A Cheat Sheet for Business Owners

A Cheat Sheet for Business Owners

Looking to Grow Business?

Plus:

1 Thing

a Business Owner

Should Never Do

Additionally:

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Customer Service Cheat Sheet

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Printable download of the Cheat

Sheet

Happiness in doing business is attainable. Furthermore, you can expect your customers to trust you when you do it right!

Yes, there are things a

business owner:

Should do...and

Should not do

Whether you are a small business owner, or you are simply thinking about starting a business of your own someday, research has shown that there are some things you should do, and some you should not do.

Thankfulness is often associated with joyfulness.

But how can I be thankful when the economy is threatening to go off the rails? You may ask.

It is good to remind ourselves that gratitude is our response to what we already have attained.

Since there will always be circumstances that will attempt to threaten our wellbeing in this life, why concentrate on what may never happen?

“I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened.”

Mark Twain

Worry produces and perpetuates fear and anxiety over what may never happen.

Appreciation produces and perpetuates happiness and joy over what has already happened.

I will share a true story with you. I will change the names and identifying information to protect the people involved. I will talk about the 1 Thing a Business Should Never Do below.

First, I received a statement of account in the mail. I noticed that some of the dollar amounts were wrong, even though I had already paid my bill with a credit card. The total amount billed to my account did not match the cost quoted to me while I was inside the retail business. The cost difference was over $500 – and not in my favor.

Feeling upset, I waited until I was calm before making my inquiry call. The first call was handled by a person who was polite and communicated the following.

There was nothing available to confirm or deny that the billing I had received was in error.

Next, I was told me that the individual who knew the most about the situation would not be in the office until tomorrow. I was to call again if I did not hear back from them in a couple of days.

I attempted to provide explanatory information but was told there was nothing in the office to substantiate my claim. Nothing could be done today.

When I called back, I specifically asked for the person in the department I was told could help me straighten this out. After verifying my personal information, this person asked how they might assist me. I spoke slow and in a calm tone, providing the necessary information.

The response was immediate. I was now told by the person assisting me (the individual who knew the most about the situation) that another person (a different name) had already dealt with the financial error. It would take a couple of weeks before I could see the exact amount due, but the “problem” was already taken care of. Was there anything else that they could help me with?

CHEAT SHEET FOR BUSINESS OWNERS AND STAFF

When the mistake is on the end of the business, apologize for what happened (even if you did not cause the problem). Let your customer know that you care about them.

Train your employees, using a customer skills template, or whatever is necessary to constantly remind staff to be thoughtful and kind when talking to customers who:

Attempt to straighten out a billing problem

Are clearly unsatisfied about a matter

Are crabby or ugly toward you

Spend money at your place of business

Have a (step-by-step) protocol in place for the most common customer calls or requests. Let your employees know “this is what we do when…”

Before you terminate the call with a customer, let that person know what you are going to do about the problem, incident, or overcharge. Do what you can to reassure your customer that the problem will be resolved to their satisfaction (if that is possible).

Offer the offended customer a follow up call or text if you can. (This goes a long way toward improving a customer’s attitude toward you!)

Before the interaction is completed with any customer, especially one with a problem, do all you can to relieve their anxiety. The comfort you provide in their time of need results in customer loyalty.

For those of you who are interested in doing a short training for your staff:

Give them this handout

Invite one of the attendees to act out how this should look in a real-life scenario. You be the business person and have the employee play the part of the customer who is calling with an issue that needs to be resolved.

Have fun with it. Don’t be nervous.

Hold on! “What’s the 1 thing?”, you ask.

Never, ever, L I E

to your customer!!!

What happens next is totally up to you. When you are known for your honesty in life and business, you stand out in a sea of business (PEOPLE!) who may offer the same product or service that you do.

What makes you special to your customers, is that they know you will never lie to them. Ever!

And, people love to talk. Guess what they will tell others about YOU?

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