Pursue Big-Picture Solutions, Not Incremental Improvements By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD There’s a lot of talk about customer experience and ways to enhance it. Though this is the right outcome, too often the approach to get there is shortsighted. Making incremental changes to improve one metric may help a bit, but how many metrics must […]
Don’t Focus on the Angry Masses but Grab onto a Good Call Whenever Possible By Peter Lyle DeHaan, Ph.D. Working in a call center is challenging. Although it’s been a long time since I answered calls in one, I’m still aware of how hard it is. That’s because I’m now on the other end of […]
Local Critique Groups Keep looking for a local group. There may be some, but you just haven’t found them yet. Try bookstores, schools, libraries, and coffee shops—any place where writers hang out. Also, ask every writer you meet if they’re aware of any area critique groups. Another option is to start your own critique group. […]
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A Shocking Experience
Customer Service Excellence Can Boost Sales By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD I received a subscription invoice for a magazine I had never heard of nor received. This didn’t surprise me. This used to happen a lot. Magazines would show up and later an invoice arrived to continue my “subscription.” I scrawled “please cancel” on the […]
We looked at why a writer might want to pursue a traditional publishing deal. Here are five reasons why self-publishing is ideal for some authors. 1. Have Greater Control Self-publishing is ideal for authors who more say over their work and the finished product. This can be good, or it can work against them, but […]
Several years ago, I sought to add another product to my publishing business. I looked at options and considered alternatives.Two possibilities rose to the top. I began investigating both, planning to pursue whichever path opened up first. Instead, they both did. So, I embarked on two nearly simultaneous publication launches: AnswerStat (information hub for healthcare […]
Seek to Provide the Fast Responses Your Prospects and Clients Expect By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD We live in an I-want-it-now culture. People, in general, and your answering service clients, specifically, expect quick responses to their inquiries. If they don’t get what they want when they want it, they’ll seek solutions elsewhere. That’s why we […]
When writing a short story, article, or blog post, I often start with a title, opening line, or concept. Then I start writing to see where it takes me. (Sometimes I have the last line in mind and write to get there.) Though this may result in extra content that I need to cut, it […]
Book publishing options are no longer a black and white decision but an array of grays In past posts, I discussed the benefits of traditional publishing and the benefits of self-publishing, as well as the downsides of traditional publishing and the downsides of self-publishing. Now we’ll discuss book publishing options. Book publishing, however, does not […]
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Stop Selling and Start Serving
By Peter Lyle DeHaan, PhD Once when I needed to order some ink cartridges for my printer—the kind I can only buy directly from the vendor. There was a problem with the website, so I picked up the phone to place my order. I told the agent I wanted to order two black ink cartridges. […]