I woke up this morning and wandered over to 37signals‘ most inspiring blog, Signal vs. Noise, to read Sarah Hatter pointedly asking How can anyone ever ask us why we don’t offer phone support?

At FreshBooks, we have a commitment that if you call us any time at 1-866-303-6061 from 9am to 6pm EDT Monday to Friday, one of us at the office will answer. I’d tell Sarah we don’t just do this because we’re friendly Canadians, but because it makes all the difference.

Sarah makes the fair point that as a civilization, Western companies have repeatedly stabbed a knife in the faces of their customers in the past twenty years. Try calling your local telco or bank to fix a billing issue, and you’ll likely to be on hold for 45 minutes. In this day and age, she accurately argues, no one expects to get phone support because other companies suck at it.

In a perfect world, calling a business for help would be quick, painless, productive, and human. But it’s not and it’s not going to be. That old time ideal of calling the local retailer or company and talking with someone after two rings was demolished by the call centers and overseas help desks that sprung up in the information age.

Here, I’d turn her argument around, and answer the question. The whole advantage of a small company is that they are more accessible. Indeed, she answers her own question why people want phone support.

Now, I know people want to pick up a phone and talk to a live human being. We all want assurance that our money is being spent on something maintained by human beings who speak our language and hopefully live in our same country. I get that instinct, because I share it at times.

Personally, I have to believe smart people wouldn’t trust their mission critical business to a company whose throat you can’t choke. At FreshBooks, many of our calls are people kicking the tires before they buy just to make sure we’re alive and responsive.

I’ll tell you the secret of why we answer the phone. Sarah is completely right: people don’t expect it. When we answer the phone right away, we have proved we’re a different kind of company. We demonstrate we put a priority on customer service.

Our motto here is Execute on Extraordinary Experiences Everyday. As Sarah points out, good customer service is in fact extraordinary in the sense that it’s abnormal. That’s sad because everybody wants it.

Therefore, if you want to truly brighten the day of a customer that wants to phone, answer the phone. It’s good for business! When a customer hits a wall, we can free their minds immediately by being a real human being that takes ownership of the problem and fights on their behalf. Those customers become your most loyal advocates.

So, why answer the phone? Because you can. Because it gives you a chance to turn a frustrated customer into your greatest customer evangelist. Because you’ll hear great stories from happy customers every day. And because no one expects it, and that makes you look extraordinary.

Still not convinced? Call me!

My name is Jeffrey Nichols, and I’m an independent SEO/SEM developer based in Atlanta, Georgia.

“FreshBooks is one of the most well programmed, nicest looking web-based applications I’ve ever used.”

I have a client that requires me to bill my hours with specific job codes for each project that I work on. I totally understand this because they must then bill this time back to their clients. It makes sense. But it’s a rather time consuming task. I was trying to keep track of all this using a spreadsheet in Google Docs but it was too overwhelming. So I set out to find something better.

I needed something that was Web-based so I could access it anywhere. I wanted something with a Web 2.0 look and feel, because I’m spoiled and I knew I could find it. I wanted something that would allow me to track the job codes that this client needed me to use. And finally, I needed something that could generate PDF invoices that I could send to the client in order to continue the same procedure we already had in place.

Enter FreshBooks. FreshBooks is one of the most well programmed, nicest looking web-based applications I’ve ever used. It’s super fast, super clean and you can tell that the people who wrote it actually use it. There are things that happen when you’re using it that make you say out loud “that’s what I was getting ready to look for” and FreshBooks has already taken you there.

If you bill your clients by the hour and managing it in a spreadsheet has gotten out of control, give this a try. You’ll love it, I promise.

When I was a kid, my dad would occasionally travel for work. When he did he would sometimes bring me home sand in a bottle, or once he brought me home what looked like an empty bottle, but it was actually full of warm, sun-soaked air from wherever he was returning from. He would explain that he was trying to bottle some of the things he saw and experienced so I could share them with him.

The concept of bottling experiences and excitement has always fascinated me, and I think that is why I am so drawn to the personality of Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary, for those of you who don’t know, is the man behind Wine Library TV, as well as the new book Gary Vaynerchuk’s 101 Wines Guaranteed to Inspire, Delight, and Bring Thunder to Your World, and can only be described as the most passionate “everyman” in the wine business.

I have been very fortunate to meet Gary on a few occasions, and he is a true inspiration on how to succeed in business. I only wish I could figure out a way to bottle his drive and enthusiasm for life.

Gary is a National Treasure, and not in that Nicolas Cage “I am going to steal the constitution” kind of way!

So now that I have finished my very long-winded introduction, I would love you to direct your attention to an interview we did with Gary a few months ago at SXSWi, and you will see how this guy is bringing the THUNDER!

My name is Ariel Bernard, and I’m president of DesignByAriel, Inc.. We rely on FreshBooks to keep our business running, our employees organized, and our clients smiling.

“We found FreshBooks in mid-2006 and have been in love ever since.”

Before FreshBooks, we were using four different Web- and desktop-based tools to achieve the same results. Our clients were confused, billing was time-consuming, and projects were slow to start. The bottom line was our clients wanted a solution that was easy and efficient.

Our primary requirement for selecting a new accounting and invoicing solution was something Web-based. It was the 21st century and so few of the options were in Web-based billing. We’re a Web company, with employees and contractors all over the United States. We needed a Web solution for billing that worked.

We found FreshBooks in mid-2006 and have been in love ever since. Our clients find it easy, and our staff enjoy the efficiency of the time tracking and expense recording.

If we had to choose one feature that is truly groundbreaking, it would have to be one-click invoice mailing. We spent so much time in the past preparing monthly invoicing. Now we can send out 50 invoices in five minutes. Beat that, QuickBooks!

“There is nothing like getting to your desk on Monday to see that more than half of the invoices sent have been paid over the weekend by credit card.”

Payment is second on our favorites list. We find over 80% of our clients prefer to pay with a credit card. Our clients like to handle issues at their leisure; with FreshBooks, they can settle their entire account balance at 4am on a Lufthansa flight using their MasterCard. There is nothing like getting to your desk at 8am on Monday to see that more than half of the invoices sent have been paid over the weekend by credit card.

FreshBooks is much more than billing, we also drive our entire support ticket system through the same service. There are many Web-based support ticket systems out there, but if you want your clients to actually use the system you put in place, we’ve found that a consolidated service is the only way to go. In our opinion, FreshBooks is the best all-in-one solution available.

Since 2003, we’ve been developing innovative websites, interactive web-applications, forward-thinking branding solutions, and much more. With FreshBooks as part of our arsenal, we’re billing, support, and client-management gurus, too.

Littlelines is a small, friendly development team consisting of clean design and top notch coding.

Well okay, that’s the text from our homepage. Behind the scenes, we’re two brothers who have teamed up to create awesome websites. One is a designer — the other is a developer. We think it’s a good match.

Who are you?

Matt Sears is a software developer with over eight years of experience in developing applications for the Web. Prior to Littlelines, Matt was Technical Lead at LexisNexis, a global online search engine for legal and business documents. There he led large and small teams on enterprise application development projects.

Josh Sears entered the professional world as a Graphic Designer for Scott Hull Associates, the country’s top artist agency. There he honed his skills for a half decade until finally he was considered an equal of the nation’s top artists and designers.

Josh’s work has been celebrated in such publications as HOW Magazine, Print, 3X3, and honoured by associations such as American Illustrators and Graphic Design USA.

What do you do?

Simply put, we make clean, user-friendly websites.

What was business like before FreshBooks?

Honestly? We didn’t have a business before FreshBooks. It was one of our first choices when we started the company due to the fact that we wanted a simple, intuitive process of invoicing our clients.

What is business like with FreshBooks?

Things are going great. The system is easy and pain-free. Payments have arrived smoothly and everyone seems happy. We couldn’t be happier.

So, you’re sitting there trying to decide how to finish your tax return without all the information you’re missing or not sure of, right?

Well, take a breath - and get an extension.

Your tax software service can probably do it online. If not - use Form 4868.

If you have a partnership or LLC filing as a partnership, or an estate (Form 1041) or trust (Form 1041), use IRS Form 7004.

The extensions are automatically accepted - no approval needed. Good for 6 months.

BUT, if you owe money, you need to pay. Drop by TaxWatch article at MarketWatch.com (it’s written by me) for tips on how to pay - especially if you don’t have money right now. In fact, read it BEFORE you finalize your tax return. You’re going to find one last way to cut last year’s taxes. But only if you put your tax return on extension.

Oh, let me dispell a rumor I just heard about extensions and the Stimulus Rebates. Some fool is spreading the rumor that you won’t get your rebate if you put your return on extension. That’s utter nonsense. You’ll get it. Perhaps a bit later. But it will come.

Happy Tax Day!

So there I was in McDonalds (shhhh, don’t tell) and I’m waiting in line and, honestly, I’m starting to get a tad cranky because well, if it’s called “fast food” shouldn’t it be FAST!

Well, on this particular occasion it wasn’t all that fast and my hunger pangs, magnified by the seductive smell of the fries, got me into a hyper critical state and I’m thinking all sorts of negative thoughts until I start to observe what’s going on around me.

Heck, from what I saw, those counter folks were doing things right. You might have some issues with the food itself, but the service and the sales techniques…those were right on target.

Here’s what we should learn from McD’s:

Do You Want Fries With That?

When you order a burger and the counter person asks “Would you like fries with that,” you’ve experienced a marketing tactic called cross-selling. This strategy encourages customers to purchase additional products and services that are related to the item they are already buying. Cross-selling doesn’t just work with fast food; it’s also a highly effective technique for any type of sales. Here are a few ideas to help you achieve cross-selling success in your business:

Service with a Smile

The success of cross-selling depends not only on the quality and value of the product, but also the customer service provided. Customer service begins with the very first encounter, either in person, through email, or on the phone. It’s true that you only get one chance to make a first impression. Every customer should always be greeted with enthusiasm and respect.

Listen to the Customer

Many sales opportunities arise by just listening to the customer. The simple skill of listening demonstrates that you are helpful and approachable. A good salesperson should be able to take information from the customer and inform them of all the products and services that would be benefit their needs. Customers appreciate being informed of additional products and services that could provide an added benefit to the item they already intend on purchasing.

How Well Do You Know Your Product?

Product knowledge is the key to successful sales. Successful salespeople know every detail of their products from how they work to when to use them. It’s essential that this knowledge be relayed to the customer to help them understand why they can benefit from your product. The product you are cross-selling should either be related or complementary to the original item the customer purchased. It’s unlikely to sell an add-on product or service that offers no additional value to the original product.

Don’t Forget to Ask

Many customers walk out the door without ever being asked whether they could benefit from related products. It should go without saying, but it is necessary to ask the customer whether they are interested. Even the best products and services won’t sell themselves. Sales must be initiated.

Follow-up

Numerous cross-selling opportunities are lost because the salesperson didn’t take the initiative to contact the customer regarding their original purchase. A quick follow-up call shows the customer that you truly care about their needs and not just the initial sale. This is a perfect time to find out whether they could benefit from related products or services. This simple act will open the door to a long-term sales relationship.

My name is Michael Dowling, and I’m a co-founder and developer of WeGoAll, the fraternity and sorority website design specialists.

“FreshBooks has helped WeGoAll to automate our entire client billing process.”

We’ve done the Excel thing. We looked into trying to use a built-in recurring billing feature in different payment gateways. We also thought about devoting valuable time and effort to creating our own in-house invoicing system. None of that was flexible, professional, nor cost-effective enough for our company. Then we found FreshBooks.

FreshBooks has helped WeGoAll to automate our entire client billing process. We have several different recurring billing schedules including yearly, monthly, and quarterly. With FreshBooks’ recurring profiles, we finally have an invoicing system that makes managing our accounts feasible.

To us, the most beneficial part of FreshBooks is the ability to send out snail-mail invoices.

“With the click of a button, FreshBooks can send out invoices to the client’s mailing address, including a return envelope to make paying their bill more convenient.”

Because our clients are primarily fraternities and sororities, our contact information for these organizations is always changing. The one thing that doesn’t usually change is the chapter’s mailing address. With the click of a button, FreshBooks can send out invoices to the client’s mailing address, including a return envelope to make paying their bill more convenient.

FreshBooks is a great invoicing system, and we recommend it for any business that wants to look professional and get paid on-time.

Everyone knows usability is important, but not everyone knows exactly how to go about determining if their software/web/hardware product is indeed usable. As a professional usability consultant, I would (ahem) advise that you seek the aid of an experienced usability consultant to help.

This isn’t always a practical option for lots of reasons though, so what I’d like to offer are some pointers and practical things to keep in mind when you’re developing a website or any other interactive product.

Know thy user

Above all else, always try to keep this mantra in mind when designing or developing — you are not your user. What’s obvious and simple to you may not be for the people who will be actually using your product.

By the way, you do know who you’re designing for, right? Do you know something about their skill level, geographical location, wants and needs as they relate to your product? If the answer is no, I’d suggest doing some research and asking some questions to find out.

Use established interaction standards to your benefit

If you have a choice between inventing a new, cooler way to sort tables and using the more well-known method of clicking on the column header, use the latter. Chances are that people will be familiar with this paradigm and less likely to become confused.

Now for a caveat — don’t let adherence to standards stifle your creativity and innovation. It might be the safer road, but it’s not always the best choice, so think of it like any other rule of law — sometimes it’s best to break the rules, just do so wisely!

Subscribe to usability-related RSS feeds

This is a great way to keep on top of what’s being discussed in the usability, interaction design and user experience realms. It’s also an easy way to learn and internalize what’s working and not working for others.

Some of my favorites:

• Smashing Magazine (website/RSS)
• Boxes and Arrows (website/RSS)
• UXmatters (website/RSS)
• And for fun: OK/Cancel

Sanity-checking your design is not usability testing

Don’t get me wrong, grabbing someone next to you and asking “does this make sense to you?” is often a good idea. But just don’t let this turn into “yeah, I showed it to some people and they thought it worked okay.”

There are many reasons why this type of information-gathering could lead to bunk conclusions, but primarily it comes down to the first axiom I discussed — the person in the next cube, down the hall, etc. is most likely not your target user. If they’re a software developer like you are, and they think it’s easy to use, your user may beg to differ.

More usability guidelines

These pointers are just the tip of the iceberg. If you’re interested in learning more, there’s a lot out there but I’d suggest starting with (and referring to often) this site. It contains a ton of good info for those just starting to think about usability and seasoned professionals alike.

Again, these are just some quick pointers and guidelines. There’s a lot more to the multi-faceted study and practice of usability and user experience, but hopefully this can get you started in the right direction!

My online journey to becoming a self-employed freelancer has been a story in the making, I guess. Seven months have passed since I got my first paying client, and I am now officially earning a full-time income from home as a freelance writer and pro blogger.

“I am now officially earning a full-time income from home as a freelance writer and pro blogger.”

Having been a professional chef of over 22 years it was rather scary to make the jump into self-employment, since I knew nothing else. It didn’t happen overnight.

It all started in April 2004, when I joined a network marketing opportunity. I had been very frustrated at work for some time and wasn’t happy in the hospitality industry anymore. This was mainly due to the very low pay and the constant stresses at work. Late nights and long hours at work, standing on my feet all day, and working in kitchens that didn’t have air conditioners (yep, most don’t!) wasn’t enough to keep me happy anymore, especially since I was getting older. I craved more freedom, and evenings at home.

I’m not exaggerating when I say I failed miserably in this first business. Today I know it was partially due to not having the red-hot passion we need to keep working the business when things are tough. There were also other reasons, but they go beyond the scope of this post.

“The only way I would ever be happy would be with something I was truly passionate about.”

When the realization kicked in that I wasn’t going to make it as a successful network marketer after two and a half years of giving it a lot of effort, hard work and a lifetime of savings, I knew I had to get out as long as I had some sanity left in me. So I quit! Cold turkey.

I’d had enough and couldn’t afford to waste one more dollar on a business that wasn’t me in the core of my being. So I took some time out, while going back to my “hated” job as a galley slave to help pay the bills. In that time of reflection, shame, anger and feeling sorry for myself, I suddenly realized that life had to go on. The only way I would ever be happy would be with something I was truly passionate about.

“My failed venture in network marketing made me realize how much I loved blogging and writing about Web marketing.”

As life moves in mysterious ways, I had learned a lot about the Internet, advertising, lead generation, domain registration, blogs and more while working my first business. That experience made me realize how much I actually loved blogging and writing about Web marketing.

Those were the first probing baby steps into what would soon become a journey of self-discovery and total happiness of being able to work from home, doing what I love.

Writing!