It's a fine line between adding value to your products and DEVALUING them. I'm selling my own eBook for $15 and yes, I throw in a free eBook as a bonus. But there's only one AND it's complementary to eBook I'm selling, not just complimentary. The free eBook is a useful and relevant bonus. If I was to load up offer with 5 other bonus products, it would make whole deal cluttered and unnecessarily 'generous'. I would get fewer sales.

Until very recently I also included sales pitch 'buy my eBook for $15 TODAY and I'll throw in a free eBook.' I've taken out word 'TODAY' because I don't have any plans to withdraw free bonus tomorrow (or day after for that matter.) If you DO have a real price rise around corner or a genuine limited period offer, that's fine. However, many of Internet marketing offers I see include something like 'order by this Friday, 19 January.' and when I see same ad following month it says 'order by this Friday, 9 February.' JAVA scripts and suchlike have allowed Internet marketers to invent a new concept: a rolling 'this Friday.'

Oh, and have you seen 'buy this eBook for $29.95 TODAY and I'll give you a marketing course worth $1,495 absolutely FREE' offer? Does prospective customer really perceive free marketing course to be worth $1,495? I don't think so. The word 'credibility' springs to mind!

Finally, if you want 109 bonuses I promised, I'll try and find some of free 'Killer Reports' I've acquired over past few months. Now, let me see, which folder did I save them in...?

2) Pay attention to differences. Many times, it is easy to forget that every person is different. What you know is different than what your customer knows. You can listen much more effectively if you realize that customer might be using different terms than you, or might even be seeing things from a completely different perspective.

This is where empathy comes in very handy. As you listen, try to empathize with your customer -- put yourself into their shoes so that you can have a better understanding of their wants, needs, and fears.

3) Pay attention to feedback. To grow and survive, a company needs to adapt. In order to adapt, it has to have sufficient information to know what is needed and what is obsolete. For most of us, best source of this information is our customers. By listening to feedback and concerns of our customers, we can get a better feel for what market is looking for.

Communication is cornerstone of customer service. To increase our customers' satisfaction, we must make sure that we listen to them as carefully as we would craft our advertising. Only by listening can we meet needs of our clients and make kind of reputation that leads to success.