4E - SERVICE BUSINESSES 101

 

LeTips.com in Capitola – a great way to get local referrals and local work

 

How to expand, network, improve services?  Also, how does accounting work for a service business?

 

Being in a service business is an attitude.  You can’t quantify service like you can a product.  Marketing a service is harder than marketing a product.  Building the relationship is important.

 

Service-based stuff is all viral marketing.  Based on the client’s trust of your service.  Want to walk away with the client feeling good about the interaction with you. 

 

If I do my job well, at the end of the service, can ask for a referral.  How was your experience?  Can you think of anyone else who might need this service?  Can even offer some sort of recognition (1 hour free service?) for referring another client. Best ROI is through client referrals.

 

How to maintain a service business, generate business?

-       quality service

-       word of mouth, referrals

-       happy customers

-       good website

-       blog

-       touch base often, check in

-       take brochures to neighborhoods, neighbors of current clients (in business environment)

-       being involved in the community, at trade and networking events, at events related to the service you offer

-       workshops, presentations, speaking engagements

-       in a service business, EVEREYONE is a sales person.  They all represent the company.

o      Intangibles to motivate employees: keep them in the loop, training, etc., communicate with them, make sure they know the company mission

 

Marketing literature:  brochures, postcards specific to a special or a deal. All viral marketing.

 

What’s the point of your service?  If you can’t quantify it in a little snippet, it will be hard for you to communicate it, or for your clients to “get it.”  Mission statement?

- Also, what is your personal mission, and how does it relate to your business mission?

 

Golden Rule: See things from the customer’s perspective:  if I was spending my dollar, what would I expect?  Try to provide the client with the same kind of service that you would expect from another provider.  Also, when representing the client to others, represent them as you would want to be represented.

 

Long-term relationships.  Cultivate the relationship.  Not just the number of clients, but the number where there is a healthy win-win relationship.  Clients can also become long-term friends.  Can count on them for referrals, testimonials, etc.

-       Requires active learning about the client, interacting with them as people, not just business associates.

 

“When I have the right kind of conversation with people, seeing if it is ‘a match,’ I really give of myself, get to know the person on a human level.  50% of the time they end up working with me.  But I’m not selling, I’m really getting to know them, to see what works and what fits.”

 

“I’m okay with giving knowledge away to build the relationships.  I trust that I’m going to get paid.”

 

Find ways to give back to the community, and then play it up for all it’s worth.  Use it as a marketing opportunity.

 

Two things that are important in a service business:

1)    Trusting what you are offering.  Trust that you can deliver what you promise, promise what you can actually deliver.

2)    Sometimes you need other people for support, collaboration.  Sometimes you just can’t remember who/what you are, and you need somebody to remind you.

o      Take advantage of your friends’ resources as well as your own.

 

Sometimes you can get in over your head, because you commit to things, only to realize you can’t do it all.  Who do you call in?  Where do you go?

 

 

Getting people to buy your service:

 

Qualify the client.  They might think they need a specific service for a solution, but actually they haven’t read the situation accurately.  Sometimes it takes you, the outside observer, to see what’s really going on.

-       For example, it may be that they think the employees need extra training to do their job properly, when in reality the management needs to learn how to communicate with their teams.  Know that the service you offer is going to solve their actual problem, not their perceived one.

 

Make sure the people you are talking to are the ones who actually make the decision around the budget and what products/services to buy.

 

Make sure to follow-through with the client, and ask if they’re on board with the service.  Many people do the sales pitch, or give away some service, and then don’t follow up by asking for the paid work.

 

Giving away work?  It’s a balance.  You can give away enough to give people a feeling of how you think, how you work, etc., not necessarily do the actual work, but sit with somebody and show them the value you add.  Perhaps walk them through how you are going to work, how you will address their needs.

“Half-hour consult for free” can be a mutual interview, to address the above issues.

 

Getting in the door via pro-bono work?  Pro bono work leads to more pro bono work.  Trade leads to more trade. 

 

Select about 20 clients that we consider ideal, ask questions like what do we do best? what would like us to offer? what can we do best?  Interview your clients, look for patterns and flags that point to “hot button issues” that brought them to you?

-       Local?

-       Experts?

-       Environmental?

-       Friendly?

-       Helpful?

 

Book recommendations:

-       Attracting Perfect Customers: The Power of Strategic Synchronicity by Stacey Hall and Jan Brogniez

-       The Answer, by John Assaraf

 

 

Participants:

Amy Caprino, electrical services installation

Steven Cerri, training and consulting co to engineers

George Sisson, computer consulting

Carol, just getting started freelance writer

Samantha, helping women

Artem, agency Web design

Jim Allen-Young, Architect

Drew, developing training program for process for big ag companies in Watsonville

Susan Landon, mgmt consultant

Lori, monthly art & lit series in Capitola

Marilyn, second wind coaching, life coaching

Doug, sw eng, sports aggregation

Vick D, discovery fuel, collaborative design

Juan Hernandez, student bus UCSC

David Sals, web developer

Lisette Gerald-Yamasaki, consultant, human performance technologist, “What’s your point?”

Ken Foster, Teranova ecological landscaping, business networking int’l networking group, one rep for each profession/industry, recruiting

Karuna, therapeutic massage, stress reduction work, la tips group, Capitola, bus networking troupe great way to get referrals, latips.com