Welcome!

Do you welcome your customers? Do they feel welcome in your store? Or are you one of those owners who sits behind the register and waits for somebody to buy something? 

The fact is, you need to greet your customers, or even your potential customers. Everyone needs to feel like you are happy that you are there, giving you a chance to sell them whatever it is that you sell.

You can even draw people into your store this way. I passed a shop in San Francisco that had a sign outside that said, "free chocolate come inside and watch it being made!"

Now how can you pass up that? Honestly, who would not want to go inside and at least see what it was that was being made? Then, when they get in the door, give them a sample (see LAW OF RECIPROCITY) and start asking questions.

You may have seen a sign in windows stating, "Browsers welcome, customers, more so." How about turning it around? "Customers welcome, browsers even more so?" Let them know you are willing to let them come in, look around, maybe even ask questions. After all, every customer you ever had probably started out as a looky-loo.

Create!

This is my way of creating. I want to be a writer, so I have to start writing. According to Bradley Charbonneau, author of Create: What to do When You Don't Know What to Do, we are here to create. When you don't know what to do, create. When you are sad or distraught (lot of that going on right now), create. This was like an epiphany to me, albeit a small one. But I am going to try to keep this up every day, and post it on the interwebs, and eventually hope to find my voice again.

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Robert B. Wallis is a writer who is focused on helping you live your best life.

Keep ‘em Coming Back!

Oftentimes, when I talk to business owners, I will ask them, “why do you think your loyal customers stay loyal to you?” The interesting thing is that their answers are usually way off the mark. They will say, “it’s because of our great service”, or “ we have the best prices in town.”

Actually customers go back to a store because they feel like they are wanted there. When you make a customer feel important to you, when you let them know that their coming and shopping at your business matters, then they will come back.

How many times have you heard the phrase, “your call is important to us”? Do you believe it? Of course not! Because after you hear that, you usually are connected to someone who acts like you are not just a nobody, but a nobody that they are incentivized to get off the phone as quickly as possible. How could my call be important? Especially if the person I’m assigned to is reading from a script and has no real idea of what it’s like to be on the other end of the phone.

When my wife and I were looking for a house, we realized that there would always be another house to look at. This drove Realtors crazy, simply because we refused to fall in love with something. Granted, we are a tough couple, but none of the Realtors we dealt with (and we spoke to over 20), ever made us feel like we were important enough to spend any time getting to know well enough to figure out what we really wanted.

But I digress. The facts are these, there will always be lower prices, there will always be better service out there. But if you can make your customers feel like family (well,  not my family), and always keep listening to what they want, and not what you want, you will keep ‘em coming back.

Rob Wallis is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility. Contact him at rbwallis63@gmail.com.

Experience vs. Cost

A colleague of mine who works in retail related the story of a new department manager who had management experience, but little retail experience. I have seen this happen in the past, and it always puzzles me, for a couple of reasons:

You have a leader who has no idea of how the business works. Just because someone knows how to hire and fire, it doesn't mean they know  anything about retail. I witnessed this in the restaurant business, where a manager was hired who knew nothing about restaurants (well, he probably was a waiter at one time, weren't we all?), and proceeded to anger the staff at busy times by walking into the back and asking "What can I do?"

My philosophy is, if you don't know what needs to be done, you have no business being a leader.

This can also affect the morale of staff. The thought goes something like: "why is this guy the boss? He doesn't even know what needs to be done"

And yes, I realize that you don't have to know everything about the operation to lead. But you do need to exude the confidence that you can lead, so that your staff does not feel like they are the ones running the show, and you are the one making all the money.

A Customer Service secret you can learn in the shower: http://bit.ly/CustServshower

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Robert B. Wallis is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility.

Is it Really What's Eating You?

They used to say, "It's not what you eat, it's what's eating you." That's only partially true. The fact is, in many cases, it is what you are eating, although you may not be aware of it.

There are so many hidden substances in your food that you may have no idea what you are actually ingesting. If you find you are trying to lose weight, but are getting no results, keep a record of what you eat, and read labels.

I can't emphasize enough that reading labels (on the back, not the front of the package) will tell you the real story.

More on this later...
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Robert B. Wallis is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility.

A Customer Service secret you can learn in the shower

A Customer Service secret you can learn in the shower: http://bit.ly/CustServshower

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Robert B. Wallis is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility.

I remember my Mom's house in Downey...

I remember my Mom's house in Downey. It was a small, 2 bedroom in a quiet suburban neighborhood, just where a kid could grow up. The best thing, for me and my mom, was that it was directly across the street from my grandparent's house, my Mom's parents. It was like having a built-in babysitter. I spent a lot of time at my gp's, since my Mom had to work full time. I never thought anything of it though. It was just my home away from home.

After my grandparents divorced, they sold the house. By that time, though, I was going to elementary school, and my mom found a family two streets over who had two sons going to the same school. Their Mom was looking to babysit for extra money, so I stayed there after school until 5, when my mom picked me up.

A Customer Service secret you can learn in the shower

A Customer Service secret you can learn in the shower: http://bit.ly/CustServshower

5 Marketing Lessons From A Pimp

5 Marketing Lessons From A Pimp http://feeds.feedblitz.com/~/62267946/0/bigboldimpact~Marketing-Lessons-From-A-Pimp/

Before the transformation...

Stop...Right now

I got a(nother) call today from a recruiter who saw my profile on one of the career sites. I get these from time to time, and sometimes I listen, especially if the project sounds promising.

Today, not so much. For whatever reason recruiters think they have to, she:

1. Didn't give me her last name.
2. Didn't say what company she was with.
3. Didn't ask if this was a good time to talk.

Which left me to ask all the questions and feeling very duped. She didn't offer any trust from the very beginning, which must have shown in my voice, because when I told her I'd get back to her, she didn't sound a bit surprised.

Now: Are you being honest with your prospects? A relationship that starts with deception (or at least omission) is not going to go very far.
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Robert B. Wallis is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps small business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility. Contact him at The Wallis Group

It definitely feels good to get something accomplished. Around the house, there's so much to be done, It's hard to decide what to do next. But once you decide on something and finish the job, it really feels so good!
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R.B. Wallis is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps small business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility. Contact him at The Wallis Group

Learning Photoshop...finally! Hopefully I will have a chance to use it soon.
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Robert B. Wallis is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility. Contact him at The Wallis Group

It's No Wonder

It's interesting how many businesses refuse to pay attention to their employees. When you are constantly cutting budgets and laying off employees, it's no wonder morale is low.
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Robert B. Wallis is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility. Contact him at The Wallis Group

Help!

Everything is automated these days. The downside is there is often no one to ask how to do something. If you get a new app for your phone, as I did recently, there may or may not be instructions along with it. You can try the "help" function, but it may not be much help. That's why the personal touch is coming into fashion once again, and it's something that you may want to think about integrating into your business.

More and more people are just looking for someone they can ask a question, either about a product or service you offer that they would like to purchase, or about something they have already purchased. These days, an informed customer is often a buying customer. How can you make it easy for your customers (or potential customers) to find out more?
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Robert B. Wallis is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility. Contact him at The Wallis Group

Keep ‘em Coming Back!

Oftentimes, when I talk to business owners, I will ask them, “why do you think your loyal customers stay loyal to you?” The interesting thing is that their answers are usually way off the mark. They will say, “it’s because of our great service”, or “ we have the best prices in town.”


Actually customers go back to a store because they feel like they are wanted there. When you make a customer feel important to you, when you let them know that their coming and shopping at your business matters, then they will come back.

How many times have you heard the phrase, “your call is important to us”? Do you believe it? Of course not! Because after you hear that, you usually are connected to someone who acts like you are not just a nobody, but a nobody that they are incentivized to get off the phone as quickly as possible. How could my call be important? Especially if the person I’m assigned to is reading from a script and has no real idea of what it’s like to be on the other end of the phone.

When my wife and I were looking for a house, we realized that there would always be another house to look at. This drove Realtors crazy, simply because we refused to fall in love with something. Granted, we are a tough couple, but none of the Realtors we dealt with (and we spoke to over 20), ever made us feel like we were important enough to spend any time getting to know well enough to figure out what we really wanted.

But I digress. The facts are these, there will always be lower prices, there will always be better service out there. But if you can make your customers feel like family (well, not my family), and always keep listening to what they want, and not what you want, you will keep ‘em coming back.
--------------------------------------------------
Robert B. Wallis is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility. Contact him at The Wallis Group

"Remember – the reason the Native American Rain Dance always works is because they never stop dancing until it rains." -Bert Lord


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Rob Wallis is The Marketing Outsider, a speaker, author, and consultant who helps business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility. Contact him at The Wallis Group

What's Your Story?

Much is made in marketing about your target market, demographics, which media to use, et cetera. The simple fact is, these are the least of your worries. When you begin to design a marketing campaign, you need to think about what stories you will tell.


The research, and yes, the results, show that the ads that bring in the most dollars always tell a story. Whether it's Tom Bodett telling of the simplicity of Motel 6, to any number of "on the road" ads, storytelling is the way to get people's attention and keep it. "They all laughed when I sat down at the piano." Well, they may have, but that campaign from many years ago brought in many thousands.

What stories do your ads tell?

How can you use your product to tell a story?
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Robert B. Wallis is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility. Contact him at The Wallis Group

Experience vs. Cost

A colleague of mine who works in retail related the story of a new department manager who had management experience, but little retail experience. I have seen this happen in the past, and it always puzzles me, for a couple of reasons:


You have a leader who has no idea of how the business works. Just because someone knows how to hire and fire, it doesn't mean they know anything about retail. I witnessed this in the restaurant business, where a manager was hired who knew nothing about restaurants (well, he probably was a waiter at one time, weren't we all?), and proceeded to anger the staff at busy times by walking into the back and asking "What can I do?"

My philosophy is, if you don't know what needs to be done, you have no business being a leader.

This can also affect the morale of staff. The thought goes something like: "why is this guy the boss? He doesn't even know what needs to be done"

And yes, I realize that you don't have to know everything about the operation to lead. But you do need to exude the confidence that you can lead, so that your staff does not feel like they are the ones running the show, and you are the one making all the money.
--------------------------------------------------
Robert B. Wallis is a speaker, author, and consultant who helps business owners increase their profitability by improving their visibility. Contact him at The Wallis Group