Yes, Doctor. You Too Are in Sales!

My mom recently had cataract surgery, and being the good son she raised me to be, I accompanied her to her eye doctor for a follow up visit the next day.  During this visit I was reminded of the fact that no matter what type of business you are in, you are in sales.  Any business that feels it is above the need to treat their clients and prospects with the highest regard is in jeopardy of losing them to a competitor.  Even if you’re a doctor or lawyer – you still need to sell yourself, and provide good customer service.  Apparently this idea was lost on the owners of this particular practice.

For weeks, my Mom had known that a day after her cataract surgery, she had a follow-up appointment with her surgeon - let’s call him Dr. A.  The visit started nicely enough, the typical walk into the office, signing in and waiting to be called.  She was first seen by a technician who removed the bandage covering her eye and then gave her some instructions for the next few days, then left and said, “the Doctor will be in shortly.”

A few minutes later, a gentleman entered without saying a word, sat on the doctor’s stool, started looking through her file, and proceeded to ask her to place her head in the contraption thingee where the Dr. looks into patients’ eyes.   My Mom and I both looked at one another, and I’m sure my mom was thinking the exact same thing as I was, “Who the heck are you, and where is the doctor who we were expecting?”

My mom asked this politely, and received an answer about how the doctor was away and couldn’t make it in that day, etc.  I was floored at how inconsiderate and careless this was!  It seemed like he, and by extension, the entire practice, couldn’t care less about their patients and how they were treated.  Otherwise, they would have made sure we were aware of the fact that the doctor we were expecting wasn’t in.

At the very least, there are two or three things that should have taken place that didn’t:  During check-in my mom should’ve been told, “I’m sorry, your doctor couldn’t be here today, but don’t worry, Dr. B is here, is excellent, and will take great care of you.”  The same should have been said by the tech who saw her.  And when Dr. B entered, the least I’d expect is a simple introduction.  Ideally, she should’ve been called ahead of time so that she could decide whether to keep the appointment and be seen by someone else, or reschedule.

Trouble is, these guys don’t realize that the usual rules of business, sales, and customer service apply to them, and I’m sure they lose patients every day.  I know of at least one they lost that day.

Simple Tips to Avoid Viruses on Your PC

We’ve all had the unfortunate experience of having our computer attacked by a virus, some by the exceptionally malicious ones that access your contact list and start sending unwanted e-mails to your friends and associates. In an effort to reduce such occurrences, here are a few simple tips to help protect your computer from viruses and spyware:

1. Install an anti-virus program, and run scans regularly. There are several good virus programs out there, such as Norton Antivirus, Kaspersky, Avast, and others which you can download for free, or for the full versions, for under $100. This software will protect your computer from most viruses. The key here is not just installing the software, but scheduling it to automatically scan your computer and update the ever-growing list of viruses regularly.   Norton: http://www.symantec.com/norton/index.jsp

2. Get a pop-up blocker. You know those windows with ads that keep popping up when you visit a website? They’re not only annoying, but they can also include harmful spyware or viruses. By installing a free pop-up blocker (which comes with Google and Yahoo’s toolbar), you can virtually eliminate these pop-ups and protect your pc.

Google toolbar - http://www.google.com/toolbar/ff/index.html
Yahoo toolbar - http://toolbar.yahoo.com/
(both toolbars include a pop up blocker)

3. Use a different browser. It amazes me how simple this is – by using a browser other than Microsoft Internet Explorer, you can eliminate a HUGE amount of spyware and adware. I have nothing against Microsoft, but unfortunately, many viruses are written for Internet Explorer due its ubiquity. Using a different browser such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome will make a big difference. When I used to use Internet Explorer, I would find about 200 adware or spyware a week when I’d scan my pc. After switching to Firefox, these scans find one or two at the most.

These browsers are also faster than Internet Explorer, making for a better browsing experience. I know you’re used to Internet Explorer, but once you get used to using a different browser, you’ll never look back. They are free.

Mozilla Firefox – http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/upgrade.html

Google Chrome - http://www.google.com/chrome/index.html?hl=en&brand=CHMB&utm_campaign=en&utm_source=en-ha-na-us-sk&utm_medium=ha

Beware of any e-mails from recipients you don’t recognize; never open these or other suspicious e-mails. You should also back up your computer regularly, so in the event that a virus does get through and does enough harm that you need to reformat your hard drive, you’ll have all of your files. But that’s a topic for another day.

How do I maximise Twitter for my business?

Here's an excellent article about using Twitter effectively:

http://womanzworld.com/entrepreneurs/social-media-for-entrepreneurs-workout-3-toning-up-with-twitter/

Great Expectations from Social Networking Websites

"I need to get on those social networking websites...I need to quickly start generating business from them." Working with websites and Search Engine Optimization, I hear this very often. Many business owners feel that they are missing out by not joining sites such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. These sites are somewhat of a mystery to many who have heard them mentioned so much in the media lately but really don't know anything about them. This leads to an unrealistic expectation of what these sites can do for them.

So what are sites like Facebook all about, and can a business owner expect to get some business from them? My answer to this question would be that you should think of social networking sites in the same way you think about personal networking in a Chamber of Commerce or similar business networking group. Just as you shouldn't expect to go to one networking meeting and start getting lots of business right away, the same is true of social networking sites. These sites are online versions of the same concept of personal networking - by getting to know one another, you will start to develop trust in one another, and if the need arises for a service or product you offer, I will likely call on you to provide it. As we get to know one another, we will also give each other access to our network of contacts.

What makes online networking uniquely powerful is the fact that our network of contacts is leveraged so much because we instantaneously have access to the contacts of all of our contacts. Whereas this is true in real-life networking, it would take you a lifetime to see all of the connections you have. Online, it is evident immediately. A site like LinkedIn makes this easy to see, as you can view the contacts of each of those who you are connected to. This phenomenon is tempered a bit by the nature of less personal online connections, however, and this is important to keep in mind. In person I can make a much bigger impact than online. All this means is that personal networking is still effective and should still be a part of your marketing plan, and online networking is effective as well, but is a different animal altogether.

So business owners are right to want to dive into social networking. But what results can they expect? This depends first on the type of business we're talking about. Let's take a retail store as an example, which sets us a business "fan" page on Facebook. I've personally seen this new type of marketing work wonders. A store offers coupons on its Facebook page, and before long it has hundreds - or thousands - of new fans. What a great way to get people in your store and on your website! I've seen this work really well with national chains and smaller mom and pop stores.

This is more challenging, though, for businesses that aren't household names.  One idea I've seen is to give something away, such as a $5 gift card to a store to everyone who signs up as a fan. The question is, if 500 people sign up, and only one or two end up as clients, will it be worth it? Obviously this will depend on your price points.

Either way, though, some perspective is in order. Unless your business is a household name that can quickly get thousands of fans, to the point that your Facebook page is getting more hits than your actual website and is a major part of your marketing, results will likely be slow and much more modest. You may only get one client the first year, but it will grow from there. That's probably the best way to approach it.

If getting modest results at first is ok with you, then why not do it? Why not join Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, even if nothing comes out of it at first? It certainly won't hurt, and I would say that the exposure would be beneficial and may someday be substantial. My recommendation would be - sign up for these social networking sites, spend some time on them growing your network, update your status periodically, and don't expect too much. After some time, just like real networking, you'll start to see results.