2
walk a tightrope
to be in a difficult situation in which something bad could happen if you make a mistake
:
I feel as though I'm walking a tightrope between success and failure.
Tightrope: Keep your small business customers flowing
By Gladys Edmunds, Special for USA TODAY
Dear Gladys,
Repeat customers are very important to my accounting and tax preparation business. We have a couple of large corporations who are steady customers, however small business owners don't stay long. What can I do to develop my small business clientele?
Henderson J.
Those of us who are small business entrepreneurs have to be handled differently from the giant companies. One thing that comes immediately to mind is that we have a more hands-on approach than large companies. Major corporations have many departments handling various aspects of their business. However, in smaller businesses at the most you are only a couple of people away from the head of the company.
Because of this the small business entrepreneur can keep a close eye on what's going on within the company. And because of this you must be straight up and above board when dealing with them.
Let me give you an example from last year.
I have a couple of trademarks. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office notified me that one of the trademarks was due to expire. Apparently they also notified the law firm that I had originally used to secure the trademark.
The lawyer that I had worked with at the law firm had long left the firm and I didn't know any of the other remaining lawyers. Feeling that the renewal would be a simple procedure my assistant and I decided that we could file the renewal ourselves.
A couple of weeks later, before we could begin the process, a paralegal started calling for me and leaving messages on the voice mail asking for the business of renewing the trademark. Considering that I didn't know the person calling and since I had planned to do the renewal myself I didn't bother to return the phone calls. Several weeks later the lawyer whom the paralegal was working for called and spoke to me.
He gave me a quick sales pitch on how he could take care of the renewal with no hassle to me. Considering that both my assistant and I had plenty of other work to do I agreed to let him do the renewal.
A few weeks later the bills started rolling in from the law firm. My assistant places all bills in my box to look over before they are paid.
The bills from the law firm were exceptionally high. On closer look they had billed me more than $300 for leaving sales messages on my voice mail when they were trying to get me to give them the job. I spoke with the lawyer for less than ten minutes, but, I was charged for a phone conversation with him of more than three hours. I called the law firm to question the charges.
I asked why they felt that a client should pay for messages left on telephone voice mail, especially since the messages were an attempt to get my business. The woman in accounting couldn't answer and connected me to a lawyer who could explain the charges.
The lawyer said that they usually bill the client for leaving messages instead of charging it to the law firm. However, he explained that this was a practice they used with major corporations and had not considered that small businesses might object to such bills. I suggested that he revisit the bill and treat it more like a bill going out to a small business entrepreneur.
He said the three-hour phone conversation charge included conversations between the paralegal and the lawyer and also included telephone time to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
After several months of back and forth the firm finally sent a bill that showed charges that were more appropriate.
I tell you this story so that you can understand that a small business entrepreneur will screen you much closer than a large corporation. There are some practices that will call a company's honesty into question. It's possible that if a large corporation's CEO had any idea that a business would charge his company for leaving voice mails in an effort to sell something to them he would order his folks not to shop with that company.
Take a close look at how you are dealing with your small business entrepreneurs. Don't be afraid to contact a few who have left your company to learn first hand why they are not shopping with you.
A small business entrepreneur will always pay much closer attention to things going on in his business than some larger companies.
NOTES:
clientele
[singular]
all the people who regularly use a shop, restaurant etc
:
The restaurant attracts a young clientele.
hands-on [usually before noun]
doing something yourself rather than just talking about it or telling other people to do it: a chance to get somehands-on experienceof the job
He has a very
hands-on approach
to management
hands-off [only before noun]
a hands-off way of organizing something involves letting people do what they want and make their own decisions, without telling them what to do: The government has ahands-off approachto the industry.
straight upspokena) used to ask someone if they are telling the truth: 
Straight up? Did you really pay that much for it?
b) used to emphasize that what you are saying is true: No, straight up, I've never seen him before.
above board [not before noun] honest and legal:
His plans for opening a coffee shop are completely above board.
paralegal
[countable]American EnglishBOSCLsomeone whose job is to help lawyers do their work
pitch persuading [countable]informalBBTthe things someone says to persuade people to buy something, do something, or accept an idea: an aggressive salesman with a fast-talkingsales pitchhassle
1 [uncountable and countable]spokensomething that is annoying, because it causes problems or is difficult to do: I don't feel like cooking tonight, it's too much hassle.
It's such a hassle not having a washing machine.
2 [countable]American Englishinformalan argument between two people or groups: hassles with the management
screen [transitive]
1test for illnessMHto do tests on a lot of people to find out whether they have a particular illness: All women over 50 will be regularly screened.
2hide somethingif something screens something else, it is in front of it and hides it 3film/televisionAMFAMTto show a film or television programme: The film is being screened around the country.
The match will be screened live on television.
4test employees etcto find out information about people in order to decide whether you can trust them: Police are very careful when screening politicians' bodyguards.
Applicants are screened for security.
5check thingsto check things to see whether they are acceptable or suitable: You can use an answerphone toscreenyour phonecallsbefore you answer them. screen something ↔offphrasal verb
to separate one part of a room from the rest by putting a thin temporary wall or a curtain across it: The back part of the room had been screened off.
screen something ↔outphrasal verb
1to prevent something harmful from passing through: Sun lotions screen out damaging ultraviolet light.
2to remove people or things that are not acceptable or not suitable: An answering service can screen out nuisance calls.
posted on 2007-04-19 23:58
Faye 阅读(605)
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