Truckers and Travelers

Hello, Fellow Truckers!  Let’s talk growing your trucking business.  Your most valuable trucking resources are your customers.  Here are some tips on how to increase this MVR (most valuable resource).   

Take excellent care of existing customers.  You have to take care of the customers you have now.  You do this three ways:

1. Communicate regularly.  You can always email, but personal contact is FAR superior.  You know the “Golden Rule”?  Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.  Regular personal contact will go a long way in establishing customer loyalty.

2.  Resolve any problems promptly.  I recently spent three grueling hours in a popular electronics store to get my cell phone fixed.  They attempted to give me an inferior phone while they sent mine off to get fixed.  I refused to accept this type of service.  I stayed calm and had to go all the way to the top store manager before getting a brand new phone at no charge.  The whole time I was treated with rolling eyes and under-their-breath comments about my persistence.  What’s my point?  Even though I got a new phone, which is what I wanted,  I was treated like a “problem”.  Do you think this company will have my loyalty?  Absolutely not. 

3.  Be honest with customers.  Always be straightforward with your customers.  You build their confidence and loyalty when you show them you care about what they are communicating to you.  Learn to listen effectively.  That means that you listen for the emotion in the story they are relating to you.  This takes time to develop but once you let your customer know you really “hear” them, you automatically gain their confidence and they will want to continue doing business with you.

I think you get my point.  Your customers make or break your business.  Listen to your customers and know how to resolve any issues so that your customers get the desired result.  It’s usually true that the customer is always right.  Occasionally you will have the customer that can’t be satisfied.  Read the book by Dale Carnegie called “How To Win Friends And Influence People”.  In it you’ll learn how to even deal with hard cases and increase your customer loyalty. 

For more trucking resources, visit my CD Books page.  It’s loaded with audio books designed to increase your success.  The information will teach you how to start a trucking business successfully and profitably and keep it that way.  So Fellow Truckers, in this economy you have to educate yourself then practice the knowledge you gain.  This will make your trucking business all the YOU dream it to be.  You have to first dream it, then you become it.  Tomorrow I’ll discuss customer calls and referrals.  Be safe out there!