Always act in the customer’s best interests. If you can’t serve someone well, regardless of the reason (too busy, mismatched need), try to connect them with someone who can be of real help. If you can’t make an appropriate referral with confidence, give advice that will help your customer find a good resource: criteria to consider, places to look, people to ask, etc. Whatever you do, don’t put yourself first.
If your professional image is as cute as an emoticon, go ahead and use them. If not, refrain. Save the winks and giggles for Gr8 times with BFs with whom you M4C, LOL, and never bother with caps or punctuation!
The top 5 goals for small business owners for 2012 according to the March issue of Inc. Magazine are: Grow the business Improve relationships with friends and family Eat healthier Work out more Work less Do these look like your goals? If so, is this the way you think about them or have you taken the critical next steps?
To celebrate the arrival of winter in New England (now that it is March), I took to the slopes of a local ski area where they have installed an electronic ticket system. Each skier gets a plastic access card to slip into a pocket. Instead of waiting in line to buy tickets, you can charge your card online. When you arrive at the hill, you simply put on your skis and go. At the lift, you slide through a turnstile that lets you pass after reading the card in your pocket. At the end of the day, there are no sticky tickets or wires to remove. Furthermore, if you are interested, you can log in and see how many runs and vertical feet you skied. The ski area benefits too by reducing staff at the ticket window and no longer paying ticket checkers at the lift lines. They can also collect great market data. They know exactly who is buying tickets, when they arrive, when they leave, how many runs they take, how fast they ski, and which lifts they ride. Sound great? In many ways it is, for both customers and the business. By using existing technology and applying it to a new situation, the company providing this new system created great value. But they missed one critical step.
How often should you do strategic planning? Every year Every 3 to 5 years Whenever you suspect the competition is about to eat your lunch Whenever sales and profits fall significantly short of goals None of the above Select your answer and then read on to see if you are correct.
OK, I guess you should listen to them, but don’t just do as they say! Too often customers know what they want, but not what they need. If you worked in a hardware store and a customer came looking for a good old-fashioned night-light, you could hand him exactly what he asked for and he would leave happy. However, if you asked some questions and showed him some options, he might leave with a light-sensitive, motion-activated nightlight that only burns electricity when it is needed. He wouldn’t be happy, he’d be thrilled! The discrepancy between wants and needs does not just apply to simple examples like night-lights. I’ve had clients ask me to lead them through strategic planning. After a little discussion, it becomes apparent that strategic planning is not what they need.
No time and no money are the most frequent excuses for not doing what needs to be done. Do yourself a huge favor and drop them from your vocabulary. Time and money are just resources. No Time + No Money = Not a Priority We all have the same number of hours in a day and the reality is that far more of them are wasted than you realize, both yours and that of your employees. The waste stems from many sources: Unclear priorities and expectations Inefficient processes Mismatch of talent to responsibilities Inadequate investment in things like equipment, facilities, training, expert advice, and administrative support Lack of focus and discipline Mistakes and rework Confusion over roles and responsibilities Perfectionism and analysis paralysis Ineffective collaboration and communication. If you want something badly enough, you can make the time.
The bad news? One twelfth of the year is gone already. The good news? You’re not alone, you’ve got eleven more months to achieve your goals, and I’ve got some tips to help you out: Are your goals specific and measurable? In other words, do you know what success will look and feel like? Do you know how you will know when you are done? If not, develop a clear picture of success ASAP. Are your goals broken down into manageable parts so you can start feeling some success soon? Try writing a series of statements something like this:”I will {feel good} when I’ve achieved {this tangible outcome} by {this date}.(Work backwards to set the dates.) If those intermediate tangible outcomes add up to success, you’ve got a great plan and the ability to see and celebrate your progress.
Welcome to the Clarity Quiz! Which of these is not like the others? Annual performance reviews are too heavily influenced by the preceding couple of months. It takes a lot to overcome a negative first impression. The risks we consider most seriously reflect the factors and situations that burned us last. Our optimism about the economy increases when the stock market strings together a few good days. I always watch for bobcats out the same window. Make your selection and then read on to see if you are correct.
Wouldn’t it be great if everyone watching politicians, whether during the primary debates or the State of the Union, could use their smart phones like a clicker to signal skepticism with each uttered “fact.” If enough people “clicked,” the debate, speech, or press conference would be paused while a non-partisan fact checker intervened to either confirm the claim or tell us the truth. Initially, the endless delays would drive everyone, including the politicians, nuts. But don’t you think they would all learn to speak more carefully and accurately?