small business Archives - Page 5 of 8

Which is Worth More: Client Satisfaction or Client Loyalty?

June 25, 2019

Which is Worth More: Client Satisfaction or Client Loyalty? A happy, loyal client might find a lower price elsewhere, but they are more likely to stay with you than a client who is merely satisfied. A loyal client will drive the extra miles when a competitor opens closer to home. They’ll be willing to work virtually or some other way. A loyal client knows that when you make a mistake, it’s not typical. Loyal clients are more likely to tell you when they’re unhappy and allow you the chance to make things right. If your goal is to satisfy clients,
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Get More Done by Hiring the Right People to Help

June 25, 2019

Get More Done by Hiring the Right People to Help No matter how good a leader you are, you can’t do everything yourself. You can get more done with the right help from the right members of your workforce. Follow these three steps: Identify your strengths and weaknesses. Get feedback from those around you to find out where to put your energy productively. Determine what fuels your passion. Where do you excel? What is your brilliance? Then work these strengths and delegate the rest of it. Recruit and retain people who complement your weaknesses. Find employees with the natural strengths
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Build a superstar team with these 3 tips!

June 18, 2019

The question on the mind of small and large accounting firms in this job market is: where is the top talent that I’m looking for to fill my open position? The fact is that in this day and age, the candidate is in the position of power during the interviewing process. With the unemployment rate at a level we haven’t seen in quite some time, businesses are now more than ever in a desperate race to reach qualified candidates before they receive offers from competitors. While a strong candidate may be an asset for your company, without the right dynamic
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Are You Delegating the Wrong Way?

June 10, 2019

One of the most important characteristics of a good manager or a good business owner is the ability to delegate. You’re not going to have time to do everything. The sooner you can let things go, the better: you can focus on growth and overall strategy, not day-to-day details. But delegating is hard, and nobody’s perfect at it. So regularly check in on your delegation style, especially if you’ve just started. Ask yourself these three questions: 1. Am I overloading employees beyond what they expected? None of your employees will love your company like you do. You might be willing
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Listen with Eyes Wide Open

May 21, 2019

Listen with Eyes Wide Open. Try using your eyes to listen. It might sound funny, but the truth is your eyes communicate to clients that you are paying attention. Even in instances where you can’t greet a client aloud — perhaps you are in conversation with another client or on the phone — simple eye contacts speaks volumes. Remember the 10-Second Rule. Even if you are busy with someone else, make eye contact with a client within 10 seconds. Simply capturing a client’s gaze will keep them from feeling ignored and likely keep them from leaving. “Smile” with your
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Improve Your Leadership with This Skills Assessment

April 29, 2019

Improve Your Leadership with This Skills Assessment Good leaders reassess their skills regularly. Whether you’re a veteran or new to leadership, spend some time exploring these questions in detail: Who and what do I influence? Your sphere of influence isn’t defined or limited by your job title. Who asks for your advice? How do your decisions affect other people and different departments? Do people follow your example without being asked? Can I improve my people skills? Leadership is based on personal relationships. How well do you get along with people at different levels? How well do you listen to others?
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Self-Managers Wanted: Here’s What to Look For

April 16, 2019

Self-Managers Wanted: Here’s What to Look For The “perfect” employee isn’t one who does whatever you say, but someone who knows what to do without having to be told. It’s someone who performs the job without constant prodding, someone who can manage himself or herself with a minimum of interference from you. Here’s what to look for in a self-managing employee: Goals. Look for people who set their own objectives and push themselves to achieve them. Instead of accomplishing the bare minimum, they stretch to do a little bit more, or a little bit better, without anyone else telling them
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10 Questions to Help You Elicit the Best from Your Workforce

April 9, 2019

10 Questions to Help You Elicit the Best from Your Workforce Your success as a leader—and your organization’s success, as well—depend on your ability to get the best from your employees. You can’t expect it to come automatically, though. You have to search carefully for each person’s exceptional talents. For every person you lead, see how thoroughly you can answer the questions below: How well do you really know the employee? What can you quickly recall of the employee’s family, personal goals, hobbies, or other outside interests? What do you know specifically about his or her career goals, both short
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Encourage Peer Recognition

March 25, 2019

Encourage Peer Recognition Peer recognition brings team members together and reinforces the principles of great customer service. Have you considered awarding “Atta Boys” and “Atta Girls” to team members based on nominations from their colleagues? Zappos has several ways of honoring standout performers who best epitomize the company’s culture and spirit of customer service. Their peer rewards programs give team members the opportunity to recognize and encourage one another. An example is the “Zollars” program where team members can award one another “Zappos dollars” by filling out a form describing why their colleague is deserving of recognition. Zollars can be
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Ask “What Can I Do To Make You Happy?”

March 18, 2019

Ask “What Can I Do To Make You Happy?” Customer service is really put to the test when something goes wrong. What makes an exceptional business better than the rest is the ability to recover from these setbacks. In the past I made an online purchase and received a package with missing parts. I immediately emailed the company’s customer service department. I got an email response from a customer service representative within the hour. “Please just let us know what you would like us to do and we will happily be of service,” the representative wrote. In other words: “What
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