She’s Got Systems

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Customer Service Model for a Mature Business

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In the spirit of taking a basic system and making it comprehensive here’s a representation of a complete customer service system for a larger business.

When you build a business that serves more people you have two choices: continue to serve everyone yourself and burn out or build a team that can support the clients you serve.

The beginner customer service model I shared last week is a critical condition for your success. When your business begins to grow and leads and clients are coming to you daily there is no time to stop and create these systems.

Instead you’ll be able to easily hire and train an assistant to support you by a system that Michael Gerber calls Orchestration. From The E-Myth Revisited:

Orchestration is the elimination of discretion, or choice, at the operating level of your business.

Without Orchestration, nothing could be planned, and nothing anticipated – by you or your customer. If you’re doing everything differently each time you do it, if everyone in your company is doing it by their own discretion, their own choice, rather than creating order, you’re creating chaos.

If you don’t have a basic customer service system, don’t focus on building the complex one yet. Focus on serving 12 clients really well before you try to serve 5,000. If you have a mature business and do not have these systems, here’s a peek at what a mature customer service model can look like. For all those small business owners, see what is possible in the future of your business.

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This model takes all of the programs and offers you make to your audience and tags them with a specific email pathway so you spend less time sorting emails. It also accounts for the fact that you will probably have older team members or email accounts that should not be abandoned but redirected to ensure that you do not miss any opportunities.

Remember that if you are new in business you likely have 2 or 3 offers and can create the system as you go. As you grow, you’ll continue to develop and improve your systems based on what works, a process Michael Gerber calls Innovation.

Innovation is the heart of every exceptional business. Innovation continually poses the question: What is standing in the way of my customer getting what he wants from my business?

For the Innovation to be meaningful it must always take the customer’s point of view. At the same time, Innovation simplifies your business to its critical essentials. It should make things easier for you and your people in the operation of your business; otherwise it’s not Innovation but complication.

It seems simple right? Answering the question ‘what does my customer want?’ is an on-going process and at the heart of your business. And it’s often a system that takes the “left brain thinker who can take your vision and put in all the steps, the “how” it will get done and execute the plan and handle all the details.” as I wrote about here.

Instead of investing more time and money in marketing efforts or developing programs, invest in deeply serving your customers. Create the experience that will keep your current clients coming back and attract new leads and customers to your programs. The truth is that most companies will not invest the time or attention to this step so by doing the work you’ll stand out and above the rest.

Why does Customer Service Matter?

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Think back over this last weekend, where you went and what you did. Unless you are a virtual hermit (and I have those weekends occasionally!) you probably went into a few businesses, even if it was just the local coffee shop.

If you had a terrible experience were you likely to go back again? Probably not. Which means, at the end of the day, bad customer service is lost business and lost revenue. Let me give you an example of how one business lost thousands of dollars in revenue recently due to poor customer service.

A few weeks back I changed gyms in town and for the most part I enjoy the new facility. As part of the new member benefits I was to receive two free sessions with a personal trainer.

Now think about this for a minute: the entire goal of the complementary training session is to convince me that I can meet my goals quicker with a trainer and thereby agree to spend thousand of dollars on this specialized service.

The first communication was with a trainer via phone who called from the middle of the gym which was both loud and ineffective. It took 10 frustrating minutes to determine a time as the trainer only wanted early morning (before 7am when I can’t even tie my shoelaces) or in the middle of the work day (noon-5pm).

We finally settled on 4:30pm and on the appointed day I stopped working early and went to the gym, ready for the session. I already had the impression that if I wanted to work with this trainer I would have to plan sessions around her schedule, not mine.

I arrived at the gym early and waited near the front desk until 4:30p when another gym employee asked if I was waiting for a training session. Yes, because people dressed to workout don’t typically sit and watch other people workout just for fun. He handed me a pen and form and I had it completed within a minute.

After filling out the intake form I waited for another 15 minutes before I had enough. I returned the pen to the front desk and asked them to inform the trainer that I was cancelling the session.

Why is customer service so important?

When you have a poor customer experience it taints your perception of the company, the owner and it takes a whole lot of effort to rebuild that trust.

After I cancelled my training appointment, I grabbed my ipod and hit the treadmill. Not 10 minutes into my workout the trainer came over and asked if I still wanted the session. And honestly, no I wasn’t willing, because I am a professional and I choose to work with other professionals. Apologies and excuses have no use to me because it took just 25 minutes to show me that the training sessions at this gym are not worth my investment, at least not with that particular trainer.

Overall it was a horrible customer service experience and it will only hurt the reputation of the business and professionals in that business.

How do clients feel when they encounter your business?

Is your team warm and engaging, encouraging and supportive? Are questions answered quickly and thoroughly, without the client feeling stupid or bothersome? Do you take constructive criticism or do you have a ‘screw them’ attitude? Do you consistently provide an experience that adds value to your clients or do you fail to fulfill promises?

What do your peers, clients and leads think about your business operations? If you’ve never asked, how will you know how well you’re doing?

Customer Service is a large task that encompasses a lot of different aspects of your business. If you’re up to it, try a survey to your list asking them for feedback on how you can continue to improve as a professional business.

You can sign up for a free plan at Survey Monkey and get 100 free responses per survey and it’s a great way to begin requesting feedback. Responses can be anonymous and, in my experience, it’s the best way to get honest opinions.

I do know the manager at my new gym and will provide feedback on my consultation training session the next time we cross paths. I would hope he would want to correct this customer service problem in his business just as I would in mine.

One System Every Business Needs

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Welcome to Customer Service Week! One of my passions in business is observing and improving client interactions in business. I hope you learn some new systems for improving how you relate to your clients and leads in the coming week. Be sure to sign up for my newsletter and get all of the free resources I offer to entrepreneurs here: Get the Newsletter

When I talk about systems, there are always variations between businesses. Some coaches use telesummits and others do live events. Businesses communicate with ezines, emails, videos, phone calls or in person meetings.  All of these methods can benefit from systems to optimize best practices.

There is one system that every business needs and that is customer communication and service.

Here’s my simple, 5 step process for developing your customer service system:

1. Find your people – where and how do your clients and leads communicate with you and the team?

If they’re already clients there are a number of communications including emails, membership sites and resources from your business.

With leads you may bring in clients from an ezine, guest post, expert interviews, social media, websites, teleseminars or events.

2. Redirect requests – where do you want inquiries and emails to go?

You may be currently managing all of the email coming in, especially if you’re a solo entrepreneur but you can begin *today* to develop a new account that, when you’re ready, you can hand off to an assistant.

Action Step: Create a new email account and begin updating all of your communication listed in step 1.

3. Sort Responses – Identify what kind of requests you’re getting and sort them. These will likely revolve around your product and service offers, requests for interviews, networking and from colleagues.

Action Step: Set up folders within the email you created in step 2.

4. Answer Requests – Don’t get too caught up organizing that you don’t respond to the opportunities in your email! Make sure that each request is answered and you’ve provided the information requested but don’t just send an answer, if you want a complete system you have to finish with step #5.

Based on your experience in answering customer requests you may need to test a few different responses and be open to adapting your responses to ensure the answer is complete, thorough and hits the right tone.

5. Document by Developing a Database – To truly leverage your time in business you’ll need to create systems. In Customer Service you’ll want to identify the types of questions you’re getting and the answers that resolve the request.

Doing this will help you:
* Save time
* Create consistency in your message
* See the holes

If 50% of your group clients email you to ask where to find a call recording you not only have a stock response that saves time but allows you to fix the communication problem. Instead of being reactive to your audience you’ll be proactive in seeing where you can improve.

A bonus result: when it comes time to hire support in this area of your business you can transform from “answer emails” to “here are the standard responses and database I use to reference when answering customer service, if you don’t see an answer please write one up and send to me for review.”

Remember that you’ve got to start with the basics before you innovate so if you have no customer service system this is a great place to begin. Each of these steps should be detailed further but if you have no system around your customer and lead communication then start here!

Baseline Before Innovation

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A lot of aspiring entrepreneurs I talk to know one resource on systems: Tim Ferriss’ the 4 Hour Work Week. And while it’s a good book and on my shelf, it’s a misleading goal for the growing business.

Before a new entrepreneur creates or sells anything they’re already thinking, “how can I outsource this?” Well, first of all, you can’t outsource the creation of your business.  Too many people gloss over the years of time Tim put in before he could automate the business and that’s what I want to talk about today. Because in order to automate, you need to understand your process.

If you start thinking of automation before documentation, then keep reading.

If you’re constantly improving processes or thinking “we have to do better”, then keep reading.

Just like the football team that runs drills on the basics before learning complex plays, your team needs to get comfortable in the task before you start throwing curve balls. Sorry for the mixed sports metaphor, my only football experience is Remember the Titans.

But the fact remains you need a process to understand how things are done before you improve them. This can’t just be a general understanding or habit you do, it must be documented and practiced before it’s automated.

You need to document exactly how you want things done and in that process you’re going to learn a lot that you didn’t know before. Maybe you write the process down then realize you need a flow chart. Or videos and screenshots, or a screen share. In documenting each step you’re going to realize it’s a lot more complicated than originally thought and begin to improve.  Only then can you can begin to examine the flow, measure, test and improve to optimize what you’re doing now.

Note: this is extremely hard for most people to do – it takes both discipline and attention to detail, because we’d much rather just do the damn thing than write it down. This type of process and system work usually takes a left brain thinker to translate.

Kelly, Show me How This Works:

Let’s say new clients to your membership program submit their profile through the site you use. And you’re noticing several complaints that it takes 3 or 5 days to get approved. Should you switch sites? Hire someone to monitor the requests? Enter them automatically upon payment?

No matter how many solutions you come up with you’re not ready to implement yet.

First ask, what is the process? Who gets notified when someone joins your site and needs approval?

Maybe those emails are going to a team member who is long gone. Maybe the emails go to someone but get filtered into a folder and never read. Maybe the team member is just a slacker and needs to understand why this approval process is critical to happy clients.

If you don’t understand your current system and where the breakdown is happening, how can you expect to solve the problem?

Now, once you’ve located the breakdown and patched it up what do you do? Probably go back to work or to put out another “fire” that needs your attention.

That’s normal but it also ensures that you’re going to go through this entire song and dance again. Whether in a month or year, it’ll come up again.

Instead you need to document the baseline process. This can be as simple as a word doc or you can put it in your project management system (I love Backpack for these Standard Operating Procedures).

Then, the next time you find something has broken down you have a frame of reference.

1) Client joins membership program
2) Client gets welcome email with instructions for forum sign up
3) Client signs up
4) Team member gets notification email
5) Team member checks emails daily against orders
6) Team member approves paid clients into forum

Great, there’s a very simple process. Maybe in time you’ll have that team member do screen shots of the forum management area and write out instructions for checking the online orders.

How an operations manager improves this system

In addition to ensuring that the process is clearly spelled out and the resources are available (like the team member approving clients having access to the orders and forum), an operations team will also track these numbers for you. On a weekly or monthly basis they can tell you that of the 40 new members, 35 joined the forum. The operations manager can track this so if it falls to 5 out of 50 new members in a month joining the forum, you can clearly see a systems breakdown.

By seeing the system and understanding how it works, your operations manager can identify problems before they become apparent through complaining clients. By recognizing who on the team is responsible for each moving part and monitoring the system as a whole, the operations manager can help you innovate each part of your business so you’re never left thinking,

“I guess it’s going okay; no one has complained. Yet.”

Of course these systems also give you an overview of who is responsible so if the Team Member in charge of approving new members into the forum is sick with dysentery, then you can easily cross train another team member to provide coverage.

It all comes down to two basic principles:

You can’t automate what isn’t systematized
Start by writing down what you do

If you’re ready to put this into action in your business answer these questions:

what would I be overjoyed to give up doing in my business?
what things this week absolutely drove me crazy?
if I could pay someone to handle one thing what would it be?

How to Make a Basic System Comprehensive

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Some people have asked how I got started creating systems and my answer is always the same:

I was raised by an engineer.

Yes, most of this comes naturally but has been practiced by years of training. Today I want to take a real life example of a system I created in high school for a fundraiser project.

Our band and choir decided to sell See’s Candy to raise money. It was simple enough: a candy bar sold for $1 and since the band fronted the money from our boosters, all income once we paid back the boosters, would be pure profit. A box of 20 candy bars would bring in $20.

The band director had this system:

1. Order Candy
2. Give Candy to Band Students
3. Collect Money

To a systems gal like me that is chaos, so I volunteered to coordinate and create a more comprehensive system.

I started by tracking how many boxes each student took to sell, which was easy enough since the candy company provided such a form where the student would sign.

Drummer – 2 boxes
Saxophonist – 5 boxes
Flutist – 1 box
Soprano – 4 boxes
Alto – 2 boxes

As the money came in, our director would occasionally write down how much money was brought in by each student. Near the end of the semester, I started asking for those lists so I could cross reference and make sure all of the money was repaid or candy returned so we could continue selling. Our band director’s response?

“We’ve made enough money; don’t worry about it.”

After beating my head against the wall, I handed everything over and focused my attention elsewhere. Finals perhaps. At the end of the semester the band director called, freaking out, and said “oh no! all these seniors have left without paying back the candy money!”

Despite being just 15, I knew that it would be critically important to work with people who were ready for complete systems.

This system reminds me of meeting delusional people who think it’s “so easy” to run an online business.

“What’s the big deal,” they usually say, “you create something and put it on the internet to sell.”

I no longer bang my head against the wall because, unlike high school, I can easily say “go ahead, try that. Have fun.”

I’ve shared before that I was incredibly judgmental about how well programs were run when sold online until I began doing it myself and understood just how many steps there actually are.

And we don’t know what we don’t know.

In candy sales that might mean barely breaking even, but in business it can mean huge setbacks and lost income.

My band director is probably like many of you: creative, visionary, right brain thinker. The solution for the director is very similar to the creative entrepreneur: partner with a left brain thinker who can take your vision and put in all the steps, the “how” it will get done and execute the plan and handle all the details.

That’s what I do, and have done now for decades (egads) – create system and form around big visions. What’s your big vision?

I Love Moo

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When planning for my recent trip to Miami one of the first things I packed was my favorite business cards from a company I love: Moo.

That’s right Moo. They even have a “moosletter” and since they were running a sale to celebrate 5 years in business I reordered and had a new box waiting for me when I got back home.

Why Moo Rocks: Options & Inspiration

Pick your size with standard business cards, mini cards and cool postcards. Don’t even get me started on the stickers.

The finish is slick too, feels more like you’re handing someone a photo instead of a piece of paper. Which brings me to my favorite feature: custom designs.

Most business card companies will let you select the design you want but Moo enables upload of custom designs or photos. As a hobby photographer I have to say the option of adding photos to my cards tipped the scale for me.

You can upload up to 50 different designs or photos for the back of your cards. On the other side of the card you can print all the details: who you are, what you do and how others can reach you. Moo gives plenty of room to share, even on the mini cards.

Sign up for the monthly Moosletter

One of the few retail newsletters I read, the Moosletter details some of the awesome designs and marketing hacks for businesses. Like cards with a custom coupon code for clients, referral cards, branded conference badges and new address postcards.

Even awesome ways to use cards outside of business like a photo memory game for kids, holiday cards, place cards for a wedding and even gift card tags. (Just announced yesterday: 15% off holiday cards with the code CARDSYAY)

Seriously, check them out because I know you’re going to love Moo as much as I do.

In full disclosure if you do order Mootastic prints then I will get “Moo Money” toward my next order. And as much as I love sharing these cards I’ll be reordering soon!

Changing My View on Facebook

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Now this is a story all about how,
My Facebook view got flipped, turned upside down
And I’d like to take a minute, just sit right there
I’ll tell you how I liked a page called Bel-Air

So, way back in the day when I was in college the internet was a newish thing. Not brand new but new in gaining popularity and widespread use when commercials would still end with “visit our interweb site at w (pause) w (pause) w (pause) DOT welovepuppies DOT (pause) com.”

On my collegiate debate team we were united in our goal to annoy our coach Brett O’Donnell to the extent that team members would create Facebook groups to mock him. Thus, why I joined Facebook back when it was thefacebook.com and only college students could join.

I’ve always viewed The Facebook as a social tool, first to stay in touch with friends from college across the country, then as a great stalking tool and eventually a way for my mother to see I had not been killed since I didn’t call her today because, see, I posted a status update.

I did not want to use Facebook for my business, to promote products or “like” anything

Some of this came from the very real annoyance when I see “Amy likes eating, sleeping, breathing, smiling, laughing and the cool side of a pillow in the morning.” Really? I like sleeping too! As a believer in Big Wins, I’d rather not like assorted products in order to save 10 cents on tomato sauce or be entered for a chance to win a jet ski.

In part because I’m difficult and stubborn, I just don’t like “liking” things publicly, having always preferred to support the businesses and people I do like by subscribing, buying and giving testimonials to their work.

But now I’m changing my view and my mindset

At some point during the conference in Miami it hit me that the people I encourage, support and believe in, who are doing amazing work in the world deserve that public recognition. Because I won’t be lumping them in with ‘the cool side of a pillow’ it will be a real, honest show of support.

Facebook is still a tool. It’s one way that I show what I like in the world and that goes beyond coffee, fun sayings and snark and supporting friends through good times and bad. Facebook is a networking tool and helps us to see what our friends believe, in the causes they support and the actions they take.

I’m not saying Facebook is the end all be all. If you “like” breast cancer research but never give a dime then your support is shallow. But Facebook is the public statement that was missing before.

Like a kid slowly testing the waters I’ve started to find and like the pages of the people I support and I encourage you to do the same. You can see my page on Facebook and the businesses I recommend – I don’t have my own business page yet but you can bet that when I do I’ll ask for your support in return.

Facebook is more than a virtual sheep marketplace or way to annoy authority figures. It only took me 8 years to realize.

In Case of Emergency Playbook

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Today though I’d like to share about the events of October 2010 and how that month helped form the Playbook as a cornerstone of my business.

October is a busy month in my family, with dozens of birthdays to celebrate and the annual Hershey Swap Meet in Pennsylvania (a must attend event to my car crazy family).

Last year my Grandpa George was planning on traveling back to Pennsylvania at this time of year but ended up in the hospital instead. Still independent at 90 years old, Grandpa George and Grandma lived in their home, restored cars, traveled with family and were active in various organizations – he was a member of his church, several car clubs and had just celebrated his birthday on a family trip to Hawaii.

A late night call from Grandma when my dad was in Pennsylvania revealed that Grandpa George was a lot sicker than we knew. I rushed to the hospital, arriving with Mom just after midnight. By 2am Mom left to pick up Grandma – the doctors were working frantically and needed to know if Grandpa George had a DNR (do not resuscitate order).

The next ten days were a roller coaster. Family came in, doctors were consulted, we moved Grandpa George to a new hospital and he underwent major procedures in an effort to save his life.

On October 15th, Grandpa George died. Sixty-five years of marriage, three kids, 6 grand kids and 3 great-grand kids. In losing the patriarch our family was rocked, in mourning and had to quickly come together in his absence.

You know what I wasn’t focused on? The day to day needs of my business.

While hospital wifi and some rudimentary systems enabled me to keep track of tasks, I saw a bigger vision. The freedom to manage a bigger business, with much more moving parts in the midst of family emergencies without worry.

Because we don’t know what tomorrow holds for our families – hurricane Irene, a school shooting, cancer, a power grid failure, death – all of these things happen whether or not your business is ready.

The comprehensive Business Playbook gives you peace. You can focus on the things that matter most without sacrificing your business operations. Give the people that matter most the attention they need in crises.

I learned a lot from my Grandpa George, himself an entrepreneur running water wells most of his adult life. In the last few days he was with us, Grandpa would pull me in close so I could hear his weak voice and one of the last things he told me was to ‘go to work.’

See, to Grandpa George and his generation, you have to be present, physically present, at your desk or your rig in order to build a business and generate income. Thankfully that’s no longer true, particularly for online entrepreneurs. But you do need to be present in your business by ensuring that your team has the playbook and systems are automated, even if you’re not present at the moment.

So even if you don’t have a vacation planned I want you to sign up for the free session to start your own Operations Manual. While it is my desire that you’d never need it due to a child falling ill, a natural disaster that destroys your computer or home or a personal setback – having your Playbook will bring you comfort in those times.

To sign up you can follow this link and submit your name and email or simply contact my team for an appointment at team@kellyazevedo.com.

What Are Your Monthly Habits?

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It’s been interesting to see all the ways businesses around me use systems.

The airline has a specific structure to their flights, ‘put your seat back and tray table in the upright and locked position.’

Police officers in a traffic stop have procedures to follow for safety.

The restaurant you visit has a system for ordering, preparing, cooking and delivering food to your table.

Even television programs have predictability in news coverage, cliff hangers in drama, laugh tracks in comedy.

UPS has a complicated system of routing and tracking packages, filing claims, delivering before 8am.

The government has a (granted,  overcomplicated) system for processing paperwork for any number of departments.

Banks have processes for updating accounts and sending statements.

Even the smallest of family businesses has a routine that can be as simple as unlocking the door, turning on the Open sign and brewing the coffee.

It may seem tedious to track these tasks in the beginning but the effort quickly pays off

As soon as the receptionist is taught how to brew the coffee and open the door, the owner regains that time. As soon as a system is in place to review orders you’ll no longer need to sort through all of your online orders manually.

Remember these routine tasks are not so difficult when done on a regular basis, automated and tracked. If a bank stopped sending statements their systems should note there’s a problem before months pass and hundreds of complaints are registered.

Enabling tracking systems is critical for Just in Time planning – for some companies this means managing physical inventory but for the online business it can mean projecting the support needed for your team. In the same way that businesses providing a physical product must manage their deliverables, you must manage the team that delivers your webpages, membership sites, email delivery and customer service.

As the month of September ends I wonder, what are the monthly tasks and processes in your business that you may be neglecting?

There are financial statements of course, income, net revenue, expenses, debts and investments. Tracking sales, upsells, returns, bonuses, delivery of physical and digital products

There’s tracking for your list, followers and fans, to measure how the things you’ve done over the past month impacted your reach.

You can create a system for tracking clients, the number of sales at each level of your offer but also how on-going clients are doing, what they’re learning and the support they need in the coming month.

There can be calendar systems to review how you’ve spent your time, interviews you’ve done and partnerships you’ve pursued.

There are web domains to review and register, software updates to install and files to backup.

What are the things that come to mind every single month that never seem to get done? What are those things that nag on your mind and only need to be done on a monthly basis but that you have no system for getting done?

Let these things be entries into your Business Playbook, the way you do business will only be different if you make changes.  Take a look at my business playbook and sign up to learn how to create your own here.

Passion, Business, and Working in Paradise

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I shared in an earlier newsletter to followers how I ended up working on my last vacation, leaving me frustrated and anxious. One of the many things I love about structure in my business is that I can take time off.

Today I’m writing from Key West, Florida. It’s a beautiful island where a little lizard climbs the walls of the hotel, roosters caw at all hours of the day and night, and it’s so hard to describe but imagine a luscious garden paradise surrounded by sparkling waters and beautiful resort islands.

And here I am, fresh out of the pool, still dripping, and all I can think of is my business. Not in the same way of my last vacation when I was submerged in worry and doubts and knew that things were not running smoothly in my absence. Not worried that my vacation would lead to even more stress upon returning home because there would be a mess to clean up.

Instead I’m outside next to this cute little tiki bar listening to the parrots talk and feeling the sun on my skin because I can’t wait to do what I do more.

Spending this time in Florida has helped me connect deeper to why I do what I do and filled me with a passion that’s overflowing. It’s something I can’t turn off, even when there’s a beach to visit, a tour to take or the pool to enjoy.

Imagine yourself in my place at the Miami Trump International Hotel, 30th floor with a view of the Atlantic Ocean.

Now imagine not swimming in this ocean because it would mean giving up an hour with the fantastic, inspiring people who remind you exactly why you’re in business.

I know why I created this business and pour everything I have into it: entrepreneurs are some of the most talented, dedicated people in business and without systems, structure and support in their business they will burn out. They will play smaller. And thousands of clients will go unserved.

The work I do lifts up businesses to give them leverage so they can continue to impact lives.

And I’m committed to sharing that with you all for a long time to come. If you haven’t done so sign up for my newsletter (which resumes next week) and check back for more tips and techniques for your own business.