http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 Most Recent Submissions from ContactPoint on AutoPro Workshop Tue, 08 Jan 2013 02:30:10 GMT Tue, 08 Jan 2013 02:30:10 GMT mwillins@advanstar.com (AutoBizGuru) mwillins@advanstar.com (AutoBizGuru) KickApps Feed Builder 2013-01-08T02:30:10Z 38 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/searchEverything.kickAction?as=31710&includeVideo=on&includeAudio=on&includePhoto=on&includeBlog=on&sortType=recent 0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_9-Reasons-Your-Website-Might-Be-Failing/blog/6497099/31710.html I was talking to a client the other day and he said something that startled me. He said that only about 15% of SMBs are actively marketing their website. In some sectors might even be worse. Estimates by the Automotive Services Association—the official association of auto repair shops and collision shops—show that less than 50% of companies in the automotive sector even have websites.  If that’s true it is very startling. It shows the industry has a lot of room for improvement. Download White Paper - 11 Ways to Improve Conversions With Call Tracking Case Study in Success Before I get into the ways your website might be failing, let’s talk about success. We have a fairly large retail client based in South Carolina. For years, they didn’t put much thought or money into their website. Their website looked like something from 1997. Not. Good. They had no idea how many people visited their site and they didn’t know how many calls it was generating. (i.e. how many people called after visiting their site). They simply didn’t know. In January they decided they would start tracking web traffic with Google Analytics and start tracking phone calls with LogMyCalls. To their surprise, they realized their website was actually generating several hundred phone calls a month. This stunned them. They had no idea. So, using this newfound knowledge, they diverted their marketing resources to redesigning their site and, for the first time, actually marketing their site. And guess what? In May their site generated 1489 phone calls. That’s an increase of about 300% from January. Why You Need to Market Your Website Google says that 97% of internet users (which is about 80% of the adult population in the U.S.) search for a local business online before making a buying decision. With that information in mind, it is critical to have a good website, market that website and track whether that marketing is successful. But, sadly, many companies don’t do it effectively. Here are 9 reasons your website might be failing: Reasons Your Website Might Be Failing 1. You Don’t Have a Website – Research across a variety of industries shows that only around 50% of small businesses have websites. This is particularly a problem in some segments of the automotive industry. We know that much of the auto repair industry, for example, is referral based. People tell their friends you did a good job on their car and so their friend visits the shop. That’s great. However, as the population ages and people from 25-34 increasingly turn to social media and Google to make decisions about where to take their car, you will need a website. It is going to become ever more difficult to get new customers without awebsite. Get a website. The first solution is to hire someone to build a website for you. Make sure you get a number of price quotes before you make a decision. The other option is to use a cheap service that will host your website and allow you to add pictures and content at will. 2. You Have a Bad Website – We’ve all seen sites that look like they haven’t been updated since the Clinton administration. These are websites that look like the old house on your block that’s boarded up and vacant. It’s obvious no one has cleaned up in a while. Look at your website and honestly evaluate if it needs a redesign. 3. No Phone Numbers – This one stuns us. There are way too many websites that don’t have phone numbers prominently on them. Remember, in the automotive sector, a phone call is still the preferred way customers want to interact with you. Your potential customers want to call you. They want to talk to a real person. And the most obvious and simple place for them to get your phone number is on your website. Make it easy for them by putting a phone number on the top of your website. 4. You Don’t Track Web Traffic – If you have a website, you need to care about the number of people that visit your website. The best way to track this web traffic is with Google Analytics. You can sign up for a free Google Analytics in about 5 minutes. Google Analytics will show you a bunch of cool stuff that may (or may not) interest you. But, the main thing it will show you is this: how many people are visiting your site and how they found your site. 5. You Don’t Track Phone Calls – We recommend putting a local or toll free number from us (or another call tracking provider) on your website. The number rings directly to your business no differently than it does right now. The only difference is that you can log in to LogMyCalls.com and track how many people are calling you after seeing your website. You can see who they are and where they’re calling from. You can even hear the phone calls themselves and determine if your employees are selling effectively on the phone. (That is pretty eye-opening. Believe me). If you have a website, you need to put tracking phone numbers on the site so you can see how well your site is generating phone calls for you. 6. You Don’t Do SEO – One reason your website might be failing is because you aren’t doing any SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. If you want people to find you after doing a Google search, SEO is critical. There are entire blogs and websites devoted to teaching you how to do SEO, but here’s my recommendation: hire someone to do it. For a relatively small amounf of money a month you can find a local SEO company that will be more than happy to optimize your site for keywords that will get people to find you. 7. You Don’t Use Google+ - Recently Google announced they are killing Google Places and forcing every business in America jump on Google+. Google+ is Google's version of Facebook. Here’s the reason it matters: when someone searches for a local business on Google, they are going to see your Google+ page if you have one. If you don’t, they won’t. 8. You Don’t Have a Facebook Page – Facebook is where the world gathers. Every business needs to have a presence on Facebook. You can post promotions, pictures, updates and even communicate directly with specific customers and potential customers on your Facebook page. You should post regularly and encourage people to comment on your posts and share your posts. 9. You Haven’t Thought About Mobile – More people will conduct searches on mobile devices than on ‘regular’ computers by 2013. That means more people will see your website on their mobile phone than on their regular computer by 2013. Now, we’re not saying you need to go out and start creating a mobile website today. But we are saying that you need to start thinking about it and then, in the next 6 -9 months, start moving. My guess is that your website produces far more phone calls and far more customers than you give it credit for. Fix some of the problems we’ve outlined above and, like the company in our case study earlier in the article, you could see 300% more calls to your business in just a few months. And that means one thing for you? More money. I was talking to a client the other day and he said something that startled me. He said that only about 15% of SMBs are actively marketing their website. In some sectors might even be worse. Estimates by the Automotive Services Association—the official association of auto repair shops and collision shops—show that less than 50% of companies in the automotive sector even have websites.  If that’s true it is very startling. It shows the industry has a lot of room for improvement. Download White Paper - 11 Ways to Improve Conversions With Call Tracking Case Study in Success Before I get into the ways your website might be failing, let’s talk about success. We have a fairly large retail client based in South Carolina. For years, they didn’t put much thought or money into their website. Their website looked like something from 1997. Not. Good. They had no idea how many people visited their site and they didn’t know how many calls it was generating. (i.e. how many people called after visiting their site). They simply didn’t know. In January they decided they would start tracking web traffic with Google Analytics and start tracking phone calls with LogMyCalls. To their surprise, they realized their website was actually generating several hundred phone calls a month. This stunned them. They had no idea. So, using this newfound knowledge, they diverted their marketing resources to redesigning their site and, for the first time, actually marketing their site. And guess what? In May their site generated 1489 phone calls. That’s an increase of about 300% from January. Why You Need to Market Your Website Google says that 97% of internet users (which is about 80% of the adult population in the U.S.) search for a local business online before making a buying decision. With that information in mind, it is critical to have a good website, market that website and track whether that marketing is successful. But, sadly, many companies don’t do it effectively. Here are 9 reasons your website might be failing: Reasons Your Website Might Be Failing 1. You Don’t Have a Website – Research across a variety of industries shows that only around 50% of small businesses have websites. This is particularly a problem in some segments of the automotive industry. We know that much of the auto repair industry, for example, is referral based. People tell their friends you did a good job on their car and so their friend visits the shop. That’s great. However, as the population ages and people from 25-34 increasingly turn to social media and Google to make decisions about where to take their car, you will need a website. It is going to become ever more difficult to get new customers without awebsite. Get a website. The first solution is to hire someone to build a website for you. Make sure you get a number of price quotes before you make a decision. The other option is to use a cheap service that will host your website and allow you to add pictures and content at will. 2. You Have a Bad Website – We’ve all seen sites that look like they haven’t been updated since the Clinton administration. These are websites that look like the old house on your block that’s boarded up and vacant. It’s obvious no one has cleaned up in a while. Look at your website and honestly evaluate if it needs a redesign. 3. No Phone Numbers – This one stuns us. There are way too many websites that don’t have phone numbers prominently on them. Remember, in the automotive sector, a phone call is still the preferred way customers want to interact with you. Your potential customers want to call you. They want to talk to a real person. And the most obvious and simple place for them to get your phone number is on your website. Make it easy for them by putting a phone number on the top of your website. 4. You Don’t Track Web Traffic – If you have a website, you need to care about the number of people that visit your website. The best way to track this web traffic is with Google Analytics. You can sign up for a free Google Analytics in about 5 minutes. Google Analytics will show you a bunch of cool stuff that may (or may not) interest you. But, the main thing it will show you is this: how many people are visiting your site and how they found your site. 5. You Don’t Track Phone Calls – We recommend putting a local or toll free number from us (or another call tracking provider) on your website. The number rings directly to your business no differently than it does right now. The only difference is that you can log in to LogMyCalls.com and track how many people are calling you after seeing your website. You can see who they are and where they’re calling from. You can even hear the phone calls themselves and determine if your employees are selling effectively on the phone. (That is pretty eye-opening. Believe me). If you have a website, you need to put tracking phone numbers on the site so you can see how well your site is generating phone calls for you. 6. You Don’t Do SEO – One reason your website might be failing is because you aren’t doing any SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. If you want people to find you after doing a Google search, SEO is critical. There are entire blogs and websites devoted to teaching you how to do SEO, but here’s my recommendation: hire someone to do it. For a relatively small amounf of money a month you can find a local SEO company that will be more than happy to optimize your site for keywords that will get people to find you. 7. You Don’t Use Google+ - Recently Google announced they are killing Google Places and forcing every business in America jump on Google+. Google+ is Google's version of Facebook. Here’s the reason it matters: when someone searches for a local business on Google, they are going to see your Google+ page if you have one. If you don’t, they won’t. 8. You Don’t Have a Facebook Page – Facebook is where the world gathers. Every business needs to have a presence on Facebook. You can post promotions, pictures, updates and even communicate directly with specific customers and potential customers on your Facebook page. You should post regularly and encourage people to comment on your posts and share your posts. 9. You Haven’t Thought About Mobile – More people will conduct searches on mobile devices than on ‘regular’ computers by 2013. That means more people will see your website on their mobile phone than on their regular computer by 2013. Now, we’re not saying you need to go out and start creating a mobile website today. But we are saying that you need to start thinking about it and then, in the next 6 -9 months, start moving. My guess is that your website produces far more phone calls and far more customers than you give it credit for. Fix some of the problems we’ve outlined above and, like the company in our case study earlier in the article, you could see 300% more calls to your business in just a few months. And that means one thing for you? More money. Tue, 08 Jan 2013 02:30:10 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_9-Reasons-Your-Website-Might-Be-Failing/blog/6497099/31710.html ContactPoint 2013-01-08T02:30:10Z Motor Age Blogs AutoPro Workshop I was talking to a client the other day and he said something that startled me. He said that only about 15% of SMBs are actively marketing their website. In some sectors might even be worse. Estimates by the Automotive Services Association—the official association of auto repair shops and collision shops—show that less than 50% of companies in the automotive sector even have websites.  If that’s true it is very startling. It shows the industry has a lot of room for improvement. Download White Paper - 11 Ways to Improve Conversions With Call Tracking Case Study in Success Before I get into the ways your website might be failing, let’s talk about success. We have a fairly large retail client based in South Carolina. For years, they didn’t put much thought or money into their website. Their website looked like something from 1997. Not. Good. They had no idea how many people visited their site and they didn’t know how many calls it was generating. (i.e. how many people called after visiting their site). They simply didn’t know. In January they decided they would start tracking web traffic with Google Analytics and start tracking phone calls with LogMyCalls. To their surprise, they realized their website was actually generating several hundred phone calls a month. This stunned them. They had no idea. So, using this newfound knowledge, they diverted their marketing resources to redesigning their site and, for the first time, actually marketing their site. And guess what? In May their site generated 1489 phone calls. That’s an increase of about 300% from January. Why You Need to Market Your Website Google says that 97% of internet users (which is about 80% of the adult population in the U.S.) search for a local business online before making a buying decision. With that information in mind, it is critical to have a good website, market that website and track whether that marketing is successful. But, sadly, many companies don’t do it effectively. Here are 9 reasons your website might be failing: Reasons Your Website Might Be Failing 1. You Don’t Have a Website – Research across a variety of industries shows that only around 50% of small businesses have websites. This is particularly a problem in some segments of the automotive industry. We know that much of the auto repair industry, for example, is referral based. People tell their friends you did a good job on their car and so their friend visits the shop. That’s great. However, as the population ages and people from 25-34 increasingly turn to social media and Google to make decisions about where to take their car, you will need a website. It is going to become ever more difficult to get new customers without awebsite. Get a website. The first solution is to hire someone to build a website for you. Make sure you get a number of price quotes before you make a decision. The other option is to use a cheap service that will host your website and allow you to add pictures and content at will. 2. You Have a Bad Website – We’ve all seen sites that look like they haven’t been updated since the Clinton administration. These are websites that look like the old house on your block that’s boarded up and vacant. It’s obvious no one has cleaned up in a while. Look at your website and honestly evaluate if it needs a redesign. 3. No Phone Numbers – This one stuns us. There are way too many websites that don’t have phone numbers prominently on them. Remember, in the automotive sector, a phone call is still the preferred way customers want to interact with you. Your potential customers want to call you. They want to talk to a real person. And the most obvious and simple place for them to get your phone number is on your website. Make it easy for them by putting a phone number on the top of your website. 4. You Don’t Track Web Traffic – If you have a website, you need to care about the number of people that visit your website. The best way to track this web traffic is with Google Analytics. You can sign up for a free Google Analytics in about 5 minutes. Google Analytics will show you a bunch of cool stuff that may (or may not) interest you. But, the main thing it will show you is this: how many people are visiting your site and how they found your site. 5. You Don’t Track Phone Calls – We recommend putting a local or toll free number from us (or another call tracking provider) on your website. The number rings directly to your business no differently than it does right now. The only difference is that you can log in to LogMyCalls.com and track how many people are calling you after seeing your website. You can see who they are and where they’re calling from. You can even hear the phone calls themselves and determine if your employees are selling effectively on the phone. (That is pretty eye-opening. Believe me). If you have a website, you need to put tracking phone numbers on the site so you can see how well your site is generating phone calls for you. 6. You Don’t Do SEO – One reason your website might be failing is because you aren’t doing any SEO. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. If you want people to find you after doing a Google search, SEO is critical. There are entire blogs and websites devoted to teaching you how to do SEO, but here’s my recommendation: hire someone to do it. For a relatively small amounf of money a month you can find a local SEO company that will be more than happy to optimize your site for keywords that will get people to find you. 7. You Don’t Use Google+ - Recently Google announced they are killing Google Places and forcing every business in America jump on Google+. Google+ is Google's version of Facebook. Here’s the reason it matters: when someone searches for a local business on Google, they are going to see your Google+ page if you have one. If you don’t, they won’t. 8. You Don’t Have a Facebook Page – Facebook is where the world gathers. Every business needs to have a presence on Facebook. You can post promotions, pictures, updates and even communicate directly with specific customers and potential customers on your Facebook page. You should post regularly and encourage people to comment on your posts and share your posts. 9. You Haven’t Thought About Mobile – More people will conduct searches on mobile devices than on ‘regular’ computers by 2013. That means more people will see your website on their mobile phone than on their regular computer by 2013. Now, we’re not saying you need to go out and start creating a mobile website today. But we are saying that you need to start thinking about it and then, in the next 6 -9 months, start moving. My guess is that your website produces far more phone calls and far more customers than you give it credit for. Fix some of the problems we’ve outlined above and, like the company in our case study earlier in the article, you could see 300% more calls to your business in just a few months. And that means one thing for you? More money. auto, blogs, collision, marketing, motor age, repair nonadult false 9 Reasons Your Website Might Be Failing text blog auto,blogs,collision,marketing,motor age,repair 469 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false United States UT St. George 84770 0 Motor Age / Blogs 0 6497099 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_11-Incredible-Mobile-Marketing-Statistics/blog/6127117/31710.html Mobile marketing is changing the way marketers, and the automotive industry is thinking about marketing. Smart phones have changed the dynamic forever. No matter whether marketers care about social media, local marketing, email marketing, e-commerce, phone calls or web traffic—mobile marketing is changing them all. If you don’t believe that mobile is changing marketing forever…you’re wrong. Hopefully a few of these stats will open your eyes. There are 7 billion people on Earth. 5.1 billion own a cell phone. 4.2 billion own a toothbrush. (Mobile Marketing Association Asia, 2011) It takes 90 minutes for the average person to respond to an email. It takes 90 seconds for the average person to respond to a text message. (CTIA.org, 2011) Mobile coupons get 10 times the redemption rate of traditional coupons. (Mobile Marketer, 2012) 91% of all smart phone users have their phone within arm’s reach 24/7 – (Morgan Stanley, 2012) 44% of Facebook’s 900 million monthly users access Facebook on their phones. These people are twice as active on Facebook as non-mobile users (Facebook, 2012) Mobile marketing will account for 15.2% of global online ad spend by 2016. (Berg Insight, 2012) It takes 26 hours for the average person to report a lost wallet. It takes 68 minutes for them to report a lost phone. (Unisys, 2012) 70% of all mobile searches result in action within 1 hour. 70% of online searches result in action in one month. (Mobile Marketer, 2012) 9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to action, over half leading to purchase. (Search Engine Land, 2012) 61% of local searches on a mobile phone result in a phone call. (Google, 2012) 52% of all mobile ads result in a phone call. (xAd, 2012) Why You Should Care Mobile marketing gives marketers access to a captive audience in a hyper-targeted way. It produces more immediate responses, and a higher response rate, than any other marketing method ever seen before. The mobile marketing tsunami is changing the dynamic of every element of marketing. Everything will be touched. Try LogMyCalls for FREE Mobile marketing is changing the way marketers, and the automotive industry is thinking about marketing. Smart phones have changed the dynamic forever. No matter whether marketers care about social media, local marketing, email marketing, e-commerce, phone calls or web traffic—mobile marketing is changing them all. If you don’t believe that mobile is changing marketing forever…you’re wrong. Hopefully a few of these stats will open your eyes. There are 7 billion people on Earth. 5.1 billion own a cell phone. 4.2 billion own a toothbrush. (Mobile Marketing Association Asia, 2011) It takes 90 minutes for the average person to respond to an email. It takes 90 seconds for the average person to respond to a text message. (CTIA.org, 2011) Mobile coupons get 10 times the redemption rate of traditional coupons. (Mobile Marketer, 2012) 91% of all smart phone users have their phone within arm’s reach 24/7 – (Morgan Stanley, 2012) 44% of Facebook’s 900 million monthly users access Facebook on their phones. These people are twice as active on Facebook as non-mobile users (Facebook, 2012) Mobile marketing will account for 15.2% of global online ad spend by 2016. (Berg Insight, 2012) It takes 26 hours for the average person to report a lost wallet. It takes 68 minutes for them to report a lost phone. (Unisys, 2012) 70% of all mobile searches result in action within 1 hour. 70% of online searches result in action in one month. (Mobile Marketer, 2012) 9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to action, over half leading to purchase. (Search Engine Land, 2012) 61% of local searches on a mobile phone result in a phone call. (Google, 2012) 52% of all mobile ads result in a phone call. (xAd, 2012) Why You Should Care Mobile marketing gives marketers access to a captive audience in a hyper-targeted way. It produces more immediate responses, and a higher response rate, than any other marketing method ever seen before. The mobile marketing tsunami is changing the dynamic of every element of marketing. Everything will be touched. Try LogMyCalls for FREE Wed, 30 May 2012 04:54:11 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_11-Incredible-Mobile-Marketing-Statistics/blog/6127117/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-05-30T04:54:11Z Motor Age Blogs AutoPro Workshop Mobile marketing is changing the way marketers, and the automotive industry is thinking about marketing. Smart phones have changed the dynamic forever. No matter whether marketers care about social media, local marketing, email marketing, e-commerce, phone calls or web traffic—mobile marketing is changing them all. If you don’t believe that mobile is changing marketing forever…you’re wrong. Hopefully a few of these stats will open your eyes. There are 7 billion people on Earth. 5.1 billion own a cell phone. 4.2 billion own a toothbrush. (Mobile Marketing Association Asia, 2011) It takes 90 minutes for the average person to respond to an email. It takes 90 seconds for the average person to respond to a text message. (CTIA.org, 2011) Mobile coupons get 10 times the redemption rate of traditional coupons. (Mobile Marketer, 2012) 91% of all smart phone users have their phone within arm’s reach 24/7 – (Morgan Stanley, 2012) 44% of Facebook’s 900 million monthly users access Facebook on their phones. These people are twice as active on Facebook as non-mobile users (Facebook, 2012) Mobile marketing will account for 15.2% of global online ad spend by 2016. (Berg Insight, 2012) It takes 26 hours for the average person to report a lost wallet. It takes 68 minutes for them to report a lost phone. (Unisys, 2012) 70% of all mobile searches result in action within 1 hour. 70% of online searches result in action in one month. (Mobile Marketer, 2012) 9 out of 10 mobile searches lead to action, over half leading to purchase. (Search Engine Land, 2012) 61% of local searches on a mobile phone result in a phone call. (Google, 2012) 52% of all mobile ads result in a phone call. (xAd, 2012) Why You Should Care Mobile marketing gives marketers access to a captive audience in a hyper-targeted way. It produces more immediate responses, and a higher response rate, than any other marketing method ever seen before. The mobile marketing tsunami is changing the dynamic of every element of marketing. Everything will be touched. Try LogMyCalls for FREE advertising, blogs, marketing, motor age, sales, selling nonadult false 11 Incredible Mobile Marketing Statistics text blog advertising,blogs,marketing,motor age,sales,selling 518 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 Motor Age / Blogs 0 6127117 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_8-Dumb-Marketing-Mistakes/blog/6081857/31710.html Many companies don’t know how to market. They have great products, a great sales team and…no sales. Why? Because they stink at marketing. Here are 8 dumb marketing mistakes that way too many businesses commit that will cost them money, leads and customers. 1) Failing to Track Marketing – This is the number one mistake companies make (especially small and medium-sized companies). They simply don’t know which marketing is working and which is not. They don’t measure the results. They don’t track web traffic via Google Analytics or phone calls via call tracking. Marketing without measuring is dumb. 2) Making Assumptions - Many marketers begin marketing with built-in assumptions about what will work and what won’t. They assume a direct mailer will generate phone calls, or they assume a PPC campaign will generate web traffic. Firmly entrenched assumptions can overwhelm the data about a specific method’s success or failure. In short: either marketers assume something will work so they don’t closely track web traffic and phone calls or they ignore the data altogether. 3) Only Focusing on ‘Outbound’ Marketing – Hubspot talks a lot about outbound v. inbound marketing. The difference is basically this: outbound marketing is like hunting; you spend money and try to seek people to buy something. Inbound marketing is when you create such great content and have such great offers that people seek you. You get found rather than go finding. Certainly outbound marketing is important, but only dumb marketers neglect inbound marketing. 4) Aiming at Everyone – There are certain segments of the population (either consumers or businesses) that are more likely to buy from you than others. Dumb marketers spend a bunch of money and cast a very wide net. They don’t focus their efforts on segments that are more likely to buy from them. Smart marketers focus and refine their efforts using marketing analytics and optimization. 5) Forgetting the Phone – Too many marketers only goal is to generate web traffic. That’s fine, but it’s sort of dumb. Fact: a prospect is more likely to buy from you if they call you than if they hit a landing page. Only dumb marketers forget to market their phone number. 6) Forgetting the Content – Does your website stink? Is all of the content old and stale? Dumb marketers simply forget the content. They forget to regularly post new blogs, new article and new videos. They forget to update their website with fresh stuff. In a world where the average prospect visits your site multiple times before they buy, this is bad. Your site will bore them. 7) Don’t Read – More than almost any other topic, marketing requires constant self-education. The marketing world is changing on an almost daily basis. You need to read blogs, articles, studies, pay attention to analysts and reviewers. You need to keep reading or you will get left behind. Dumb marketers fail to read and fail to learn their craft. 8) Ignoring Current (Repeat) Customers – The best way to market is to satisfy your current customers. You need to ensure that your customer experience is top notch. Angry customers tell their friends. So do happy ones. If you aren’t recording calls, scoring calls and managing your customer experience in a measurable way, you are ignoring current customers. That’s what dumb guys do. You are smart. And you have to ENSURE that your customer experience is a good one. Sign up for LogMyCalls Many companies don’t know how to market. They have great products, a great sales team and…no sales. Why? Because they stink at marketing. Here are 8 dumb marketing mistakes that way too many businesses commit that will cost them money, leads and customers. 1) Failing to Track Marketing – This is the number one mistake companies make (especially small and medium-sized companies). They simply don’t know which marketing is working and which is not. They don’t measure the results. They don’t track web traffic via Google Analytics or phone calls via call tracking. Marketing without measuring is dumb. 2) Making Assumptions - Many marketers begin marketing with built-in assumptions about what will work and what won’t. They assume a direct mailer will generate phone calls, or they assume a PPC campaign will generate web traffic. Firmly entrenched assumptions can overwhelm the data about a specific method’s success or failure. In short: either marketers assume something will work so they don’t closely track web traffic and phone calls or they ignore the data altogether. 3) Only Focusing on ‘Outbound’ Marketing – Hubspot talks a lot about outbound v. inbound marketing. The difference is basically this: outbound marketing is like hunting; you spend money and try to seek people to buy something. Inbound marketing is when you create such great content and have such great offers that people seek you. You get found rather than go finding. Certainly outbound marketing is important, but only dumb marketers neglect inbound marketing. 4) Aiming at Everyone – There are certain segments of the population (either consumers or businesses) that are more likely to buy from you than others. Dumb marketers spend a bunch of money and cast a very wide net. They don’t focus their efforts on segments that are more likely to buy from them. Smart marketers focus and refine their efforts using marketing analytics and optimization. 5) Forgetting the Phone – Too many marketers only goal is to generate web traffic. That’s fine, but it’s sort of dumb. Fact: a prospect is more likely to buy from you if they call you than if they hit a landing page. Only dumb marketers forget to market their phone number. 6) Forgetting the Content – Does your website stink? Is all of the content old and stale? Dumb marketers simply forget the content. They forget to regularly post new blogs, new article and new videos. They forget to update their website with fresh stuff. In a world where the average prospect visits your site multiple times before they buy, this is bad. Your site will bore them. 7) Don’t Read – More than almost any other topic, marketing requires constant self-education. The marketing world is changing on an almost daily basis. You need to read blogs, articles, studies, pay attention to analysts and reviewers. You need to keep reading or you will get left behind. Dumb marketers fail to read and fail to learn their craft. 8) Ignoring Current (Repeat) Customers – The best way to market is to satisfy your current customers. You need to ensure that your customer experience is top notch. Angry customers tell their friends. So do happy ones. If you aren’t recording calls, scoring calls and managing your customer experience in a measurable way, you are ignoring current customers. That’s what dumb guys do. You are smart. And you have to ENSURE that your customer experience is a good one. Sign up for LogMyCalls Wed, 16 May 2012 00:38:10 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_8-Dumb-Marketing-Mistakes/blog/6081857/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-05-16T00:38:10Z Motor Age Blogs AutoPro Workshop Many companies don’t know how to market. They have great products, a great sales team and…no sales. Why? Because they stink at marketing. Here are 8 dumb marketing mistakes that way too many businesses commit that will cost them money, leads and customers. 1) Failing to Track Marketing – This is the number one mistake companies make (especially small and medium-sized companies). They simply don’t know which marketing is working and which is not. They don’t measure the results. They don’t track web traffic via Google Analytics or phone calls via call tracking. Marketing without measuring is dumb. 2) Making Assumptions - Many marketers begin marketing with built-in assumptions about what will work and what won’t. They assume a direct mailer will generate phone calls, or they assume a PPC campaign will generate web traffic. Firmly entrenched assumptions can overwhelm the data about a specific method’s success or failure. In short: either marketers assume something will work so they don’t closely track web traffic and phone calls or they ignore the data altogether. 3) Only Focusing on ‘Outbound’ Marketing – Hubspot talks a lot about outbound v. inbound marketing. The difference is basically this: outbound marketing is like hunting; you spend money and try to seek people to buy something. Inbound marketing is when you create such great content and have such great offers that people seek you. You get found rather than go finding. Certainly outbound marketing is important, but only dumb marketers neglect inbound marketing. 4) Aiming at Everyone – There are certain segments of the population (either consumers or businesses) that are more likely to buy from you than others. Dumb marketers spend a bunch of money and cast a very wide net. They don’t focus their efforts on segments that are more likely to buy from them. Smart marketers focus and refine their efforts using marketing analytics and optimization. 5) Forgetting the Phone – Too many marketers only goal is to generate web traffic. That’s fine, but it’s sort of dumb. Fact: a prospect is more likely to buy from you if they call you than if they hit a landing page. Only dumb marketers forget to market their phone number. 6) Forgetting the Content – Does your website stink? Is all of the content old and stale? Dumb marketers simply forget the content. They forget to regularly post new blogs, new article and new videos. They forget to update their website with fresh stuff. In a world where the average prospect visits your site multiple times before they buy, this is bad. Your site will bore them. 7) Don’t Read – More than almost any other topic, marketing requires constant self-education. The marketing world is changing on an almost daily basis. You need to read blogs, articles, studies, pay attention to analysts and reviewers. You need to keep reading or you will get left behind. Dumb marketers fail to read and fail to learn their craft. 8) Ignoring Current (Repeat) Customers – The best way to market is to satisfy your current customers. You need to ensure that your customer experience is top notch. Angry customers tell their friends. So do happy ones. If you aren’t recording calls, scoring calls and managing your customer experience in a measurable way, you are ignoring current customers. That’s what dumb guys do. You are smart. And you have to ENSURE that your customer experience is a good one. Sign up for LogMyCalls blogs, marketing, motor age nonadult false 8 Dumb Marketing Mistakes text blog blogs,marketing,motor age 617 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 Motor Age / Blogs 0 6081857 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_ContactPoint-Formally-Releases-LogMyCalls/blog/6039021/31710.html  LogMyCalls, the smarter call tracking, recording and customer intelligence solution from ContactPoint, emerges from Beta today.  LogMyCalls beta period began in January. During Beta, LogMyCalls signed several major automotive clients, won multiple awards, and entered into partnerships with the Automotive Services Association and AskPatty.com.  LogMyCalls has all the capabilities an automotive business needs—call tracking, call recording, call scoring, call routing and valuable marketing reports. LogMyCalls shows automotive businesses how effective their marketing efforts are and helps them make more appointments over the phone. LogMyCalls fully integrates into a variety of CRMs and Google Analytics.  “During our Beta period we’ve added marquee automotive clients. These clients are going to be the foundation of LogMyCalls moving forward. They love the ease-of use and in-depth marketing data they get from LogMyCalls. Our 10 years of experience of helping people make more money over the phone has given our application a unique set of features that these early automotive customers really appreciate,” ContactPoint VP of Sales and Marketing Carlton van Putten says. “I’ve been a part of several Beta cycles and this one has been one of the most successful.” “LogMyCalls represents the future of marketing data and customer intelligence,” said ContactPoint CEO Jason Wells. “LogMyCalls is for any automotive business that cares about saving marketing dollars and increasing revenue.” To access, sign-up and use LogMyCalls visit www.logmycalls.com.  LogMyCalls, the smarter call tracking, recording and customer intelligence solution from ContactPoint, emerges from Beta today.  LogMyCalls beta period began in January. During Beta, LogMyCalls signed several major automotive clients, won multiple awards, and entered into partnerships with the Automotive Services Association and AskPatty.com.  LogMyCalls has all the capabilities an automotive business needs—call tracking, call recording, call scoring, call routing and valuable marketing reports. LogMyCalls shows automotive businesses how effective their marketing efforts are and helps them make more appointments over the phone. LogMyCalls fully integrates into a variety of CRMs and Google Analytics.  “During our Beta period we’ve added marquee automotive clients. These clients are going to be the foundation of LogMyCalls moving forward. They love the ease-of use and in-depth marketing data they get from LogMyCalls. Our 10 years of experience of helping people make more money over the phone has given our application a unique set of features that these early automotive customers really appreciate,” ContactPoint VP of Sales and Marketing Carlton van Putten says. “I’ve been a part of several Beta cycles and this one has been one of the most successful.” “LogMyCalls represents the future of marketing data and customer intelligence,” said ContactPoint CEO Jason Wells. “LogMyCalls is for any automotive business that cares about saving marketing dollars and increasing revenue.” To access, sign-up and use LogMyCalls visit www.logmycalls.com. Wed, 02 May 2012 22:14:01 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_ContactPoint-Formally-Releases-LogMyCalls/blog/6039021/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-05-02T22:14:01Z Motor Age Blogs AutoPro Workshop  LogMyCalls, the smarter call tracking, recording and customer intelligence solution from ContactPoint, emerges from Beta today.  LogMyCalls beta period began in January. During Beta, LogMyCalls signed several major automotive clients, won multiple awards, and entered into partnerships with the Automotive Services Association and AskPatty.com.  LogMyCalls has all the capabilities an automotive business needs—call tracking, call recording, call scoring, call routing and valuable marketing reports. LogMyCalls shows automotive businesses how effective their marketing efforts are and helps them make more appointments over the phone. LogMyCalls fully integrates into a variety of CRMs and Google Analytics.  “During our Beta period we’ve added marquee automotive clients. These clients are going to be the foundation of LogMyCalls moving forward. They love the ease-of use and in-depth marketing data they get from LogMyCalls. Our 10 years of experience of helping people make more money over the phone has given our application a unique set of features that these early automotive customers really appreciate,” ContactPoint VP of Sales and Marketing Carlton van Putten says. “I’ve been a part of several Beta cycles and this one has been one of the most successful.” “LogMyCalls represents the future of marketing data and customer intelligence,” said ContactPoint CEO Jason Wells. “LogMyCalls is for any automotive business that cares about saving marketing dollars and increasing revenue.” To access, sign-up and use LogMyCalls visit www.logmycalls.com. advertising, blogs, call, logmycalls, marketing, motor age, tracking nonadult false ContactPoint Formally Releases LogMyCalls text blog advertising,blogs,call,logmycalls,marketing,motor age,tracking 632 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 Motor Age / Blogs 0 6039021 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_FREE-ASA-Webinar-Marketing-Tracking-With-LogMyCalls/blog/5953617/31710.html The Automotive Service Association (ASA) is hosting a free, one-hour webinar for ASA shops to offer more information about the organization’s newest member benefit, a free LogMyCalls account from ContactPoint. The webinar, which is scheduled for April 11 at 1 p.m. EST, will allow participants to ask questions and learn additional details about the new benefit, the ASA said. The webinar will discuss how ASA shops can set up their free account, how it can help improve marketing strategies, how it can save money for users and how to use the service to train staff members. “This is a great opportunity for repair professionals to learn more about the ASA/LogMyCalls benefit and its potential to bring more customers to their business,” said B.J. Johnson, vice president of membership services for the ASA. “With the call-tracking and call-recording components of this benefit, it’s worth learning more about the marketing potential of this free offer.” ASA-member shops can register for the webinar by visiting logmycalls.com/webinar. For more information, visit ASAshop.org. The Automotive Service Association (ASA) is hosting a free, one-hour webinar for ASA shops to offer more information about the organization’s newest member benefit, a free LogMyCalls account from ContactPoint. The webinar, which is scheduled for April 11 at 1 p.m. EST, will allow participants to ask questions and learn additional details about the new benefit, the ASA said. The webinar will discuss how ASA shops can set up their free account, how it can help improve marketing strategies, how it can save money for users and how to use the service to train staff members. “This is a great opportunity for repair professionals to learn more about the ASA/LogMyCalls benefit and its potential to bring more customers to their business,” said B.J. Johnson, vice president of membership services for the ASA. “With the call-tracking and call-recording components of this benefit, it’s worth learning more about the marketing potential of this free offer.” ASA-member shops can register for the webinar by visiting logmycalls.com/webinar. For more information, visit ASAshop.org. Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:08:35 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_FREE-ASA-Webinar-Marketing-Tracking-With-LogMyCalls/blog/5953617/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-04-09T21:08:35Z ABRN AutoPro Workshop The Automotive Service Association (ASA) is hosting a free, one-hour webinar for ASA shops to offer more information about the organization’s newest member benefit, a free LogMyCalls account from ContactPoint. The webinar, which is scheduled for April 11 at 1 p.m. EST, will allow participants to ask questions and learn additional details about the new benefit, the ASA said. The webinar will discuss how ASA shops can set up their free account, how it can help improve marketing strategies, how it can save money for users and how to use the service to train staff members. “This is a great opportunity for repair professionals to learn more about the ASA/LogMyCalls benefit and its potential to bring more customers to their business,” said B.J. Johnson, vice president of membership services for the ASA. “With the call-tracking and call-recording components of this benefit, it’s worth learning more about the marketing potential of this free offer.” ASA-member shops can register for the webinar by visiting logmycalls.com/webinar. For more information, visit ASAshop.org. abrn, free, webinar nonadult false FREE ASA Webinar: Marketing Tracking With LogMyCalls text blog abrn,free,webinar 581 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 ABRN 0 5953617 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Camera-Returned-After-4-Months-at-Sea-Crazy/blog/5929561/31710.html The power of social media is stunning. Here’s a true story about social media that happened this week (and is still happening) that will make you shake your head with wonder. Seriously…WONDER. It started when the President of our company, Jeremiah Wilson, was on a family/business trip to California. One afternoon his family was visiting Newport Beach and playing in the sand. As his kids frolicked in the waves, Jeremiah perused the beach with his metal detector. Suddenly, he found something. Buried deep in the sand was a little GoPro camera. After digging it up, Jeremiah and his kids discovered, to their surprise, that it still worked. The camera had several hours of video on it. The video showed a family on vacations, at Christmas, shooting guns and golfing. Then the video showed kids playing on a beach 4 months earlier. The video shows a wave crashing into one of the kids and the camera spilling into the ocean.  The family had lost their camera. But the video kept going. For two hours the camera is filming underwater. You can see fish, waves, sticks, sand and rocks. Then it shut off.  Four months later Jeremiah found it buried in the sand. So, Jeremiah came home to Utah and edited this video: Who's GoPro did I find on the beach?  The next day a TV station in Salt Lake City did a story on it. By the following morning the video had over 25,000 hits. Then less than 36 hours after Jeremiah posted the video he received a phone call. The call was from a man claiming to be the camera’s owner. He and his family live in Santa Ana, California. They were on the beach 4 months ago body surfing when the GoPro escaped and flew into the ocean. They looked for the camera for 3 hours, couldn’t find it, gave up and went home.  They thought they’d never see the camera again. But what they didn’t bank on was someone finding the camera, slapping a video on YouTube, news coverage and Facebook shares. What they didn’t count on was the power of social media. Now, stunningly, less than 48 hours after the video was posted the camera is being returned to the rightful owners in Santa Ana. More reporters from LA, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City want to do the story. And the YouTube video has more than 39,000 hits. The power of social media is amazing. Learn more about LogMyCalls The power of social media is stunning. Here’s a true story about social media that happened this week (and is still happening) that will make you shake your head with wonder. Seriously…WONDER. It started when the President of our company, Jeremiah Wilson, was on a family/business trip to California. One afternoon his family was visiting Newport Beach and playing in the sand. As his kids frolicked in the waves, Jeremiah perused the beach with his metal detector. Suddenly, he found something. Buried deep in the sand was a little GoPro camera. After digging it up, Jeremiah and his kids discovered, to their surprise, that it still worked. The camera had several hours of video on it. The video showed a family on vacations, at Christmas, shooting guns and golfing. Then the video showed kids playing on a beach 4 months earlier. The video shows a wave crashing into one of the kids and the camera spilling into the ocean.  The family had lost their camera. But the video kept going. For two hours the camera is filming underwater. You can see fish, waves, sticks, sand and rocks. Then it shut off.  Four months later Jeremiah found it buried in the sand. So, Jeremiah came home to Utah and edited this video: Who's GoPro did I find on the beach?  The next day a TV station in Salt Lake City did a story on it. By the following morning the video had over 25,000 hits. Then less than 36 hours after Jeremiah posted the video he received a phone call. The call was from a man claiming to be the camera’s owner. He and his family live in Santa Ana, California. They were on the beach 4 months ago body surfing when the GoPro escaped and flew into the ocean. They looked for the camera for 3 hours, couldn’t find it, gave up and went home.  They thought they’d never see the camera again. But what they didn’t bank on was someone finding the camera, slapping a video on YouTube, news coverage and Facebook shares. What they didn’t count on was the power of social media. Now, stunningly, less than 48 hours after the video was posted the camera is being returned to the rightful owners in Santa Ana. More reporters from LA, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City want to do the story. And the YouTube video has more than 39,000 hits. The power of social media is amazing. Learn more about LogMyCalls Tue, 03 Apr 2012 00:28:00 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Camera-Returned-After-4-Months-at-Sea-Crazy/blog/5929561/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-04-03T00:28:00Z Motor Age AutoPro Workshop The power of social media is stunning. Here’s a true story about social media that happened this week (and is still happening) that will make you shake your head with wonder. Seriously…WONDER. It started when the President of our company, Jeremiah Wilson, was on a family/business trip to California. One afternoon his family was visiting Newport Beach and playing in the sand. As his kids frolicked in the waves, Jeremiah perused the beach with his metal detector. Suddenly, he found something. Buried deep in the sand was a little GoPro camera. After digging it up, Jeremiah and his kids discovered, to their surprise, that it still worked. The camera had several hours of video on it. The video showed a family on vacations, at Christmas, shooting guns and golfing. Then the video showed kids playing on a beach 4 months earlier. The video shows a wave crashing into one of the kids and the camera spilling into the ocean.  The family had lost their camera. But the video kept going. For two hours the camera is filming underwater. You can see fish, waves, sticks, sand and rocks. Then it shut off.  Four months later Jeremiah found it buried in the sand. So, Jeremiah came home to Utah and edited this video: Who's GoPro did I find on the beach?  The next day a TV station in Salt Lake City did a story on it. By the following morning the video had over 25,000 hits. Then less than 36 hours after Jeremiah posted the video he received a phone call. The call was from a man claiming to be the camera’s owner. He and his family live in Santa Ana, California. They were on the beach 4 months ago body surfing when the GoPro escaped and flew into the ocean. They looked for the camera for 3 hours, couldn’t find it, gave up and went home.  They thought they’d never see the camera again. But what they didn’t bank on was someone finding the camera, slapping a video on YouTube, news coverage and Facebook shares. What they didn’t count on was the power of social media. Now, stunningly, less than 48 hours after the video was posted the camera is being returned to the rightful owners in Santa Ana. More reporters from LA, Las Vegas and Salt Lake City want to do the story. And the YouTube video has more than 39,000 hits. The power of social media is amazing. Learn more about LogMyCalls motor age nonadult false Camera Returned After 4 Months at Sea (Crazy) text blog motor age 620 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 Motor Age 0 5929561 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_3-Ways-to-Not-Suck-at-Customer-Service/blog/5888637/31710.html We listen to millions of recorded calls every single year. And we routinely hear utterly terrifying customer service. We've written extensively on improving customer service. We wrote an eBook called Bad Customer Service: The Silent Killer that details, very speicifically, how to improve customer service now. But after reviewing hordes of calls, this eBook may be too advanced for some people. It is customer service calculus and what many in America (apparently) need is customer service Kindergarten alphabet.  So without further adieu, here are three basic, simple and absolute minimum customer service requirements that everyone can, should and must do (but most don't):  1) Be Nice - It sounds simple. It is simple. And yet, many people simply aren't nice to customers. In several calls we hear customers asking basic questions and customer service reps getting very annoyed. We hear customers simply wanting to buy a product or get information about a product, and then the employee sounds geninuely irritated.  It is stunning. So, if you want to stand out from the crowd, if you want to follow basic standards of customer service, just be nice.   2) Ask Questions - Most customer service reps don't ask questions. I am stunned when I listen to so-called customer service calls when the employee fails to even ask questions necessary for the most basic level of customer service.  3) Take Time - Most of the customer service calls we hear sound rushed. This is true of large call centers, small businesses, hotels, tire shops, automotive repair shops and heavy manufacturing. Bad customer service doesn't discriminate. Most employees at most businesses sound like they're in a hurry when they're on the phone. They consistently refer the caller to a website or to a brochure. What?!!? You have them on the phone! Why would you refer them to anything else? It literlally makes no sense.  If you want to offer a basic level of customer service, at least take the time to get to know the customer and answer their questions. Why hurry?   Try LogMyCalls     We listen to millions of recorded calls every single year. And we routinely hear utterly terrifying customer service. We've written extensively on improving customer service. We wrote an eBook called Bad Customer Service: The Silent Killer that details, very speicifically, how to improve customer service now. But after reviewing hordes of calls, this eBook may be too advanced for some people. It is customer service calculus and what many in America (apparently) need is customer service Kindergarten alphabet.  So without further adieu, here are three basic, simple and absolute minimum customer service requirements that everyone can, should and must do (but most don't):  1) Be Nice - It sounds simple. It is simple. And yet, many people simply aren't nice to customers. In several calls we hear customers asking basic questions and customer service reps getting very annoyed. We hear customers simply wanting to buy a product or get information about a product, and then the employee sounds geninuely irritated.  It is stunning. So, if you want to stand out from the crowd, if you want to follow basic standards of customer service, just be nice.   2) Ask Questions - Most customer service reps don't ask questions. I am stunned when I listen to so-called customer service calls when the employee fails to even ask questions necessary for the most basic level of customer service.  3) Take Time - Most of the customer service calls we hear sound rushed. This is true of large call centers, small businesses, hotels, tire shops, automotive repair shops and heavy manufacturing. Bad customer service doesn't discriminate. Most employees at most businesses sound like they're in a hurry when they're on the phone. They consistently refer the caller to a website or to a brochure. What?!!? You have them on the phone! Why would you refer them to anything else? It literlally makes no sense.  If you want to offer a basic level of customer service, at least take the time to get to know the customer and answer their questions. Why hurry?   Try LogMyCalls     Fri, 23 Mar 2012 02:21:08 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_3-Ways-to-Not-Suck-at-Customer-Service/blog/5888637/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-03-23T02:21:08Z ABRN AutoPro Workshop We listen to millions of recorded calls every single year. And we routinely hear utterly terrifying customer service. We've written extensively on improving customer service. We wrote an eBook called Bad Customer Service: The Silent Killer that details, very speicifically, how to improve customer service now. But after reviewing hordes of calls, this eBook may be too advanced for some people. It is customer service calculus and what many in America (apparently) need is customer service Kindergarten alphabet.  So without further adieu, here are three basic, simple and absolute minimum customer service requirements that everyone can, should and must do (but most don't):  1) Be Nice - It sounds simple. It is simple. And yet, many people simply aren't nice to customers. In several calls we hear customers asking basic questions and customer service reps getting very annoyed. We hear customers simply wanting to buy a product or get information about a product, and then the employee sounds geninuely irritated.  It is stunning. So, if you want to stand out from the crowd, if you want to follow basic standards of customer service, just be nice.   2) Ask Questions - Most customer service reps don't ask questions. I am stunned when I listen to so-called customer service calls when the employee fails to even ask questions necessary for the most basic level of customer service.  3) Take Time - Most of the customer service calls we hear sound rushed. This is true of large call centers, small businesses, hotels, tire shops, automotive repair shops and heavy manufacturing. Bad customer service doesn't discriminate. Most employees at most businesses sound like they're in a hurry when they're on the phone. They consistently refer the caller to a website or to a brochure. What?!!? You have them on the phone! Why would you refer them to anything else? It literlally makes no sense.  If you want to offer a basic level of customer service, at least take the time to get to know the customer and answer their questions. Why hurry?   Try LogMyCalls     abrn, collision, customer, repair, sales, service nonadult false 3 Ways to Not Suck at Customer Service text blog abrn,collision,customer,repair,sales,service 3484 1 5.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false United States UT St. George 84770 1 ABRN 0 5888637 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Measuring-Marketing-and-Sales/blog/5888633/31710.html As our flagship product, LogMyCalls, prepares to emerge from Beta, we are preparing to market like crazy. Sure, we've marketed during the Beta period. We've gone to tradeshows, we've marketed on social media, we've done some great PR and email marketing work. We've gained new customers and have kept our old ones. But now, now we're actually going to 'market.' And the two things we are concerned about with marketing are as follows: 1)  Performance - Marketing has to actually work. At this stage of the game we aren't interested in branding. We aren't interested in vague success and brand awareness. We're interested in concrete success. We want new customers.  2) Measurement -  We will not market unless we can measure. If someone wants to sell us some advertising or marketing, the first question we ask is this: how will we measure this? We're also selling.  Our sales reps are transitioning from selling training offerings to selling marketing performance tools (LogMyCalls). This is a vital change in our business. It is a transition. And our sales reps are on the frontlines. The two things we are concerned with in terms of sales are the following: 1) Performance - The sales reps don't simply want leads. They don't want to merely conduct demos or send proposals. They want to close deals. They want success. This is critical to their jobs, salaries and general happiness :) Salesmen want to sell.  2) Measurement - Two critical features of LogMyCalls are call recording and call scoring. Our sales staff records their calls. They use our system to get better and improve their performance.  Remember: measurement is the key to concrete marketing and sales performance. Learn more about LogMyCalls   As our flagship product, LogMyCalls, prepares to emerge from Beta, we are preparing to market like crazy. Sure, we've marketed during the Beta period. We've gone to tradeshows, we've marketed on social media, we've done some great PR and email marketing work. We've gained new customers and have kept our old ones. But now, now we're actually going to 'market.' And the two things we are concerned about with marketing are as follows: 1)  Performance - Marketing has to actually work. At this stage of the game we aren't interested in branding. We aren't interested in vague success and brand awareness. We're interested in concrete success. We want new customers.  2) Measurement -  We will not market unless we can measure. If someone wants to sell us some advertising or marketing, the first question we ask is this: how will we measure this? We're also selling.  Our sales reps are transitioning from selling training offerings to selling marketing performance tools (LogMyCalls). This is a vital change in our business. It is a transition. And our sales reps are on the frontlines. The two things we are concerned with in terms of sales are the following: 1) Performance - The sales reps don't simply want leads. They don't want to merely conduct demos or send proposals. They want to close deals. They want success. This is critical to their jobs, salaries and general happiness :) Salesmen want to sell.  2) Measurement - Two critical features of LogMyCalls are call recording and call scoring. Our sales staff records their calls. They use our system to get better and improve their performance.  Remember: measurement is the key to concrete marketing and sales performance. Learn more about LogMyCalls   Fri, 23 Mar 2012 02:17:31 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Measuring-Marketing-and-Sales/blog/5888633/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-03-23T02:17:31Z Motor Age AutoPro Workshop As our flagship product, LogMyCalls, prepares to emerge from Beta, we are preparing to market like crazy. Sure, we've marketed during the Beta period. We've gone to tradeshows, we've marketed on social media, we've done some great PR and email marketing work. We've gained new customers and have kept our old ones. But now, now we're actually going to 'market.' And the two things we are concerned about with marketing are as follows: 1)  Performance - Marketing has to actually work. At this stage of the game we aren't interested in branding. We aren't interested in vague success and brand awareness. We're interested in concrete success. We want new customers.  2) Measurement -  We will not market unless we can measure. If someone wants to sell us some advertising or marketing, the first question we ask is this: how will we measure this? We're also selling.  Our sales reps are transitioning from selling training offerings to selling marketing performance tools (LogMyCalls). This is a vital change in our business. It is a transition. And our sales reps are on the frontlines. The two things we are concerned with in terms of sales are the following: 1) Performance - The sales reps don't simply want leads. They don't want to merely conduct demos or send proposals. They want to close deals. They want success. This is critical to their jobs, salaries and general happiness :) Salesmen want to sell.  2) Measurement - Two critical features of LogMyCalls are call recording and call scoring. Our sales staff records their calls. They use our system to get better and improve their performance.  Remember: measurement is the key to concrete marketing and sales performance. Learn more about LogMyCalls   advertising, collision, glass, marketing, motor age, repair, sales, tires nonadult false Measuring: Marketing and Sales text blog advertising,collision,glass,marketing,motor age,repair,sales,tires 577 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false United States UT St. George 84770 0 Motor Age 0 5888633 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Will-Gas-Hit-5-a-Gallon/blog/5806583/31710.html According to a variety of analysts, yes, it will. In 2008, the year that average gasoline prices hit records above $4 during the summer, the U.S. average didn't climb above $3.50 until April 21. It is only February and gas prices have already reached $3.50 a gallon. That is not a good omen. According to one poll, around 40% of energy experts believe that gas prices will hit $5 a gallon before July 4th. Then prices will, most believe, rise steadily until labor day, and then taper off again next fall and winter. But the summer could be painful. That is pretty ominous. And, as we learned in 2008, high gas prices have a ripple effect on the economy as a whole. What does this mean for you? Well that depends on the type of business you’re in, but it certainly means that you have to be smarter about what you spend. You have to ensure every dollar you spend on marketing, on payroll, on improvements, on training and on products, is working. You can’t afford to waste anything. High gas prices are going to force you to be more efficient than you’ve ever been before. Businesses are going to have to reduce waste and to reduce investments that don’t produce a return. This is especially true of marketing. With $5 gas around the corner, marketing budgets have to be managed and measured like never before. Not one penny can be invested in a marketing method that isn’t working. Measuring Marketing As you probably know (or maybe you don’t) our tool LogMyCalls tells companies which of their marketing methods are working, and which are wasting their money. It tracks which marketing methods are generating phone calls and which are not. I was talking to an executive at a large automotive company the other day. They operate several locations around the country. He uses LogMyCalls to track which marketing is working and which isn’t. And he said this, “I can’t believe anyone would spend money on marketing without tracking it. It would be a waste of money.” We agree. Here’s how he put it: “You should spend 2% of your marketing budget to track whether the other 98% is actually working.” Especially when gas prices hit $5 a gallon, you can’t afford to waste a cent on marketing that is failing to produce results. You need to know what works and what doesn’t. And you need to kick the marketing that doesn’t work to the curb. Sign up for LogMyCalls    According to a variety of analysts, yes, it will. In 2008, the year that average gasoline prices hit records above $4 during the summer, the U.S. average didn't climb above $3.50 until April 21. It is only February and gas prices have already reached $3.50 a gallon. That is not a good omen. According to one poll, around 40% of energy experts believe that gas prices will hit $5 a gallon before July 4th. Then prices will, most believe, rise steadily until labor day, and then taper off again next fall and winter. But the summer could be painful. That is pretty ominous. And, as we learned in 2008, high gas prices have a ripple effect on the economy as a whole. What does this mean for you? Well that depends on the type of business you’re in, but it certainly means that you have to be smarter about what you spend. You have to ensure every dollar you spend on marketing, on payroll, on improvements, on training and on products, is working. You can’t afford to waste anything. High gas prices are going to force you to be more efficient than you’ve ever been before. Businesses are going to have to reduce waste and to reduce investments that don’t produce a return. This is especially true of marketing. With $5 gas around the corner, marketing budgets have to be managed and measured like never before. Not one penny can be invested in a marketing method that isn’t working. Measuring Marketing As you probably know (or maybe you don’t) our tool LogMyCalls tells companies which of their marketing methods are working, and which are wasting their money. It tracks which marketing methods are generating phone calls and which are not. I was talking to an executive at a large automotive company the other day. They operate several locations around the country. He uses LogMyCalls to track which marketing is working and which isn’t. And he said this, “I can’t believe anyone would spend money on marketing without tracking it. It would be a waste of money.” We agree. Here’s how he put it: “You should spend 2% of your marketing budget to track whether the other 98% is actually working.” Especially when gas prices hit $5 a gallon, you can’t afford to waste a cent on marketing that is failing to produce results. You need to know what works and what doesn’t. And you need to kick the marketing that doesn’t work to the curb. Sign up for LogMyCalls    Fri, 24 Feb 2012 20:48:56 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Will-Gas-Hit-5-a-Gallon/blog/5806583/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-02-24T20:48:56Z ABRN AutoPro Workshop According to a variety of analysts, yes, it will. In 2008, the year that average gasoline prices hit records above $4 during the summer, the U.S. average didn't climb above $3.50 until April 21. It is only February and gas prices have already reached $3.50 a gallon. That is not a good omen. According to one poll, around 40% of energy experts believe that gas prices will hit $5 a gallon before July 4th. Then prices will, most believe, rise steadily until labor day, and then taper off again next fall and winter. But the summer could be painful. That is pretty ominous. And, as we learned in 2008, high gas prices have a ripple effect on the economy as a whole. What does this mean for you? Well that depends on the type of business you’re in, but it certainly means that you have to be smarter about what you spend. You have to ensure every dollar you spend on marketing, on payroll, on improvements, on training and on products, is working. You can’t afford to waste anything. High gas prices are going to force you to be more efficient than you’ve ever been before. Businesses are going to have to reduce waste and to reduce investments that don’t produce a return. This is especially true of marketing. With $5 gas around the corner, marketing budgets have to be managed and measured like never before. Not one penny can be invested in a marketing method that isn’t working. Measuring Marketing As you probably know (or maybe you don’t) our tool LogMyCalls tells companies which of their marketing methods are working, and which are wasting their money. It tracks which marketing methods are generating phone calls and which are not. I was talking to an executive at a large automotive company the other day. They operate several locations around the country. He uses LogMyCalls to track which marketing is working and which isn’t. And he said this, “I can’t believe anyone would spend money on marketing without tracking it. It would be a waste of money.” We agree. Here’s how he put it: “You should spend 2% of your marketing budget to track whether the other 98% is actually working.” Especially when gas prices hit $5 a gallon, you can’t afford to waste a cent on marketing that is failing to produce results. You need to know what works and what doesn’t. And you need to kick the marketing that doesn’t work to the curb. Sign up for LogMyCalls    abrn, advertising, marketing, revenue, sales, selling nonadult false Will Gas Hit $5 a Gallon? text blog abrn,advertising,marketing,revenue,sales,selling 747 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 1 ABRN 0 5806583 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Motor-Age-Interview-ContactPoint-CEO/blog/5759155/31710.html Motor Age: What are one or two key areas that owners should focus on first when marketing their shop? First, shops actually need to market. Many don’t. They rely on word-of-mouth and a yellow pages listing. That worked in the past; it won’t in the future. Second, shops can’t afford to spend advertising money and just assume it’s working.   They have to know. Motor Age: How can owners make sure they’re getting the most bang for their buck with their plans? In tight economic times, you have to track your advertising. You have to know what’s effective and what isn’t. It stuns me when shops spend hundreds of dollars each month on advertising and don’t have a clue what’s getting their phone to ring and what isn’t. I’ll give you an example: one of our partners is Mudlick Mail, a direct mail company. They send targeted post cards out for automotive clients. They wanted to prove these mailers generated phone calls.  So, they began using our call tracking software, LogMyCalls, to track how many phone calls each mailer generates. LogMyCalls showed that certain mailers were generating phone calls several months after they were mailed. Mudlick wouldn’t have known that (and the shopowners who hired them wouldn’t have known that) without call tracking. If you aren’t tracking your advertising you’re flushing money down the toilet, and few businesses can afford that right now. Motor Age: Tell me about the new product ContactPoint is offering in 2012. It’s called LogMyCalls.com. It allows businesses to track their marketing, and the phone performance of their frontline staff. Call tracking is a big part of the product. Basically you assign different phone numbers to different pieces of advertising (direct mail, radio, yellow pages, website, Facebook, etc.), LogMyCalls will show which ones are generating phone calls and which ones aren’t. LogMyCalls also has call recording and scoring. It will record calls that come into your shop and help you score them, so your employees improve on the phone. You spend money advertising to get people to call, and then your guys can’t close the deal when the phone rings. LogMyCalls gives you the tools to fix that. And frankly it’s pretty inexpensive. LogMyCalls is a product specifically designed for the industry. A lot of shops use LogMyCalls and love it.  We've created a free version so you can try it too. Just visit www.logmycalls.com.   See LogMyCalls pricing and plans     Motor Age: What are one or two key areas that owners should focus on first when marketing their shop? First, shops actually need to market. Many don’t. They rely on word-of-mouth and a yellow pages listing. That worked in the past; it won’t in the future. Second, shops can’t afford to spend advertising money and just assume it’s working.   They have to know. Motor Age: How can owners make sure they’re getting the most bang for their buck with their plans? In tight economic times, you have to track your advertising. You have to know what’s effective and what isn’t. It stuns me when shops spend hundreds of dollars each month on advertising and don’t have a clue what’s getting their phone to ring and what isn’t. I’ll give you an example: one of our partners is Mudlick Mail, a direct mail company. They send targeted post cards out for automotive clients. They wanted to prove these mailers generated phone calls.  So, they began using our call tracking software, LogMyCalls, to track how many phone calls each mailer generates. LogMyCalls showed that certain mailers were generating phone calls several months after they were mailed. Mudlick wouldn’t have known that (and the shopowners who hired them wouldn’t have known that) without call tracking. If you aren’t tracking your advertising you’re flushing money down the toilet, and few businesses can afford that right now. Motor Age: Tell me about the new product ContactPoint is offering in 2012. It’s called LogMyCalls.com. It allows businesses to track their marketing, and the phone performance of their frontline staff. Call tracking is a big part of the product. Basically you assign different phone numbers to different pieces of advertising (direct mail, radio, yellow pages, website, Facebook, etc.), LogMyCalls will show which ones are generating phone calls and which ones aren’t. LogMyCalls also has call recording and scoring. It will record calls that come into your shop and help you score them, so your employees improve on the phone. You spend money advertising to get people to call, and then your guys can’t close the deal when the phone rings. LogMyCalls gives you the tools to fix that. And frankly it’s pretty inexpensive. LogMyCalls is a product specifically designed for the industry. A lot of shops use LogMyCalls and love it.  We've created a free version so you can try it too. Just visit www.logmycalls.com.   See LogMyCalls pricing and plans     Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:00:04 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Motor-Age-Interview-ContactPoint-CEO/blog/5759155/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-02-07T21:00:04Z Motor Age AutoPro Workshop Motor Age: What are one or two key areas that owners should focus on first when marketing their shop? First, shops actually need to market. Many don’t. They rely on word-of-mouth and a yellow pages listing. That worked in the past; it won’t in the future. Second, shops can’t afford to spend advertising money and just assume it’s working.   They have to know. Motor Age: How can owners make sure they’re getting the most bang for their buck with their plans? In tight economic times, you have to track your advertising. You have to know what’s effective and what isn’t. It stuns me when shops spend hundreds of dollars each month on advertising and don’t have a clue what’s getting their phone to ring and what isn’t. I’ll give you an example: one of our partners is Mudlick Mail, a direct mail company. They send targeted post cards out for automotive clients. They wanted to prove these mailers generated phone calls.  So, they began using our call tracking software, LogMyCalls, to track how many phone calls each mailer generates. LogMyCalls showed that certain mailers were generating phone calls several months after they were mailed. Mudlick wouldn’t have known that (and the shopowners who hired them wouldn’t have known that) without call tracking. If you aren’t tracking your advertising you’re flushing money down the toilet, and few businesses can afford that right now. Motor Age: Tell me about the new product ContactPoint is offering in 2012. It’s called LogMyCalls.com. It allows businesses to track their marketing, and the phone performance of their frontline staff. Call tracking is a big part of the product. Basically you assign different phone numbers to different pieces of advertising (direct mail, radio, yellow pages, website, Facebook, etc.), LogMyCalls will show which ones are generating phone calls and which ones aren’t. LogMyCalls also has call recording and scoring. It will record calls that come into your shop and help you score them, so your employees improve on the phone. You spend money advertising to get people to call, and then your guys can’t close the deal when the phone rings. LogMyCalls gives you the tools to fix that. And frankly it’s pretty inexpensive. LogMyCalls is a product specifically designed for the industry. A lot of shops use LogMyCalls and love it.  We've created a free version so you can try it too. Just visit www.logmycalls.com.   See LogMyCalls pricing and plans     age, brakes, collision, marketing, motor, motor age, repair, sales nonadult false Motor Age Interview - ContactPoint CEO text blog age,brakes,collision,marketing,motor,motor age,repair,sales 802 1 5.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 Motor Age 0 5759155 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_No-One-Knows-Your-Phone-Number/blog/5746055/31710.html Let’s play a game. Try to think of any phone number from any business in your area. Ready…go. Think. Think of all the radio jingles you’ve ever heard, the TV commercials, the clever phrases or rhymes with phone numbers in them. Okay stop. How many did you think of? One? Maybe two? Zero? The first time I played this game I thought of one phone number off the top of my head.  One. I also played this game with people in our office and no one could think of more than one phone number either. Most couldn't think of any. This is amazing considering that we’ve all heard hundreds of radio jingles, seen thousands of websites and lived in the same area for years and almost no one could think of two business phone number off the top of their head. What’s my point? It is this: no one remembers phone numbers anymore. Period. They just don’t. A 2010 study published The London Telegraph and the New York Times found that 70% of people don’t remember their best friend’s phone number, 50% don’t know their parent’s phone number and 90% couldn’t remember one single business phone number. Not one. The culprit for all of our forgetfulness? Cell phones. We don’t need to remember phone numbers because our brain knows that if we truly need to reach someone we will look them up in our phone. And if we need to find a business we will use Google. Based on our non-scientific game at the start of this article and the scientific study, almost NO ONE remembers phone numbers. They don’t remember their friend’s numbers and they certainly don’t remember your business phone number no matter how catchy the jingle might be or how long you’ve had it. They. Just. Don’t. Again, this isn’t an opinion. It’s data-based fact. Why Am I Telling You This? We are a call tracking company. Call tracking measures which marketing methods generate phone calls and which don’t. It shows businesses where their marketing is working and where it is failing. But in order for LogMyCalls to track all of this information our clients have to choose new phone numbers. These numbers don’t replace their current number—all of the calls still ring directly to their business—but they do have to advertise new phone numbers. They have to market new local or toll free numbers on the radio, TV, in direct mail, on their website, on Google Places, in magazine, brochures, newspapers or online. They have to get these new phone numbers out into the world so our system can show them which marketing methods are effective and which ones are not. One common objection we hear from our prospects is this: “LogMyCalls sounds great, but I don’t want to replace the number on my website/mailer/ Google Places/radio ad. People remember that number! It has been my number for 30 years!” Well, I hate to break it to you, but no one (seriously, no one) remembers that number. They just don’t. If people want to find a business they are going to Google you. Or, they are going to directly respond to an ad they just heard, read or saw. They are not going to remember a jingle that you’ve had on the radio for 8 years, or a number you’ve had on your website since 1997. They just aren’t. Not in 2012. Advertise New Phone Numbers = Track Your Marketing We want to stress clearly that no one has to replace their old number to use LogMyCalls and track their marketing spend. All of your calls will still be answered at your business and nothing will change. The only thing you need to do differently is pick some new phone numbers to advertise in various locations (on your website, on your fliers, on your mailers, online, on Google Places, etc.) If you do this, you can have the best of both worlds: still receive calls at your business AND measure your marketing. Don’t be afraid to advertise with a new phone number. Trust me (and the research), no one remembers your phone number anyway.  Try LogMyCalls Sign up for FREE Let’s play a game. Try to think of any phone number from any business in your area. Ready…go. Think. Think of all the radio jingles you’ve ever heard, the TV commercials, the clever phrases or rhymes with phone numbers in them. Okay stop. How many did you think of? One? Maybe two? Zero? The first time I played this game I thought of one phone number off the top of my head.  One. I also played this game with people in our office and no one could think of more than one phone number either. Most couldn't think of any. This is amazing considering that we’ve all heard hundreds of radio jingles, seen thousands of websites and lived in the same area for years and almost no one could think of two business phone number off the top of their head. What’s my point? It is this: no one remembers phone numbers anymore. Period. They just don’t. A 2010 study published The London Telegraph and the New York Times found that 70% of people don’t remember their best friend’s phone number, 50% don’t know their parent’s phone number and 90% couldn’t remember one single business phone number. Not one. The culprit for all of our forgetfulness? Cell phones. We don’t need to remember phone numbers because our brain knows that if we truly need to reach someone we will look them up in our phone. And if we need to find a business we will use Google. Based on our non-scientific game at the start of this article and the scientific study, almost NO ONE remembers phone numbers. They don’t remember their friend’s numbers and they certainly don’t remember your business phone number no matter how catchy the jingle might be or how long you’ve had it. They. Just. Don’t. Again, this isn’t an opinion. It’s data-based fact. Why Am I Telling You This? We are a call tracking company. Call tracking measures which marketing methods generate phone calls and which don’t. It shows businesses where their marketing is working and where it is failing. But in order for LogMyCalls to track all of this information our clients have to choose new phone numbers. These numbers don’t replace their current number—all of the calls still ring directly to their business—but they do have to advertise new phone numbers. They have to market new local or toll free numbers on the radio, TV, in direct mail, on their website, on Google Places, in magazine, brochures, newspapers or online. They have to get these new phone numbers out into the world so our system can show them which marketing methods are effective and which ones are not. One common objection we hear from our prospects is this: “LogMyCalls sounds great, but I don’t want to replace the number on my website/mailer/ Google Places/radio ad. People remember that number! It has been my number for 30 years!” Well, I hate to break it to you, but no one (seriously, no one) remembers that number. They just don’t. If people want to find a business they are going to Google you. Or, they are going to directly respond to an ad they just heard, read or saw. They are not going to remember a jingle that you’ve had on the radio for 8 years, or a number you’ve had on your website since 1997. They just aren’t. Not in 2012. Advertise New Phone Numbers = Track Your Marketing We want to stress clearly that no one has to replace their old number to use LogMyCalls and track their marketing spend. All of your calls will still be answered at your business and nothing will change. The only thing you need to do differently is pick some new phone numbers to advertise in various locations (on your website, on your fliers, on your mailers, online, on Google Places, etc.) If you do this, you can have the best of both worlds: still receive calls at your business AND measure your marketing. Don’t be afraid to advertise with a new phone number. Trust me (and the research), no one remembers your phone number anyway.  Try LogMyCalls Sign up for FREE Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:13:54 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_No-One-Knows-Your-Phone-Number/blog/5746055/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-02-01T22:13:54Z AMBW AutoPro Workshop Let’s play a game. Try to think of any phone number from any business in your area. Ready…go. Think. Think of all the radio jingles you’ve ever heard, the TV commercials, the clever phrases or rhymes with phone numbers in them. Okay stop. How many did you think of? One? Maybe two? Zero? The first time I played this game I thought of one phone number off the top of my head.  One. I also played this game with people in our office and no one could think of more than one phone number either. Most couldn't think of any. This is amazing considering that we’ve all heard hundreds of radio jingles, seen thousands of websites and lived in the same area for years and almost no one could think of two business phone number off the top of their head. What’s my point? It is this: no one remembers phone numbers anymore. Period. They just don’t. A 2010 study published The London Telegraph and the New York Times found that 70% of people don’t remember their best friend’s phone number, 50% don’t know their parent’s phone number and 90% couldn’t remember one single business phone number. Not one. The culprit for all of our forgetfulness? Cell phones. We don’t need to remember phone numbers because our brain knows that if we truly need to reach someone we will look them up in our phone. And if we need to find a business we will use Google. Based on our non-scientific game at the start of this article and the scientific study, almost NO ONE remembers phone numbers. They don’t remember their friend’s numbers and they certainly don’t remember your business phone number no matter how catchy the jingle might be or how long you’ve had it. They. Just. Don’t. Again, this isn’t an opinion. It’s data-based fact. Why Am I Telling You This? We are a call tracking company. Call tracking measures which marketing methods generate phone calls and which don’t. It shows businesses where their marketing is working and where it is failing. But in order for LogMyCalls to track all of this information our clients have to choose new phone numbers. These numbers don’t replace their current number—all of the calls still ring directly to their business—but they do have to advertise new phone numbers. They have to market new local or toll free numbers on the radio, TV, in direct mail, on their website, on Google Places, in magazine, brochures, newspapers or online. They have to get these new phone numbers out into the world so our system can show them which marketing methods are effective and which ones are not. One common objection we hear from our prospects is this: “LogMyCalls sounds great, but I don’t want to replace the number on my website/mailer/ Google Places/radio ad. People remember that number! It has been my number for 30 years!” Well, I hate to break it to you, but no one (seriously, no one) remembers that number. They just don’t. If people want to find a business they are going to Google you. Or, they are going to directly respond to an ad they just heard, read or saw. They are not going to remember a jingle that you’ve had on the radio for 8 years, or a number you’ve had on your website since 1997. They just aren’t. Not in 2012. Advertise New Phone Numbers = Track Your Marketing We want to stress clearly that no one has to replace their old number to use LogMyCalls and track their marketing spend. All of your calls will still be answered at your business and nothing will change. The only thing you need to do differently is pick some new phone numbers to advertise in various locations (on your website, on your fliers, on your mailers, online, on Google Places, etc.) If you do this, you can have the best of both worlds: still receive calls at your business AND measure your marketing. Don’t be afraid to advertise with a new phone number. Trust me (and the research), no one remembers your phone number anyway.  Try LogMyCalls Sign up for FREE advertising, ambw, call, logmycalls, marketing, tracking nonadult false No One Knows Your Phone Number text blog advertising,ambw,call,logmycalls,marketing,tracking 742 1 5.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 AMBW 0 5746055 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Eye-Contact-and-Customer-Service/blog/5733602/31710.html At every store in America, all day long, every employee says something like ' have a great day' as you pay.  But based on my utterly unscientific poll, these employees almost never look up and gaze in your direction. And they certainly never make eye contact as they say 'have a a great day.' Perhaps, they look at the register, or the change they are handing you, or the debit card, maybe they're even looking up slightly or at your head generally. But, they are NEVER making eye contact.  Seriously, think about it. Try to remember the last time a clerk at a retail store of some sort (grocery store, Wal-Mart, pharmacy, department store) made eye contact as they spoke to you. Can you think of any occasion when this happened? I can't.  Eye Contact in Customer Service Situations Why is eye contact vital in customer service and sales situations? There are several reasons, but here's the most important: looking at someone in the eye lets that person know that you actually acknowledge them as a person. If you look at someone in the eye there is an immediate connection, there's an immediate recognition of that individual. You can't ignore someone with whom you've made eye contact.  So, here's my plea to all the customer service frontline employees at grocery stores and tire shops and retail outlets across this great land: for the love of everything Holy, MAKE EYE CONTACT! When you fail to make eye contact during sales and customer service interactions you fail to validate that person as a person. You fail to engage with them on a human level. You miss a chance to truly connect with your customer. You fail to leave a positive impression on that customer's mind. Experiement: Eye Contact If you are still skeptical about the dearth of eye contact in the customer service realm, please experiment. Tonight when you go to the grocery store or this weekend when you go to Rite Aid, the auto shop, or Walgreens, take note of whether or not the clerk looked you in the eye.  My bet is they won't. And my bet is, this time, you'll notice.  FREE Sales Training eBook At every store in America, all day long, every employee says something like ' have a great day' as you pay.  But based on my utterly unscientific poll, these employees almost never look up and gaze in your direction. And they certainly never make eye contact as they say 'have a a great day.' Perhaps, they look at the register, or the change they are handing you, or the debit card, maybe they're even looking up slightly or at your head generally. But, they are NEVER making eye contact.  Seriously, think about it. Try to remember the last time a clerk at a retail store of some sort (grocery store, Wal-Mart, pharmacy, department store) made eye contact as they spoke to you. Can you think of any occasion when this happened? I can't.  Eye Contact in Customer Service Situations Why is eye contact vital in customer service and sales situations? There are several reasons, but here's the most important: looking at someone in the eye lets that person know that you actually acknowledge them as a person. If you look at someone in the eye there is an immediate connection, there's an immediate recognition of that individual. You can't ignore someone with whom you've made eye contact.  So, here's my plea to all the customer service frontline employees at grocery stores and tire shops and retail outlets across this great land: for the love of everything Holy, MAKE EYE CONTACT! When you fail to make eye contact during sales and customer service interactions you fail to validate that person as a person. You fail to engage with them on a human level. You miss a chance to truly connect with your customer. You fail to leave a positive impression on that customer's mind. Experiement: Eye Contact If you are still skeptical about the dearth of eye contact in the customer service realm, please experiment. Tonight when you go to the grocery store or this weekend when you go to Rite Aid, the auto shop, or Walgreens, take note of whether or not the clerk looked you in the eye.  My bet is they won't. And my bet is, this time, you'll notice.  FREE Sales Training eBook Thu, 26 Jan 2012 03:05:54 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Eye-Contact-and-Customer-Service/blog/5733602/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-01-26T03:05:54Z ABRN AutoPro Workshop At every store in America, all day long, every employee says something like ' have a great day' as you pay.  But based on my utterly unscientific poll, these employees almost never look up and gaze in your direction. And they certainly never make eye contact as they say 'have a a great day.' Perhaps, they look at the register, or the change they are handing you, or the debit card, maybe they're even looking up slightly or at your head generally. But, they are NEVER making eye contact.  Seriously, think about it. Try to remember the last time a clerk at a retail store of some sort (grocery store, Wal-Mart, pharmacy, department store) made eye contact as they spoke to you. Can you think of any occasion when this happened? I can't.  Eye Contact in Customer Service Situations Why is eye contact vital in customer service and sales situations? There are several reasons, but here's the most important: looking at someone in the eye lets that person know that you actually acknowledge them as a person. If you look at someone in the eye there is an immediate connection, there's an immediate recognition of that individual. You can't ignore someone with whom you've made eye contact.  So, here's my plea to all the customer service frontline employees at grocery stores and tire shops and retail outlets across this great land: for the love of everything Holy, MAKE EYE CONTACT! When you fail to make eye contact during sales and customer service interactions you fail to validate that person as a person. You fail to engage with them on a human level. You miss a chance to truly connect with your customer. You fail to leave a positive impression on that customer's mind. Experiement: Eye Contact If you are still skeptical about the dearth of eye contact in the customer service realm, please experiment. Tonight when you go to the grocery store or this weekend when you go to Rite Aid, the auto shop, or Walgreens, take note of whether or not the clerk looked you in the eye.  My bet is they won't. And my bet is, this time, you'll notice.  FREE Sales Training eBook abrn, customer, marketing, sales, service nonadult false Eye Contact and Customer Service text blog abrn,customer,marketing,sales,service 1502 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 ABRN 0 5733602 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_The-Demise-of-Tim-Tebow/blog/5714791/31710.html If you're not a sports fan you've probably heard of Tim Tebow, but don't know much about him. We wrote an article about him and why he's such a big deal. Click here to read it.  Tebow is the Denver Broncos quarterback. For much of the season he proved the 'experts' wrong. They said he couldn't win games in the NFL with his unorthodox style, his lack of throwing ability and general inaccuracy. Over and over again he proved them wrong. He won 7 of the 9 regular season games he started and won a playoff game last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was like a Hollywood script.  Then, on Sunday, the movie abruptly and painfully ended. Tebow's Broncos were pummeled into submission by the New England Patriots. Tebow's lack of skill was exposed and his lack of accuracy and ability to throw the ball were magnified. He was terrible and Broncos were annihilated.  What Happened? I’ll spare you the football analysis about zone blitz coverage and the read option offense. Here's the gist: Tebow's Cinderella story ended because his fundamentals were poor. He overcame bad fundamentals through sheer will for most of the season. His desire to succeed overcame the problems with his skillset when the Broncos were playing mediocre competition. Tebow's ability to lead and to inspire success within his teammates is unquestionable. And for most of the season it was enough. Somehow he would complete 35% of his passes (good quarterbacks complete 60% or more of their passes) and still win.  But when the competition was fierce, when the weather got cold, when stakes were the highest, Tebow could overcome his bad fundamentals no longer. Bad Fundamentals = Eventual Failure Tebow doesn’t throw a football like an elite quarterback throws a football. He throws a football like a shot-putter. It's ugly, it takes too long and it isn't accurate. These are fundamentals he should have learned in 6th grade. And it was these poor fundamentals that ultimately led to his demise in New England. Why am I telling you all this? What fundamentals are you forgetting? Perhaps you can muddle your way through customer interactions. Maybe you can fool clients and bosses with smoke and mirrors or really hard work. That's great. But eventually, having a lack of fundamentals will catch up with you. If you have failed to master basic, fundamental sales skills, eventually you will lose a big client or fail to make a big sale. If you aren't keeping good records or constantly monitoring your CRM, eventually it will catch up with you. If you aren't constantly improving your ability to sell via call scoring and call recording, eventually it will catch up with you.  You simply cannot ignore fundamentals and succeed. It isn't possible. Just ask Tim Tebow. Learn the fundamentals - Free Sales Training eBook     If you're not a sports fan you've probably heard of Tim Tebow, but don't know much about him. We wrote an article about him and why he's such a big deal. Click here to read it.  Tebow is the Denver Broncos quarterback. For much of the season he proved the 'experts' wrong. They said he couldn't win games in the NFL with his unorthodox style, his lack of throwing ability and general inaccuracy. Over and over again he proved them wrong. He won 7 of the 9 regular season games he started and won a playoff game last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was like a Hollywood script.  Then, on Sunday, the movie abruptly and painfully ended. Tebow's Broncos were pummeled into submission by the New England Patriots. Tebow's lack of skill was exposed and his lack of accuracy and ability to throw the ball were magnified. He was terrible and Broncos were annihilated.  What Happened? I’ll spare you the football analysis about zone blitz coverage and the read option offense. Here's the gist: Tebow's Cinderella story ended because his fundamentals were poor. He overcame bad fundamentals through sheer will for most of the season. His desire to succeed overcame the problems with his skillset when the Broncos were playing mediocre competition. Tebow's ability to lead and to inspire success within his teammates is unquestionable. And for most of the season it was enough. Somehow he would complete 35% of his passes (good quarterbacks complete 60% or more of their passes) and still win.  But when the competition was fierce, when the weather got cold, when stakes were the highest, Tebow could overcome his bad fundamentals no longer. Bad Fundamentals = Eventual Failure Tebow doesn’t throw a football like an elite quarterback throws a football. He throws a football like a shot-putter. It's ugly, it takes too long and it isn't accurate. These are fundamentals he should have learned in 6th grade. And it was these poor fundamentals that ultimately led to his demise in New England. Why am I telling you all this? What fundamentals are you forgetting? Perhaps you can muddle your way through customer interactions. Maybe you can fool clients and bosses with smoke and mirrors or really hard work. That's great. But eventually, having a lack of fundamentals will catch up with you. If you have failed to master basic, fundamental sales skills, eventually you will lose a big client or fail to make a big sale. If you aren't keeping good records or constantly monitoring your CRM, eventually it will catch up with you. If you aren't constantly improving your ability to sell via call scoring and call recording, eventually it will catch up with you.  You simply cannot ignore fundamentals and succeed. It isn't possible. Just ask Tim Tebow. Learn the fundamentals - Free Sales Training eBook     Tue, 17 Jan 2012 08:10:52 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_The-Demise-of-Tim-Tebow/blog/5714791/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-01-17T08:10:52Z Motor Age AutoPro Workshop If you're not a sports fan you've probably heard of Tim Tebow, but don't know much about him. We wrote an article about him and why he's such a big deal. Click here to read it.  Tebow is the Denver Broncos quarterback. For much of the season he proved the 'experts' wrong. They said he couldn't win games in the NFL with his unorthodox style, his lack of throwing ability and general inaccuracy. Over and over again he proved them wrong. He won 7 of the 9 regular season games he started and won a playoff game last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was like a Hollywood script.  Then, on Sunday, the movie abruptly and painfully ended. Tebow's Broncos were pummeled into submission by the New England Patriots. Tebow's lack of skill was exposed and his lack of accuracy and ability to throw the ball were magnified. He was terrible and Broncos were annihilated.  What Happened? I’ll spare you the football analysis about zone blitz coverage and the read option offense. Here's the gist: Tebow's Cinderella story ended because his fundamentals were poor. He overcame bad fundamentals through sheer will for most of the season. His desire to succeed overcame the problems with his skillset when the Broncos were playing mediocre competition. Tebow's ability to lead and to inspire success within his teammates is unquestionable. And for most of the season it was enough. Somehow he would complete 35% of his passes (good quarterbacks complete 60% or more of their passes) and still win.  But when the competition was fierce, when the weather got cold, when stakes were the highest, Tebow could overcome his bad fundamentals no longer. Bad Fundamentals = Eventual Failure Tebow doesn’t throw a football like an elite quarterback throws a football. He throws a football like a shot-putter. It's ugly, it takes too long and it isn't accurate. These are fundamentals he should have learned in 6th grade. And it was these poor fundamentals that ultimately led to his demise in New England. Why am I telling you all this? What fundamentals are you forgetting? Perhaps you can muddle your way through customer interactions. Maybe you can fool clients and bosses with smoke and mirrors or really hard work. That's great. But eventually, having a lack of fundamentals will catch up with you. If you have failed to master basic, fundamental sales skills, eventually you will lose a big client or fail to make a big sale. If you aren't keeping good records or constantly monitoring your CRM, eventually it will catch up with you. If you aren't constantly improving your ability to sell via call scoring and call recording, eventually it will catch up with you.  You simply cannot ignore fundamentals and succeed. It isn't possible. Just ask Tim Tebow. Learn the fundamentals - Free Sales Training eBook     advertising, marketing, motor age, sales, selling nonadult false The Demise of Tim Tebow text blog advertising,marketing,motor age,sales,selling 803 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 2 Motor Age 0 5714791 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Making-More-Money-in-2012/blog/5700623/31710.html If you want to make more money in 2012 you need a strategy that will get you there. This strategy starts with setting goals for improvement. We've written extensively about goal-setting here. But what about specifics, how can your business increase revenue by 20%, for example? Well, that's not easy, but there's really only a few ways this can happen. So, let's do this, let's discuss specific ways you could increase your company's or department's revenue by 20% in 2012. We'll discuss if each one is viable and will work in the short-term (because, you know, 2012 is here). 1) Improve Products or Services - This is great. But this can take a great deal of time and money. You may not have money and you certainly don't have time because, after all, 2012 is here. 2) Get a Better Location - This is great for businesses with a brick and mortar presence, but it's very expensive and takes a long time.  3) Improve Marketing - Now, this is really where you can start to make short-term and immediate improvements. You can improve your marketing productivity by 20%. You can do that. How? Well, you may need to spend more money to market your business. That's part of the solution. But spending 20% more money won't necessarily result in 20% more business. So, you should employ tools like call tracking to tell you which marketing methods are the most efficient and effective and which aren't. Remember, you need to improve results by 20%. You shouldn't just throw money at a problem.  4) Improve Sales Performance - What if every rep who answered the phone improved their ability to sell by 20%? What if they each closed 20% more sales? We find that slight improvements in basic sales skills can improve sales results by 20%, easily? You should employe a call recording and performance management solution immediately to ensure that this happens. Here's my point: there are really only two ways to immediately change your sales numbers, improve your marketing results slightly and improve your sales performance slightly.  The tools to do this are right here. Improve Your Marketing with LogMyCalls If you want to make more money in 2012 you need a strategy that will get you there. This strategy starts with setting goals for improvement. We've written extensively about goal-setting here. But what about specifics, how can your business increase revenue by 20%, for example? Well, that's not easy, but there's really only a few ways this can happen. So, let's do this, let's discuss specific ways you could increase your company's or department's revenue by 20% in 2012. We'll discuss if each one is viable and will work in the short-term (because, you know, 2012 is here). 1) Improve Products or Services - This is great. But this can take a great deal of time and money. You may not have money and you certainly don't have time because, after all, 2012 is here. 2) Get a Better Location - This is great for businesses with a brick and mortar presence, but it's very expensive and takes a long time.  3) Improve Marketing - Now, this is really where you can start to make short-term and immediate improvements. You can improve your marketing productivity by 20%. You can do that. How? Well, you may need to spend more money to market your business. That's part of the solution. But spending 20% more money won't necessarily result in 20% more business. So, you should employ tools like call tracking to tell you which marketing methods are the most efficient and effective and which aren't. Remember, you need to improve results by 20%. You shouldn't just throw money at a problem.  4) Improve Sales Performance - What if every rep who answered the phone improved their ability to sell by 20%? What if they each closed 20% more sales? We find that slight improvements in basic sales skills can improve sales results by 20%, easily? You should employe a call recording and performance management solution immediately to ensure that this happens. Here's my point: there are really only two ways to immediately change your sales numbers, improve your marketing results slightly and improve your sales performance slightly.  The tools to do this are right here. Improve Your Marketing with LogMyCalls Mon, 09 Jan 2012 23:24:23 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Making-More-Money-in-2012/blog/5700623/31710.html ContactPoint 2012-01-09T23:24:23Z ABRN AutoPro Workshop If you want to make more money in 2012 you need a strategy that will get you there. This strategy starts with setting goals for improvement. We've written extensively about goal-setting here. But what about specifics, how can your business increase revenue by 20%, for example? Well, that's not easy, but there's really only a few ways this can happen. So, let's do this, let's discuss specific ways you could increase your company's or department's revenue by 20% in 2012. We'll discuss if each one is viable and will work in the short-term (because, you know, 2012 is here). 1) Improve Products or Services - This is great. But this can take a great deal of time and money. You may not have money and you certainly don't have time because, after all, 2012 is here. 2) Get a Better Location - This is great for businesses with a brick and mortar presence, but it's very expensive and takes a long time.  3) Improve Marketing - Now, this is really where you can start to make short-term and immediate improvements. You can improve your marketing productivity by 20%. You can do that. How? Well, you may need to spend more money to market your business. That's part of the solution. But spending 20% more money won't necessarily result in 20% more business. So, you should employ tools like call tracking to tell you which marketing methods are the most efficient and effective and which aren't. Remember, you need to improve results by 20%. You shouldn't just throw money at a problem.  4) Improve Sales Performance - What if every rep who answered the phone improved their ability to sell by 20%? What if they each closed 20% more sales? We find that slight improvements in basic sales skills can improve sales results by 20%, easily? You should employe a call recording and performance management solution immediately to ensure that this happens. Here's my point: there are really only two ways to immediately change your sales numbers, improve your marketing results slightly and improve your sales performance slightly.  The tools to do this are right here. Improve Your Marketing with LogMyCalls abrn, advertising, marketing, sales, selling nonadult false Making More Money in 2012 text blog abrn,advertising,marketing,sales,selling 1000 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 ABRN 0 5700623 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Sales-Polygraph-What-Do-Your-Employees-Sound-Like-On-The-Phone/blog/5677855/31710.html We’ve all seen polygraph tests on TV and in the movies. The polygraph—according to the omniscient source of all knowledge, Wikipedia—measures blood pressure, pulse, and skin conductivity to determine if someone is telling the truth about a certain question. The polygraph was invented in 1921 by a medical student at Cal Berkeley. Police departments use the polygraph to determine if someone is telling the truth.   Also, talk shows like The Maury Povich Show have used polygraph tests to determine if people are, in fact, cheating on their boyfriends, girlfriends and spouses. This is, as you can imagine, valuable information.   Now, this isn’t a treatise on the polygraph. Here’s the point: the polygraph test is a very useful tool that law enforcement and government agencies use to reveal the truth. It helps them do their job more effectively and efficiently. It helps them save resources and get results quicker.   Call scoring is a sales polygraph.   What is Call Scoring?   We’ve written entire articles on call scoring. One is entitled ‘What is Call Scoring?’ Others discuss ways you could use call scoring at your business. So I won’t go into great depth here, except to say this: call scoring is a way to measure specifically what your reps do and say during sales calls.   Sales reports and weekly summaries may show sales managers and executives very broad numbers (i.e. how many closed sales, who’s closing sales, size of accounts, etc.), but they do not show you why a rep closed a sale and why another rep didn’t. Nor do those reports show you which reps are selling effectively. They don’t show you how often reps are asking directly for the business. They don’t show you how your rep communicated with a prospect. Nor do they show you (and statistically this is the most important thing your rep could do) how effectively your rep sought to overcome objections.   Your current reports don’t show you these things. They show you the end results, but don’t show you the whys.   Call scoring shows you the whys.   With LogMyCalls call scoring you can customize scorecards to measure any criteria you choose. Did your rep asked for the business? Did they use the caller’s name? Did they communicate effectively, mention a special promotion, or attempt to overcome objections?   These individual criteria (again you can decide what to measure) will show you the why a sale is being made, or isn’t being made. You can see what reps are doing well and what they’re not doing well.   Based on the grade, or ‘score,’ you give each criteria (Pass/Fail, 0-3 scale, 0-5 scale or 0-10 scale), LogMyCalls tabulates a cumulative score for each call. It also allows you to generate reports so you can compare reps to each other, departments to each other or locations to each other. You can view trends for specific criteria (asking for the business, for example), for agents, for locations for departments or for cumulative calls.   Call scoring reveals the truth.   Call Scoring = Sales Polygraph   Just as people can’t hide from polygraph tests, sales reps simply can’t hide from call scoring. They can’t make up excuses for why they aren’t closing sales. You see the scores. You know what they’re doing well and where they’re falling short. You know if they’re asking for the business and attempting to overcome objections.   Call scoring doesn’t measure sweating, heart rate or pupil dilation. But it does measure what your rep says to a prospect and how they say it.   It measures things your sales reports cannot. It measures the why. It gives you the tools you need to improve.   Call scoring reveals the truth within the sales interaction. Sign up for LogMyCalls We’ve all seen polygraph tests on TV and in the movies. The polygraph—according to the omniscient source of all knowledge, Wikipedia—measures blood pressure, pulse, and skin conductivity to determine if someone is telling the truth about a certain question. The polygraph was invented in 1921 by a medical student at Cal Berkeley. Police departments use the polygraph to determine if someone is telling the truth.   Also, talk shows like The Maury Povich Show have used polygraph tests to determine if people are, in fact, cheating on their boyfriends, girlfriends and spouses. This is, as you can imagine, valuable information.   Now, this isn’t a treatise on the polygraph. Here’s the point: the polygraph test is a very useful tool that law enforcement and government agencies use to reveal the truth. It helps them do their job more effectively and efficiently. It helps them save resources and get results quicker.   Call scoring is a sales polygraph.   What is Call Scoring?   We’ve written entire articles on call scoring. One is entitled ‘What is Call Scoring?’ Others discuss ways you could use call scoring at your business. So I won’t go into great depth here, except to say this: call scoring is a way to measure specifically what your reps do and say during sales calls.   Sales reports and weekly summaries may show sales managers and executives very broad numbers (i.e. how many closed sales, who’s closing sales, size of accounts, etc.), but they do not show you why a rep closed a sale and why another rep didn’t. Nor do those reports show you which reps are selling effectively. They don’t show you how often reps are asking directly for the business. They don’t show you how your rep communicated with a prospect. Nor do they show you (and statistically this is the most important thing your rep could do) how effectively your rep sought to overcome objections.   Your current reports don’t show you these things. They show you the end results, but don’t show you the whys.   Call scoring shows you the whys.   With LogMyCalls call scoring you can customize scorecards to measure any criteria you choose. Did your rep asked for the business? Did they use the caller’s name? Did they communicate effectively, mention a special promotion, or attempt to overcome objections?   These individual criteria (again you can decide what to measure) will show you the why a sale is being made, or isn’t being made. You can see what reps are doing well and what they’re not doing well.   Based on the grade, or ‘score,’ you give each criteria (Pass/Fail, 0-3 scale, 0-5 scale or 0-10 scale), LogMyCalls tabulates a cumulative score for each call. It also allows you to generate reports so you can compare reps to each other, departments to each other or locations to each other. You can view trends for specific criteria (asking for the business, for example), for agents, for locations for departments or for cumulative calls.   Call scoring reveals the truth.   Call Scoring = Sales Polygraph   Just as people can’t hide from polygraph tests, sales reps simply can’t hide from call scoring. They can’t make up excuses for why they aren’t closing sales. You see the scores. You know what they’re doing well and where they’re falling short. You know if they’re asking for the business and attempting to overcome objections.   Call scoring doesn’t measure sweating, heart rate or pupil dilation. But it does measure what your rep says to a prospect and how they say it.   It measures things your sales reports cannot. It measures the why. It gives you the tools you need to improve.   Call scoring reveals the truth within the sales interaction. Sign up for LogMyCalls Thu, 29 Dec 2011 04:49:50 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Sales-Polygraph-What-Do-Your-Employees-Sound-Like-On-The-Phone/blog/5677855/31710.html ContactPoint 2011-12-29T04:49:50Z Motor Age AutoPro Workshop We’ve all seen polygraph tests on TV and in the movies. The polygraph—according to the omniscient source of all knowledge, Wikipedia—measures blood pressure, pulse, and skin conductivity to determine if someone is telling the truth about a certain question. The polygraph was invented in 1921 by a medical student at Cal Berkeley. Police departments use the polygraph to determine if someone is telling the truth.   Also, talk shows like The Maury Povich Show have used polygraph tests to determine if people are, in fact, cheating on their boyfriends, girlfriends and spouses. This is, as you can imagine, valuable information.   Now, this isn’t a treatise on the polygraph. Here’s the point: the polygraph test is a very useful tool that law enforcement and government agencies use to reveal the truth. It helps them do their job more effectively and efficiently. It helps them save resources and get results quicker.   Call scoring is a sales polygraph.   What is Call Scoring?   We’ve written entire articles on call scoring. One is entitled ‘What is Call Scoring?’ Others discuss ways you could use call scoring at your business. So I won’t go into great depth here, except to say this: call scoring is a way to measure specifically what your reps do and say during sales calls.   Sales reports and weekly summaries may show sales managers and executives very broad numbers (i.e. how many closed sales, who’s closing sales, size of accounts, etc.), but they do not show you why a rep closed a sale and why another rep didn’t. Nor do those reports show you which reps are selling effectively. They don’t show you how often reps are asking directly for the business. They don’t show you how your rep communicated with a prospect. Nor do they show you (and statistically this is the most important thing your rep could do) how effectively your rep sought to overcome objections.   Your current reports don’t show you these things. They show you the end results, but don’t show you the whys.   Call scoring shows you the whys.   With LogMyCalls call scoring you can customize scorecards to measure any criteria you choose. Did your rep asked for the business? Did they use the caller’s name? Did they communicate effectively, mention a special promotion, or attempt to overcome objections?   These individual criteria (again you can decide what to measure) will show you the why a sale is being made, or isn’t being made. You can see what reps are doing well and what they’re not doing well.   Based on the grade, or ‘score,’ you give each criteria (Pass/Fail, 0-3 scale, 0-5 scale or 0-10 scale), LogMyCalls tabulates a cumulative score for each call. It also allows you to generate reports so you can compare reps to each other, departments to each other or locations to each other. You can view trends for specific criteria (asking for the business, for example), for agents, for locations for departments or for cumulative calls.   Call scoring reveals the truth.   Call Scoring = Sales Polygraph   Just as people can’t hide from polygraph tests, sales reps simply can’t hide from call scoring. They can’t make up excuses for why they aren’t closing sales. You see the scores. You know what they’re doing well and where they’re falling short. You know if they’re asking for the business and attempting to overcome objections.   Call scoring doesn’t measure sweating, heart rate or pupil dilation. But it does measure what your rep says to a prospect and how they say it.   It measures things your sales reports cannot. It measures the why. It gives you the tools you need to improve.   Call scoring reveals the truth within the sales interaction. Sign up for LogMyCalls advertising, marketing, motor age, sales, selling nonadult false Sales Polygraph: What Do Your Employees Sound Like On The Phone text blog advertising,marketing,motor age,sales,selling 899 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 Motor Age 0 5677855 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_LogMyCalls/photo/15763701/31710.html LogMyCalls is a marketing and sales optimization tool from ContactPoint. LogMyCalls is a marketing and sales optimization tool from ContactPoint. Thu, 29 Dec 2011 04:46:55 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_LogMyCalls/photo/15763701/31710.html ContactPoint 2011-12-29T04:46:55Z AutoPro Workshop LogMyCalls is a marketing and sales optimization tool from ContactPoint. nonadult false LogMyCalls photo 392 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 15763701 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Christmas-and-Customer-Service/blog/5662141/31710.html Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. But yet it is, perhaps, the worst time of year for customer service. Why is this? Well, shopsare more crowded, the public is more rushed, people have less money, businesses are less focused on their goals and thus more prone to failures in customer service. Here's the problem: none of those are good excuses. There is simply no reason for customer service to wane in the Christmas Season. None. Businesses must remain focused on their policies, their procedures and most of all, their performance. Christmas is not an excuse for customer service to falter. If anything Christmas is a reason for customer service to improve. Start tracking your marketing and hear how effective your customer service is. Sign up for LogMycalls Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. But yet it is, perhaps, the worst time of year for customer service. Why is this? Well, shopsare more crowded, the public is more rushed, people have less money, businesses are less focused on their goals and thus more prone to failures in customer service. Here's the problem: none of those are good excuses. There is simply no reason for customer service to wane in the Christmas Season. None. Businesses must remain focused on their policies, their procedures and most of all, their performance. Christmas is not an excuse for customer service to falter. If anything Christmas is a reason for customer service to improve. Start tracking your marketing and hear how effective your customer service is. Sign up for LogMycalls Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:24:03 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Christmas-and-Customer-Service/blog/5662141/31710.html ContactPoint 2011-12-22T00:24:03Z Motor Age AutoPro Workshop Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year. But yet it is, perhaps, the worst time of year for customer service. Why is this? Well, shopsare more crowded, the public is more rushed, people have less money, businesses are less focused on their goals and thus more prone to failures in customer service. Here's the problem: none of those are good excuses. There is simply no reason for customer service to wane in the Christmas Season. None. Businesses must remain focused on their policies, their procedures and most of all, their performance. Christmas is not an excuse for customer service to falter. If anything Christmas is a reason for customer service to improve. Start tracking your marketing and hear how effective your customer service is. Sign up for LogMycalls advertising, marketing, motor age, sales, selling nonadult false Christmas and Customer Service text blog advertising,marketing,motor age,sales,selling 682 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 Motor Age 0 5662141 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Marketing-101-Where-to-Advertise/blog/5647757/31710.html We're a call tracking company. And one of the first questions people ask us is this: where should I put my call tracking phone numbers? Where should I advertise them? Those are great question! And we're going to answer them, but first, Let's first discuss what call tracking is. Call Tracking At its most basic level, call tracking tells a business which marketing methods and advertising campaigns are generating phone calls, and which are not. Read more about call tracking here. This is done by assigning different phone tracking numbers (with LogMyCalls you can choose toll free phone numbers, local tracking numbers of vanity phone numbers) to different pieces of advertising and marketing.  LogMyCalls will then tell you which phone numbers are generating calls—and thus, which advertising methods are working. These are regular phone numbers that are provided by LogMyCalls so we can track them. So here’s the big question: what should you do with your tracking number? Where should you put it? Where should you advertise it? 1) Your Website – This is the most obvious place to put your phone number. Put it in a prominent place on your website. You would think that putting a phone number on your website would be a no-brainer. Well, it’s surprising then, how few people have brains, because there are many websites that do not have phone numbers on them. (Or, at least, phone numbers that are easily located). 2) Your Facebook Page – What does all this ‘Like me on Facebook’ nonsense actually do for you? Seriously? Is a business Facebook page worth investing in or spending time on? Find out, by putting a tracking number on your Facebook page. See if anyone calls you. 3) Your LinkedIn Page – Does your company have a LinkedIn Profile? If not, you should create one. Once you do, put a phone number on that page. 4) Your Business Cards – Put phone tracking numbers on your business cards. Companies spend thousands of dollars a year on business cards. They hand them out to leads and put them in jars at restaurants. Are they effective? Do they generate phone calls. 5) Your Brochures and Literature – You probably have a brochure you give prospects, or a letterhead with a phone number. You should put tracking phone numbers on each of those things. Because, what’s the point of that nice letter you sent them if they don’t call you? 6) Fliers – Maybe you’re a business that attends tradeshows, or you host community events or you have fliers available in your store. Every business has used fliers. Was it a waste of money? Did anyone who picked up a flier actually call you? If not…why would you create fliers in the future? 7) Goodies - Every Christmas, millions of businesses send out a bunch of junk to leads and current customers. They send stuff like calendars, pens, mousepads, etc. Why not put a phone number on those and see if anyone actually calls because they looked up and saw your 2012 calendar? 8) Direct Mailer – Even as the economy moves increasingly paperless, direct mail ads are actually gaining popularity in some sectors. Direct mail gets your business in front of consumers immediately. But does it work? You should put a tracking phone number on your direct mailers. 9) Valpak – These are the little coupon books that come in the mail. You should have coupons and you should have a tracking phone number on those coupons. 10) Classified – Many businesses run classified ads in newspapers and magazines. They should all have a tracking phone number. Why? Because you don’t want to waste money running advertising that doesn’t work. 11) Newspaper Inserts – Every local and national paper has ads and coupons that pull out of the paper. Put a tracking number on these. 12) Magazine and Print Advertising – This is your standard, old-school advertising. Most businesses have run a print ad somewhere at some point. Did the print ad work? Did it generate phone calls? Use a tracking number and find out. 13) Billboards – What’s better than a giant billboard with your logo and a tracking phone number? Not much. 14) Craigslist – It’s easy, it’s free and you can put a phone number on the listing. (Yes, a tracking phone number). 15) BBB, Chamber of Commerce, etc. – Most businesses pay to be a part of local or national directories. Is it worth it? Find out with tracking phone numbers on those listings. 16) TV – We had a client who had, for years, had advertised on TV and radio. He spent $4000 - $5000 every few months on a fresh batch of TV and radio ads. He assumed they were working. Then he bought some tracking phone numbers from us. Well, it turned out that his 6 radio ads and 2 TV ads didn’t generate one phone call! Not one! You’re welcome.  (Now, we have other clients that say TV and radio ads generate lots of phone calls. Again, they know this because they have tracking numbers on these ads. 17) Radio – See above. 18) Emails - Many businesses send regular emails. These could be newsletters or some sort of a nurture campaign. Why not put a tracking phone number on these emails to see if anyone picks up the phone to call? 19) Newsletters – You know that quarterly newsletter you send to everyone on your mailing list. Does it do any good? Do they read it? Put a phone number in the newsletter to find out. 20) Yellow Page Listings – Listing your business in the Yellow Pages is a necessity. Why? Because many people still use the phone book and an increasing number of people search the yellow pages online. When they see your business, they see a phone number too. 21) Online Listings – We are writing entire articles about online listings and local SEO. There’s a lot to talk about here. But, suffice it to say that when someone types ‘tires San Jose’ into Google, they had better see your shop come up. And there had better be a tracking phone number associated with it. 22) QR Codes – We’ve written about QR codes here. 23) Internet Banner Ads – Most medium and large companies run Internet banner ads. You could put a phone number directly on them or, using a sophisticated tool called Dynamic Number  Insertion (DNI), a click on a banner ad would actually generate a specific tracking number on your website. Let me say that a different way. A unique—and fully trackable—phone number is actually automatically generated on a website depending upon how the website is accessed. What does that mean? It means that you could actually see how many people clicked on your banner ad and then called you. Wow. 24) Facebook Ads – Using the same principles and DNI technology as Internet banner ads you can actually buy ads on Facebook and measure the calls that each specific ad generates. 25) LinkedIn Ads – See above. 26) PPC Campaigns – Google Adwords – You could place a phone number within the Google Ad itself or, with DNI, generate a unique number on your website. This allows you to track how effective your Google Adwords campaign is. 27) Google, Yahoo, Bing Search – Using DNI, you can actually generate a different number on your website dependent upon how someone accesses your website via organic search. Call Tracking For You Here’s the cool thing with the list above: most of these advertising methods are free or very low cost. So, you should get a tracking phone number and immediately start putting that phone number in a variety of places.  LogMyCalls can change your marketing performance and save you money. But it won’t do anything (literally, there is no data in the system) until tracking numbers are advertised and people start calling them.     Sign up for LogMyCalls Try a FREE tracking phone number (seriously, free forever)  We're a call tracking company. And one of the first questions people ask us is this: where should I put my call tracking phone numbers? Where should I advertise them? Those are great question! And we're going to answer them, but first, Let's first discuss what call tracking is. Call Tracking At its most basic level, call tracking tells a business which marketing methods and advertising campaigns are generating phone calls, and which are not. Read more about call tracking here. This is done by assigning different phone tracking numbers (with LogMyCalls you can choose toll free phone numbers, local tracking numbers of vanity phone numbers) to different pieces of advertising and marketing.  LogMyCalls will then tell you which phone numbers are generating calls—and thus, which advertising methods are working. These are regular phone numbers that are provided by LogMyCalls so we can track them. So here’s the big question: what should you do with your tracking number? Where should you put it? Where should you advertise it? 1) Your Website – This is the most obvious place to put your phone number. Put it in a prominent place on your website. You would think that putting a phone number on your website would be a no-brainer. Well, it’s surprising then, how few people have brains, because there are many websites that do not have phone numbers on them. (Or, at least, phone numbers that are easily located). 2) Your Facebook Page – What does all this ‘Like me on Facebook’ nonsense actually do for you? Seriously? Is a business Facebook page worth investing in or spending time on? Find out, by putting a tracking number on your Facebook page. See if anyone calls you. 3) Your LinkedIn Page – Does your company have a LinkedIn Profile? If not, you should create one. Once you do, put a phone number on that page. 4) Your Business Cards – Put phone tracking numbers on your business cards. Companies spend thousands of dollars a year on business cards. They hand them out to leads and put them in jars at restaurants. Are they effective? Do they generate phone calls. 5) Your Brochures and Literature – You probably have a brochure you give prospects, or a letterhead with a phone number. You should put tracking phone numbers on each of those things. Because, what’s the point of that nice letter you sent them if they don’t call you? 6) Fliers – Maybe you’re a business that attends tradeshows, or you host community events or you have fliers available in your store. Every business has used fliers. Was it a waste of money? Did anyone who picked up a flier actually call you? If not…why would you create fliers in the future? 7) Goodies - Every Christmas, millions of businesses send out a bunch of junk to leads and current customers. They send stuff like calendars, pens, mousepads, etc. Why not put a phone number on those and see if anyone actually calls because they looked up and saw your 2012 calendar? 8) Direct Mailer – Even as the economy moves increasingly paperless, direct mail ads are actually gaining popularity in some sectors. Direct mail gets your business in front of consumers immediately. But does it work? You should put a tracking phone number on your direct mailers. 9) Valpak – These are the little coupon books that come in the mail. You should have coupons and you should have a tracking phone number on those coupons. 10) Classified – Many businesses run classified ads in newspapers and magazines. They should all have a tracking phone number. Why? Because you don’t want to waste money running advertising that doesn’t work. 11) Newspaper Inserts – Every local and national paper has ads and coupons that pull out of the paper. Put a tracking number on these. 12) Magazine and Print Advertising – This is your standard, old-school advertising. Most businesses have run a print ad somewhere at some point. Did the print ad work? Did it generate phone calls? Use a tracking number and find out. 13) Billboards – What’s better than a giant billboard with your logo and a tracking phone number? Not much. 14) Craigslist – It’s easy, it’s free and you can put a phone number on the listing. (Yes, a tracking phone number). 15) BBB, Chamber of Commerce, etc. – Most businesses pay to be a part of local or national directories. Is it worth it? Find out with tracking phone numbers on those listings. 16) TV – We had a client who had, for years, had advertised on TV and radio. He spent $4000 - $5000 every few months on a fresh batch of TV and radio ads. He assumed they were working. Then he bought some tracking phone numbers from us. Well, it turned out that his 6 radio ads and 2 TV ads didn’t generate one phone call! Not one! You’re welcome.  (Now, we have other clients that say TV and radio ads generate lots of phone calls. Again, they know this because they have tracking numbers on these ads. 17) Radio – See above. 18) Emails - Many businesses send regular emails. These could be newsletters or some sort of a nurture campaign. Why not put a tracking phone number on these emails to see if anyone picks up the phone to call? 19) Newsletters – You know that quarterly newsletter you send to everyone on your mailing list. Does it do any good? Do they read it? Put a phone number in the newsletter to find out. 20) Yellow Page Listings – Listing your business in the Yellow Pages is a necessity. Why? Because many people still use the phone book and an increasing number of people search the yellow pages online. When they see your business, they see a phone number too. 21) Online Listings – We are writing entire articles about online listings and local SEO. There’s a lot to talk about here. But, suffice it to say that when someone types ‘tires San Jose’ into Google, they had better see your shop come up. And there had better be a tracking phone number associated with it. 22) QR Codes – We’ve written about QR codes here. 23) Internet Banner Ads – Most medium and large companies run Internet banner ads. You could put a phone number directly on them or, using a sophisticated tool called Dynamic Number  Insertion (DNI), a click on a banner ad would actually generate a specific tracking number on your website. Let me say that a different way. A unique—and fully trackable—phone number is actually automatically generated on a website depending upon how the website is accessed. What does that mean? It means that you could actually see how many people clicked on your banner ad and then called you. Wow. 24) Facebook Ads – Using the same principles and DNI technology as Internet banner ads you can actually buy ads on Facebook and measure the calls that each specific ad generates. 25) LinkedIn Ads – See above. 26) PPC Campaigns – Google Adwords – You could place a phone number within the Google Ad itself or, with DNI, generate a unique number on your website. This allows you to track how effective your Google Adwords campaign is. 27) Google, Yahoo, Bing Search – Using DNI, you can actually generate a different number on your website dependent upon how someone accesses your website via organic search. Call Tracking For You Here’s the cool thing with the list above: most of these advertising methods are free or very low cost. So, you should get a tracking phone number and immediately start putting that phone number in a variety of places.  LogMyCalls can change your marketing performance and save you money. But it won’t do anything (literally, there is no data in the system) until tracking numbers are advertised and people start calling them.     Sign up for LogMyCalls Try a FREE tracking phone number (seriously, free forever)  Fri, 16 Dec 2011 03:13:01 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Marketing-101-Where-to-Advertise/blog/5647757/31710.html ContactPoint 2011-12-16T03:13:01Z Motor Age AutoPro Workshop We're a call tracking company. And one of the first questions people ask us is this: where should I put my call tracking phone numbers? Where should I advertise them? Those are great question! And we're going to answer them, but first, Let's first discuss what call tracking is. Call Tracking At its most basic level, call tracking tells a business which marketing methods and advertising campaigns are generating phone calls, and which are not. Read more about call tracking here. This is done by assigning different phone tracking numbers (with LogMyCalls you can choose toll free phone numbers, local tracking numbers of vanity phone numbers) to different pieces of advertising and marketing.  LogMyCalls will then tell you which phone numbers are generating calls—and thus, which advertising methods are working. These are regular phone numbers that are provided by LogMyCalls so we can track them. So here’s the big question: what should you do with your tracking number? Where should you put it? Where should you advertise it? 1) Your Website – This is the most obvious place to put your phone number. Put it in a prominent place on your website. You would think that putting a phone number on your website would be a no-brainer. Well, it’s surprising then, how few people have brains, because there are many websites that do not have phone numbers on them. (Or, at least, phone numbers that are easily located). 2) Your Facebook Page – What does all this ‘Like me on Facebook’ nonsense actually do for you? Seriously? Is a business Facebook page worth investing in or spending time on? Find out, by putting a tracking number on your Facebook page. See if anyone calls you. 3) Your LinkedIn Page – Does your company have a LinkedIn Profile? If not, you should create one. Once you do, put a phone number on that page. 4) Your Business Cards – Put phone tracking numbers on your business cards. Companies spend thousands of dollars a year on business cards. They hand them out to leads and put them in jars at restaurants. Are they effective? Do they generate phone calls. 5) Your Brochures and Literature – You probably have a brochure you give prospects, or a letterhead with a phone number. You should put tracking phone numbers on each of those things. Because, what’s the point of that nice letter you sent them if they don’t call you? 6) Fliers – Maybe you’re a business that attends tradeshows, or you host community events or you have fliers available in your store. Every business has used fliers. Was it a waste of money? Did anyone who picked up a flier actually call you? If not…why would you create fliers in the future? 7) Goodies - Every Christmas, millions of businesses send out a bunch of junk to leads and current customers. They send stuff like calendars, pens, mousepads, etc. Why not put a phone number on those and see if anyone actually calls because they looked up and saw your 2012 calendar? 8) Direct Mailer – Even as the economy moves increasingly paperless, direct mail ads are actually gaining popularity in some sectors. Direct mail gets your business in front of consumers immediately. But does it work? You should put a tracking phone number on your direct mailers. 9) Valpak – These are the little coupon books that come in the mail. You should have coupons and you should have a tracking phone number on those coupons. 10) Classified – Many businesses run classified ads in newspapers and magazines. They should all have a tracking phone number. Why? Because you don’t want to waste money running advertising that doesn’t work. 11) Newspaper Inserts – Every local and national paper has ads and coupons that pull out of the paper. Put a tracking number on these. 12) Magazine and Print Advertising – This is your standard, old-school advertising. Most businesses have run a print ad somewhere at some point. Did the print ad work? Did it generate phone calls? Use a tracking number and find out. 13) Billboards – What’s better than a giant billboard with your logo and a tracking phone number? Not much. 14) Craigslist – It’s easy, it’s free and you can put a phone number on the listing. (Yes, a tracking phone number). 15) BBB, Chamber of Commerce, etc. – Most businesses pay to be a part of local or national directories. Is it worth it? Find out with tracking phone numbers on those listings. 16) TV – We had a client who had, for years, had advertised on TV and radio. He spent $4000 - $5000 every few months on a fresh batch of TV and radio ads. He assumed they were working. Then he bought some tracking phone numbers from us. Well, it turned out that his 6 radio ads and 2 TV ads didn’t generate one phone call! Not one! You’re welcome.  (Now, we have other clients that say TV and radio ads generate lots of phone calls. Again, they know this because they have tracking numbers on these ads. 17) Radio – See above. 18) Emails - Many businesses send regular emails. These could be newsletters or some sort of a nurture campaign. Why not put a tracking phone number on these emails to see if anyone picks up the phone to call? 19) Newsletters – You know that quarterly newsletter you send to everyone on your mailing list. Does it do any good? Do they read it? Put a phone number in the newsletter to find out. 20) Yellow Page Listings – Listing your business in the Yellow Pages is a necessity. Why? Because many people still use the phone book and an increasing number of people search the yellow pages online. When they see your business, they see a phone number too. 21) Online Listings – We are writing entire articles about online listings and local SEO. There’s a lot to talk about here. But, suffice it to say that when someone types ‘tires San Jose’ into Google, they had better see your shop come up. And there had better be a tracking phone number associated with it. 22) QR Codes – We’ve written about QR codes here. 23) Internet Banner Ads – Most medium and large companies run Internet banner ads. You could put a phone number directly on them or, using a sophisticated tool called Dynamic Number  Insertion (DNI), a click on a banner ad would actually generate a specific tracking number on your website. Let me say that a different way. A unique—and fully trackable—phone number is actually automatically generated on a website depending upon how the website is accessed. What does that mean? It means that you could actually see how many people clicked on your banner ad and then called you. Wow. 24) Facebook Ads – Using the same principles and DNI technology as Internet banner ads you can actually buy ads on Facebook and measure the calls that each specific ad generates. 25) LinkedIn Ads – See above. 26) PPC Campaigns – Google Adwords – You could place a phone number within the Google Ad itself or, with DNI, generate a unique number on your website. This allows you to track how effective your Google Adwords campaign is. 27) Google, Yahoo, Bing Search – Using DNI, you can actually generate a different number on your website dependent upon how someone accesses your website via organic search. Call Tracking For You Here’s the cool thing with the list above: most of these advertising methods are free or very low cost. So, you should get a tracking phone number and immediately start putting that phone number in a variety of places.  LogMyCalls can change your marketing performance and save you money. But it won’t do anything (literally, there is no data in the system) until tracking numbers are advertised and people start calling them.     Sign up for LogMyCalls Try a FREE tracking phone number (seriously, free forever)  advertising, marketing, motor age, sales, selling nonadult false Marketing 101: Where to Advertise text blog advertising,marketing,motor age,sales,selling 1750 1 5.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 Motor Age 0 5647757 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_DUMBMarketing-Without-Measuring/blog/5542145/31710.html Your business is wasting a ton of money right now.  Tons of it. Money is flying out the window and being flushed down the toilet. You might as well burn it.  Everyday you waste more and more of it. How is your business wasting money? Your business is wasting money on your marketing. Most small and medium-sized businesses simply don't know which forms of marketing are effective and which are not. They have no clue if that ad they just spent money on is driving web traffic, phone calls or actual customers. They have no clue if their Facebook page is doing anything worthwhile. They have no idea if their coupons actually bring in business or if their banner ads generate phone calls. They simply don't know what's working and what isn't. They don't have a clue.  Here's the simple fact: many businesses just throw money at marketing and assume it must be working. They hope. They wish. Maybe they even pray that their marketing is working. But, they don't KNOW.  That's a waste of money. Every day that your business fails to measure the effectiveness of every piece of its advertising is a day that your business is losing money. (Because at least one form of advertising isn't pulling it's weight and isn't returning your investment; you just don't know which one). A Really Good Analogy About Tracking Marketing You hire a new employee. You pay him money. You have high expectations and you believe in your new employee. You have great confidence in his ability. He looks like a good worker and acts like an intelligent employee. He's going to be successful. Then when the time comes for him to start the job, you just assume he's working effectively. You never check up on him. You never evaluate his performance or his effort. And even if you wanted to, you don't have the tools available to evaluate him. In fact, you have no idea if he's even coming to work. You don't know if he's at the office or at home playing video games. You don't know. It's possible he's dead or in the hospital. Or, it's possible he's a genius and is making your company money. You just don't know. Either way, you keep paying him anyway. The above analogy is dumb. It wouldn't ever happen. No one would hire someone, pay them money and then just assume they're working. And yet that's exactly what many businesses do with their marketing. Far too many businesses create flashy marketing and advertising, invest a lot of money in it and send it out into the world to work. Then they make no effort to track it, to measure it, to evaluate it. They just continue to throw advertising against a wall, close their eyes and hope something sticks. That's dumb. It's just as dumb as hiring an employee and never ever caring if he works. The Bottom Line: Track Your Marketing If you aren't tracking your marketing you are losing money. You have to know what form of advertising and marketing are working and which are not. You simply have to know. If you don't you are losing money. Period. Always. You need to know what is generating phone calls and web traffic and what isn't. Sign up for LogMyCalls now. It's cheap. It's easy. And it will track your marketing with precision.  My guess is you're losing gobs and gobs of money. Sign up for a free toll free number and start tracking your advertising TODAY!   Your business is wasting a ton of money right now.  Tons of it. Money is flying out the window and being flushed down the toilet. You might as well burn it.  Everyday you waste more and more of it. How is your business wasting money? Your business is wasting money on your marketing. Most small and medium-sized businesses simply don't know which forms of marketing are effective and which are not. They have no clue if that ad they just spent money on is driving web traffic, phone calls or actual customers. They have no clue if their Facebook page is doing anything worthwhile. They have no idea if their coupons actually bring in business or if their banner ads generate phone calls. They simply don't know what's working and what isn't. They don't have a clue.  Here's the simple fact: many businesses just throw money at marketing and assume it must be working. They hope. They wish. Maybe they even pray that their marketing is working. But, they don't KNOW.  That's a waste of money. Every day that your business fails to measure the effectiveness of every piece of its advertising is a day that your business is losing money. (Because at least one form of advertising isn't pulling it's weight and isn't returning your investment; you just don't know which one). A Really Good Analogy About Tracking Marketing You hire a new employee. You pay him money. You have high expectations and you believe in your new employee. You have great confidence in his ability. He looks like a good worker and acts like an intelligent employee. He's going to be successful. Then when the time comes for him to start the job, you just assume he's working effectively. You never check up on him. You never evaluate his performance or his effort. And even if you wanted to, you don't have the tools available to evaluate him. In fact, you have no idea if he's even coming to work. You don't know if he's at the office or at home playing video games. You don't know. It's possible he's dead or in the hospital. Or, it's possible he's a genius and is making your company money. You just don't know. Either way, you keep paying him anyway. The above analogy is dumb. It wouldn't ever happen. No one would hire someone, pay them money and then just assume they're working. And yet that's exactly what many businesses do with their marketing. Far too many businesses create flashy marketing and advertising, invest a lot of money in it and send it out into the world to work. Then they make no effort to track it, to measure it, to evaluate it. They just continue to throw advertising against a wall, close their eyes and hope something sticks. That's dumb. It's just as dumb as hiring an employee and never ever caring if he works. The Bottom Line: Track Your Marketing If you aren't tracking your marketing you are losing money. You have to know what form of advertising and marketing are working and which are not. You simply have to know. If you don't you are losing money. Period. Always. You need to know what is generating phone calls and web traffic and what isn't. Sign up for LogMyCalls now. It's cheap. It's easy. And it will track your marketing with precision.  My guess is you're losing gobs and gobs of money. Sign up for a free toll free number and start tracking your advertising TODAY!   Fri, 02 Dec 2011 22:32:22 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_DUMBMarketing-Without-Measuring/blog/5542145/31710.html ContactPoint 2011-12-02T22:32:22Z Motor Age AutoPro Workshop Your business is wasting a ton of money right now.  Tons of it. Money is flying out the window and being flushed down the toilet. You might as well burn it.  Everyday you waste more and more of it. How is your business wasting money? Your business is wasting money on your marketing. Most small and medium-sized businesses simply don't know which forms of marketing are effective and which are not. They have no clue if that ad they just spent money on is driving web traffic, phone calls or actual customers. They have no clue if their Facebook page is doing anything worthwhile. They have no idea if their coupons actually bring in business or if their banner ads generate phone calls. They simply don't know what's working and what isn't. They don't have a clue.  Here's the simple fact: many businesses just throw money at marketing and assume it must be working. They hope. They wish. Maybe they even pray that their marketing is working. But, they don't KNOW.  That's a waste of money. Every day that your business fails to measure the effectiveness of every piece of its advertising is a day that your business is losing money. (Because at least one form of advertising isn't pulling it's weight and isn't returning your investment; you just don't know which one). A Really Good Analogy About Tracking Marketing You hire a new employee. You pay him money. You have high expectations and you believe in your new employee. You have great confidence in his ability. He looks like a good worker and acts like an intelligent employee. He's going to be successful. Then when the time comes for him to start the job, you just assume he's working effectively. You never check up on him. You never evaluate his performance or his effort. And even if you wanted to, you don't have the tools available to evaluate him. In fact, you have no idea if he's even coming to work. You don't know if he's at the office or at home playing video games. You don't know. It's possible he's dead or in the hospital. Or, it's possible he's a genius and is making your company money. You just don't know. Either way, you keep paying him anyway. The above analogy is dumb. It wouldn't ever happen. No one would hire someone, pay them money and then just assume they're working. And yet that's exactly what many businesses do with their marketing. Far too many businesses create flashy marketing and advertising, invest a lot of money in it and send it out into the world to work. Then they make no effort to track it, to measure it, to evaluate it. They just continue to throw advertising against a wall, close their eyes and hope something sticks. That's dumb. It's just as dumb as hiring an employee and never ever caring if he works. The Bottom Line: Track Your Marketing If you aren't tracking your marketing you are losing money. You have to know what form of advertising and marketing are working and which are not. You simply have to know. If you don't you are losing money. Period. Always. You need to know what is generating phone calls and web traffic and what isn't. Sign up for LogMyCalls now. It's cheap. It's easy. And it will track your marketing with precision.  My guess is you're losing gobs and gobs of money. Sign up for a free toll free number and start tracking your advertising TODAY!   advertising, marketing, motor age, revenue, selling nonadult false DUMB:Marketing Without Measuring text blog advertising,marketing,motor age,revenue,selling 953 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 Motor Age 0 5542145 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_More-GratitudeMore-Sales/blog/5527652/31710.html During this time of year we try to be grateful. We think about the many blessings we've been given and then try to appreciate them a little bit more. And, we focus our gratitude (rightly) on our families and our friends.  This attitude is great. But what about gratitude at work? What about business and gratitude? How can gratitude transform your business? Imagine for a moment, if your customers truly appreciated your business. This wasn't fake ''corporate'' gratitude. This was gratitude from a grateful customer for a service you provide. These customers recognize that no business on Earth can provide exactly what your business provides in exactly the same way. How would these customers show their gratitidue? How could this gratitude transform your business and the economy? Let's turn it around the other way. What if a business was truly grateful for it's clients? They didn't care just about the money that a customer spent with them. They didn't care just about the bigger clients. What if a business was truly grateful for it's customers. What would that look like? How would a business treat those clients? Ask yourself this question: if your business was truly grateful for each and every customer, would your business treat  customers differently? (One way is to download our free customer service ebookright now).  Let's take it a few steps farther. What if a business was truly grateful for it's employees? They weren't just 'workers' or assets to be managed. They weren't pawns on a chessboard or pieces of a business plan. What if a business was truly appreciative for the hard work of it's employees? What if businesses didn't behave like they were doing their employees a favor by hiring them and paying them? What would this gratitude look like? What would that mean for the future of that business? How would such an attitude transform the workplace? And finally...what if employees were truly grateful to the businesses to they work for? What if they didn't merely see their business as the place they go to get a paycheck? What if they actually felt a vested interest and a vested gratitude for the people that hired them and pay them? What if they were truly grateful? What would this gratitude look like? And, what could it mean for the business and for each employee individually?  Be grateful. Download Free Customer Service eBook  During this time of year we try to be grateful. We think about the many blessings we've been given and then try to appreciate them a little bit more. And, we focus our gratitude (rightly) on our families and our friends.  This attitude is great. But what about gratitude at work? What about business and gratitude? How can gratitude transform your business? Imagine for a moment, if your customers truly appreciated your business. This wasn't fake ''corporate'' gratitude. This was gratitude from a grateful customer for a service you provide. These customers recognize that no business on Earth can provide exactly what your business provides in exactly the same way. How would these customers show their gratitidue? How could this gratitude transform your business and the economy? Let's turn it around the other way. What if a business was truly grateful for it's clients? They didn't care just about the money that a customer spent with them. They didn't care just about the bigger clients. What if a business was truly grateful for it's customers. What would that look like? How would a business treat those clients? Ask yourself this question: if your business was truly grateful for each and every customer, would your business treat  customers differently? (One way is to download our free customer service ebookright now).  Let's take it a few steps farther. What if a business was truly grateful for it's employees? They weren't just 'workers' or assets to be managed. They weren't pawns on a chessboard or pieces of a business plan. What if a business was truly appreciative for the hard work of it's employees? What if businesses didn't behave like they were doing their employees a favor by hiring them and paying them? What would this gratitude look like? What would that mean for the future of that business? How would such an attitude transform the workplace? And finally...what if employees were truly grateful to the businesses to they work for? What if they didn't merely see their business as the place they go to get a paycheck? What if they actually felt a vested interest and a vested gratitude for the people that hired them and pay them? What if they were truly grateful? What would this gratitude look like? And, what could it mean for the business and for each employee individually?  Be grateful. Download Free Customer Service eBook  Tue, 29 Nov 2011 01:18:29 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_More-GratitudeMore-Sales/blog/5527652/31710.html ContactPoint 2011-11-29T01:18:29Z Motor Age AutoPro Workshop During this time of year we try to be grateful. We think about the many blessings we've been given and then try to appreciate them a little bit more. And, we focus our gratitude (rightly) on our families and our friends.  This attitude is great. But what about gratitude at work? What about business and gratitude? How can gratitude transform your business? Imagine for a moment, if your customers truly appreciated your business. This wasn't fake ''corporate'' gratitude. This was gratitude from a grateful customer for a service you provide. These customers recognize that no business on Earth can provide exactly what your business provides in exactly the same way. How would these customers show their gratitidue? How could this gratitude transform your business and the economy? Let's turn it around the other way. What if a business was truly grateful for it's clients? They didn't care just about the money that a customer spent with them. They didn't care just about the bigger clients. What if a business was truly grateful for it's customers. What would that look like? How would a business treat those clients? Ask yourself this question: if your business was truly grateful for each and every customer, would your business treat  customers differently? (One way is to download our free customer service ebookright now).  Let's take it a few steps farther. What if a business was truly grateful for it's employees? They weren't just 'workers' or assets to be managed. They weren't pawns on a chessboard or pieces of a business plan. What if a business was truly appreciative for the hard work of it's employees? What if businesses didn't behave like they were doing their employees a favor by hiring them and paying them? What would this gratitude look like? What would that mean for the future of that business? How would such an attitude transform the workplace? And finally...what if employees were truly grateful to the businesses to they work for? What if they didn't merely see their business as the place they go to get a paycheck? What if they actually felt a vested interest and a vested gratitude for the people that hired them and pay them? What if they were truly grateful? What would this gratitude look like? And, what could it mean for the business and for each employee individually?  Be grateful. Download Free Customer Service eBook  customer, motor age, revevnue, sales, service, thanksgiving, training nonadult false More Gratitude=More Sales text blog customer,motor age,revevnue,sales,service,thanksgiving,training 1335 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false United States UT St. George 84770 1 Motor Age 0 5527652 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Turn-the-Price-Shopper-into-a-Customer/blog/5333341/31710.html [image]Hi, I’m wondering how much a transmission flush will cost? Hello, I’m wondering what you guys charge to fix my car? Do these questions sound familiar? How many of these ‘price shopping’ phone calls do you take each day? Each week? But the bigger questions: What do your employees do with these calls? How often do these ‘price shoppers’ buy from you? The Facts After recording and scoring thousands of customer phone calls at auto shops all over North America, ContactPoint has learned the truth: most employees simply quote a price and don’t make the sale. In fact, employees generally don’t even ask for the sale. And when you don’t specifically ask for the sale you only get the sale around 13% of the time. Your just missed an opportunity. You just lost money. What is the price shopper really asking? No one is going to call you unless they need their car fixed. Most people don’t just randomly price auto repair, parts or tires for the fun of it! If a caller asks, “How much do tires cost?” what they are really saying is, “I need tires now!” Sadly, many employees at many auto shops view ‘price shopper’ phone calls as a waste of time. Most employees simply answer the ‘price shopping’ questions; with little effort toward actually get the ‘shopper’ to walk through your doors. Solution How can you fix the problem? What should the ‘price shopper’ phone call sound like? 1) Tone – DO NOT view these calls as a waste of time. At ContactPoint we’ve recorded thousands of phone calls and helped hundreds of businesses. And we’ve found that tone of voice is the number one factor for on-the-phone sales success. In fact, 86% of our on-the-phone communication is our tone of our voice. 2) Build a Relationship–Ask for the caller’s name and use it. Additionally, re-state the caller’s questions and concerns. You need to understand the caller; but, just as important: they need to know that you understand them. 3) Communication – Ask them questions. Why are they calling today? What do they need? Your focus is getting to know them, so you can help them.  4) Build Value –You are the expert. You know much more about their car than the caller does. Use your expertise to build trust with the caller. Once you’ve built trust, you become the consultant. You, then, can make recommendations about what will help them the most. 5) Ask for the Sale – Your chances of closing the sale go up over 200% when you ask for the sale immediately after you quote a price. Remember: customers are not calling for fun. They have an immediate need that you can address. When customers ‘price shop’, they are not looking for the cheapest price; they are looking for someone they can like and trust. The bottom line is this: if you view each price shopper as a potential customer you can close 10 out of 10 price shopping calls. [image]Hi, I’m wondering how much a transmission flush will cost? Hello, I’m wondering what you guys charge to fix my car? Do these questions sound familiar? How many of these ‘price shopping’ phone calls do you take each day? Each week? But the bigger questions: What do your employees do with these calls? How often do these ‘price shoppers’ buy from you? The Facts After recording and scoring thousands of customer phone calls at auto shops all over North America, ContactPoint has learned the truth: most employees simply quote a price and don’t make the sale. In fact, employees generally don’t even ask for the sale. And when you don’t specifically ask for the sale you only get the sale around 13% of the time. Your just missed an opportunity. You just lost money. What is the price shopper really asking? No one is going to call you unless they need their car fixed. Most people don’t just randomly price auto repair, parts or tires for the fun of it! If a caller asks, “How much do tires cost?” what they are really saying is, “I need tires now!” Sadly, many employees at many auto shops view ‘price shopper’ phone calls as a waste of time. Most employees simply answer the ‘price shopping’ questions; with little effort toward actually get the ‘shopper’ to walk through your doors. Solution How can you fix the problem? What should the ‘price shopper’ phone call sound like? 1) Tone – DO NOT view these calls as a waste of time. At ContactPoint we’ve recorded thousands of phone calls and helped hundreds of businesses. And we’ve found that tone of voice is the number one factor for on-the-phone sales success. In fact, 86% of our on-the-phone communication is our tone of our voice. 2) Build a Relationship–Ask for the caller’s name and use it. Additionally, re-state the caller’s questions and concerns. You need to understand the caller; but, just as important: they need to know that you understand them. 3) Communication – Ask them questions. Why are they calling today? What do they need? Your focus is getting to know them, so you can help them.  4) Build Value –You are the expert. You know much more about their car than the caller does. Use your expertise to build trust with the caller. Once you’ve built trust, you become the consultant. You, then, can make recommendations about what will help them the most. 5) Ask for the Sale – Your chances of closing the sale go up over 200% when you ask for the sale immediately after you quote a price. Remember: customers are not calling for fun. They have an immediate need that you can address. When customers ‘price shop’, they are not looking for the cheapest price; they are looking for someone they can like and trust. The bottom line is this: if you view each price shopper as a potential customer you can close 10 out of 10 price shopping calls. Wed, 19 Oct 2011 03:57:22 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Turn-the-Price-Shopper-into-a-Customer/blog/5333341/31710.html ContactPoint 2011-10-19T03:57:22Z Motor Age AutoPro Workshop [image]Hi, I’m wondering how much a transmission flush will cost? Hello, I’m wondering what you guys charge to fix my car? Do these questions sound familiar? How many of these ‘price shopping’ phone calls do you take each day? Each week? But the bigger questions: What do your employees do with these calls? How often do these ‘price shoppers’ buy from you? The Facts After recording and scoring thousands of customer phone calls at auto shops all over North America, ContactPoint has learned the truth: most employees simply quote a price and don’t make the sale. In fact, employees generally don’t even ask for the sale. And when you don’t specifically ask for the sale you only get the sale around 13% of the time. Your just missed an opportunity. You just lost money. What is the price shopper really asking? No one is going to call you unless they need their car fixed. Most people don’t just randomly price auto repair, parts or tires for the fun of it! If a caller asks, “How much do tires cost?” what they are really saying is, “I need tires now!” Sadly, many employees at many auto shops view ‘price shopper’ phone calls as a waste of time. Most employees simply answer the ‘price shopping’ questions; with little effort toward actually get the ‘shopper’ to walk through your doors. Solution How can you fix the problem? What should the ‘price shopper’ phone call sound like? 1) Tone – DO NOT view these calls as a waste of time. At ContactPoint we’ve recorded thousands of phone calls and helped hundreds of businesses. And we’ve found that tone of voice is the number one factor for on-the-phone sales success. In fact, 86% of our on-the-phone communication is our tone of our voice. 2) Build a Relationship–Ask for the caller’s name and use it. Additionally, re-state the caller’s questions and concerns. You need to understand the caller; but, just as important: they need to know that you understand them. 3) Communication – Ask them questions. Why are they calling today? What do they need? Your focus is getting to know them, so you can help them.  4) Build Value –You are the expert. You know much more about their car than the caller does. Use your expertise to build trust with the caller. Once you’ve built trust, you become the consultant. You, then, can make recommendations about what will help them the most. 5) Ask for the Sale – Your chances of closing the sale go up over 200% when you ask for the sale immediately after you quote a price. Remember: customers are not calling for fun. They have an immediate need that you can address. When customers ‘price shop’, they are not looking for the cheapest price; they are looking for someone they can like and trust. The bottom line is this: if you view each price shopper as a potential customer you can close 10 out of 10 price shopping calls. auto, call, collision, customer, motor age, recording, sales, selling, service, training nonadult false Turn the Price Shopper into a Customer text blog auto,call,collision,customer,motor age,recording,sales,selling,service,training 1026 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 Motor Age 0 5333341 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Horrific-Customer-Service/blog/5287791/31710.html Bad customer service has a ripple effect. Your customers talk. They talk a lot. And unfortunately the angry ones talk more than the happy ones. They tell everyone how bad your business is.  Here's a new statistic that really opened my eyes. A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9 and 15 people about their experience -White House Office of Consumer Affairs That's pretty telling. Think about that!  Bad customer service has a ripple effect If you have an employee that is rude or indifferent or cranky, your customers will talk.  If you place a customer on hold for too long, or you don't greet a customer properly when they walk in your door, your customers will talk. Think about the damage this does.  Let's play a game. Think about every angry/dissatisfed customer at your business in the last 3 weeks. How many are there? Now multiply that number by 15. That's how many people know your customer service was bad. That's how many people have a negative opinion about your business.  Bad customer service (or even subpar customer service) has a devastating ripple effect. The damage is exponential. Remember: every dissatisifed customer will tell 9 to 15 people about their bad experience.  What can you do to fix this problem? Well you can't stop the dissatisifed customer from talking. The only thing you can do is provide better customer service. You simply must have better customer service.  How do you do that?  We've addresssed that here. Free Customer Service Evaluation Bad customer service has a ripple effect. Your customers talk. They talk a lot. And unfortunately the angry ones talk more than the happy ones. They tell everyone how bad your business is.  Here's a new statistic that really opened my eyes. A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9 and 15 people about their experience -White House Office of Consumer Affairs That's pretty telling. Think about that!  Bad customer service has a ripple effect If you have an employee that is rude or indifferent or cranky, your customers will talk.  If you place a customer on hold for too long, or you don't greet a customer properly when they walk in your door, your customers will talk. Think about the damage this does.  Let's play a game. Think about every angry/dissatisfed customer at your business in the last 3 weeks. How many are there? Now multiply that number by 15. That's how many people know your customer service was bad. That's how many people have a negative opinion about your business.  Bad customer service (or even subpar customer service) has a devastating ripple effect. The damage is exponential. Remember: every dissatisifed customer will tell 9 to 15 people about their bad experience.  What can you do to fix this problem? Well you can't stop the dissatisifed customer from talking. The only thing you can do is provide better customer service. You simply must have better customer service.  How do you do that?  We've addresssed that here. Free Customer Service Evaluation Wed, 12 Oct 2011 02:57:37 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Horrific-Customer-Service/blog/5287791/31710.html ContactPoint 2011-10-12T02:57:37Z Motor Age AutoPro Workshop Bad customer service has a ripple effect. Your customers talk. They talk a lot. And unfortunately the angry ones talk more than the happy ones. They tell everyone how bad your business is.  Here's a new statistic that really opened my eyes. A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9 and 15 people about their experience -White House Office of Consumer Affairs That's pretty telling. Think about that!  Bad customer service has a ripple effect If you have an employee that is rude or indifferent or cranky, your customers will talk.  If you place a customer on hold for too long, or you don't greet a customer properly when they walk in your door, your customers will talk. Think about the damage this does.  Let's play a game. Think about every angry/dissatisfed customer at your business in the last 3 weeks. How many are there? Now multiply that number by 15. That's how many people know your customer service was bad. That's how many people have a negative opinion about your business.  Bad customer service (or even subpar customer service) has a devastating ripple effect. The damage is exponential. Remember: every dissatisifed customer will tell 9 to 15 people about their bad experience.  What can you do to fix this problem? Well you can't stop the dissatisifed customer from talking. The only thing you can do is provide better customer service. You simply must have better customer service.  How do you do that?  We've addresssed that here. Free Customer Service Evaluation auto, business, collision, customer, glass, management, motor age, sales, service, training nonadult false Horrific Customer Service text blog auto,business,collision,customer,glass,management,motor age,sales,service,training 1948 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 Motor Age 0 5287791 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Grow-Your-Shop-Slowly/blog/5205751/31710.html Each year ContactPoint trains hundreds of companies to improve and optimize their on-the-phone sales and customer service performance. And each time we do it, we have to resist a temptation. The temptation is this: walk into a training and ‘dump.’ Dump everything we’ve learned through our high-tech analytics and experience in the industry as quickly as possible. Share every tip, technique, secret and tool we know about sales and customer service.  It sounds pretty ridiculous right?  Why? Because it wouldn’t work.  The skills we teach have to be taught in a very deliberate and practical way. They have to be learned, developed, practiced and refined. Growth is a process. It does not happen overnight. If we tried to train in hyper-speed we would fail. And even though it sounds ridiculous, many business owners think they can grow their business in hyper-speed. They want to boil the ocean. They want more. And they want it now. The problem is: just like the ‘dump’ method of training, if you do everything all at once and too quickly. You will fail. Expanding Too Quickly A leading cause of business failure is growing too fast. To borrow and grossly modify a quote from Jurassic Park:  ‘business owners get so preoccupied with whether or not they can expand, they don’t stop to think about if they should expand.’ Remember: just like everyone who was eaten by dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, you will always pay the price for moving too fast. The ‘Optimitic’ Way to Grow Measurable – You must have a very specific, very planned strategy. And you must be able to define success. If your goal is to ‘grow’ or ‘get bigger’ you will fail. Why? Because those are un-measurable goals. What specifically is your business’s goal? How will you measure that goal? And how/when will you achieve it? Milestones – When we train we don’t teach people to do ‘better.’ We teach people to measurably improve one step at a time. Treat your shop the same way. Give it milestones. They could be certain levels of revenue, car counts, or number of employees. Once you’ve reached a certain milestone you will know what the next milestone is (remember you already have a very specific strategy that lays all this out). You don’t just expand because you have dreams in your head, stars in your eyes and money in your pocket.  Living Within Your Means – When families create a budget they often forget to take into account ‘unexpected’ medical expenses, retirement, car expenses, and home repairs.  This makes no sense. These ‘unexpected’ expenses should be expected. They happen every year. Always. Businesses are no different. Make sure you consider employees quitting, employees wanting raises, equipment breaking, or property maintenance. Plan and budget for these ‘unexpected’ events. Grow Slowly and Prosper Before ContactPoint trains we gather real data (in our situation: from actual recorded phone calls), we develop a strategy, we set milestones and we measure, measure, measure. This is a process produces optimal results. It is not an event.  Sign up for a free business evaluation and sales assessment. Download our free ebook - The 7 Keys of Highly Effective Selling Each year ContactPoint trains hundreds of companies to improve and optimize their on-the-phone sales and customer service performance. And each time we do it, we have to resist a temptation. The temptation is this: walk into a training and ‘dump.’ Dump everything we’ve learned through our high-tech analytics and experience in the industry as quickly as possible. Share every tip, technique, secret and tool we know about sales and customer service.  It sounds pretty ridiculous right?  Why? Because it wouldn’t work.  The skills we teach have to be taught in a very deliberate and practical way. They have to be learned, developed, practiced and refined. Growth is a process. It does not happen overnight. If we tried to train in hyper-speed we would fail. And even though it sounds ridiculous, many business owners think they can grow their business in hyper-speed. They want to boil the ocean. They want more. And they want it now. The problem is: just like the ‘dump’ method of training, if you do everything all at once and too quickly. You will fail. Expanding Too Quickly A leading cause of business failure is growing too fast. To borrow and grossly modify a quote from Jurassic Park:  ‘business owners get so preoccupied with whether or not they can expand, they don’t stop to think about if they should expand.’ Remember: just like everyone who was eaten by dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, you will always pay the price for moving too fast. The ‘Optimitic’ Way to Grow Measurable – You must have a very specific, very planned strategy. And you must be able to define success. If your goal is to ‘grow’ or ‘get bigger’ you will fail. Why? Because those are un-measurable goals. What specifically is your business’s goal? How will you measure that goal? And how/when will you achieve it? Milestones – When we train we don’t teach people to do ‘better.’ We teach people to measurably improve one step at a time. Treat your shop the same way. Give it milestones. They could be certain levels of revenue, car counts, or number of employees. Once you’ve reached a certain milestone you will know what the next milestone is (remember you already have a very specific strategy that lays all this out). You don’t just expand because you have dreams in your head, stars in your eyes and money in your pocket.  Living Within Your Means – When families create a budget they often forget to take into account ‘unexpected’ medical expenses, retirement, car expenses, and home repairs.  This makes no sense. These ‘unexpected’ expenses should be expected. They happen every year. Always. Businesses are no different. Make sure you consider employees quitting, employees wanting raises, equipment breaking, or property maintenance. Plan and budget for these ‘unexpected’ events. Grow Slowly and Prosper Before ContactPoint trains we gather real data (in our situation: from actual recorded phone calls), we develop a strategy, we set milestones and we measure, measure, measure. This is a process produces optimal results. It is not an event.  Sign up for a free business evaluation and sales assessment. Download our free ebook - The 7 Keys of Highly Effective Selling Wed, 28 Sep 2011 22:44:21 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Grow-Your-Shop-Slowly/blog/5205751/31710.html ContactPoint 2011-09-28T22:44:21Z ABRN AutoPro Workshop Each year ContactPoint trains hundreds of companies to improve and optimize their on-the-phone sales and customer service performance. And each time we do it, we have to resist a temptation. The temptation is this: walk into a training and ‘dump.’ Dump everything we’ve learned through our high-tech analytics and experience in the industry as quickly as possible. Share every tip, technique, secret and tool we know about sales and customer service.  It sounds pretty ridiculous right?  Why? Because it wouldn’t work.  The skills we teach have to be taught in a very deliberate and practical way. They have to be learned, developed, practiced and refined. Growth is a process. It does not happen overnight. If we tried to train in hyper-speed we would fail. And even though it sounds ridiculous, many business owners think they can grow their business in hyper-speed. They want to boil the ocean. They want more. And they want it now. The problem is: just like the ‘dump’ method of training, if you do everything all at once and too quickly. You will fail. Expanding Too Quickly A leading cause of business failure is growing too fast. To borrow and grossly modify a quote from Jurassic Park:  ‘business owners get so preoccupied with whether or not they can expand, they don’t stop to think about if they should expand.’ Remember: just like everyone who was eaten by dinosaurs in Jurassic Park, you will always pay the price for moving too fast. The ‘Optimitic’ Way to Grow Measurable – You must have a very specific, very planned strategy. And you must be able to define success. If your goal is to ‘grow’ or ‘get bigger’ you will fail. Why? Because those are un-measurable goals. What specifically is your business’s goal? How will you measure that goal? And how/when will you achieve it? Milestones – When we train we don’t teach people to do ‘better.’ We teach people to measurably improve one step at a time. Treat your shop the same way. Give it milestones. They could be certain levels of revenue, car counts, or number of employees. Once you’ve reached a certain milestone you will know what the next milestone is (remember you already have a very specific strategy that lays all this out). You don’t just expand because you have dreams in your head, stars in your eyes and money in your pocket.  Living Within Your Means – When families create a budget they often forget to take into account ‘unexpected’ medical expenses, retirement, car expenses, and home repairs.  This makes no sense. These ‘unexpected’ expenses should be expected. They happen every year. Always. Businesses are no different. Make sure you consider employees quitting, employees wanting raises, equipment breaking, or property maintenance. Plan and budget for these ‘unexpected’ events. Grow Slowly and Prosper Before ContactPoint trains we gather real data (in our situation: from actual recorded phone calls), we develop a strategy, we set milestones and we measure, measure, measure. This is a process produces optimal results. It is not an event.  Sign up for a free business evaluation and sales assessment. Download our free ebook - The 7 Keys of Highly Effective Selling abrn, auto, business, customer, glass, sales, service, small nonadult false Grow Your Shop Slowly text blog abrn,auto,business,customer,glass,sales,service,small 1839 1 5.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 3 ABRN 0 5205751 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Bad-Customer-Service-The-Unpardonable-Sin/blog/5158860/31710.html Whether you want to admit it or not, your business makes mistakes. Maybe the quality of your work wasn't good (just one time, of course). Perhaps, your billing was incorrect and your customer was charged too much. Maybe, a job took too long, or there was something wrong with a product you sold your customer.  These things happen to every business. And statistics show all of these things are forgiveable. Your customer will forget about any billing dispute, most quality issues and pretty much everything else you throw at them. But, statistics show they will not forgive you for bad customer service. Bad customer service is the unpardonable sin. Your customer simply won't forget it. Here's a stunning statistic that demonstrates this: - 86% of people say they've stopped doing business with a company because of just one bad customer service experience (up from 69% in 2007) - Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report   Think about that! Almost 90% of the time customers will not return if they've had a bad customer service experience. Wow! We've talked about how to provide legendary customer service here. So I won't explain that again. What I want to figure out is this: why will a customer leave you because of bad customer service and not because of other mistakes your business may make? Here is the answer: Customer service is personal. A billing dispute isn't personal. A missed appointment isn't personal. A dirty hotel room isn't personal. Neither is a shoddy job.  But, customer service is VERY personal.  If a customer is treated poorly by you or your employees they will not forget it. They have been personally offended. You have made the customer feel dumb, disrespected or angry. They've been frustrated and upset. They won't forget it. That is why, 86% of the time, they won't return. Get a Free Customer Service Evaluation for Your Employees How-To Provide Legendary Customer Service Whether you want to admit it or not, your business makes mistakes. Maybe the quality of your work wasn't good (just one time, of course). Perhaps, your billing was incorrect and your customer was charged too much. Maybe, a job took too long, or there was something wrong with a product you sold your customer.  These things happen to every business. And statistics show all of these things are forgiveable. Your customer will forget about any billing dispute, most quality issues and pretty much everything else you throw at them. But, statistics show they will not forgive you for bad customer service. Bad customer service is the unpardonable sin. Your customer simply won't forget it. Here's a stunning statistic that demonstrates this: - 86% of people say they've stopped doing business with a company because of just one bad customer service experience (up from 69% in 2007) - Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report   Think about that! Almost 90% of the time customers will not return if they've had a bad customer service experience. Wow! We've talked about how to provide legendary customer service here. So I won't explain that again. What I want to figure out is this: why will a customer leave you because of bad customer service and not because of other mistakes your business may make? Here is the answer: Customer service is personal. A billing dispute isn't personal. A missed appointment isn't personal. A dirty hotel room isn't personal. Neither is a shoddy job.  But, customer service is VERY personal.  If a customer is treated poorly by you or your employees they will not forget it. They have been personally offended. You have made the customer feel dumb, disrespected or angry. They've been frustrated and upset. They won't forget it. That is why, 86% of the time, they won't return. Get a Free Customer Service Evaluation for Your Employees How-To Provide Legendary Customer Service Thu, 22 Sep 2011 06:33:36 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Bad-Customer-Service-The-Unpardonable-Sin/blog/5158860/31710.html ContactPoint 2011-09-22T06:33:36Z AutoPro Workshop Whether you want to admit it or not, your business makes mistakes. Maybe the quality of your work wasn't good (just one time, of course). Perhaps, your billing was incorrect and your customer was charged too much. Maybe, a job took too long, or there was something wrong with a product you sold your customer.  These things happen to every business. And statistics show all of these things are forgiveable. Your customer will forget about any billing dispute, most quality issues and pretty much everything else you throw at them. But, statistics show they will not forgive you for bad customer service. Bad customer service is the unpardonable sin. Your customer simply won't forget it. Here's a stunning statistic that demonstrates this: - 86% of people say they've stopped doing business with a company because of just one bad customer service experience (up from 69% in 2007) - Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report   Think about that! Almost 90% of the time customers will not return if they've had a bad customer service experience. Wow! We've talked about how to provide legendary customer service here. So I won't explain that again. What I want to figure out is this: why will a customer leave you because of bad customer service and not because of other mistakes your business may make? Here is the answer: Customer service is personal. A billing dispute isn't personal. A missed appointment isn't personal. A dirty hotel room isn't personal. Neither is a shoddy job.  But, customer service is VERY personal.  If a customer is treated poorly by you or your employees they will not forget it. They have been personally offended. You have made the customer feel dumb, disrespected or angry. They've been frustrated and upset. They won't forget it. That is why, 86% of the time, they won't return. Get a Free Customer Service Evaluation for Your Employees How-To Provide Legendary Customer Service auto, business, collision, customer, glass, parts, sales, selling, service, training nonadult false Bad Customer Service: The Unpardonable Sin text blog auto,business,collision,customer,glass,parts,sales,selling,service,training 1465 0 0.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 0 0 5158860 33566580 Member 250 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Customer-Service-Statistics/blog/5109033/31710.html When we train we preach and teach, rant and rave, discuss and demonstrate the following: customer service is king!   And yet many times companies don't take the gravity of customer service seriously. Here is a list of extremely pertinent customer service facts (these are real statistics, data and information) that we hope will change your view about the importance of customer service at your business. This data was collected through years of research and intensive studies...actually...we Googled for about an hour to find most of this stuff, but still, it took some effort:  - It costs 4 to 5 times more to bring in a new customer, than it does to keep an existing one - Lee Resources Inc.    - 86% of people say they've stopped doing business with a company because of just one bad customer service experience (up from 69% in 2007) - Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report  - 60% of consumers say they will pay more for a better customer service experience - Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report81% of companies that measure customer service are outperforming their competition - Peppers & Rogers Grou - Out of best-in-class companies: 91% measure customer service - Aberdeen Group [Note: this measurement could be call recording and scoring]  - A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9 and 15 people about their experience - White House Office of Consumer Affairs  - For every customer complaint, there are 26 others who feel the same way but remain silent - Lee Resources, Inc.  - 91% of unhappy customers will not willingly do business with your organization again...ever - Lee Resources, Inc.  - 70% of Americans are willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies they believe provided excellent customer service - American Express Global Customer Service Barometer  - 78% of consumers have 'bailed' somewhere in the buying process because of poor customer service - American Express Global Customer Service Barometer  - 59% of people will try a new company because they have 'heard' the company provides better customer service - American Express Global Customer Service Barometer  - Employees only ask for the customer's name 21% of the time (The person has a name 100% of the time) - ContactPoint Client Research What do all these statistics show us? They show us that customer service is among the most important things you can invest in. They show us that poor customer service has dramatic consequences. Are you serving your customers well? You probably are.  Could you do better? The answer is, of course, yes. Sign up here for a free customer service evaluation. When we train we preach and teach, rant and rave, discuss and demonstrate the following: customer service is king!   And yet many times companies don't take the gravity of customer service seriously. Here is a list of extremely pertinent customer service facts (these are real statistics, data and information) that we hope will change your view about the importance of customer service at your business. This data was collected through years of research and intensive studies...actually...we Googled for about an hour to find most of this stuff, but still, it took some effort:  - It costs 4 to 5 times more to bring in a new customer, than it does to keep an existing one - Lee Resources Inc.    - 86% of people say they've stopped doing business with a company because of just one bad customer service experience (up from 69% in 2007) - Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report  - 60% of consumers say they will pay more for a better customer service experience - Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report81% of companies that measure customer service are outperforming their competition - Peppers & Rogers Grou - Out of best-in-class companies: 91% measure customer service - Aberdeen Group [Note: this measurement could be call recording and scoring]  - A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9 and 15 people about their experience - White House Office of Consumer Affairs  - For every customer complaint, there are 26 others who feel the same way but remain silent - Lee Resources, Inc.  - 91% of unhappy customers will not willingly do business with your organization again...ever - Lee Resources, Inc.  - 70% of Americans are willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies they believe provided excellent customer service - American Express Global Customer Service Barometer  - 78% of consumers have 'bailed' somewhere in the buying process because of poor customer service - American Express Global Customer Service Barometer  - 59% of people will try a new company because they have 'heard' the company provides better customer service - American Express Global Customer Service Barometer  - Employees only ask for the customer's name 21% of the time (The person has a name 100% of the time) - ContactPoint Client Research What do all these statistics show us? They show us that customer service is among the most important things you can invest in. They show us that poor customer service has dramatic consequences. Are you serving your customers well? You probably are.  Could you do better? The answer is, of course, yes. Sign up here for a free customer service evaluation. Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:17:43 GMT http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/_Customer-Service-Statistics/blog/5109033/31710.html ContactPoint 2011-09-14T04:17:43Z AutoPro Workshop When we train we preach and teach, rant and rave, discuss and demonstrate the following: customer service is king!   And yet many times companies don't take the gravity of customer service seriously. Here is a list of extremely pertinent customer service facts (these are real statistics, data and information) that we hope will change your view about the importance of customer service at your business. This data was collected through years of research and intensive studies...actually...we Googled for about an hour to find most of this stuff, but still, it took some effort:  - It costs 4 to 5 times more to bring in a new customer, than it does to keep an existing one - Lee Resources Inc.    - 86% of people say they've stopped doing business with a company because of just one bad customer service experience (up from 69% in 2007) - Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report  - 60% of consumers say they will pay more for a better customer service experience - Harris Interactive, Customer Experience Impact Report81% of companies that measure customer service are outperforming their competition - Peppers & Rogers Grou - Out of best-in-class companies: 91% measure customer service - Aberdeen Group [Note: this measurement could be call recording and scoring]  - A dissatisfied customer will tell between 9 and 15 people about their experience - White House Office of Consumer Affairs  - For every customer complaint, there are 26 others who feel the same way but remain silent - Lee Resources, Inc.  - 91% of unhappy customers will not willingly do business with your organization again...ever - Lee Resources, Inc.  - 70% of Americans are willing to spend an average of 13% more with companies they believe provided excellent customer service - American Express Global Customer Service Barometer  - 78% of consumers have 'bailed' somewhere in the buying process because of poor customer service - American Express Global Customer Service Barometer  - 59% of people will try a new company because they have 'heard' the company provides better customer service - American Express Global Customer Service Barometer  - Employees only ask for the customer's name 21% of the time (The person has a name 100% of the time) - ContactPoint Client Research What do all these statistics show us? They show us that customer service is among the most important things you can invest in. They show us that poor customer service has dramatic consequences. Are you serving your customers well? You probably are.  Could you do better? The answer is, of course, yes. Sign up here for a free customer service evaluation. auto, business, collision, customer, glass, management, parts, sales, service, training nonadult false Customer Service Statistics text blog auto,business,collision,customer,glass,management,parts,sales,service,training 2387 1 5.0 http://workshop.search-autoparts.com/service/displayKickPlace.kickAction?u=33566580&as=31710 http://media.kickstatic.com/kickapps/images/31710/photos/PHOTO_18745070_31710_33566580_ap_160X120.jpg false 3 0 5109033 33566580 Member 250