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Good Coffee, Surfing
and Your Bottom Line
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And my great, yet very simple - coffee
recipe
(c) copyright Wanda Loskot 1997
I'm sure you agree that it's hard to judge the quality of some
services until we experience them. Quite often the only basis
for our choice is the conversation with the service provider,
Sometimes the look and feel of the business place and quality
of their printed materials. If we're are lucky we can review
testimonials and if we are very lucky someone we know and trust
refers us to that business.
But most of the time we still experience anxiety when making
a decision to buy from someone for the first time. We wish
we could have more reasons to be confident, don't you agree?
I used to conduct business in a very busy real estate office.
The only coffee you could get there was served in styrofoam
cups, with plastic stirrers and powdered creamer. Coffee wasn't
that good either. It bothered me because I love good coffee
experience.
So, I brought my own coffee machine, my own demitasse cups
and saucers. My own little spoons and my own special blend of
coffee. When I was meeting with prospects or clients I served
them my kind of coffee. It took me a while to realize the big
impact it had on my business.
You see, by serving prospective clients a good cup of coffee
I'd create a lasting impression that I'm creative, resourceful
and detail oriented. And that I care more about quality than
just about my convenience.
By serving a superb cup of coffee in a pretty demitasse with
a cute little teaspoon I planted in their subconscious a thought
that if I pay so much attention to serving a nice cup of coffee,
chances are great that I pay attention to my work. Which, of
course, was true. People loved my coffee and it was one of the
reasons they loved to do business with me.
What that has to do with YOUR bottom line?
Everything.
Please remember that at the beginning of the relationship, your
prospects are skeptical, distrustful, reserved and thinking
about hiring someone else. Understand, that from lack of other
references they often base their decisions not on the quality
of your work -- which they cannot understand -- but on the way
you talk, walk, and dress. They judge you by the little things.
Your handshake and your eye contact (ingredients vary from
culture to culture). They judge the level of your enthusiasm,
your generosity, your ability to listen, your attitude. All
of those little things score for you extra points... or not.
On the Internet people judge us by the look and content of our
web sites. If you make their surfing experience satisfying and
pleasurable they remember us fondly and it helps to gain their
trust. if we subject them to frustration -- our actions go down,
no matter how terrific our service or product might be.
OK, now let's get that coffee recipe
Almost everyone who has tried my coffee, has asked for that recipe - be
prepared that they will ask for yours, too. But before you are able to
make and serve my great coffee you need a few things:
 A good coffee maker
with fluted, melita style filters - in the average all-American coffee
maker water drips far too fast!.
.... which is the second
thing you need: good quality freshly ground (or almost freshly ground)
coffee beans - ground specifically for those cone-shaped melita filters.
Fine ground but not as fine as for espresso.
Now, add the flavor.
Get a specially flavored
coffee. From your gourmet store, or from on-line catalog - and mix half and half with some regular coffee. You
will end up with just a little taste of something divine instead of killing
a true coffee flavor. (I also mix a regular coffee with decaf, because
I don't want to get hyper after a few cups). Use 1-2 heaped teaspoon of
coffee per cup of water. Be generous!
And here comes my secret!
After you pour water
to your coffee maker, pour the same amount of milk to your glass carafe
- the one that coffee will drip into and turn on your machine. While the
coffee drips, the content of the carafe is being warmed by the hot plate
on the bottom - so, you don't have to dilute coffee with cold milk or mix
in that horrible powdered coffee creamer. But remember to be generous and
put enough coffee in the filter!
And that's it. It is that simple. Just make sure to serve it in demitasse
cups - not in mugs or in a paper cups! Serving an extraordinary cup of
coffee is far easier (and less expensive) than printing a stack of glossy,
colorful brochures - yet it creates more lasting impressions. Try it! You
will be amazed how this little thing (of course coupled with your other
customer service efforts) can lead establishing more rapport, more trust,
more clients - and more success in your business.
Do you like this site? - Click here to recommend it!
As a token of my appreciation, you will receive a FREE e-book
"Unleash The Power of Free Publicity"
Recommend this site to your friends...
... and as a token of my appreciation, you will receive a FREE e-book
"Unleash The Power of Free Publicity"
back to the top!
LOSKA.COM
Wanda Loskot - Success Connection
150 Heron's Run, Suite #124 - Sarasota, FL 34232 - USA
Phone (941) 342-4203 - Fax (240) 358-7445
Professional business coach, author & speaker specializing in Internet marketing.
Business seminars, corporate training and one-on-one coaching
for self-employed sales professionals and small business owners.
wanda@loska.com
All materials Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000 Wanda Loskot
and Success Connection.
All Rights Reserved. Do not reprint, or distribute without
express written permission.
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