The Customer Is Always Right

One of the most basic rules of business, but often times forgotten. No matter what goes on we must remember - the customer is always right!

This tried and true statement stretches back to the beginning of the small business revolution. When customer service was the most important aspect of business, which set them apart from the big corporations.

Offering the best customer service possible is just as important today as it was more than 100 years ago. In today's world there are just too many options. If you don't treat your customers right, they will have no problem doing business with someone else.

Not only does poor customer service lose a customer, but negativity travels far. Most know a happy customer might tell a few people (if any) about your business, but an unhappy person will tell everyone they know. As a small business owner, can you afford to lose hundreds of customers due to one unhappy customer?

In the work at home mom community, when business is done with other business owners, it can get tricky. We are suppose to understand the hardships of running a small business, as well as show compassion to family emergencies. However, business is business and customers are customers. No matter what the social status of your customer, they are still just that - a customer.

The lesson here is to always treat everyone like a customer. No matter how mad you are about what they've said, keep your cool and make it right. Don't argue with them, because they WILL spread the word on how hard you are to work with. If you lose money because of the situation, live and learn. There are situations where the customer will be in the wrong and just trying to scam you, but don't ever assume they are. Learn from the mistake and put your own rules in place so it won't happen again.

It's inevitable, if you're in business, at some point, you're going to have to deal with a disgruntled customer. The protocol should be to apologize and get the issue resolved as quickly and painless for the customer as possible (within reason of course).

The bottom line which I feel needs to be said just one more time - the customer is always right! Remember it, and you will go far in business!

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Anita DeFrank & Kara Kelso, authors of Direct Sales Success, specialize in coaching direct sales representatives to reach their goal of becoming successful in their field. Visit http://www.directsaleshelpers.com for free weekly tips.

Find Your Niche in Direct Sales

by Kara Kelso & Anita DeFrank
http://www.DirectSalesHelpers.com

Direct sales is hard, especially with all the competition. The best way to stand out from the crowd is to have your own website.

We've said this time and time again in many different articles, but it can't be stressed enough. If you are serious about doing business online, you MUST have your own, unique website.

Many direct sales companies do not allow personal websites, or for you to place product info on a site. If this is the case with your business, there IS a way around it. More on this further in the article.

The first step in finding your niche is to take a good hard look at your business (or all your businesses if you have more than one). Ask yourself the following questions:

What are the best selling products?
Which are your favorites?
Who is your target customer?
Which do you know the most about?
How much could you say about specific lines?

The next step is figuring out which products to focus on based on the answers from the above questions. On our message boards, we posted this example on finding a niche for Mary Kay:

When I think Mary Kay, I think make-up. Period. When I visit the main site, I see more specific things like skin care, spa & bath, fragrances, and other things that I didn't know about. Many items could easily be made a niche from.

From the example above, I see Mary Kay offers skin care products. Diving deeper into that I see "anti-aging skin care". Perfect niche! Instead of selling "Mary Kay products" or having a general site, what about a site focused on just the anti-aging products? There's an entire line so it shouldn't be hard.

While Mary Kay does not permit the use of their trademark on a website, here's what you CAN do. Create a content website based on anti-aging tips, using products, proper diet, and exercise. Borderline health site, but with a focus on the anti-aging. Lead into your Mary Kay site with "For more information on products, visit...".

This is just an example, and the same idea can be applied to ANY business. Other examples include websites dedicated to specific layout ideas for those selling scrapbooking supplies, specific scented items for those selling bath and body, specific information sites for health product (focusing on one issue the health product you sell takes care of, such as diabetes or other health issues).

The possibilities are absolutely endless. There is a lot of room for reps of the same business to all have completely different websites. To gather suggestions, I suggest using a keyword tool which will show you exactly what people are searching for. There is an excellent one here: http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/

Choose a topic that is small, yet has enough searches and can be expanded on.

Good luck in finding your niche!

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Anita DeFrank & Kara Kelso, authors of Direct Sales Success, specialize in coaching direct sales representatives to reach their goal of becoming successful in their field. Visit http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/ for free weekly tips.

7 Summer Survival Tips

Will Your Business Survive Summer Break?

Summer is approaching and soon the children will be out of school. Is your schedule ready?

Some of you may know from past years, when the kids are out for the summer your "quiet time" during school hours is no more. Here are some tips to keep the school age children busy while you keep up with your business:

1. Plan family days
Take a day each week to spend the entire day with your kids. Make it a weekly event. Do things such as go out for ice cream, going to the zoo, etc. Try to plan it for in the middle of the week.

2. Set aside nights and weekends
In addition to your weekly outings with the kids, make sure you set aside your evenings and weekends to focus on them.

3. Hire Local Neighborhood Kids
Is there a responsible child in your neighborhood? Hire them to take your children to the pool, the park, or other areas in the neighborhood. Preteens are always looking for a way to make some extra money, or someone to pay for their day at the pool.

4. Have crafts and movies lined up
Avoid the "I'm bored" comments by having several activities set aside for children to do for at least 2 hours, giving you enough time to finish a project or two.

5. Take breaks outside
Since the weather is nice, children will be begging to go out. Make sure you take a break daily to go out for even just an hour. Remind them when it's time to go back inside they will be able to go out again when you are finished working.

6. Trade Babysitting
Talk to other mothers in your community and trade babysitting. Remember the first tip? Take someone else's kids on your family day out, and ask if they will watch your children on another day.

7. Hire Babysitters
When all else fails and you need to get major work done, send them to daycare once a week. Don't feel guilty - it's only one day! Your kids need a break from you too sometimes, and the chance to play with other children.

Good luck surviving the summer, and don't forget to enjoy it yourself!

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Anita DeFrank & Kara Kelso, authors of Direct Sales Success, specialize in coaching direct sales representatives to reach their goal of becoming successful in their field. Visit http://www.directsaleshelpers.com/ for free weekly tips.