted to get me off the phone as quickly as possible.  She was able to answer my question and off I went – not feeling appreciated and not feeling valued.

So be it. I went about my day and needed to contact another vendor to see if I could use an American Express card for payment as their invoice didn’t state.  This should have been a minute-long phone call.  It wasn’t.

The accounts payable person – also apparently having a rough day based on her tone – told me that they did indeed accept Amex.  “Great – more points!” is what I thought and happily gave her all the information.

About an hour later my phone rang.  It was the same woman, clipped tone and no sense of friendliness whatsoever, now telling me that they do not accept American Express and I would need to pay in another manner.  Not a big deal and I gave her another credit card.  Once she had the information, she said “goodbye” and hung up the phone.

It obviously wasn’t my day to call vendors.

These two companies – one large and one small – have forgotten to train their employees in the art of common courtesy.  There are several ways that both of these employees could have made me, their customer, feel valued:

• Answer the phone while smiling (people really can tell) • Be helpful without making me feel that I was an intrusion on their day – I won’t even mention that had their respective ordering and invoicing documents been done correctly, there would have been no need for my calls. • Say “thank you” for calling • And, in the case of the confused accounts payable person, apologize for not knowing whether or not the company accepted a certain credit card (whether her fault or not, she should have apologized to me on behalf of the company).  This very easily could have turned into an amusing part of the day for both of us.

Companies of all sizes need to understand a very basic concept:

Everyone in the company is involved in marketing.  Every customer/client contact is a chance to positively OR negatively affect how the customer feels about the company.  Do it correctly and a customer is happy.  Screw it up and they may forgive you – screw it up too many times and you lose the customer.

Let me tell you another quick story:

A client of mine recently had several cartons of brochures delivered from a printer.  There were four different types of brochures.  The driver, smiling, wheels in several cartons and asks where he should leave them.

My client asked him to just leave them in a corner of the store room as they needed to sort them by brochure title before placing them on the shelves. Turns out the driver had already done that and put the names of the brochures on the sides of the cartons (not just on top where you can never read them) to make them easier to read while on the shelves.

As he was leaving, he thanked my client for his business.

Surprising?  It shouldn’t be.  This is common courtesy and what a good company instills in each of its employees.  Every employee who has the slightest contact with a customer or client should know that each customer/client is THE most important person to the company. 

The truck driver in the above story “gets it.”  Be sure that you do as well.

Courtesy is often overlooked as a means of getting, and keeping, clients.  Another example is the doctor who calls a patient at home the evening after a treatment; just to be sure everything is okay. 

Want to really impress your clients?  Take it a step further and thank them for their business.  People like, and need, to feel appreciated and valued – show them gratitude for doing business with you and watch them turn into great sources of referrals.

Some simple ways of saying “thank you” include the following:

• Send birthday cards/gifts depending on the size of the client and your budget. • In the U.S., send Thanksgiving cards or letters – everyone sends holiday cards, be a little different. • If you are located near your clients, occasionally drop in with a small surprise gift. • Be sure your invoice includes a line thanking your clients for their business. • If it works with your business, have some type of a customer appreciation event.

In this world of running here and there, email, voicemail, blackberries and MDAs, the personal touch combined with a little courtesy and gratitude goes a long way.

Thank you for taking time from your busy day to read this today.

Sandra P. Martini, the Automatic Business Coach ™, is creator of the “9 Simple Steps to Creating an Automatic Business” system. To learn more about this step-by-step program for small business success, and to receive her FREE “5 Simple Steps to Putting Your Marketing on Autopilot” e-course/audio mini-series and how-to articles and teleseminars, please visit www.SandraMartini.com.

Are you remarkable?

The last month has been incredibly busy as I've been helping to care for my father-in-law and spending time with him daily (he's doing FABULOUS!), wrapping up my website, hosting a very successful 'Jumpstart My Ezine' 4-week teleseminar (what a special group of entrepreneurs we had!) and putting the final touches on two new products, in addition to filling all but one space in my coaching programs.

In the middle of all this, my DH has contracted carpal tunnel, our beloved Sasha needs a hip replacement and our vehicles are all having issues. When it rains, it pours! :-)

I'm telling you this so you will fully appreciate how much the following meant to me. . .

Our mechanic is located two towns away. He's phenomenal and we trust him completely (not many people will say that about their mechanic)! Last week, DH's commuting car desperately needed help. He rolled it into the shop, they fixed it and returned it to our house (yes, THEY brought it to us). In returning it, they noticed that DH's truck inspection sticker expired on 7/31. They offered to take it, get it inspected (NOT one of their services) and return it -- for no cost.

When they returned it, they noticed that the inspection sticker had also just expired on my car. Again, they took it, got it inspected and returned it (they also did an oil change as they noticed it was time). They charged NOTHING extra for this service -- remember, they are two towns away. My mechanic and his colleague did this on their lunch breaks.

Knowing how busy my family has been over the last month, what do you think this service is worth to us -- especially since it was completely unexpected and unsolicited! It's priceless -- although I did thank our mechanic with fresh cherry tomatoes from our garden and dinner out for him and his fiance. . .and a little something for the guys in the shop. :-)

Do you go the extra step in providing service *so* remarkable for your clients that it becomes an experience for them to do business with you -- not just a transaction? That's what my mechanic did for me -- and you can bet I'm telling everyone I know about how great they are.