Scott

Welcome! 5 Tips for Greeting Your Customer

Posted on January 5, 2015 by Scott

Last week, I wrote about the value of fresh starts. Of course, the ultimate fresh start occurs at the beginning of a new year. Last week, people all across the world greeted 2015 with a renewed sense of purpose and commitment. Among them were business owners, team leaders, and employees who resolved to improve the way they approach their work. You may have been one of them. For many, customer service remains a focus. Ninety five percent of businesses surveyed recently said that improving customer service was one of their top three initiatives for 2015. But it seems every year public perception of service drops despite promises made by companies that it is their top priority. As both a service provider and a consumer, I know how important the customer experience is to the success of any organization. That’s why I’m going to spend the next several weeks focusing my Monday article on simple customer service tips. There’s no rocket science here, just basic things that great companies get right. We’ll start where the customer interaction starts – at the beginning. Here are five simple tips to make sure your customer feels welcome in your place of business.

Greet each customer as they enter. I hate being ignored, and your customers do too. Simply greeting them as they walk through your door gets the interaction off on the right foot. Make it sincere (not the auto-robotic sounding greetings delivered by many fast food places) and don’t go overboard. You don’t want the customer to feel smothered; but greeting them acknowledges their presence and lets them know you care.
Hold the door if you are nearby. A lot of the businesses I visit seem to have forgotten common courtesy. Employees stand idly by while customers struggle with heavy doors, often juggling packages they’ve just purchased. With so many ignoring the customer on the way out, I can count on one hand the number I’ve encountered who go out of their way for customers on the way in. Impress your customers by going out of your way to hold the door for them.
Proactively ask how you can help. Often, I’ll visit a business and observe several employees standing around while one or two work a line of customers. In fact, it happened to me last night. Abby and I went to the movies on a father/daughter date. One young lady manned a register and filled orders. As we waited, I watched another employee standing to the side. He was engaged with a manager in a casual conversation and neither seemed concerned that customers were waiting. It was only after the manager noticed me watching that he came over to help. Don’t be that guy.
Acknowledge the customer even if you are otherwise engaged. Let’s say you are helping someone when another customer walks by or approaches. How do you respond? What about when you are on the phone as another customer enters? Try simply smiling or nodding your head in the new customer’s direction. Small gestures like this send the message that you are engaged and aware of their presence.
Greet customers as they enter the drive-thru. I hate pulling up to a drive-thru and being greeted by silence. I know those inside are probably assisting someone else or must be busy with another aspect of their job; but I can’t help wondering if they’ve forgotten me – or even know I’m there. I’d feel a lot better if they would just greet me and let me know they’ll be right with me.

These are only a few ideas for greeting the customer. And, as I said earlier, none are rocket science. But how you start usually determines how you finish. Make a commitment to finish strong. How will you make your customers feel welcome this year?

The Art of the Do-Over

Posted on December 29, 2014 by Scott

Now that the hustle and bustle of Christmas is over, attention turns to New Years. Across the globe, people are busy deciding where they will be and who they will be with as they count down the final minutes of the year and celebrate the arrival of 2015. For many, this also means making New Year’s resolutions – commitments to changes in behavior that will improve their lives.

According to research conducted by the University of Scranton, the most popular resolutions made for 2014 were:

Lose Weight
Get Organized
Spend Less/Save More

That same study however, also found that only 8% of those who make New Year’s resolutions actually succeed in achieving them. As soon as one week after making their resolution, 25% report they’ve already broken them. Less than half are still on track after six months. That’s an alarming rate of failure. In fact, I know a great many people who have become so frustrated with their inability to achieve their resolutions that they have decided to stop making them.

We all make promises, to others and to ourselves, that we fail to keep. We fail for any number of reasons; lack of time or money, demands placed on us from others, even random and unforeseen circumstances. But one thing that seems to act as a stumbling block for me is self-control. I sometimes find myself struggling between that which I should do and that which I want to do. For instance, I know I should jump on the treadmill in my backroom for twenty minutes but I’d rather spend that time browsing the internet or watching TV. I should buckle down and finish the big report I have due for work, but I’d rather check out what my friends are doing on Facebook. This lack of discipline keeps me from achieving the goals I’ve set for myself and cause me a great deal of frustration.

Is it any wonder then that, every December, so many of us make the same resolutions we did the year before? How can we overcome this natural tendency to lose steam and forgo the needs in pursuit of the wants? Wharton professor Katherine Milkman offers one suggestion in a strategy she calls the “fresh-start effect.”

Milkman feels that, rather than getting frustrated with our inability to stay on track, we embrace it. Knowing that our motivation to perform is strongest in the days and weeks following a milestone, we should use them to initiate a fresh start toward our goals. Here’s how she puts it:

“At the beginning of a new week, the start of a new month, following a birthday, or after a holiday from work, people redouble their efforts to achieve a goal. Why? Because in these fresh-start moments, people feel more distant from their past failures. Those failures are the old you, and this is the new you. The fresh-start effect hinges on the idea that we don’t feel as perfect about our past as we’d like. We’re always striving to be better. And when we can wipe out all those failures and look at a clean slate, it makes us feel more capable and drives us forward.”

As a kid, I loved do-overs. So did my friends. We made a point to allow a certain number of do-overs in any pick-up game we played. It allowed us to focus on being successful rather than on being a failure. I think it’s sad that as grown-ups we seem to have forgotten the art of the do-over. Not that everyone gets an unlimited amount of free passes (even as kids we only allowed one or two per game); but we can all use a fresh start from time to time.

As you look forward to 2015 and make your list of resolutions – or goals, or commitments, or whatever you want to call them – aim for excellence, not perfection. Know that you don’t always have to get it right the first time. Know that if at first you don’t succeed…well, you know the rest.

The Gift

Posted on December 22, 2014 by Scott

Christmas is my daughter Abby’s favorite time of year. She loves the lights, the TV shows, the music, and being out of school. Most of all, though, she likes the presents. Every year she lights up as each one is placed under the tree. She looks through them, trying to guess what treasure might be inside. This year, there’s and especially big box that has her almost giddy with anticipation.

As she’s gotten older, Abby has also started to understand the joy that comes from giving gifts. It’s an interesting lesson that most of us learn – the joy that comes from giving. There’s something special about finding the perfect gift for a loved one and then watching as they unwrap it. As a husband and father, I know the feeling all too well.

Another neat component of Christmas is the stories. One of my favorites was written by O. Henry (a pen name of William Sydney Porter) back in 1905. It’s the story of James and Della Dillingham, a poor couple who seek out the perfect gift for each other. In the end, they find out what giving really is.

It’s a short story, so I invite you to read The Gift of the Magi.

Here’s wishing you a Merry Christmas. May the gifts you give and receive carry the true spirit of the season.

Lead Like Santa Claus

Posted on December 15, 2014 by Scott

I was looking through some files this weekend and came across my notes from a webinar I attended a few years ago. It was entitled “The 10 Branding Secrets of Santa Claus.” According to presenter Steve Miller, these very specific and deliberate actions provide Santa Claus with “uncopyable superiority.” I love that term.

As I listened to each point Mr. Miller made, I couldn’t help but think about the potential that lies within each business. I believe we are all in a unique position to provide a level of service and partnership to our customers that simply cannot be rivaled by the competition. Those who choose to capitalize on their strengths and outhustle the rest always rise to the top. And so I thought I would share these points from the presentation with you.

The 10 Branding Secrets of Santa Claus

Santa manages expectations. If you’re good, you receive gifts. It pays to listen to Santa Claus.
Santa makes a BIG promise. Compare gifts given for any other holiday – they just don’t compare to the expectations surrounding Santa’s visit.
Santa facilitates referrals. Everyone talks about Santa. Parents even send their kids to him.
Santa creates long-term relationships. Year after year, people turn to Santa with their Christmas wishes.
Santa owns the date. From a business perspective, December 25th is Santa’s day.
Santa delivers an experience. My daughter Abby is 15. She’s known “the truth” about Santa for a long time. But she still gets super-excited every year. And I do too.
Santa owns a color. Who else wears a red suit, cruises around in a red sleigh, and totes a giant red bag?
Santa looks different. You’re not going to confuse Santa with anyone else. Attempts to copy him are laughable.
Santa reinforces his myth. Stores invite kids (and adults) to visit Santa. New movies are made about him every year. Even NORAD tracks his progress! He makes it easy for everyone to buy into his brand.
Everything about Santa walks the talk. Everything about Santa – his North Pole workshop, the elves, the reindeer, the milk and cookies by the chimney – reinforces his story and his brand.

I hope each of you are as excited about 2015 as I am. I hope these observations stir your imagination. And I look forward to working with each of you as you catapult your business into a position of “uncopyable superiority.”

Merry Christmas!

What Are the Odds?

Posted on December 8, 2014 by Scott

The odds of bowling a 300 game are 1 in 11,500.

The odds of being hit by lightning are 1 in 576,000.

The odds of getting a royal flush on your first five cards are 1 in 649,740.

The odds of winning the jackpot MegaMillions lottery are about 1 in 175,000,000.

The odds of you being born in your particular time, place, and circumstances are about 1 in 400,000,000,000.

You are a miracle. The probability of any of us being born exactly as we are is so remote, that your very presence on this earth should be a constant source of amazement. The odds of you being who you are, where you are, are so remote; your existence cannot be an accident.

You have been given a unique set of talents and interests. You have experienced a unique sequence of events that have molded you into the person you are today. There never has been, and never will be, anyone like you. You have something to offer the world.

Here’s a question for you: What do you have to offer?

Here’s another one: What have you chosen to do with it?

You are here for a purpose. The unique entity that is YOU is here for a reason. No one else can do what you do, the way you do it. Whatever it is that you bring to the table, it should not be wasted. There are people around you – right now – who need what you have to offer.

There are only a few weeks left in 2014. Pretty soon, we’ll be turning the calendar and celebrating the start of a new year. It’s a time of reflection and a time of planning. As you wind down the last few days of the year, spend a little time thinking about your unique value proposition and how you have used it to help others this year. Then, take a few more minutes and map out a plan for 2015. Think about how you can make an impact.

Most people won’t do this. They’ll celebrate, and then keep on doing the same things (or not doing them). 2015 will look just like 2014; and the world will be a little less bright because they will have chosen to keep their unique gifts to themselves.

But what if just one decided to buck the trend? What if just one made the decision to take their special talents and use them – at every opportunity – to make the world around them a better place? And what if that decision made all the difference?

What if that person was you? What are the odds of that?

Mission Accomplished: What I Learned From Winning NaNoWriMo

Posted on December 1, 2014 by Scott

I did it.

Four weeks ago I accepted the NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) challenge. The goal was to write a 50,000 word novel during the 30 days of November. I’d heard about it just a couple of days before the month started during an NPR interview with Chris Baty, with the guy who started it in 1999.

I crossed the 50,000 word goal line just before midnight on Saturday, November 29^th. I uploaded the text to nanowrimo.org in order to validate my word count and was immediately forwarded to a screen that read CONGRATULATIONS! in giant letters. While it felt good to get that kind of instant feedback from the site, the personal sense of accomplishment feels even better.

Now that November and the challenge are over, I thought I’d share a few personal observations about the process of goal achievement.

You have to set a big goal. This may seem counter intuitive. After all, if you set a goal that’s too big it’s easy to get discouraged and assume defeat before you even get started. But I think the bigger danger lies in setting a goal that’s too small. Goals that seem small invite procrastination. It’s easy to put off something that seems easy to accomplish. Knowing that 50,000 words would not be easy meant that I had to start right away. Just getting started is often the hardest part of reaching any goal.
You have to make forward progress every day. I knew that if I let just one day go by without working on my novel, I would never finish. Allowing yourself to rest is like giving yourself permission to quit. Newton’s first law of motion applies to goal achievement. A body at rest tends to remain at rest. So I made myself write some every single day. Sometimes it was only a hundred words or so, but moving forward actually keeps you moving forward.
Your work isn’t finished when the goal is reached. I achieved the official goal of writing 50,000 words; but my story isn’t finished. I still have a few more scenes to write before I can call my book complete. That means I can’t stop. As long as I have more story to tell, I’ll keep writing. As long as you have more to give, you still have work to do.
You learn more about what you still have to learn. I’m a better writer (I think) than I was a month ago; but I know I can get better. There are elements of my story that are rough and characters that need more development. So once I get through the first draft, I have to go back and refine several parts of the narrative. I’ll research the parts that gave me trouble and work on them so I can improve.
You start to thrive on the challenge. I have come to relish the sense of accomplishment I feel when reaching a personal milestone. That’s why I keep giving myself goals like this – to see how far I can stretch. It’s been said that the day you stop growing is the day you start dying. After this project is said and done, I’ll be looking for something else to test myself with.

If there’s a goal in front of you that you’re trying to reach, let me encourage you to keep going. If you don’t have one, set one. Make it big and do something to move you forward every day. Otherwise, your story will never be told. And, to paraphrase the NaNoWriMo slogan, the world needs your story.

Give Thanks. No, Really Give It!

Posted on November 24, 2014 by Scott

Tis the season to be thankful, right? By now you’ve probably read a number of Facebook posts or newspaper articles about the origins of the Thanksgiving holiday; so I won’t bore you with those details. Suffice it to say that the fourth Thursday in November has become the traditional day of the year to express gratitude for the blessings you enjoy. Now, obviously, you should be thankful throughout the year, not just on a particular day. Thanksgiving is just the day we set aside time to really think about it.

But what about those other 364 days of the year? Shouldn’t we make a special effort to express our gratitude every day? Don’t you like it when someone tells you “Thank you” or goes out of their way to show appreciation for something you’ve done?

Author and speaker Stephanie Chandler thinks so. She’s compiled a list of 12 Ways to Thank Your Customers. These are all pretty basic ideas and most of these suggestions have been discussed in our basic sales & service training classes. See how many of these you already have in place.

Greeting Cards. Think of all the major, minor, and wacky unofficial holidays on the calendar during the year. Why not send out a card to celebrate with your customer?
Personal Notes. Forget the email or form letter. Pull out the stationery and a pen. Now write a few short lines that mean something personal to your customer.
Invitations. Call up a customer and invite them to come in for some face-to-face time. Call it a portfolio review or research study. Spend some quality time listening to your customer and see what a huge impact it makes.
Small Gifts. They don’t have to be lavish or expensive. They just have to say “I was thinking of you.”
Food. We like getting food at work right? Why not return the favor?
Gift Cards. Know what your customer likes? Get them a gift card to their favorite store or restaurant. Don’t know what they like? Try Amazon!
Referral Rewards. When a customer thinks enough of you to refer new business your way, it’s time to say “Thank You!”
Reverse Referrals. I’ll bet your business customers like to receive referrals too.
Customer Appreciation Days. Plan something around Founder’s Day or Customer Appreciation Week. Or just choose some arbitrary day and make it special.
The Gift of Information. See an article or book you think might interest your customer? Why not send it their way with a special note?
Host Events. Hosting an open house or cook out is an easy way to show your appreciation.
Life Events. Did your customer receive a promotion? Did a son or daughter graduate? Did they get married, open a new location, or close a big sale? Let them know you noticed.

There’s no rocket science involved here. The key is to develop an attitude of gratitude and perpetuate it all the time – not just once a year. And if you don’t currently have an active “appreciation strategy,” now is the perfect time to start. Just pick one of these ideas and get to it.

I think it’s also worth mentioning that most of these suggestions also work for coworkers. That’s another group just begging for some appreciation. Whew, I don’t know about you; but I’ve got a lot of work to do.

Happy Thanksgiving!

P.S. Got a great way of saying “Thank you?” I’d love to hear about it.

Taking it To the Bank

Posted on November 17, 2014 by Scott

As a kid, I had a piggy bank. I don’t remember where it came from, but I do remember the thrill I would get each time I dropped a coin into it. I couldn’t see inside, and it didn’t have a plug in the bottom; so I had no way of knowing how much money I had collected. Occasionally, I would shake it, but the only way to know how much was in there would have been to break it open. And I didn’t want to do that until I knew I had filled it up. I knew that once I had put everything I could into the bank, I would have something extremely valuable. So every chance I had, I dropped another coin in.

In a sense, each of us has an internal piggy bank. Each encounter with another human being has the potential to impact who we are and how we see those around us. Positive encounters result in deposits being made. The more positive the experience, the more is deposited and the more our internal balance of positive experiences grows.

Negative interactions on the other hand, are like shaking the piggy bank upside down until change falls out. They are jarring and disorienting. They result not just in a diminished balance, but in an unsettling of what remains. And in the end, there’s a void; a space that has to be filled back in before the balance can start growing again.

But there’s a significant difference between our internal piggy bank and the one I had as a child. You see, each time you make a deposit into someone else’s bank; your balance grows by the same amount. Sometimes it grows by more. Each time you do something for someone else, each time you serve them, you benefit. The more you give, the more you get.

And of course, the opposite is true as well. Each time you shake someone else’s piggy bank – each time you withhold service or leave them with a negative perception of an interaction with you – your balance diminishes at least as much as theirs does. Sometimes you lose more.

When you think about it, the best way to grow your own balance is focus on growing someone else’s. If you sit around waiting for someone to put coins in your bank, you could be waiting a long time. But making an investment in someone else always pays off. The more you invest, the more you stand to gain.

Take a look at your customer. Take a look at your coworker. Is your relationship with them not as rich as it could be? Maybe it’s time to make a deposit.

The best thing about filling a piggy bank is that it doesn’t require large deposits. Just a few coins here and there will fill that thing up in no time. I bet if you checked you’d find you have a little to give right now. Why not invest it today?

Fighting the Future

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Scott

Tuesday was Election Day. Did you vote? All across the country, men and women took to the polls in order to make sure their voice was heard. Officials were elected or re-elected to a variety of federal, state, and local positions.

Voting is considered an important right in the United States. Once a privilege available to only a favored few, hard fought battles in our history have extended the right to vote to all citizens, regardless of race, gender, or religious affiliation. Sadly, voter turnout is often poor. Many of those eligible to vote choose not to. Some even oppose the very right they’ve been given.

For example, a key milestone in voter rights was the successful women’s suffrage movement. The 19^th amendment, which provided women the right to vote, wasn’t passed until 1920. For decades prior, groups opposed to the idea of women having a voice in elections (referred to as anti-suffragists) successfully held off the change.

And many of these anti-suffragists were women.

Groups such as the New York State Association Opposed to Woman Suffrage and the Women’s National Anti-Suffrage League (started in Great Britain) were founded by women. These individuals felt political discourse and important decisions related to public policy were best left to men. They wrote and spoke at length about the various reasons women could not, or should not, vote.

It’s amazing how hard some people will fight against that which is good for them; how hard they will look to find excuses to keep from moving forward. Of course, the harder you look for excuses, the more you find. The more you focus on obstacles, real or perceived, the more you come to believe in them. Over time, people can come to fear the new; the innovative; the unknown. Eventually they become numb to any concept of progress, preferring the warm safety of their self-imposed limitations.

This is how people become unengaged. This is why teams, organizations, and even countries become stagnant. This is why goals aren’t met, customers are underserved, and employees are frustrated.

It’s because individuals check out; sometimes without even knowing it.

Isn’t it time we reverse the trend? Isn’t it time we let go of the fear, stop making excuses, and get engaged?

Permit me to issue a challenge:

If you’re one of those who looks first for the reasons why something won’t work, I challenge you to find just as many reasons why it will.
If you’re one of those who actively fight against growth and innovation, I challenge you to try being a voice for it.
If you’re one of those who have chosen to disengage, I challenge you to get involved.

Politicians often talk about the need for change. But change doesn’t typically happen in huge, sweeping waves. It happens slowly, building momentum over time. It starts with individuals – you and me – taking responsibility for our own actions and choosing to do things differently. Small changes by each of us in the way we approach our work and our lives, expand outward – turning a small ripple into large waves of progress.

So plug in, get engaged, decide right now to make a difference. Oh, and come next Election Day – don’t forget to vote.

How to Achieve Your Goal in 30 Days

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Scott

It’s been a while since I started writing my weekly articles. Each week, I share a personal story or reflect on an event from history and attempt to tie it back to some aspect of sales effectiveness, customer service, or leadership. And each week I am honored to hear from people who say my message resonated with them.

Thank you. Your feedback means the world to me.

I love writing. I love taking abstract concepts that are floating around in my head and making them real. I love the satisfaction that comes from creating something that didn’t exist before. And I love sharing my creation with you.

It’s been said that we all have a book or two inside of us. I believe that. We all have ideas, experiences, and observations that are dying to get out. Words that need to be shared. Dreams that long to be expressed. Each and every one of us could write a multitude of books.

I’ve decided to write one of mine.

November is National Novel Writing Month. According to founder Chris Baty, the goal is to encourage each and every person to get one of their books out of their head and into written form. The challenge is to make this happen during the month of November. The first challenge took place in 1999 and drew 21 participants, each accepting the challenge to create a rough draft of their novel within 30 days.

Writing a book is a daunting challenge. Like so many other meaningful activities (dieting, exercising, and cross-selling are a few that come to mind), it can seem overwhelming. It’s something we want to do, but it seems so difficult that we just keep putting it off.

But Baty says that writing a book doesn’t have to be that hard. During an interview with him I heard on National Public Radio, he provided a handful of tips for making the process more manageable. I think these tips work for any seemingly impossible goal you might be facing.

Make a short-tem commitment. Give yourself a short window in which to achieve your goal. The more time you give yourself, the longer you’ll procrastinate. Ever spend the night before you go on vacation madly cleaning the house and tying up loose ends? It’s amazing what you can accomplish with a short deadline. So use this phenomenon to your advantage and give yourself a short leash.
Break it down. Writing a 50,000 novel seems unattainable to most people. But breaking that goal down into 30 daily increments (about 1,700 words) makes it seem so much more manageable. My weekly articles tend to run between 500 and 600 words (this one is a little longer), and I can churn them out pretty quickly. So I just need to write the equivalent of three short articles a day.
Get started. A lot of people are intimated by writing because they’re worried about the details. Maybe their spelling isn’t the greatest, or they’re afraid they’ll get some facts wrong. These are self-limiting barriers that keep us from attaining our goals. The key is to make the effort. Technique improves with practice; but you can’t get better if you never take the first step.
Embrace accountability. If no one knows you’re trying something new, then there’s no downside to giving up. Making your commitment public invites others to check in on your progress. We all need a little help to succeed, whether it’s encouragement, constructive criticism, or a good kick in the pants every now and then. So ask others to help you succeed.
Celebrate success. There will be good days and bad days along your route to achieving your goal. Our tendency is to focus on the bad ones. It’s important to stop periodically and recognize the advances you’ve made. The energy you get form seeing your progress will propel you forward. Again, having others invested in your project helps as it allows them to celebrate with you.

I’m both excited and terrified at the prospect of writing a novel. I’m going to try and keep these ideas in mind as I work my way through it. Hopefully 30 days from now I’ll have something to show for the effort. I invite you to choose a goal for yourself and join me for the ride.

Author: Scott