Dustin Bartel

Drive your business through referrals: What are the keys to building your retail business referrals? June 12, 2009

If you want more referrals then you have to offer a “World Class” customer experience every time. Oh and make sure you do not forget to ask for the referral as well. Here are a few suggestions that will insure your customer receives the type of experience that will lead them to refer friends and family.

1. Smile every time you interact with your customer – seems basic but all too often this important tip is often overlooked – this goes for phone interactions as well.
2. Listen aggressively to your customer – make eye contact, use body language to show that you are interested, and when possible ask follow-up questions. Nothing else should be your focus when you have a customer in front of you.
3. Assume the sale or service – might be the opposite of what you would expect but your customer wants to know you are the expert and that you are confident that your product or service is right for them. Make the decision easy for them to make by just assuming that they will want to “go for it”; they will appreciate how much easier you make the purchasing process.
4. There is nothing wrong with saying “I am sorry for…” Too many times when things go wrong no one wants to take responsibility. Simply apologize, listen, understand their frustrations and move on to the solutions. The key to a great company is not that they will not make a mistake, everyone makes mistakes, but how well do they take care of their customer once a mistake is made.
5. Ask for your customer’s help in building your business. “John, if you had a good experience today would you do us a favor and tell your friends and family how great you were treated?”

Keep your entire team in check on these areas.  After all if you treat your customers well enough they will take care of you many times over.

Building a great team: What are your secrets to recruiting a great team? June 2, 2009

Always be recruiting individuals that are better then you! I have been told many times by recruiters that candidates are over qualified – this is ridiculous. If a candidate expects to be paid more then what you offer then that is one thing, over qualified however is exactly what I am looking for. I have found that your best employees will make more money, set higher goals, achieve significantly better results and challenge you to be a better boss and leader then you have been before. You need to find individuals that are better then your current team if you wish to improve your current team. The question now becomes how do you get them to want to come to work for you? Here are the steps I follow.

1. The job needs to be in the general pay range and responsibility that they are looking for.
2. A great addition to your team will look at pay and benefits as only a small part of the total package. They know that the true test to a great job is the leader that they work for. You are now on the hot seat and being interviewed by your candidate through the hiring process.
3. Sell yourself; show energy, ability to learn from your candidate and other employees, and a willingness to put your team’s aspirations above your own. These are a few major qualities a top candidate will want to see from their new boss.
4. Ask hard questions and insist on direct, detailed answers. Most of your best candidates want to work for someone that will challenge them and not accept mediocrity. The better job you do in your interview the more they will respect and desire to work for you.