Getting Your Business Systems Ready for the Holiday Rush

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As an independent service provider, you might be marketing and selling not only services but products as well.  Maybe you decided to put on one of the popular Black Friday sales here in the U.S.  Or maybe you're doing end of year promotions. Either way, one of the best things you can do during the holiday season is prepare all your business systems to handle the holiday rush. In many industries, the holiday season could consist of as much … [Read more...]

Know What Your Customers Want to Buy and Pay

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This slideshow covers pointers for understanding what your customers want to buy. … [Read more...]

Meet Jill From MojoHelpDesk.com

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One of the best ways to stand out with your business is to have great customer service.  There are quite a few online tools available now to help you stand out with your customer support services.  Learn about one of them as Internet Coach Tanya Smith interviews Jill Ward of MojoHelpDesk.com, where you can set up your own behind the scenes support center for your small business. Let us know what you think! For more great interviews with … [Read more...]

Two Tales of Customer Service

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Customer service applies wherever you do business - not just offline, but online too. Some online entrepreneurs don't get this point. And guess what, how you do business when someone leaves your service can impact you just as much as it does while you're doing business with them as an active client. To make this point, let's look at two different customer service experiences I've had recently. In one case, I bought a service to use with … [Read more...]

How to Create Standard Operating Procedures

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Even small business and solo business owners can benefit from taking activities they do each day and creating a set of standard operating procedures (SOP).   What is an SOP? A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) is a "set of written instructions that document a routine or repetitive activity followed by an organization" (I leveraged that definition from the U.S. Envronmental Protection Agency manual on SOPs because I liked it). Documenting has … [Read more...]

Smart & Spicy Audio Tip: Don’t Make Promises Your Brand Can’t Keep

The word for the day is "congruency".  Are you making promises you can't keep with your branding & marketing? When you promote yourself, you are promoting a promise to deliver on quality, excellence, and follow-through with your audience. Listen up as I share a recent experience & what doesn't work.   … [Read more...]