How much time do you spend each year at networking events? What benefits do you receive from all those hours? Here are five networking approaches that will help you move from quick handshakes to long-term relationships.  

I recently came across an approach to task completion called The Pomodoro Technique™. This approach allows you to accomplish large tasks in short bursts of time and then pull those segments together into large completed projects. Here’s how it works.

The key to customer loyalty is to make every customer feel that he or she is one in a million. You do that through approaches that are out of the ordinary, communications that make them feel special, things that are just plain fun. Who said business had to be “businesslike”? I want my customers to think of me as a good friend who considers them special—because they are. Here are five ways I do that.

According to a recent survey, 68% of customers have walked away from a business because of indifference on the part of a manager or employee. The cost of landing a customer is way too high to let one walk away. Here are five key ideas to keep your customers coming back: 

We often assume that we know what is important to our customers. Or, we try to guess. 

Why not go right to the source, and ask them what is important. This will not only provide you with valuable information, but will also leave your customers with the impression that you actually care what they think! 

Here are five great questions to ask your customers. 

If you’re like me, you hate conflict, especially dealing with an angry customer. But it happens. Sometimes it is really important to placate that customer because you need to maintain the revenue, others it is important to make them happy so they don’t shout negative comments about you from the rooftop. Either way, here’s a five-step process to soothe that angry customer (or anyone else for that matter!) 

As the holidays roll around, we think about giving gifts, but you should be sending “gifts” to your clients and prospects throughout the year. This single act will set you apart from the competition. 

It is fortunate that many organizations limit what their employees are allowed to accept because that gives you the opportunity to give them one of these no-cost gifts that will keep you top-of-mind/. 

If you’re over 30, you probably remember when Holiday Inn used the tagline: The Best Surprise is No Surprise! Well, that might be true if you’re checking into a moderately-priced hotel. But these days, one of the best ways to snag customers is to give them a sweet surprise every now and then. 

One of my favorite vendors knows that I love green and always sends me a St. Patrick’s Day card. No question that she’s got my business for life! 

There’s a flip side to everything. Last week, we listed five phrases that can enhance your relationship with clients. Here are five words you should shy away from in all communications with clients or prospects. 

Who are your five best customers? If you can’t answer that immediately, then you better rethink the way you’re running your business because the one thing you can’t do without is customers. 

Ok, once you’ve got your Top Five in mind, ask yourself, “What would it feel like to loose one of them? Or two…or three?”

Use these five steps to avoid that dreaded “we’ve-found-someone-else” call.