Classic Truths Updated for Modern Realities

Does your assistant know when to involve you in a customer service situation, or are you unaware that your clients are frustrated with the way their problems are resolved? Most clients won't complain to you; they'll just take their business elsewhere. A physical record of all encountered problems and a recording of every 10th or so problem that's phoned in could be very enlightening in determining patterns and ending repeated negative behavior.

Is your Web site easy to use, or is it frustrating? Conduct a Web site usability audit by asking a friend to spend 10 minutes at your site and note what they learned, what the point of your site is, and what's difficult to use or figure out.

Do clients see evidence that you still care about them after the sale is made? The following strategies are oldies but goodies, and they are easy to implement:

Do you personally call all clients at least once a year for no other reason except to check in and ask how they are doing?

Do you send birthday cards? Adults never get enough birthday cards, and electronic cards have made this easier than ever to do.

Do you electronically or physically touch base with clients at least six times a year? Your may have heard that it takes six touches to make an impression — and a first sale. I believe that it also takes about six touches to keep a client happy — and at least one or two should involve actual paper that's sent through the mail. Both Presidents George H. W. Bush and Ronald Reagan said that personal letter-writing was critical to their success. Handwritten or addressed notes make a bigger impression today than do impersonal and hard-to-interpret emails.

Using practice management tools
If your computer died, how long would it take you to be back up and running? It had better not be too long. But simply backing up your information isn't good enough if you aren't selecting the correct files. Make sure that your email files are backed up in your software application of choice (in Microsoft Outlook, the file extension for messages is .pst). Double check to make sure that the backup size makes sense relative to your amount of data. Use a service that offers non-automated customer service to help you properly set up your backups and that will provide support if and when you must restore files.

Here's a timeless truth I learned from my colleague, the speaker Charlie "Tremendous" Jones: "You'll be the same person in 10 years, with the exception of the books that you read and the people that you meet." Add to that the ideas that you learn from talking to these people and reading industry publications and books, and you should be set. The future looks bright when you combine timeless truths with modern tools — you could almost call it breakthrough prospecting.

Marilee Driscoll's "Invisible to Incredible" programs show how to use marketing and do-it-yourself PR to raise visibility, credibility, and profitability. She can be reached at [email protected]