“Absolutely the most exquisite event I’ve ever been to. It is the event to come to if you are ready to take your business to the next level. Let Kelly O’Neil help you…She is absolutely one of the most phenomenal speakers.”

Ali Grace shares her wonderful experience from the 2009 Marketing to Millionaires retreat and how Kelly was able to help her grow her business. If you want to learn to Market to the Affluent and grow your business, be sure to sign up now for the LAST EVER Marketing to Millionaires Retreat 2010.

“The best retreat I have ever been to…the best marketing event.  If you are looking for total transformation, this is the place to be. I’m a raving fan, you should definitely make it to the next event!”

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Rhonda Cort’s business thank Kelly O’Neil and the M2M retreat for the huge growth in her business. Rhonda has nothing but nice things to say about Kelly and her work, and says she can help you too! Be sure to sign up for the LAST EVER 2010 Marketing to Millionaires Retreat.

“I thought I was coming here for the networking…but she has done it again!  She has managed to remodel my business in just 3 days.”

Erin Ferree of Elf Designs, was able to take her business up to a whole new level with the help of Kelly O’Neil and the Marketing to Millionaires Retreat.   Help attract affluent clients and Up Level Your Business with Kelly at the 2010 M2M Retreat.

Picture a roller coaster string of cars climbing to the uppermost heights of the track. If there was not enough momentum behind them, they would not reach the summit to roar down the opposite side.  I was feeling like that string of cars going ever more slowly up toward the summit, yet knowing I was not going to make it and would begin to slide back.  I did not want to slide backward!

One thing I knew for certain was that I needed help from someone who would speak directly to my specific, unique needs in my specific business. No more generic training.  The Universe placed Kelly O’Neil smack dab in the middle of my computer screen one day and I began to travel through her website and eventually booked her 30 minute strategy session and ended up booking her one-day VIP coaching package. I came away from that day with my business strategy firmly mapped out for an entire year!  I know exactly what I am doing, how to do it, when I am doing it and the results I will have.  I can’t tell you what a relief this is!

I started implementing Kelly’s ideas immediately. It has only been one month since our VIP day and I am seeing my list growing, my phone is ringing, my product page is selling and registering new clients.  And it hasn’t stopped there, Kelly is still slinging out ideas during additional coaching sessions and has me doing things I never thought I would do. I just say ‘yes ma’am’ and do it! I know that when the first year is done I will surpass all my goals and I will be back in her office for another VIP day to strategize the next year.  I am roaring down the other side of the summit! I will hang on to Kelly’s coattails until she surgically removes me.  I HIGHLY recommend this energetic, talented and authentic woman

Lynn Moore
http://www.cleargoalscoaching.com

Lynn Moore is the creator of Clear Goals Coaching, an Internet business perfectly suited for her lifestyle as a Canadian at home during summer and a Snowbird in the USA during winter. She is a certified life coach since 2004, a published author, speaker on the ‘Project Consciousness’ tour (www.projectconsciousness.com), a Millionaire Protégé Club member and has now developed the new “Inspirational Goaling” system of setting and achieving one’s goals.  This is her proprietary system which teaches people how to set inspired goals that are aligned with their highest purpose and the Laws of the Universe which are the keys to abundance and happiness. She publishes a twice monthly electronic newsletter “Goal Postings” and offers free subscriptions. Lynn is an avid blogger offering weekly goal tips and tools. She is available for speaking engagements, interviews and delivers coaching services to private clients and groups worldwide. To learn more visit: http://www.ClearGoalsCoaching.com

Don’t be mistaken, small businesses and entrepreneurs CAN serve-up exemplary customer service with ease just like big businesses.  You can provide an experience that makes your customer say, “Wow!” And you can do it consistently.  The result?  Satisfied customers who are loyal to you and will gladly pay your rates.

Here are the 6 steps you must take to design knock-out customer service with affluent clients:

• An understanding of the value of a customer as a lifetime relationship (and not as a single sale) – Don’t just look at what your customer means today in terms of sales. Look at the potential value if they continue to work year over year growing their purchases incrementally because they are so satisfied in the services you offer.  I’ve had many clients who started with me by buying a $99 information product and then went on to become Platinum Coaching clients.

• The desire to make an affluent customer happy – It’s easy to think about you and your business all the time. Take a moment to step back and consider what would truly make your affluent customers happy.  It’s likely different things for different individuals.  Keep in mind the key attributes your affluent customers value: approval (from peers, the world at large and business associates), recognition, respect, efficiency (don’t waste their time or money), competence and convenience.
• Listening to the wants and needs of your customers – You don’t have to guess.  Your affluent customers will tell you EXACTLY what they want and need.  Make it simple by asking your affluent clients during your new client orientation process.  Include a simple survey that asks questions like, how do you prefer to receive information from us, when is the best time of day to meet, and anything else pertinent to your line of business.  This will make servicing them more pleasurable and their satisfaction will come easily.

• Developing new products and services in direct response to the needs and wants of your affluent customers – Your clients will appreciate that you listened to them and your bottom line will appreciate the easy sales that result.
  
• Ensuring that your staff knows what to do if a customer is unhappy – Build a process and then train your staff on it so that conflicts are resolved immediately.  Here are the steps my team and I follow:

1. Apologize with empathy
2. Take ownership of the problem
3. Fix the problem ASAP
4. Get the customer’s buy-in
5. Offer a small sincere token of apology
6. Follow up

• Consistently responding to the needs and wants of your affluent customers to provide the experience that makes each customer say, “Wow” – Again, it’s all about developing processes that work.  Decide what is right for your customers, develop the steps your company needs to take to satisfy and then train, train, train your staff accordingly.

Continually delivering a level of service above and beyond expectations is the cost of entry with the affluent and it will set you apart from your competition as well.

By definition, exemplary customer service is, quite simply, an experience with your business that makes a customer say, “Wow!” When you consistently deliver product, service and value in a way that exceeds customer expectation, you are delivering exemplary customer service. I can tell you first hand that your affluent customer not only expects, but demands this level of service and we are willing to pay higher premiums for it!

Take for example, the leading authority in customer service, Ritz Carlton Hotels. The Ritz Carlton’s standard of service is what sets the hotel chain apart from its competitors and establishes it as a world-renowned leader in customer satisfaction; a position any company, in any industry can aspire to achieve. The Ritz Carlton’s “Credo” simply translated here, is easily employed and is sure to inspire confidence:

“We pledge to provide the finest personal service for our customers who will always enjoy a warm, relaxed, yet refined ambience. The Ritz-Carlton experience enlivens the senses, instills well-being, and fulfills even the unexpressed wishes and needs of our guests.”

Take note of the hotel chain’s premium rates as well. The Ritz has permission to charge especially high room charges, not because it’s the hippest hotel that keeps up on all the latest trends, or because the lobby bar is the “see-and-be-seen” hot spot, but rather, it consistently delivers above and beyond in servicing its customers.  A guest knows exactly what to expect when he/she enters the doors.  He recognizes that his needs will be taken care of completely and he is willing to pay a higher price for these services over and over again.  

One thing I see that is often missing from people’s marketing materials is a clear call to action.

I am really going to elaborate on this one because it could mean the difference between your revenue increasing or not.

There are several strategies we use to create a clear call to action:

• Give a deadline: We’ve all received some sort of promotional material that has a deadline for ordering. The offer could end on that date. Or you could use the deadline in conjunction with an upgrade or free gift. That way, your potential affluent customers know they only have a limited time to respond and they won’t fall victim to the “I’ll do it later” syndrome.
• Advice of a price increase: People want to get in on a good deal. If your price is going up on a specific date, let your affluent customers know. They’ll want to buy before your product’s price increases.
• Offer a Free Gift: Nothing attracts new customers like free gifts. The affluent LOVE a good deal.  As an added incentive for ordering, offer your free gift to the first 100 or 1,000 people that respond.
• Offer an upgrade: One simple line can boost your sales. “Order within 10 days and we’ll upgrade you to the deluxe model.”
• Free products with purchase: You’ve seen this technique used with computer sales – “Buy a computer and receive a free printer”. This works with a whole range of products, but be sure to include a date on your offer. This politely urges people to take advantage of your offer before time runs out.

No matter how you approach your own call to action, be sure to include action phrases:

Call Now. Toll-Free, 24 Hours a Day. Mail this coupon today in the postage-paid envelope. Fax your response card.

Be sure to avoid passive phrases like: “You know how to reach us. Call when you’re ready to order.”

Running your business by price-based products or services will hurt it in the long run. Your price-conscious customers are not loyal affluent customers; when they find someone cheaper, they’ll switch. Instead, offer value to value-conscious, affluent customers; they are much more loyal.

Similarly, when work costs are higher, consumers value it more. There are many “bottom feeders” scurrying around to get the cheapest work. If your work costs more (and you deliver more), it will be worth more to the buyer.

Research shows that many times the affluent buy on prestige. Prestige products and services are bought for the image as much as the product itself — and a key component of the image is the price. They are too expensive for most people, ergo those who can afford these products are seen as rich, successful, upper class, elite, or all of the above.

How I Price Products and Services

Three or four things I look at when I am pricing products and services.

1. What are you actual costs plus profit margin? How much does it actually cost you to deliver your product or service?
2. What are your competitors charging for a similar product or service?
3. How will you add value to your offerings to obtain the competitive advantage over your competition?
4. What price point can you justify a return on investment for the experience?

Building strong customer relationships directly correlates to the development of brand loyalty. When the affluent customer becomes emotionally, rather than merely intellectually vested, loyalty to the brand becomes cemented.

Loyalty is intangible, yet incredibly valuable, since over time it builds great brand equity. Brand equity goes right to the value of every company. In fact, brand equity is sometimes the most decisive factor in assessing company value.

A Dow Jones campaign developed in the early ’90s to promote The Wall Street Journal stated: “A brand or corporate image is not something that can be seen, touched, tasted, defined or measured. Intangible and abstract, it exists solely as an idea in the mind. Yet it is often a company’s most precious asset…in a world of parity products and services, nothing can tilt things more dramatically in your favor.”

Strong brands enjoy distinct advantages:

• They are perceived as effectively differentiated from their competitors.
• They satisfy affluent consumer needs on both intellectual and emotional levels.
• They consistently deliver on their brand promise, thus they consistently deliver value. When brands resonate with affluent customers at this level, there is a powerful emotional relationship in place. This is the key element that leads to loyalty.

If you are like many small business owners I work with, you might mistakenly think your brand is all about what your logo and website look like.  That couldn’t be further from the truth.  Here are some other key factors that affect your brand with affluent clients:

• Strong Customer Service – This point is a vital issue with the affluent. Your company should promote and portray this in all that it does.
• Corporate Identity Credibility – If you are selling a professional service or an expert skill, these are highly important. Using correct terminology, colors and relevant client testimonials can all help to support this image.
• Brand Convenience – This can be portrayed through short, catchy statements such as ‘open 24/7′, ‘just round the corner’ or ‘next day delivery’.
• Brand Design – This is another key part of any company’s image. Is your color scheme and logo consistent and does it fit the desired image relevant to your target market?

First impressions need to convey the image you have chosen and should be re-enforced with all your company’s actions. By presenting a crisp, clean business card out of a holder you create a better image than digging around for a bent or dirty card. If visitors often come to your business premises then an instant image is created by exterior signs, interior design, staff clothing and company cars. If you get these aspects correct for your brand it can make a real difference.