Buying A Carpet Cleaning Franchise
Have you thought about buying your own carpet cleaning franchise? I have found through my 14 years in the cleaning industry that buying a carpet cleaning franchise is really not a great idea.The hardest part of owning and running any business is getting new customers. That's where most people get the idea of owning a franchise. You have a proven system in place that helps you with getting new customers.There is a big problem though. You have to finance a large amount of money up front, then after that the franchisee is going to take a royalty fee from you every month of every year for as long as you own the franchise.Who is the real winner here? Do yo

10 Ways to Improving Your Client Relationships
10 Ways to Improving Your Client Relationships One thing is true for all consultants; if we have any work, we have clients! One of the most important parts of our work is maintaining and enhancing our relationships with our clients. Maintaining and growing these relationships makes the time spent on a project more enjoyable, satisfying and effective. Improved relationships also improves the chance that we will get referrals and future business. The following are ten things you can do to improve these important business relationships, and some suggestions on how to get started. 1. Have a clear contract with your client.I was in Las Vegas last week and must share a great sales lesson. Since I don't gamble, we went there for the food and entertainment. It was a great getaway and a wonderful break from sales automation.

Part of the reason for going to Las Vegas was to visit a hotel timeshare and learn about their program offering. Believe it or not, I like going to these things to learn something about timeshares and what is new. We bought our first timeshare about 18 years ago and now have 4 timeshare weeks.

Offer Number One!

We got to know the agent, John, and learned about him, what he did and he took an interest in us. He asked some great questions about how we like to vacation and travel. The first lesson I was learning was the importance of developing rapport and asking good questions. After learning enough about us, he made a pitch for his property and what the offer was. It was a good offer but not one that we wanted to exercise at the time.

I would learn later, the importance of having several purchase options and levels to increase sales. I would also learn the importance of multiple contacts and how a prospect will lower their defenses each time they feel they have overcome an objection or reason for purchasing now. Here is how it worked out; I think you will like this Las Vegas story.

Offer Number Two!

We didn't take the first offer to purchase another week and it seemed like the defensive stand we took was holding firm. The salesperson told us that generally speaking, most people go to these timeshare sessions with a pact that they won't buy under any conditions. We thought this was funny because, although we didn't make a pact before this meeting, we have made them before at similar situations like buying a car or furniture.

The salesperson left and came back with another offer that was about 3/4's of what the first offer was and it was different because it was f

eshares and what is new. We bought our first timeshare about 18 years ago and now have 4 timeshare weeks.

Offer Number One!

We got to know the agent, John, and learned about him, what he did and he took an interest in us. He asked some great questions about how we like to vacation and travel. The first lesson I was learning was the importance of developing rapport and asking good questions. After learning enough about us, he made a pitch for his property and what the offer was. It was a good offer but not one that we wanted to exercise at the time.

I would learn later, the importance of having several purchase options and levels to increase sales. I would also learn the importance of multiple contacts and how a prospect will lower their defenses each time they feel they have overcome an objection or reason for purchasing now. Here is how it worked out; I think you will like this Las Vegas story.

Offer Number Two!

We didn't take the first offer to purchase another week and it seemed like the defensive stand we took was holding firm. The salesperson told us that generally speaking, most people go to these timeshare sessions with a pact that they won't buy under any conditions. We thought this was funny because, although we didn't make a pact before this meeting, we have made them before at similar situations like buying a car or furniture.

The salesperson left and came back with another offer that was about 3/4's of what the first offer was and it was different because it was f

nd asking good questions. After learning enough about us, he made a pitch for his property and what the offer was. It was a good offer but not one that we wanted to exercise at the time.

I would learn later, the importance of having several purchase options and levels to increase sales. I would also learn the importance of multiple contacts and how a prospect will lower their defenses each time they feel they have overcome an objection or reason for purchasing now. Here is how it worked out; I think you will like this Las Vegas story.

Offer Number Two!

We didn't take the first offer to purchase another week and it seemed like the defensive stand we took was holding firm. The salesperson told us that generally speaking, most people go to these timeshare sessions with a pact that they won't buy under any conditions. We thought this was funny because, although we didn't make a pact before this meeting, we have made them before at similar situations like buying a car or furniture.

The salesperson left and came back with another offer that was about 3/4's of what the first offer was and it was different because it was f

h time they feel they have overcome an objection or reason for purchasing now. Here is how it worked out; I think you will like this Las Vegas story.

Offer Number Two!

We didn't take the first offer to purchase another week and it seemed like the defensive stand we took was holding firm. The salesperson told us that generally speaking, most people go to these timeshare sessions with a pact that they won't buy under any conditions. We thought this was funny because, although we didn't make a pact before this meeting, we have made them before at similar situations like buying a car or furniture.

The salesperson left and came back with another offer that was about 3/4's of what the first offer was and it was different because it was f

go to these timeshare sessions with a pact that they won't buy under any conditions. We thought this was funny because, although we didn't make a pact before this meeting, we have made them before at similar situations like buying a car or furniture.

The salesperson left and came back with another offer that was about 3/4's of what the first offer was and it was different because it was for different seasons and less than we wanted. This didn't appeal to us either. They left us alone for a few minutes and returned. I loved this strategy because - we thought it was over again. So, our defenses went down again.

Offer Number Three!

They returned with a third option that now changed the scenario to an every-other year program and reduced the investment further. WOW, I probably shouldn't have been surprised but I was. This offer was tempting and we talked about it. I have to tell you that we really liked the program that was laying out for us. It was different from the other timeshares we have and we liked the program. Unfortunately, we decided that it wasn't a good time for us right now and we declined.

Well, they accepted our decision and they told us that another guy was coming to ask us a few questions and we would we done. I guess you could say that the defenses went down. Way down because we had defended our wallet successfully for the third time.

Offer Number Four!

The next guy came to us and asked us some questions about the program and we shared our positive impressions with him. This was not the wisest thing for us to do. He then pointed out a final opportunity for us to engage in the timeshare program. It was not really a program that required us to purchase the entire program, just to hold the pricing and give us a few months. Very, very tempting and I'm sure a lot of people can't resist the offer.

Multiple Contacts is the KEY!

All in all, there w