Right now, I know that I’m on the cusp of getting huge. I’ve spent this year building my skills in deliberate anonymity. I’ve worked hard to get good and to help. I’ve dug myself 2/3 of the way out of the IRS hellhole that I put myself in in my 20’s. I’ve lost 25# so far, with another 10-15# to go this year
One of the things that changed what I was able to do was the notion that I saw my business as an expression of myself, and my standards. Not just a job I did for other people, but really and truly a way to impart my will on the world. This is how a business should be run. This is what should happen. My addiction to transactions hasn’t subsided all at once, but the big pieces are in place.
I will have a complete expression of what I can do, how I think business should be run and how my customers should be treated very soon. Working with a growing and excellent web team has meant so much to me. I’ve got coverage for what I’m weak at and the things that I did wrong are done right. The velocity of the business I can handle now has increased by an order of magnitude, at least.
I couldn’t be more happy about the direction I’m in.
It’s me. Every detail of what I’m crafting is planned out. I’ve created a 11 step customer experience that I’m expressing using Digital Access Pass. DAP has been wonderful–a membership site software experience that we can jury rig into a CRM. We’re going to refine this process as time goes by.
- On Delivery: Welcome and Thank Them. . An instant thanks with a link to a video page celebrating and telling them where to get help if they need it.
- On Delivery: Give something away for free that’s related, instantly. Lots of us content producers have stuff that’s half done that is valuable but hasn’t been finished. Finish it, put a bow on it, and then give it to the ppl. that buy from us FOR FREE. Tell ‘em it’s an EXTRA, and don’ advertise it on the outside. They will LOVE the fact that they are getting more than they asked for.
- On Delivery: Tell ‘em What Happens Next & When It Happens: Predictability is paramount in this business. We tell people what happens next, and how many hours or days away that is, and they don’t get anxious and wonder “where’s my deal.” They are ALWAYS aware of the next step and the deadline for it.
- On Delivery: Tell ‘em how to get help & access all support: Stuff goes wrong, telling people how to get problems solved is vital so customers feel in charge. Have an ‘emergency’ channel (private cell phone) along with a “regular” channel.
- 1 Day Out: Reassure that they made the right choice and share process stories and testimonials. This part of the equation is hard. But, people get buyer’s remorse. Within a day, share some more testimonials and case study notes.
- In Process: “As Promised” attached to EVERY Message. We deliver blogs and do some light “consulting” and implementation. We are now telling people that we’re keeping our promises. It does 2 things: holds us accountable to keeping FUTURE promises.
- Obsess over On Time Delivery: This is where I personally was weakest. The people I delivered on time left me testimonials. The people that didn’t were unhappy, (rightly so). Having people backing me up has been killer.
- After Delivery INTERNAL Survey: Look for places to improve and streamline. Are there steps that we can remove? Are there redundancies? Can we proactively improve the experience for customers?
- 10 days out: Have a Survey That You SEnd: I am held accountable now because I have customer service survey. You can make one in Google Docs, or you can use Cforms. I myself want to learn how I can improve, get really good. I want to raise the bar myself as fast as possible.
- 30 day call: A phone call 30 days out to make sure everything is good and everything has been delivered is in my process. Not to drum up more business (but that never hurts), really to take care of and honor people.
- 90 Day Call: Doing a call 90 days after the fact is the next important thing. Do this, and you’ll be happy.
Bottom line is this: my business represents who I am and the standards I uphold. When I was a mess, it was a mess. Now that I’m hustling like hell to make everything I touch uh-mazing, the business is improving rapidly. I will be stopping to “productize” everything I do before I sell it.
What follows is one of my favorite songs.
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