Creating a 'WOW" Experience for Clients & Customers

The following is from a presentation I give to business professionals, entrepreneurs, sales forces and organizations who want to create a powerful impression upon their clients and potential clients, such that the client or potential client is left saying "Wow, that is the person or company I want to purchase from."

The most successful business professionals know and understand that by developing meaningful relationships with people in their network they will realize growth in their business that comes from word-of-mouth, an endless source of referrals and clients/customers that are loyal for life. Here are 5 essentials of Relationship Marketing:

1. Make Sure That Everyone In Your Network Feels Appreciated & Valued: “Appreciation Wins Over Self-Promotion Every Time”.

a. Treat Others How They Want To Be Treated, Not How You Want To Be Treated (this is referred to as the Golden “Golden” Rule!

b. Authentically Make Others Feel Like A VIP or MVP.

c. Go Above & Beyond In Customer Service – Always Strive to Add Value

2. Pay Attention To Details & Always Remember Important Dates

a. Remember to acknowledge Birthdays, Holidays, Anniversaries, etc.

b. Acknowledge Events Going On In Someone’s Business, Personal or Family Life

c. Get to Know Client’s Likes/Dislikes, Hobbies, Talents, Goals & Dreams, etc

d. Be Aware of Client’s Strengths & Weakness, Struggles & Challenges, Success & Setbacks, etc.

3. Grow a Huge Rolodex. Make and Add New Contacts Daily

a. A.B.C’s of Business = Always Be Connecting with People

b. Surround Yourself With Other Successful People Who Have Large Influential Circles of Influence

c. Find Creative Ways To Share Circles of Influence by collaborating or joint venturing with other business professionals, networking groups, lead exchange groups, social media networking

d. Develop a Power Team – a small group of referral partners with whom you can all share the same clients which results in a constant flow of referrals. Power Team example: Realtor, Home Inspector, Mortgage Specialist, & Property Manager or Chiropractor, Massage Therapist, & Fitness Trainer.

4. Be In Regular Communication With Your Clients/Customers & Potential Clients/Customers

a. Have a system for staying in touch and following up with people which includes a combination of the following touch points: telephone call, email, greeting card/postcard & in person (if and when appropriate). Determine your ideal touch point frequency – monthly, every other month, or quarterly.

b. Send out 5 to 10 personalized greeting cards each day – Nice to meet you, thank you, customer appreciation, thinking of you, birthdays, holidays, etc. Follow the leaders: Harvey MacKay, Joe Girard, Tom Hopkins (multi-millionaires who built their businesses with Relationship Marketing). The best system for efficiently sending personalized greeting cards via postal mail is SendOutCards, for more info visit www.soclink.com/mbs or www.sendoutcards.com/mbs.

5. Commit To Daily Personal Growth & Leadership By Example

a. Spend Time Daily Working On Yourself By Reading Great Books, Listening to Audio Programs, & Attend Seminars Regularly. As you grow personally and professionally you will become outrageously attractive to all of the right people. Clients/customers will seek you out.

b. Seek Wisdom by always learning & expanding knowledge in your area of specialty, sales & marketing, leadership, human relations, psychology, personality types, Etc. Utilize mentors and coaches.

c. Lead By Example & Be A Person of Integrity. Never ask someone to do something you yourself haven't done or are not willing to do. Keep your word and always follow through.

I recommend you complete the following statement, write it on an index card and place it next to your computer where you will see it often. " In order to enhance the “WOW” Experience I provide to others, today and for the next 30 days one relationship building action I am committing to is ….."

Begin today to be the best Relationship Marketer you know and you'll never want for business again, regardless of what the economy is doing.

To your success,

Melissa Guthrie

Melissa Guthrie is the founder and President of MBS Development Group. She has been a success coach and business development advisor to entrepreneurs, business owners, sales professionals and network marketers since 2002, and has a specialization in Personal Contact Marketing/Relationship Marketing.

Are You Ready To Master Personal Contact Marketing?

I invite you to join me this weekend as I host a very popular FREE webinar.

"How to Master the Art of Personal Contact Marketing" Webinar

When: Saturday January 24th @ 1pm EST

There are only a few slots left....RSVP to mmguthrie@hotmail.com or 800.775.0712 xt. 7013!

Why you should attend:

We are in the midst of a new economy which requires us to take some new approaches to marketing & promoting our product/business. It has been stated that 80% of all marketing & advertising is not effective, that mean only 20% of your marketing & advertising works. That sounds like the old 80/20 rule to me.

If you would like to learn how you can utilize postcards & greeting cards in conjunction with one of the most effective marketing methods "Personal Contact Marketing" (PCM) aka "Relationship Marketing" and realize 99.9% of your marketing reaching your intended audience in a powerful way, then you will want to clear your schedule and be on the fwebinar.


What else you will get from this call:

* How to increase customer/client/distributor retention through the power of appreciation and recognition.
* How to increase the amount of referrals you receive from customers and others in your circle of influence.
* How to get prospects (including friends & family) to seek you out and call you first because they want to be your customer or business partner.
* How to be more efficient & effective with your prospect and customer follow up method.
* How to creatively add value and create the "WOW" experience for prospects & customers.
* How to increase your business while reducing your advertising budget!
* and MORE!

To Your Success!

Melissa Guthrie

Melissa Guthrie is the founder and President of MBS Development Group. She has been a success coach and business development advisor to entrepreneurs, business owners, sales professionals and network marketers since 2002, and has a specialization in Personal Contact Marketing/Relationship Marketing.

MBS Development Group
Developing Highly Effective Entrepreneurs and Sales Pros
Developing Business Relationships to Last a Lifetime
Developing Six-Figure Income Earners – Annually and Monthly

Marketing In a New Economy

Throughout 2008, we seemed to hear from countless sources about the declining economy. We saw home values continue to drop and the markets fall to all-time lows. “We are in a recession and we haven’t seen the worst of it” many said. If you are like me, you had several friends, associates and loved ones who were subject to lay-offs, lost their jobs as their employers went out of business, or they lost the business they invested so much time, money and energy to start & build. With all of that being said, you may agree with the doomsday reports and say, “Yep, we are in the midst of a bad economic crisis.” I’m not hear to say that’s right or wrong; I will say that I have my own perspective and that is we are simply moving into a NEW Economy. And in order to thrive in this new economy, it will require a new way of thinking, being and acting in the marketplace. Historically, the people that prosper during tough economic times are those who are willing to go against the grain and do what to some may seem UNREASONABLE and Unconventional.

Let’s say I’m one of 100 widgets sales people in a relatively competitive market in a healthy economy. In order to capture my ideal amount of business, I have $500 per month going toward marketing and advertising. Suddenly, the economy takes a nose dive and business slows, there are less people buying my widgets. I’ve got a choice to make, I either have to cut back my expenses to match the lower income or I have to increase my sales to meet my established needs. It is a common practice of many business owners and sales professionals to cut back on their marketing and advertising when business slows down and money’s tight, It’s a knee jerk reaction; its seams reasonable to do, right? If there is less money flowing in, then we must tighten the reins on our expenses.

If all of the widgets salespeople do the same thing and cut back their advertising budget. Then they will all be in front of less potential buyers and will continue to experience a drop in sales. Let’s imagine that I decide not to cut back my advertising budget, I keep advertising and promoting. I decide to work smarter, not harder. I realize through analysis of my marketing plan that 2 of my 6 advertising venues were producing sub-par results. I eliminate those two and research and implement a creative, innovative marketing method that is proven to be highly effective in customer acquisition, retention, as well as increasing referral business. The other 99 widget sales people have cut back on their advertising and now have less presence in the market place. I have maintained and even enhanced my presence in the marketplace and thus, hold a greater share of the available market. The result is that when someone decides to go widget shopping, I’m most likely to be the one they find or the one that they are referred to. My business is maintaining or growing, while the other 99 widgeters are crying in their soup and some are even going out of business.

Suggestions for Marketing in the New Economy:

o Business by Referral through Business Networking Organizations (i.e. Business Network Intl, Le Tip, etc.)
o Social Media Marketing – LinkedIn, Plaxo, Facebook, Twitter, etc
o Article Marketing and Blogging - establish yourself as the expert in your field through article writing and blogs!
o Relationship Marketing/Personal Contact Marketing – establish Lifelong customers & increased referral business through multi-touch point system.

SMART Marketing Tip of the Week: Maintain, increase, and/or enhance your Advertising Plan for 2009. Be Unreasonable and Unconventional. Seek expert guidance if necessary. Stay tuned for more on successful marketing in our NEW Economy!


To Your Success!
Melissa Guthrie


Melissa Guthrie is the founder and President of MBS Development Group. She has been a success coach and business development advisor to entrepreneurs, business owners, sales professionals and network marketers since 2002, and has a specialization in Personal Contact Marketing/Relationship Marketing.

MBS Development Group
Developing Highly Effective Entrepreneurs and Sales Pros
Developing Business Relationships to Last a Lifetime
Developing Six-Figure Income Earners – Annually and Monthly