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July 2006 Issue No. 69 |
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Index Buyer Resistance Blocks Business!by Dennis McMahon & Narelle StratfordHave you ever been dissatisfied with a business event such as a networking breakfast or seminar that you've attended? We recently noticed just how important it is to "keep the promise" you make to your clients, through a recent experience that made it very clear. It wasn't so much the events themselves that were bad or poorly run. It was that my expectations of what I would get out of attending the event, were not met. What's Your Promise? For example, Narelle and I attended a breakfast the other day that had been promoted (i.e. The Promise) as a chance for more than 40 business owners to get together to network and that I would go away having met 40 people. Follow up? A subsequent email was sent to me, but because I was busy, I didn't open the attachment and read it. (Don't tell me you never skim read a follow up email.) Nor did the email say anything different to my expectations from my phone invite. In fact, here's the main body of the email copied below: "As
I mentioned, my intent here is to make sure there is a diverse mix of
industries represented by key figures and owners of the businesses
present. This
will situate you in a room with 40+
business owners to mingle and interact with.
Obviously the main outcomes I would expect you to achieve out of this
morning is to take away some great tips/tools for your business and
make some great contact with other owners for potential relationships
to blossom."
At the event When we arrived, we were met and greeted (nice) by a large team from the company and invited to have breakfast 'before we got started'. Narelle and I were both thinking, "get started on what"... Then, we were steered into a room where desks and chairs were set up with folders of material and pens (hmmm..) and on one side was a table laid out with food - muffins, fruit, croissants etcetera. Oops It wasn't explained to us that there was a different range of food elsewhere on another table, and we didn't know it was there until we left. Is that my fault for being unobservant, or should someone from that large team have explained the set-up? I'll help you here. I think it's courtesy to tell people where everything is when they come to your premises or your conference rooms. We naturally introduced ourselves to a couple of people who came to the buffet and then it was time to take a seat and get started. On what, you might ask? Well, it turned out that we were at a time management seminar. Some good stuff The presenter began and his material was good, but he soon got to a part where you were asked some pretty deep questions. Then you were requested to share your answers with the person beside or opposite you. Narelle found this very uncomfortable, and one fellow on Narelle's table had his answer spoken aloud in a very loud voice, by the man opposite him, and was very embarrassed by that. Noooo... Meanwhile, discomfort continued and worsened when one of the company directors used an example about businesses helping each other, except that to us the example breached ethics, privacy and hence, integrity. When Narelle called her on this, she hastened to say that they hadn't followed through... It was OK, because they hadn't done it, it was only an example. After the event After the event was over, Narelle and I compared notes, and we soon realised that buyer resistance had subconsciously kicked in during the seminar, due to our expectations not being met, and further discomfort and questions that came up during the seminar. Buyer resistance blocked business Narelle said, "I'm usually really open to discussing business and problems and so on, but I felt really uncomfortable about it. I didn't go there for that. I thought I was there to network and present my best, not any flaws in me or our business which might make me look incompetent." Would
you be of a mind to buy? What can we take from it? Now, some people may say, "At least you got something out of the event", (information on time management, meeting of a few people, breakfast) which is true. However, I will need a lot of convincing to attend something else there. So, who loses? What promises have you made? Now, I'd like you to think about this for a moment - are you making promises to your clients and prospective clients that aren't being met by the reality of your services or products? We know from our own experience just how important it is to deliver when you say you will, and to exceed your customer's expectations. Review your delivery Just ask your clients to find out whether your promises (what you say they will get) match and exceed your delivery (the client's experience). And you have two types of clients to ask. The first is your current clients - but be careful of the answers you get as they may not want to offend you and could be too gentle with their responses. The second type is the people who have stopped being clients (or, even better, prospects who never became clients). If you ask them about their experiences in a way that promotes an openness to listen to them and act on their opinions to improve your services, these people will usually try to help you. Be a winner! And who knows, your business may bloom as a result! I hope this article has given you some useful tips to improve your business. Rate this article - does it get the thumbs up?
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receive a Biz Builder Business Coaching Program Testimonial
As new business owners Nikki and I were struggling to find our feet,
but we knew we had a great business.
But what we didn’t understand was how to get the best out of
the business and achieve the desired results from all our hard work.
We needed help. We
arranged a meeting with Narelle to discuss business coaching and what
Sales Champions had to offer.
To say we were impressed was an understatement.
After our meeting we knew Narelle and Sales Champions, were who we
were looking for to help us on our way to business success.
We are now working our way through the Sales Champions program
liaising closely with Narelle and are benefiting from it immensely.
We look forward to a fruitful partnership.
Nikki and Mick
You can attend a seminar at
Healthy Inspirations Ph: 07 3420 4233
What's been happening at Sales
Champions We hope you got something useful out of last month's article on Networking skills - improving those communication areas can really make a difference to your business (and your life). We are, of course, busy with life - last night we had a gorgeous Thai meal in The Valley before heading off to Menopause the Musical. Dennis was pleased to see a few other men in the audience, although the vast majority were women. He's always up for a chance to better understand the wiser sex and laughed just as much as I did (looking for Brownie points here please!) Narelle was really chuffed this week to be invited to speak at the Quality Organisation of Australia conference in Sydney during October, on one of her favourite topics, "Consciousness, Spirituality and Leadership." Regards,
Narelle and Dennis Do you find it hard to say "NO"? Take
this Advice from
Principal
Real Estate Treasure Chest Member's Log In
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© Narelle Stratford & Dennis McMahon www.saleschampions.com.au July 2006 |
