While it's true that I'm a firm advocate of using systems and processes as much as possible in your business, it's a fact that those same systems and processes can occasionally fail us (usually due to "user error").
What do you do when a system or process you've established doesn't work as planned?
*Do you bury your head under a pillow and hope it goes away? or
*Do you defend your systems knowing they couldn't possibly let you down? or
*Do you take the AAA Approach?
I coined the term"AAA" which stands for Acknowledge, Apologize and Address and is a spin off exceptional client service.
1. you should ACKNOWLEDGE that there was a problem or issue,
2. you should APOLOGIZE for it -- the fact that it's been brought to your attention means someone was most likely inconvenienced (or think they were) and
3. you should ADDRESS the problem or issue.
The first two -- Acknowledge and Apologize -- are pretty self-explanatory. Let's discuss "Address" for a moment:
When something goes wrong and you've acknowledged and apologized, it's how you address the situation that can make the most impact.
Take a few moments to jot a personal note (yes...pen and paper, not the automated online card-sending systems) or send a personalized email with a link to a free teleseminar recording (something you would normally sell) or other small token.
The size of the gift depends on the size of the issue and inconvenience, in all cases, you want to "over address" any problem you have.
Remember, we all experience glitches in our systems, it's how you handle them which will help decide whether or not a prospect decides to become a client and whether or not a client decides to remain one.
Your Coaching Challenge
Take a few moments this week to put yourself into your clients' and prospects' shoes and try to break some of your systems: sign-up for your free report (do you get it?), call your voicemail (what's the experience like?), order one of your own products (is the process seamless easy to understand?).
By discovering these glitches yourself, you have a chance to fix them before anyone else experiences them.
For the past 5 years, Sandra Martini has been showing self-employed business owners how to get more clients consistently by implementing processes and systems to put their marketing on autopilot. Visit Sandra at www.SandraMartini.com for details, compelling client testimonials and her free audio series “5 Simple and Easy Steps to Put Your Marketing on Autopilot”.