Actual for You - Business

Get Set Up With Online Registration In Less Time Than You Think
I'm writing this for people who like the idea of online registration but imagine it's a time consuming ordeal to get set up. If you are using a professional full service online registration provider you can be fully set up by investing as little as an hour of your time for basic seminars, meetings, conferences or online ticket sales forms.A breakdown of the steps to online registration:Research (10 mins)If you're new to online event registration you'll want to spend a few minutes checking out the different options available. A quick read of our Event Planner's Guide to Online Event Registration will help you decide on your best approach (see below fo

here the issue lies. This is often how the user and technician get confused.

3. She didn't say anything about an error, so don't assume one is showing up. Feel free to ask 'Is there an error message on your screen?' but don't assume that there is one just because something isn't working. Maybe she had a mapped network drive that is no longer showing up under My Computer in a Save As dialog box. That would satisfy the criteria of not being able to save to her network folder, but not having an error, would it not? You must play detective for the users and realize that more often then not they have left out information inadvertantly, as they're really not sure what to be looking for in the first place. Ask more probing questions like 'What is the title of the window that you're

The 9 Golden Rules to Successful Sales
1. Put yourself in your client’s shoes Understanding as much about your clients perspective is vital in developing rapport. Growing a strong & positive relationship where you focus on your clients needs, problems, challenges & desires will ultimately lead to the successful matching of your products or services…and for the best possible motives...THE WELFARE OF YOUR CLIENT. Be sure to use ‘YOU’ language – this is where you talk about them and not yourself. As soon as you hear yourself saying ‘we’ or ‘I’ you need to switch. This will be much more engaging for your client and they’ll feel you are more interested in them than selling yourself.2. Ask open questions Asking cl

Inevitably, being a technical support contact, you are going to have to speak to a client, whether it's being the first point of contact and they have called you to report a problem, to get more information about a particular problem, or to let them know an issue has been resolved. Unfortunately, in my experience, most technicians do this the absolute wrong way.

What's the wrong way, you ask? Well let me explain. For the purposes of this article, I will define a "user" as someone who has between 0 and 10 hours of total training of a particular product. Whether this means that they went to a night course on how to use Microsoft Word more effectively, or they looked at the sticker on their phone that tells them how to get their voicemail is irrelevant; they are not power users by any stretch of the imagination, just someone who knows enough to get by. Also, for our purposes the words "client" and "user" can be used interchangeably.

Problem Description: User calls the helpdesk and says "I can't save my document to my network folder."

What I almost always hear the technician ask is something along the lines of "Ok, and what server and share is giving the error?" There are so many things wrong with that sentence, I don't even know where to begin.

1. As much as it may pain you to do so, empathize with your client, but don't sympathize. Start out replying by saying something like 'I understand how that can be frustrating, now let's see what we can do to fix it.' Letting the user know that you relate to the problem will let them know that you have formed some sort of personal attachment to their issue. Also, most users will realize that the problem isn't your specific fault, so emphasizing that you're willing to help them fix it actually lets them know that you are taking personal responsibility for the problem and will invest all of your resources into fixing it. The reason I use 'we' is to set the customer expectation that they will be involved and that you need their help. This is something I think is critical in setting customer expectations and allowing them to feel involved in the process. (Setting customer expectations is something we will discuss more in depth in a later article.)

2. 'What server and share...' assumes that the user first of all knows what a "share" is, and secondly what server this 'share'-thing is on. Never assume that your user has any technical knowledge beyond what they've just explained to you in whatever technical or non- terms. Ask more user-friendly questions like 'Where are you trying to save to?' This will allow the user to respond in whatever level language they feel comfortable in. Also by listening to their response, you should be able to make a good guess as to their technical competency and tailor your next questions accordingly. The initial call is an excellent time to learn client lingo and educate the client on proper terms. While educating a client on proper terminology is something that we will focus more on at a later date, it is very important at this stage to note that the use of the exact words used by the client should be noted to determine where the issue lies. This is often how the user and technician get confused.

Hey Techie, Switch Off Your Computer
Are you fed up, broke and lonely? Then switch off your computer and get a life. Ok that's my little joke. Seriously though, sitting in front of a monitor for most of the day is not likely to do much to improve any of the points above. Try communicating with the real world for a change. Call a prospect, ask if there is something you can help them with. It doesn't much matter what they reply, you always benefit from the exchange.If you are in luck, they'll say that they do need a product or service. But should the answer be, 'Not at the moment', that's ok too. Because now you have introduced yourself and (I hope) supplied a phone number or mailed information so that when a requireme

by any stretch of the imagination, just someone who knows enough to get by. Also, for our purposes the words "client" and "user" can be used interchangeably.

Problem Description: User calls the helpdesk and says "I can't save my document to my network folder."

Packaging Equipment
Many kinds of equipment are required for the entire process of packaging. This includes filling machines, capping machines, labeling machines, and complete turnkey packaging systems. Other packaging equipment which are manufactured by many companies are bottle unscramblers, bottle rinsers, liquid fillers, cappers, labelers, sleeving machines, sealing machines, conveyors, turntables, heat tunnels, sleevers, coders and support packaging machinery.Filling machines are designed to fill most products into a variety of containers. Filling machines can fill in different products such as free flowing liquid products like water, juices and alcohol; products which are thick in nature like p

have formed some sort of personal attachment to their issue. Also, most users will realize that the problem isn't your specific fault, so emphasizing that you're willing to help them fix it actually lets them know that you are taking personal responsibility for the problem and will invest all of your resources into fixing it. The reason I use 'we' is to set the customer expectation that they will be involved and that you need their help. This is something I think is critical in setting customer expectations and allowing them to feel involved in the process. (Setting customer expectations is something we will discuss more in depth in a later article.)

Nevada Corporations
A number of business owners choose to incorporate their companies, to guard themselves and the company from unexpected losses and liabilities. Small and large companies can be incorporated. It is possible to incorporate companies in any state of the United States, irrespective of where the business is operated. Numerous business owners prefer to incorporate their businesses in Delaware or Nevada, as they are very corporate-friendly. Nevada has very favorable business laws.Nevada corporations are considered to be separate legal entities. In case the corporation is sued for some reason, the business owners are protected for personal liability. This means that the creditors cannot re

-thing is on. Never assume that your user has any technical knowledge beyond what they've just explained to you in whatever technical or non- terms. Ask more user-friendly questions like 'Where are you trying to save to?' This will allow the user to respond in whatever level language they feel comfortable in. Also by listening to their response, you should be able to make a good guess as to their technical competency and tailor your next questions accordingly. The initial call is an excellent time to learn client lingo and educate the client on proper terms. While educating a client on proper terminology is something that we will focus more on at a later date, it is very important at this stage to note that the use of the exact words used by the client should be noted to determine where the issue lies. This is often how the user and technician get confused.

The 80/20 Rule, And Being Truly 'Effective' In Your Business
There is a world of difference between efficiency and effectiveness, and it’s in that world that successful marketers flourish. They are well aware of the power and omni-presence of the 80/20 rule.While even highly successful marketers don’t hit the bulls-eye with all of their marketing, at least they direct their energies towards learning which 20 percent of their marketing generates 80 percent of their sales.Just knowing this to be true is a compelling reason to learn where each of your customers learned of your existence, to recognize that all customers are not created equal and that 20 percent of them most likely

here the issue lies. This is often how the user and technician get confused.

Now, that's three major problems in a 10 word response; that's pretty bad, if you ask me. Never mind that 2 out of the 3 issues could be resolved by not assuming anything. Being a proficient help desk technician requires more than just being able to solve a technical problem, but also to be able to tailor your responses to the client so that they feel comfortable doing what you're asking (e.g. converting 'geekspeak' to 'normalspeak').

I can tell you that 99 times out of 100, if you are able to communicate on the same level as your client (whether that means dumbing things down to the point of using Winnie the Pooh characters or whether you're communicating back in forth in binary), you will be able to get them to listen to you, as well as get them to do what you're asking, with little resistance. You have to remember that computers, while not necessarily a new thing in the workplace, are still mysterious machines that at the click of a button can make incredibly huge calculations and at the same time play the latest song from Britney Spears. The more comfortable they feel around them, the less worried they'll be about potentially breaking something.

Next week, I'll continue this article by going more in depth about how to explain technical issues and terms to users who might not "get it".

HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.actual4u.com/article/3615/actual4u-How-To-Communicate-Effectively-With-Users-On-A-NonTechnical-Level.html">How To Communicate Effectively With Users On A Non-Technical Level</a>

BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.actual4u.com/article/3615/actual4u-How-To-Communicate-Effectively-With-Users-On-A-NonTechnical-Level.html]How To Communicate Effectively With Users On A Non-Technical Level[/url]

Starting a business is a scary and exciting time. It takes a leap of faith, but also offers up the hope of successfully doing something you love. Still, there are things to be wary of.

Financial (sell side) analysts are a key constituent to ensuring your stock price does not take a big hit when you announce the backdating issue has hit your company. Here are the top 10 questions financial analysts have about options backdating and what you need to do to help ensure communication is correct, accurate and positive.

Tags

Links

Actual for You - How To Communicate Effectively With Users On A Non-Technical Level

Related Articles: