Tag Archives: customer relations

Do Your Customers Know They Can Ask You Anything?

The flow of information and communication is incredibly important in business–even in a small, home-based business like yours (and mine.) In fact, I think that having an open-door policy and creating an environment where our customers and clients feel they can come to us with any problem–big or small–may be even more important in a small business. We need our customers and clients to know they can depend on us and get in touch with us whenever they need us. In order for our customers and clients to know that they can ask us anything–we have to set the stage. … Continue reading →

You Can Always Give the Money Back and Cancel the Sale

When you are feeling especially trapped by an uncomfortable situation with a challenging client or customer I think it is important to remember that we can always say “no.” It can be easy to forget that we really do always have the power to cancel a sale or contract, give back the money and walk away. Sure, it might hurt our bottom line, but in the long term, it might be the best possible move. I know that you have seen the following sign posted on the wall or door of many of your favorite businesses: “We reserve the right … Continue reading →

People Who Take up More Than a Fair Share of Your Time (and Energy)

I recently came back from a work event that I had coordinated and organized. As usual, there were about a dozen individuals out of over two hundred that seemed to be at my side or in front of my face throughout the entire event asking me one question after another. Whether they were asking for favors, clarification, or just wanting to share their opinions with me, they definitely consumed more than their fair share of my time and energy. In our home business operations, we all have those customers and clients who tend to demand far more of our time … Continue reading →

What to do When Customers and Clients Pester

When I was writing earlier this morning about how to cope with having other’s problems dumped in your lap in your home business operations, I thought about how a “sister” topic for me is those individuals who pester–they make repeated calls with repeated demands and nitpick over all sorts of tiny details. They might not give you time to call them back, or they may think of a dozen excuses to call or send e-mails. If you only have one or two clients, this might not seem like such a big deal, but if you’ve got a full roster of … Continue reading →

Dumping Problems in Your Lap

While I like to think I am a fairly decent problem-solver by nature, I do have my limit. There are days when I feel like all I do all day is solve problems, put out fires, and pick up broken pieces–that might be why I can get short-tempered when I get even more of that in my work world–those times when individuals just seem to want to dump their problems in my lap with a cry of “Fix it!” We know that part of being in business means trying to help people–no matter what sort of business you have, there … Continue reading →

The Positive Uses of a “Blacklist”

I know that the word “blacklist” has such a negative connotation—so negative, in fact, that I am hesitant to use it. In my business and my other work, I tend to refer to these folks as “trouble-makers” but I have discovered that there can be positive reasons for keeping track of these individuals… Now, before everyone jumps all over me, I am not talking about publishing a list on your web site or serious judgment here, but what I am talking about is keeping track of those individuals who might pose problems for your business operations—slow pays, those who make … Continue reading →

Dealing with a “Hot Headed” Client or Customer

Not everyone we deal with in our home businesses is going to be pleasant and easy-going—sooner or late we will find ourselves having to work with someone who is more argumentative, passionate, or what one might call “hot headed.” Should we just avoid or eliminate anyone who is incredibly hot headed, or are there ways to work with these super-passionate people? One of the things I have learned is that there are different kinds of “hot headed”—there is the angry, negative, argumentative person, but there are also people who are reactionary, and those who feel really passionate about things and … Continue reading →

How Do You Turn Down a Project or Client?

One of the reasons many of us share for going into business for ourselves is that we want to be able to choose who and when we work. In the beginning weeks or months of our businesses, however, we may take any client, customer or project that comes our way. But, as we get established, and if we have a very clear of sense of our mission and purpose, there will eventually come a time when a project or client presents itself that we really don’t want to work with—so how do we turn down a project or client and … Continue reading →

Should You Charge More for Last Minute or Past a Deadline?

Increasingly it seems, everything is done last minute. People tend to treat deadlines as though they were a “suggestion” and not the last date for making a payment, a purchase, or filling out an application. Some businesses choose to just let all this last minute business slide and make accommodations, while others are finding that it is necessary and reasonable to charge fee for things that come in late. You may notice that if you attend a conference or purchase tickets to something, there is often a “price break” if you order or apply early. Of course, this is to … Continue reading →

Are You Respected as a Business Person?

Ah, respect…one of those things we all seem to crave, but it can be hard to tell if we’re actually getting the respect we think we deserve (or that we’ve earned). When it comes to our home businesses, we may feel so self-conscious or be so removed from our customers and clients that we don’t know if we’re respected or not. So, how can you know if your customers, clients and prospects respect you? Well, first it takes some self awareness about whether you are behaving in a respectful manner. Are you honest? Do you follow through on things you … Continue reading →