Shrink Your Refunds

This week's issue will be covering the follow-up technique after the sale has been made. Now, how do you get them to continue buying from you? The best way to continue having regular customers is to create rapport. Make sure they don't refund, because of course if you are selling a lot of quantity on the Internet, you are gong to get refunds. You should expect refunds. As I have heard many times over, if you are not getting refunds, you are not pushing and selling hard enough. We will be addressing how to see fewer refunds as well as taking advantage of issuing refunds.

Customers will always appreciate a follow-up call, which won't take up much of your time. Try following up with the customer within a business day to thank them for their order and tell them when they should be expecting their product. It is also a good idea to prepare what you are going to say, whether it be with a live person or a voicemail. You or your assistant should do these calls. You will quickly see that your product and name will be remembered by customers.

A tried and true technique is the stick letter. The stick letter will be sent to the customer at one stage or another, for example, along with the product, in an e-mail, fax, or even just sending them to a website. There are various ways to send a stick letter. You will want to keep your company and product in the mind of the customer. It is almost 10% of your initial sales letter. You want to re-sell them on why they bought the product, that they're going to love the product, and that they should keep the product. Often times, customers purchase out of a whim or impulse which often results in refunds. The stick letter is the opportunity to convince the customer that they made the greatest investment and that the product will be everything that they expected. Within the letter make an announcement about a one time only unique offer. This extra step will make the difference between the mediocre seller and a professional high-income seller. You're going to have fewer refunds, happier customers, they're going to love you for it, and you are going to get referral business.

A special exciting offer can be anything creative, such as a gift certificate. Yes, it does take some of your time. It could be a gift certificate to another product you have. Some ideas for a gift certificate can be fifty percent off a new product or a twenty minute consultation My personal time is valued at $600/hour for a one-on-one consultation. So I will offer somebody a gift certificate towards that - 20 minutes or half an hour is a $300 value gift certificate! Now, in order for them to claim that gift certificate, they need to take some action steps and, for example, fax it in before a certain date. The thing is, they've got this printed gift certificate in the box with the rest of their product, and they think, "Wow! This is a huge value. I didn't even know this was coming." A lot of times, they're not going to take the necessary action , but they still have that perceived value. These unexpected gifts will impress a customer, even though they may not take the offer. These small steps will help a business gain long term customers who will also refer their friends to your product.

Issuing refunds can also hold great customer relations value. Refunds are a great opportunity to connect with the customer and offer them a different product at a discounted price. For example, you send a customer their refund check and also send them a sales letter telling them about a similar product or even an affiliate product. Furthermore, you can give some sort of incentive so that they will go on the internet to fill out a questionnaire. The questionnaire itself can be peppered with ads for your or affiliate products that they may become interested in. These are just some of the techniques I use to minimize refunds as well as taking advantage of refunds. Any situation can be turned into an opportunity!