Is your company "On Target" for business success in 2006?

This is a great time to get involved in an On Target program, and get your business on track during what is typically a slower season for Painting Contractors.

Look for our Business Building Web Seminars that are open to everyone in the early months of 2006! We will announce dates in our next newsletter.

New for On Target Members!
Support program for your Office Manager is included in your membership! 4 Quarterly Teleconference Calls, and access to the member's only area of our website, including a discussion board for Office Managers!

For a small additional fee, On Target Office Managers can attend a one-day workshop at each On Target Conference!

On Target Conferences are held in conjunction with Summit Workshops for contractors who belong to, or are considering involvement with, both On Target and Summit

Surveys of customers can be very revealing, even indicating danger areas for your organization. This article summarizes findings from some recent surveys that show just what customers dislike the most about their interactions with businesses.

When they’re on the premises

There’s one thing that customers dislike more than anything else – employees who are busily conversing with each other and just ignore them. This is unforgivable and also very likely to cost the business a sale because the customer usually leaves and takes her business elsewhere. Whether the business is a retailer or a restaurant, customers intensely dislike being confronted by a salesperson who’s having a bad day and showing it. The customer’s perception of the business plummets and most never return, even after just one such experience.

Another real dislike is to be served by someone who’s chewing gum or eating something. It’s unattractive at best and reflects poorly on the business. Even breath mints should be sucked only while out of view of customers.

The use of industry jargon is viewed as being condescending and a means of trying to make the customer look stupid or uninformed. It intimidates all but the most knowledgeable of customers and should be avoided unless the customer has already asked a question using a particular ‘buzz phrase’.

Telephone troubles

Customers really dislike being put on hold during a call without being asked first – just telling them “Hold a minute please” and then transferring to the on-hold music is not the right way to handle it. The best way to deal with this situation is to ask the customer if they mind waiting for a few seconds while the other call is answered, then promise them that you’ll be back quickly. It’s also very much disliked when the person they have reached goes away to take another call and doesn’t return for several minutes.

Regardless of how polite the employee is when putting a customer on hold, it should only happen once. Going away repeatedly to take other calls is seen as rude and a sign that the customer is not valued by the business. Asking the customer to call back later “when we’re not so busy” is another definite turn-off. Instead, ask when it would be convenient for you to call the customer back, and then take down their contact details.

Even customers who start by telling you they have called to complain about something, or who are obviously irate and aggressive, don’t deserve to be hung up on – they are only going to be twice as irate when they call back to complain about that as well! One of the important things team members, particularly those who deal with customers on a regular basis, should be trained in is a telephone technique for how to handle difficult customers.

Customers also dislike the feeling that they’re being ‘screened’. If they ask to speak with the CEO and that person’s not available then they should be advised that the CEO is "with someone" or out of the office and then asked by the person taking the call if he/she can be of assistance. The worst thing to do is to launch into a series of questions that sounds like the customer’s being evaluated to see if they’re worthy of being put through to the person they’ve asked for.

No reply

And finally, a customer dislike that’s right out of the electronic age. So many people use the Internet for gathering information that it’s become a highly valuable sales support channel. Many websites offer a facility for submitting requests for information and are thereby making a promise to supply it. According to one study, nearly half of online companies either don’t reply at all or respond with incorrect or inappropriate information.

It’s up to you and your managers to be sure none of these customer-killers are happening in your place of business. Remember that only about ten percent of dissatisfied customers will ever complain to you – but they’ll tell everyone they know about why they’re unhappy with your business.

Information in this article is sourced from RAN ONE, Inc

Businesses borrow money for a number of reasons. Additional capital may be needed to increase production capacity or to open a new office location. It might be necessary to borrow to expand into a new market or to upgrade the business IT facilities.

Whatever the reason, borrowing money involves the need to favorably impress the lenders you are approaching for finance. There’s never a guarantee that they will support your proposal, but there are some preliminary steps you can take to make a more convincing case to them.

Have all the necessary paperwork ready

Getting ready to apply for a loan is a lot like getting ready to sell a business. You’ll need to put together at least three years of financials including tax returns, financial statements, and lists of current payables and receivables. If the money is being borrowed to capitalize on an opportunity that will require the business to make significant investments, be prepared to present a comprehensive business plan that incorporates a model illustrating the projected results of making the investments.

How do your receivables and payables look?

Lenders like to see a business that gets its cash in quickly and doesn’t allow its accounts receivables to age beyond a reasonable period. Good businesses keep their cash flow under control by aggressively pursuing accounts receivable so they can pay their own creditors and take advantage of discount opportunities.

What is the value of your major assets?

Saleable assets are what a lender will look at to gain an idea of how much could be realized if the business has to be liquidated. Have an up-to-date list of all assets owned by the business and be able to show how they were paid for or how they have been financed.

Current and accurate valuations for all major capital equipment will need to be provided. These should be prepared by a third party that can give an independent estimate of their current value; what the business paid for something isn’t necessarily a guide to its present worth when depreciation is taken into account.

What is your current debt-to-equity ratio?

Lenders will loan different amounts to same-sized businesses in different industries. A high-tech business with $5 million worth of rapidly depreciating computer equipment will be viewed differently from a manufacturing business with $5 million worth of production machinery with many years of service life left in it.

You should have a pretty good idea of the amount you’re likely to be able to borrow before you approach a lender. If the amount is seen as ‘excessive’ because of the industry you’re in you may have to offer some of your personal assets as security for the loan.

What is your debt-to-income ratio?

Lenders know that loans must be paid back out of the profits of a business. Making loan repayments out of gross income can easily lead to cash flow shortages if the business isn’t suitably profitable. If the repayments are going to require too high a portion of the business’ profits it can also lead to problems.

A debt-to-income ratio of less than 50% is the norm, but less than 40% is preferable. This means that a business with monthly profits of $5000 should have no more than $2000 per month in repayments.

Both principal & interest repayments need to be covered

You’ll have to be able to show that the business can afford to make the loan repayments on top of covering all its regular expenses. This includes both the loan interest and a portion of the principal, depending on the duration of the loan.

When you prepare your case for any lender, keep all the above in mind. Get the business and your paperwork ready for the exercise; have a rough idea of how much your business is worth and of the amount you’ll realistically be able to borrow.

Information in this article is sourced from RAN ONE, Inc