Worth the Effort

Posted on by Scott

snail-1447233_640Thanksgiving weekend at the Voland house is typically full of activity – and I’m not talking about the kind that results from Black Friday shopping. We stay far away from that madness. No, the activity I’m talking about involves a lot of yard work and home updates. Naturally, the kids don’t like it.

First, the leaves have to be taken care of. Our handful of trees seem to produce a forest full of leaves. Our pecan tree also adds an extra element to deal with as the nuts fall like missiles during the cleanup. There’s nothing like finishing a long day’s work in the yard only to see it covered once again by another layer of leaves (they just keep falling).

Then we put up the Christmas lights. There are strings on the house and others lining the front sidewalk. No matter how carefully they were put away the year before, everything manages to get tangled up coming out of the box. We have to deal with replacing bulbs and finding extension cords. Of course, my meticulously drawn map, meant to make laying things out effortless, looks like Egyptian hieroglyphics when viewed from the top of a ladder.

Finally, we turn our attention to the inside. The tree goes up and the decorations are set out. Furniture has to be moved so that everything can find its perfect holiday location. Often, this also results in some kind of major remodeling project. Through it all, the dogs watch us fight and argue with bewildered looks on their faces.

Despite the bickering and complaining, we managed to survive the decorating ordeal. You’d think that we’d give up and just stop engaging in the behavior that causes so much stress and tension. It’s surely not worth it, right?

Ah, but it is. Once the sun goes down and the Christmas lights come on, the smiles appear. We marvel at the sight. The arguments are forgotten and everyone enjoys the warm glow. Even the boys eventually agree that the struggle was worth it.

Sometimes, in the midst of the struggle, it’s easy to lose sight of the end goal. Whether it’s completing a big work project, pushing to make your sales targets, or simply decorating the house for Christmas, our tendency is to develop a short-term focus toward a long-term goal. It can be hard to see past the immediate hardship.

But we have to remember that just on the other side of difficulty lies the reward. You have to endure the struggle to reach the payoff. The things worth fighting for do indeed require a fight.

At one point during the weekend, one of the kids noted that some of our best memories are from family trips and projects that went horribly wrong. At the time, all we wanted was for the hardship to end. Looking back though, we wouldn’t trade those times for anything. I guess that means we’ll be putting up the Christmas lights again next year.

How to Make Someone’s Day

Posted on by Scott

trophy-e1448234345798Thursday morning I received an email from someone that changed my entire day. It was unexpected. It was unsolicited. But it was amazing. I’ll just share the first line.

“You may not know that you are appreciated or that your message resonates with others; but it does.”

You know those days where nothing you do seems to work? The days when none of your conversations go the way you want them to? The days when you start to question your own effectiveness and ability to make a difference? Well, this wasn’t one of those days. It was turning out to be one of those weeks.

It was only three sentences long, but this one email changed my perspective in a second. It didn’t just make me feel good; it made me feel great – like I’d won first place in a contest I didn’t even know I had entered.

You’re likely familiar with Abraham Maslow and his Hierarchy of needs. First presented in 1943 as part of a paper he titled “A Theory of Human Motivation,” Maslow’s hierarchy categorizes five stages of human development. Curious about what drives people to behave the way they do, he identified five different levels of human growth.

Level I is made up of basic survival needs – Food, shelter, air, etc. Without these, we cannot physically survive. Maslow calls these Physiological needs. One they are taken care of, we can turn our attention to satisfying our Level II need – safety. This group of needs encompasses personal and financial security as well as general health concerns.

Levels III, IV, and V start to get complicated. They are, respectively, Love & Belonging, Esteem, and Self-Actualization. As humans, we have a strong urge to feel accepted for who we are, to feel good about our place in society, and to believe we are achieving our highest potential. The surprise email I received last week sure gave me a boost in all three of these areas.

I’m betting something like this has happened to you. In the midst of a tough period – a time when you were doubting yourself or feeling unappreciated – someone reached out and gave you a lift. They had no idea how important their words would be. They had no way of knowing just how badly you needed the lift. They were just saying “I appreciate you. Thanks for what you do.”

Somebody out there needs to hear that from you.

This week, as you prepare to gather with friends and family to celebrate Thanksgiving, take a minute to think of someone you could reach out to with a word of encouragement. You don’t have to write a book. You don’t have to spend a lot of time searching for the perfect way to say it. Just let the words flow.

I guarantee you’ll make someone’s day.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Give Thanks. No, Really Give It!

Posted on by Scott

thank you wordleTis 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.

  1. 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?
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Small Gifts. They don’t have to be lavish or expensive. They just have to say “I was thinking of you.”
  5. Food. We like getting food at work right? Why not return the favor?
  6. 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!
  7. Referral Rewards. When a customer thinks enough of you to refer new business your way, it’s time to say “Thank You!”
  8. Reverse Referrals. I’ll bet your business customers like to receive referrals too.
  9. Customer Appreciation Days. Plan something around Founder’s Day or Customer Appreciation Week. Or just choose some arbitrary day and make it special.
  10. 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?
  11. Host Events. Hosting an open house or cook out is an easy way to show your appreciation.
  12. 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.