Susanne Dansey’s Blog

For those going to the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference, make sure you look out for this title when booking in for the Symposium Seminars as it would be really good to see you. The code for it is SBS-BG05 if you’re interested.

With only a few days until I get to show the slides I’ve been working on for the last few weeks (thanks to Tim for his input), it might be a little strange to want to talk about it now.

The funny thing is, is that one hour just isn’t enough for anyone to present on something that they are passionate about. In fact, in most cases, presentations/lectures/workshops are great because those taking them are normally very excited and experienced about the topic/theme, but the subject goes on beyond the time set to talk.

So what should you expect from a conference? Well, here are a few things to kick you off with:

• The opportunity to meet those who champion subjects that interest you
• The chance to network with like-minded peers and catch up with familiar faces
• Ideas, new ways of thinking and approaching problems, calls to action
• ‘Stash’ (don’t tell me you don’t!) - that’s freebies if you weren’t sure

These are just a few reasons and I’m sure there are plenty out there that you can think of? So if you can, hold those thoughts and think about how they translate into what a customer should expect from you… you really didn’t think I was going to ramble on about conferences did you?

In any industry, and particularly in the small business arena, it is populated with many service providers who on paper provide the same service. Whatever you sell to your clients, it’s a dead cert that someone not far off does exactly the same.

What makes you different? What gave all your existing clients the reason and confidence to place their trust in you? What is it that allows you to say ‘yes, most of our business comes from word-of-mouth marketing’?

It doesn’t take a wild guess to assume that it has something to do with you and/or the guys you work with in your organisation. With my departure from Readycrest, I had to let my clients know of this news and the response I got back from them was extremely positive; both in terms of their opinion of me but more importantly their opinion of our business. They were pleased with the service I had provided them so far but equally, they were confident that the rest of the team could continue in a similar vein. I wouldn’t have been able to do this if I hadn’t promoted the businesses on those reasons at the beginning of our relationships with our clients.

You see, if everyone (or just you) radiates enthusiasm based on their confidence of their business to provide an A1 service then those who buy-in will feel the same.

The key is to maintain this momentum and ensure you don’t let your people become an unnecessary risk/threat because you weren’t keeping an eye on it.

In most cases, people are the key to business success both in terms of those that you employ and those that you work with (account managers, suppliers, clients, community peers) so you will always have to keep feeding them with what they need in order to keep it going. Think about the last time you:

• Offered and delivered training to your staff? Was it product focused or did it focus on developing them personally?
• Checked with your client that they were happy with the way you or your colleague dealt with them. Is there a chance there is a clash of personality or is your customer being successfully mirrored?
• Booked time to just sit with the client and chat about their business? Hidden agendas to see if you can find more sales opportunities are fine, just don’t make it obvious and don’t be disappointed if you can’t see anything on that occassion. The time you took to chat to the client is one of the best forms of PR and reassures them that you are the right guy for the job.
• Sat down with your staff and asked them how they are, or what they wanted to do with their careers, or what they think can be done better in your business?
• Made sure that you were happy with the way the business was going and that you are coping?

The ‘human’ experience that you provide your client is how you demonstrate to them that you know what you’re talking about, that you can support their business now and in the future, and that you care. It takes a lot for a client to move their business from one to another - the process can be painful and slow. In small business, we tend to like the idea that we ‘care’ and ‘understand’ the business from bottom up and re-telling this to a stranger takes up valuable business time to get it right.

It’s six times easier to sell to an existing client than to a new one so this is really where you should be focussing your business - on your clients!

But what about negative feedback/complaints or where it just isn’t working? The best way to think about this is to do what you should do in every instance, positive or negative: put yourself in their shoes and imagine how you would like to be treated.

I’m not going to impose any religion on you but it may be useful to bear the following in mind:

“Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” 

And what if what you think is right is different in your client’s mind? Can you address it? Can you fix it? If you can’t do you know a community partner who can take the client on for you or could you contract it out to them on your behalf?

Once you’ve given the client what they were looking for (you may have had to adjust their expectations), what else have you done for them that adds value (perceived or actual?) and is it enough to make you different in your own way from ZYX company up the road?

Have confidence in what you do is so important. If you can’t do something that your client is looking for, then find a solution to the problem for them or else you’re going to find your invoicing gets a bit thin on the ground. In addition, if the client just slips away, how are you going to know how to avoid repeating the same mistake again? Feedback, good or bad is always positive.

What you’re reading is one aspect of me adding business value. Most of you don’t know what I do as a day job but those who connect with me get the same level of enthusiasm that I demonstrate when I decide it’s more interesting to write a blog post than pack for my house move!

For those who don’t get the chance to attend my session, I’m going to try and get the information out in other ways so I’ll nudge Vlad to see if there is a way we can do this. Those who will be at my session, well, guys there is going to be a bit of me talking, you writing, and you thinking about what you can do to help your business shine - it’s what conferences are all about!