Discuss Business

You might think that your customers or even your boss are telling you what they think of your product or service.  But very often they are not, you need to ask. 

I remember the first time I did a ring round of our top five clients and ran through a quick survey of four questions to get their feedback on our service.  To my surprise some of these clients had issues with our service that they never mentioned to me before, even though I dealt with them on a regular basis. 

By asking for their feedback I got an honest review and the opportunity to improve service delivery and iron out minor issues before they became major problems that could result in a lost client. 

So ask for feedback.  You might not always like what you hear, but it is much better to know than not know.  If you don’t know about a client’s issues, you won’t have the opportunity to do something about them.

When you run your own business it is important to maximise every opportunity you have to make a sale.  It is helpful to remember the ABC of Sales and to be constantly on the alert for opportunities to sell your product or service.  If someone is trying to sell you something, return the favour by offering to sell them something that could help their business.

This is not about pushing your product on everyone you meet or speak to.  The idea here is to get in the habit of recognising opportunities to sell and promote your business to those who could benefit from your product or service.