The ABCs of Attrition

I s there any one deed that deflates one's selling spirit more than getting dumped? Customer rejection can be brutal and certainly hazardous to your business health. Avoiding being shown the door takes a concentrated effort, an effort that involves creativity, personalized service and prompt attention. It's all about keeping a merchant happy. Are you doing enough in this area? Take the following test to find out just how secure your professional relationships are.

• Do you truly understand the needs of your merchants?

• Do your customers praise you for meeting those needs?

• Do you initiate contact with existing customers on a regular basis? This is key, for existing customers are the primary source of stable revenues.

• When they try to contact you, do you return your customers' calls promptly? Absentee ISOs mean absentee income.

• Are you careful not to waste your merchant's time?

• Do your customers feel as if they can question your services without fear of attack? Constructive criticism can lead to better working conditions.

• When a problem occurs, do you immediately step up to the plate and make good on that promise to fix it?

• Do you share new ideas, new technology and even cost-saving processes with your customers? A stale relationship is a sinking relationship.

• Do you smile every time you talk to your merchants, no matter whether it is face to face, on the phone or over the Internet?

And finally:

• Do you make all of your customers feel as if they're your one and only?