Yellow Dog Consulting

Sales & Marketing Consulting for solo-preneurs.

My Friend the Expert

by // Leave a Comment

IMG_0323Last week I had a call with two of my clients. One mentioned their current struggle is having meetings with people who want to get into the same industry as my client. You’re right, I did just write about this last month. So we won’t rehash that. But as I was talking to them the other client mentioned “if only I can get my friends to stop taking advantage of my knowledge!”

What a great point – are you the friend taking advantage of your pal’s knowledge? I love helping my friends out – I just talked about this last week on the blog. But are you taking advantage of your friend’s knowledge when your friend would rather talk about ANYTHING but work at the moment?

Quick Test to see if you’re guilty:

1. If you think you are bothering your friend or contact, then you probably aren’t. You’re aware of it, and you can mention it to your friend. But if you think you’re bothering them, my guess is you’re doing all the right things to make sure you aren’t.

2. If you KNOW your friend doesn’t mind, that’s what she’s there for, she loves talking about work at 9 pm while you’re driving home from happy hour and she’s sitting on the couch with her dog watching TV after a busy day. YOU are taking advantage of your friend.

So how do you fix this? Easy: schedule time. Shoot your friend a note, “I’m excited we’re getting together for lunch next week, I have a couple of questions about my business I wanted to run by you, can we chat at lunch or would you rather set up another time?” Offer an out. Don’t call when it’s convenient for you, call when it’s convenient for them. Your friend is an expert in their field, and people pay for that expertise. Make sure you are offering to pay for the time, or pick up the tab at lunch, or offer your service back to them as appropriate.

And when your friend starts to ignore your calls? You’ll know you’re doing it wrong.

My Veterinarian: The Best Customer Service Rep Ever

by // Leave a Comment

IMG_6426I love Hank’s veterinarian. She’s amazing. Every time we visit with her, she says hi to me and then gets down on the ground with Hank. She knows all his special quirks (no crates, he knows where the cheese is, he’s a wimp with needles, etc.). She follows up with us, and answers phone calls, and when you’re in a meeting with her, even with a packed waiting room, she’ll answer all our questions and act as if she has no where else to be.

Hank’s having a rough week and he’s spent some time with the Vet. I had a question the day we went to the vet and called towards the end of the day. She called me back after her day was over, and then said she’d leave Hank’s chart on her desk to check on him in the morning. Then she called back first thing in the morning to check on him from overnight.

She’s not getting paid for all this follow up from me. Every little question I have, every little anecdote about how he’s getting better or maintaining, or weirding me out, she listens to, and answers. She could be annoyed at what an overly cautious pet parent I’m being, but she’s not. She listens and answers and calms my neuroses about what’s going on.

Do you treat all your clients like this? I know I’m not this good with mine most of the time…

A Fresh Set of Eyes

by // 1 Comment

Begging HankI got a friend’s newsletter this week in my inbox. The content was good, he’s just starting up his business, and he’s clearly very enthusiastic about it. Since I spend way too much time in Mail Chimp every day, I offered to punch it up a bit (note- this isn’t an offer I give out usually, so maybe don’t start asking me, let me come to you).

Sometimes all you need is another set of eyes on that project you’re too engrained in. I often talk about stepping away for a day to make sure you didn’t say something stupid. But we don’t always have that luxury. Find a friend or colleague or spouse who can give you another set of eyes on what you’re working on. It may be as amazing as you think it is. It may need a few tweaks to make it really pop.