Your business exists because of you. Once upon a time you had a dream [or, for many of us, a nightmare] and your business is the result. But that's the beginning of the end for most of us. Our ship of enterprise steams from crisis to crisis en route to a rocky shore [about 90%]; or gets stuck for years in a buzz of useless activity in the commercial doldrums [the other 90%]; or powers confidently across the high seas and the captain and crew retire to beach houses in the Bahamas [rather few]. If we small business owners are working equally hard, then what's the difference?

May I suggest a single word - focus. It's no longer good enough to be merely competent. There is simply too much competition out there these days. Not just for your prospects money - but for her time as well. But what to focus on? Your stock doesn't pay the bills; and your staff don't pay the bills; and your suppliers don't pay your bills; and nor does your landlord, bank manager or accountant pay your bills; hell, after all the tax you're paying - even the government doesn't pay your bills! I, your client, pay your bills. So why are you ignoring me?

Not true, I hear you cry. "Just last week we spent an entire afternoon looking at how to improve our product quality. You think we do that for our health? You think we like doing this stuff? No, my friend, we do this for you. Because client service is our credo. Service excellence is our watchword. With us you are number one. In this establishment the customer is king. Now if you don't mind I have another quality meeting to attend and your leaking gearbox is getting in the way."

That's all about technical competence. Lets talk about client romance. When you first went out with the wonderful person who is now your life partner - how many delightful hours didn't you spend imagining the relationship? How you would get close enough to invite him out? What you would say to show her how much fun it would be? Where you would go on that first date? How great it would be to find out all about this unique person? And how you might progress to the next level in the relationship? Or did you simply put up a hand-painted sign above a nondescript office with the message 'I'm a lekker, rich, good looking guy looking for a girl."

Yet that's how inviting most of our businesses are. Walk into the average motorcar service station. It's about as inviting as a jail! All the dirty faded vinyl on the 2 rickety seats is covered in a thick sheen of dust. No self-respecting germ would want to visit - let alone a woman on her way to work. Or check out the supercilious guys in that final bastion of manhood - your local hardware store. Who cares about all the single mothers, or the wives buying big, expensive power tools for hubbies birthday. Or walk into a parfumerie to buy your woman some perfume. You'd make a great purchase if only you could smell the scent above the 14 litres of Chanel eau de cologne on the shop attendant. Or try eating your expensive steak when the waitron is wearing a peculiarly aggressive Tommy Hilfiger variant that blanches the cauliflower!

These are all real examples of business owners not thinking through the experience clients will have when they come in to pay your bills. The client experience is more important than the product! The client experience is more important than the service! How many times have you been somewhere to give some stranger your money [another way of looking at the buying experience] - but you won't go back because something was wrong. You probably can't quite define it - but it just didn't gel for you. That's a sign that the entrepreneur hasn't thought through the client experience.

Without saying that we've got it right, maybe I can offer a more concrete example of what I mean. When selling seminars via fax or email, there are a few challenges. Firstly, why on earth would someone like you trust someone like me? And why would you give me your money before you arrive? What can I do that would make you more comfortable, and inspire you to want to learn more? How can I show you that I care?

Firstly, when you enroll - how fast can I get a thank you back to you? How can I minimise the time you spend regretting your impulsiveness? So we try and get an instant response back to you to tell you that we've received your email and will follow-up with banking details. That second email is usually on your desk within a few hours. From this point onwards, every week until the seminar, you will receive an email reminding you of your seat reservation status - along with an interesting [and usually useful] piece of information for a business owner. The day before the seminar you will get an email reminder, detailing how to get to the venue. All of this is designed to show you that we care, and to minimise the anxiety that most people feel when walking into a completely new social situation. We even go as far as trying to memorise the names of all the folk who will be there. It's not nearly as good as we want it to be, but it works pretty well with a little technological help.

But the crux of the matter is that it is so easy to do. If you have people visiting your place of business - then simply look around the office/shop and ask yourself a few questions about the people coming to visit you. How much would I like to sit here? How comfortable would I be hearing the staff talk about last nights score [sport, drugs, or relationship]? How would I like to be the only man here - the middle of a bunch of other women? Or vice versa? How much would I want to return? What do these 34 year old Readers Digests tell my clients about my practice?

When you're going to see someone in their office, what do you want their experience to be like? Frankly, it's awfully frustrating to have someone sitting in front of you professing to be an expert in some product/service - yet when confronted with a simple question [how much, what colours, who else is using it, what discount, when can you deliver, why should I use it] they act as if you're the only person on earth who has asked this question - ever! That's not thinking through the client experience. You do me, payer of your bills, a huge favour by knowing what questions I am likely to ask and having meaningful answers. Your job is to add value to my life - not waste my time. If you add value I desperately want to pay your bills. If you waste my time I never want to see you again.

Do yourself a favour. Take a few moments to focus on the folk that pay your bills. Look at how you can improve what they experience when they deal with you. You will find it an insightful experience yourself. But, equally importantly, you find more people wanting to give you more money.

OK, that's it for today. Now you can get back to the stock problems, staff challenges, supplier calls, landlord, bank manager and accountant, and tax issues. I know that they're not important, but they sure are darn urgent, aren't they?

© Peter Carruthers, www.petesweekly.co.za

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