47 replies to this topic

[Regina]

How do you handle customers coming to your house? I have an office on the second floor, among our bedrooms and I don't always like to have "strangers" come into my house. Any suggestion on how I can best serve my customers without having them in my house, unless they are a direct referral from someone I know? I read posts that say "I never have clients in my home," do they always go to the client?
Thanks,
:) Regina

[gil levitch]

Regina said:

How do you handle customers coming to your house? I have an office on the second floor, among our bedrooms and I don't always like to have "strangers" come into my house. Any suggestion on how I can best serve my customers without having them in my house, unless they are a direct referral from someone I know? I read posts that say "I never have clients in my home," do they always go to the client?
Thanks,
:) Regina

Not only do I not have customers in my home, but suppliers as well.
I either go to the customer or if they are big enough I take them to lunch.
I also meet suppliers for lunch. Much atmosphere to do business.

[cmroma]

In all my years, I can only remember having one customer to my house.....and that was because she was also a friend.
I bring everything to my customer. Wheter a sales call, deliver samples, deliver an order, etc. There is nothing you can't bring to them.
I simply explain to my customers that I was always taught to keep your overhead to a minimum. That is why we work from our house.
No one ever seems to have a problem with that.

[royster13]

Do not do it.....Lawyers and liability insurance take all the fun away....

[3Koi Maui]

No customers to the house. Customers are usually much happier for us to come to them. Suppliers I've met at Starbucks or restaurants. And no, we don't make them pay. :)

We had a small group of distributors who had a monthly meeting with a supplier at one of the other distribs houses. That was wonderful. Casual lunch and product discussions around the kitchen table. A supplier would get to see 4 of us at once.

[eronan]

We sometimes have customers to the house but they are the customers who happen to have been friends before becoming a customer. We would never have our corporate customers to our home office, we like to project a larger, more professional image than a home office conveys. We've had a couple suppliers to the house but we always meet in the living room as our office is upstairs among the living quarters.

An alternative idea for meeting with suppliers is to contact your bank regarding using a conference room. Sometimes health clubs offer a meeting room for free for any members to use for various reasons. You can get creative with different options if you don't feel comfortable having people in your home office.

Erin

[benbaker]

having both a home office and about 5000 square feet in another location, I can honestly say that I have never had anyone at home and I think in the last 10 years I've had 3 clients actually come out to our office.

Clients seem to either like being taken to lunch/coffee or like me to come to them. let's them work right up to our meeting and then go back to whatever right afterwards. Reason I take certain clients to lunch/coffee is that it gets them out of the office and away from the phone ringing. However, I always go to them and have the meeting around their office so it impacts them the least.

Happy selling.

Ben

[rgapp]

I have been ti ihe business for 20 years I have yet to have a customer come to my home office, I eather go to thier place of business or we meet for coffee, I like to go to thier place so that I can meet the other employes of the company you never can tell who the buyer may be next week so get to know all of them, I did have one supplier come to my office in my house but I was not home at the time so they left there card with a note on the back of it telling me that they only called on peopel who had a office out of the house. I called the rep up the next week and told him that I only did business with companies that did call on me and than I called his compeiter and gave them the $3000.00 dollar order.

[Lizardbeth]

While I would never have clients visit my home to come upstairs where our bedrooms are, I do have a home office . . . about 500 sq. ft. in my walk out basement and I kind of like the surprise on people's faces when they come down the stairs (they've never used the office entrance which is a disappointment, but no biggie) and see a REAL office complete with work stations etc.

I'm with you about wanting to project a larger image, but some of my clients prefer to come here to get away from the office. Since I'm often hard pressed for time myself, if they like it that way, I'm just glad I have a professional office space. I think they plan the meeting expecting the kitchen table when they know it's in my home and are surprised by the professionalism of the office when they leave.

However, that's the key . . . professionalism! When I first started on my own, I shared office space with my husband's business and it was a "shop" . . . not pretty . . . or professional . . . not to mention we had no windows in our part of his office!

While first impressions count and I would never bring a NEW client to the office, my client's who know me don't mind that it's in my house. And none of yours should either when they know you and the service you provide! Still Starbucks would be a treat for all of us from time to time.

[a1promo]

I never allow clients to come to my home. I always go to them or I meet them somewhere and buy them a coffee while we talk. I get an idea of what they are looking for and then research the items so that we can talk ideas and prices.

Kay

[Lizardbeth]

It seems almost unanimous except for me that you NEVER bring anyone to your home office. If I went to see everyone, I'd never have anytime to get the stuff researched, art done, orders place etc . . . never mind the back office stuff that my office manager takes care of. Really, just one appt takes at least 1 hour out of the day and that's being conservative. How DO YOU DO it?

Don't get me wrong . . . visiting them is important, but when I don't have to, I don't. I can process a lot more business when I don't have to be out of the office.

[a1promo]

That is why I get up at 5:00am and do office work.

[Lizardbeth]

I'm the stay up until 2 am type so that doesn't fix the problem for me. It isn't that I'm not working the hours . . .

[jacquez]

I have always had an office away from my home. However, in the past few years with the ability to work and research on line I do have an office in my home. I work there in the evening, weekends and sometimes during the night. Back to clients coming to us - after being in business for 35 years I don't think we have had a client in our office more than a dozen times. We have had open house in the past where clients attended. In today's business environment clients use email and the phone to communicate with my sales staff, office staff and me.

[royster13]

In my part of the "hinterland" I only have dialup (do not go there).....so I quite often head in to town (4 miles away) and park my laptop at a coffee shop....I can meet with clients and do research on a borrowed "hot spot"....sometimes I do it while I am with the client...I sit at a booth with my client across from me and when I want them to see something I point my laptop towards them....

[Ellen Perrin]

I have worked from ghome for 20 years. I use a nearby mail depot as my business address..all packages and mail are delicvered their. If a client asks to come to my office I tell them that the service we provide saves them time. We do the research and present ideas to the when we come to their place of business. I really don't tell my clients that I work from home unless I find it necessary to do so.

As long as I conduct myself in a professional manner and give my clients what they need, working from home has never been an issue.

Now there are times when I get compulsive and check emaikl in the iddle of the night or work till all hours or unclutter my office...ongoing..that I wish I had the space back in the house and the garage and I think an office away from home would be nice, but then again...think of all that overhead.

[Regina]

Lizardbeth said:

It seems almost unanimous except for me that you NEVER bring anyone to your home office. If I went to see everyone, I'd never have anytime to get the stuff researched, art done, orders place etc . . . never mind the back office stuff that my office manager takes care of. Really, just one appt takes at least 1 hour out of the day and that's being conservative. How DO YOU DO it?

Don't get me wrong . . . visiting them is important, but when I don't have to, I don't. I can process a lot more business when I don't have to be out of the office.

I was thinking the same thing "How do I go to meet everyone? What if they want to see samples?. Then I have to arrange another meeting." I'm a
one-and-a-half-person business so I do have coverage when I'm out, but only to answer phones and do easy order taking. Otherwise it's all me.

I only recently decided not to see clients at home. I got the idea when one customer actually followed me into the bedroom when I went to get a sample of something I had in there. And he took his shirt off in front of me to try it on! He was harmless but it gave me the creeps.

OFF TOPIC would everyone please do their best to check posts for typos? It's hard to read when there are many mistakes, so take an extra second to correct errors. Thanks! Hope it's not out of place for me to say this but being a former proofreader I see them all, lol :D

[Lizardbeth]

Okay, Regina. I got a chuckle out of that. I would have been a bit creeped out, too, harmless or not. Seeing your client naked even from the waste up is just not part of what you think of in sales!

I digress here, but following you into your bedroom is almost (LOL) as having a client try to read over your shoulder when you're trying to calculate pricing on the calculator during a meeting. Then again, I should be selling straight out of the catalog, right????

Anyway, I do have the basement office space so that part isn't an issue for me . . . naked clients I mean!

Anyway, thanks for commiserating with me and thanks for the chuckle at almost the end of the day!

[Tom Aufman]

My in home office has grown to 1200 sq. Ft. I have 2 doors right off my driveway. I not joking, Say, I live above my office. Nothing or anyone go upstairs into my Home. I have many people in my office. Some just stop by for a coffee and wind up buying a supply of something they see on display. I go out when I need to. I have an assistant and one salesperson housed here. It has worked well for me. I often wonder what I am going to do with all this House if I ever decide to retire? Maybe start "The School of Specialty Advertising?"....tea

[Tigerpaw]

Regina..
Amen!
Three Cheers!
Thank You!

At the risk of seeming the 'anal-type' that I know I am.. I'm that goofy guy who got good grades in English class at school.

(okay, let the flames begin!)

All best wishes.. Tigerpaw

OFF TOPIC would everyone please do their best to check posts for typos? It's hard to read when there are many mistakes, so take an extra second to correct errors. Thanks! Hope it's not out of place for me to say this but being a former proofreader I see them all, lol :D