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Lost My First Customer, And It Kinda Sucks

I’ve been fortunate enough that I never had to go through the process of losing a customer with my cleaning business- that was until this weekend. Yup, I lost my first customer. A customer I had a cleaning contract with for the last eleven months. I was fortunate enough to gain repeat business with this client, and got the opportunity to do cleaning at another location owned by the same customer. Prior to gaining this location, I worked my butt off to gain repeat business because I knew the owner had multiple locations. It was a no brain-er, doing repeat business with a source I felt comfortable with and more importantly a reliable source that paid on time.

For the past eleven months I worked hard at maintaining the facility which I was given the opportunity to clean, maintain and upkeep eleven months earlier. Sadly, despite my loyalties, showing up on time and going beyond the call of duty at times, this was not enough to keep me as a supplier.

So, just how loyal are customers?

Loyalty is never a one-way street. Customers are also cynical when they see expensive advertising campaigns with enticing offers to attract new customers, but feel they-the existing customers-are often ignored and taken for granted by the supplier.

Not me though. Not my cleaning business. I worked hard at maintaining this relationship. Sadly though higher powers prevailed.

Beginning to the End

This beginning to the end started about three weeks ago. I got approached by the manager and she expressed that certain parts of the cleaning process could be improved.

Talk about being caught off guard.

Eventually after  a short discussion, we went through the cleaning process, reviewed the cleaning after all the offices were cleaned and agreed mutually how we’d move forward. Everyone seemed to be on the same page and the manager/receptions from the doctor’s office expressed their desire to have me on board and continue working together. And by the way if you haven’t figured it out now, the facility that I was cleaning consisted of a doctor’s office and a pharmacy.

A few weeks passed by and it was business as usual. Everyone was in a happy state and compliments were flying in on the cleaning. I was happy my self and glad that I was able to steer the ship in the right direction, or at least I thought I did.

I Always Hated Surprises….

Few weeks had passed by since the mini pow-wow with the manager. I thought things were back to normal and moving in the right direction. I suppose I was the lone one who thought that. During the same pow-wow weeks earlier, I had expressed to the manger the need for new supplies. Garbage bags, mops and other cleaning supplies were of the essence. She promised to get new supplies within a week. This was part of our arrangement in the initial contract, they supply the supplies and we do the cleaning.

On this very Saturday I had arrived in a joyful mood and ready to work as always. During my brief chat with her upon arrival, I inquired about the supplies, which by the way were two weeks overdue, and the response I got was as follows;

“Eddie, I haven’t gotten the supplies yet for a reason. The doctor has asked me to find a new cleaner, and I’ve yet to do so. I wanted to be honest with you on this matter, but the doctor wants a new cleaner.”

Damn. Talk about being caught off guard again. How did it get to this? I thought we worked through the problems. I was loyal, on time, and always there for whatever. I offered a fair and competitive price. They were happy or at least I thought that they were.

Moral Of It All

Never assume you’re doing fine just because nobody says anything. I held this contract for eleven months without a single hiccup. It all fell apart in three weeks. Remember how I said that loyalty is a two way street. The owner who contracted me could have been loyal and spoke up to the doctor, arranged a meeting of some sort amongst all the parties and worked through this. It could have been done differently, but in the end it wasn’t.

In order to create loyalty, it’s important to tell staff or contractors how well they are doing and not just give them a boot in the butt when things go wrong.

Likewise it’s also important to regularly let your regular customers know-often-how much you appreciate their business rather than wait until they’ve left or are about to do so. It’s too late then to try and win back their loyalty once things go sour.

Someone once said:

‘It takes years to win a customer and only seconds to lose one.’

Eddie

From Negotiator to Successful Negotiator In 5 Steps

I was never a good negotiator and in my junior days I simply hated negotiating. I used to laugh at my mother, who by the way is a master negotiator, for negotiating to the bone. Anytime we went into a store for a purchase, she’d negotiate, and I’d walk away in embarrassment.

“Give me your best price on this….” and “I’ll pay cash and you take the taxes off..” were some of the classic lines she used. Some sales people wouldn’t give in, that’s until she turns around and pretends to be walking out the store, only to get chased down and given what she negotiated for.

Eventually through the years I became wiser and started to get more comfortable with negotiating. Bigger purchases like furniture, cars and my first home really did put me in the drivers seat of negotiating and gave me enough courage to become a more comfortable negotiator.

Finally I started my own cleaning business and had no choice but to negotiate contracts, pricing and schedules with customers. I learned to cut the best deals possible for my business through persistence, honesty and most importantly confidence.

Most people think of negotiating as a fight where you defeat your opponent by getting the better of the deal, however it’s anything but that. The best deals are those that are fair to both sides, so they can be can be renewed again and again. This is called repeat business, and if you think back to Marketing 101, it’s referred to as the “80/20 Rule”.

In spirit of negotiating and becoming better negotiators, whether you’re negotiating for your business or for your new furniture purchase, here are five steps to masterful deal-making.

1. A Humble You Goes A Long Way

Put your ego aside and just be humble. Stop trying to be that “tough” guy character. One of the toughest parts of negotiating any deal is to be humble but firm at the same time.

If you’re a business owner, customer will purposely try and get the better of you. They want to see you flop. Don’t give in, stay the course and just be you.

We’re all human after all, so respect the positions of the other people involved in your negotiations. Express genuine respect for the other parties and what they have accomplished, even if you don’t really mean it.

2. Know Your Value

If you’re a business owner knowing your value is tres important. What can your business do to help your customer? What do you do differently versus your competition? These are some of the questions you should be able to answer instantaneously.

While you can’t know every possible result that the other party would want, be sure to understand what your offer can do for them. This means researching all the ways that your business, product and/or service can help your customer, whether it is solve their problem, increase earning potential, or simply make life more convenient and enjoyable.

3. Create A Personal Relationship

A sales rep that I work with in my day job has a very interesting approach to all of his customers versus the rest of sales staff. He works immensely on creating a personal relationship.

Often his conversations with new and existing customers begin around topics of fishing, golfing, family, kids, the kids hockey, life at home, travel and anything else that he shares a common interest with the party.

After spending a little while and building up the relationship, he’ll flip back to selling, often by asking “By the way Joe, you called about this product….” And by now he has the customer holding onto every word he says. Why? Simply because he installed trust trough building a personal relationship.

4. Finesse

No matter how large or small your potential customer may be, reaching deals requires finesse—the combination of poise and diplomacy where skill and natural ability meet.Finesse really means stepping outside of your comfort zone and thinking outside of the box.

Finesse is most effective when there is a comfort level between two parties, and a mutual interest at hand. For top sales people finesse comes naturally, unfortunately for most of us, including my self, it just doesn’t come naturally.  However, not all is doomed, a little work on developing your charm and creativity will get you all the finesse you need.

5. Swagger

A little swagger can go a long way. Swagger is all about you being you and different from everyone else. It’s something that others remember you by, not so much for what you do, but rather how you do it.  Swagger is about being commanding and authoritative without being arrogant or pretentious.

Swagger is showing off your success and fearlessness without ever compromising your integrity or general likability.

Reader, what do you think makes President Obama so successful?

Answer: Swagger

Eddie

10 Businesses You Can Start For Under $1,000

If you’ve ever considered starting a home business, and felt that you didn’t have the money, you’re not alone. The average person’s belief is that you need a lot of money to start a business. Sadly that’s not true. Anyone can start a business and start-up money should be the least of anyone’s worries.

On average, people can expect to have two and three careers during their work life. People who have been part of the traditional nine-to-five work force and are on the verge of retiring from that life are thinking of what to do next. They still feel that they got in them to work, so why not work for themselves?

Starting a home based business is within the reach of anyone who wants to take some risk and work hard. And like I said money is the least bit you’ll need.

I wanted to share with you 10 business ideas that anyone can start today, and for good measure if you feel that money is holding you back, how about starting any one of these ten businesses for under $1,000? Yes, it’s totally possible.

1. Commercial Cleaning Service

One of the best benefits of starting a cleaning business is that you can work during hours when no one else does – after office hours. Focusing on retail business that need cleaning is a good start. Pharmacies, doctors offices, print shops and retail stores are some of the business establishments always in need of cleaning.

Restaurants are also a great options, because they need daily cleaning to keep the restaurant clean. Usually after the restaurant closes or early in the morning are typical times for cleaning.

When I started my cleaning business, my first two clients were local Rexall Pharmacies. Inside the pharmacies there were doctors offices, x-ray offices and even an orthopedics clinic. This gave the owner, whom I got the contract through even more incentive and need for daily cleaning to be done.

Start Up Cost: $500

What You’ll Need: Reliable car, cleaning products, business cards

2. Home Cleaning Business

Perhaps you would be more interested in house cleaning. Many times with cleaning services you don’t have to spend lots of money on advertising or marketing because your customers will come by word of mouth. You start with one home, and soon enough you’ll be getting referrals.

People are busy with careers, kids, education and family life to clean. This is where you can come in and offer to clean their homes.

Home cleaning is typically done through the day, when the clients are at work or away from home. Cleaning homes is a 9-5 job typically, unlike commercial cleaning where the cleaning is done after hours.

Start Up Cost: $500

What You’ll Need: A reliable car, cleaning products, business cards

3. Computer Repair

During my teen years I repaired computers for extra cash, and made a nice side income. I established myself as the guru who can meet the needs of the personal computer user. I chose not to get involved with small business simply due to liability of highly sensitive files.

Start Up Cost: $600

What You’ll Need: Your home office, spare computer parts, knowledge of computer software/hardware, Internet connection and some business cards

4. eBay Business

Look around your home carefully and I’m certain you’ll discover products that you could sell on eBay. Just as the saying goes; “You trash is someone’s gold”. Selling your old unwanted items will also give you the opportunity to get rid of the clutter in your home.

Figure out your asking price and decide whether to auction it or put it in your eBay store. Then decide if you want a minimum bid and how long you want the auction to last.

If you purchase from eBay regularly, I’m certain that you already have a PayPal account to use for transactions, and that you’re fairly in tune on home buying an selling works.

Start Up Cost: $0

What You’ll Need: Internet connection, Paypal account and your garage to ship/pack your sold products

5. Blogging / Editorial Services

Starting a blog and writing for your blog is a lot of work. On top of that you’ll need a lot of patience before you start seeing any money. In the mean time, you can showcase your work and offer additional services through your blog.

Ghost Writing – As a ghost writer, you actually do all research and write the article, while someone else’s name is attached as the author.

Indexing – There are indexing courses available and you can get indexing software.

SEO Consultant – If you’re really good at search engine optimization on your website/blog, you may want to offer others your service. There is a great need for solid SEO consultants.

Copy-editing. – This is where fact checking takes place, and where grammatical, stylistic and typographical errors are caught.

Start Up Cost: $200

What You’ll Need: Blog/Website, business cards, solid writing/editing skills

6. Flea Market Booth

Opening up a flea market booth is rewarding in many ways. You’ll be selling a product in a retail setting without the cost of a high-end retail store.

For example, if you’re a good baker, selling your baked goods through a flea market booth is a great way to make extra bucks.

Start Up Cost: $700

What You’ll Need: Booth rental at flea market (avg $500/month)

7. Personal Trainer

If you’re passionate about keeping fit and nutrition, you may want to start your own private personal training. Create a website, put some pictures up and show them where they could possibly get trained (your gym/workout area at home).

Advertise your services at bulletin boards in malls, grocery stores and anywhere else that people go. Another good advertising avenue is Craigslist and Kijiji free local classified ads.

Passing on your learning, technique, focus on getting fit and staying injury free is essential to clients of all ages.

Start Up Cost: $400

What You’ll Need: Website, home-made ads, business cards and a workout area at home to train your clients.

8. Boat Cleaning Service

Boating season is just around the corner and it’s time to give a major cleaning to all the boats and different areas of the boats–the decks, the sleeping quarters, the head, and the holds.

If you’re unsure where to start, do local advertising in your local marina or you could approach homes that have boats parked in their driveways.

Start Up Cost: $100

What You’ll Need: Business cards and cleaning products

9. Landscaping Services

I know a personal friend who started his landscaping business with his father’s lawnmower and rake. In five short years, his business is doing well over $500,000 in sales per year.

His business mostly grew through word of mouth, but he had a solid website and distributed flyers in local neighborhoods on weekly basis.

Start Up Cost: $800

What You’ll Need: Lawnmower, rake, leaf blower, business cards and flyers to distribute locally.

10. Window Cleaning Service

Starting a window cleaning business is probably the easiest business to start out of all the above options. You don’t need a lot of capital, and you can essentially do it on your own time.

If you live in anywhere in Canada, window cleaning essentially becomes a seasonal business, at least for 8 months only. The other four months it’s too cold to clean windows and the water freezes below zero.

Start Up Cost: $100

What You’ll Need: Squeegee, Bucket and business cards