Archive for March, 2009
There are some days….
Mar 28th
training sessions on team building just don’t pan out as you expected…..
In fact sometimes it’s just not worth it!
Encouragement and belief.
Mar 27th
Ever been told you can’t do something? That you’re not good enough, that you will never succeed? I can remember a teacher at school telling me I wasn’t bright enough to pass a physics exam. I didn’t enjoy physics but passing that exam meant more to me than the others I passed.
It’s a fairly common experience to have people trying to put you down. It’s often subtle and unintentional, but it can still eat away at your confidence and belief in yourself. We need to find ways to shut out these voices to enable us to make the best of ourselves.
I’m not suggesting we should all sign up for the X factor and we will succeed if we have enough belief in ourselves, there needs to be sufficient ability in the first place! However, doubt can stop us from even trying in the first place and this doubt can be instilled by what others say to us. We can then reinforce that message by having our inner voice agreeing with them.
Here’s a great example of a Father talking to his son about basketball:
Have you ever found yourself doing what Will Smith initially does with his son? Perhaps with a friend, or a colleague, or someone in your family.
When was the last time you encouraged someone and told them how good they are?
The perfect bedside manner…
Mar 26th
My little boy is poorly at the moment, nothing too serious just one of those bugs that are doing the rounds. He needs some antibiotics though so I called the Doctor to make an appointment. He’s been the family doctor for many years, my Mother’s doctor for about 30 years now.
So I was a little surprised when I called the surgery to be told that he had retired over a month ago. :-O
I asked the receptionist if there had been any plans in place to inform his patients that he was retiring, as there was presumably a breakdown in communication as we hadn’t received a letter or an e-mail. The receptionist cheerfully informed me that letters hadn’t been sent out to any of his patients, although a note had been put up in the surgery.
Hmmm, slight problem with that though, surely you had to call up to make an appointment with him before going to the surgery?
So who is our doctor now I asked? Oh you can see anyone, she replied. (after all you are a valued customer…..)
At what point did patients become an added extra in a Monty Python sketch?
Two questions:
Do you think your customers might sometimes feel as though they get in the way of your staff doing their job?
How well do you keep your customers up to date with what is happening in your business?
Making your service memorable….
Mar 25th
There are some basic elements of the service we provide to a client, e.g. the financial warnings a call centre operative goes through when completing an insurance sale, that we need to go through and can often be dull and repetitive. Here’s one way to liven it up and help the customer enjoy the service experience!
What could you do to make your service more enjoyable and memorable?
(Great advertising for Southwest Airlines isn’t it? 
)
Preparation is everything…..
Mar 24th
Research has been carried out to find out what are the factors that can affect the outcome of a meeting, particularly in a business situation. The two most important factors identified were:
People want to feel valued
People want to deal with someone who is professional.
So, how can you achieve this?
The start of a meeting is critical, and you can quickly build the other person’s confidence and put them at ease by demonstrating that you have prepared for the meeting. If they know that you have taken the time to do some research on them, or their company, they can be confident they are dealing with a professional. They will also start to feel valued as you have taken the time and trouble to spend time preparing, so the meeting is clearly important to you.
Of course, not doing any research can have a completely different impact….
How not to start an interview
Watch how John’s body language changes completely when the interviewer starts questioning him about American Beauty. She carries on digging a hole for herself by actually doubting his assertion that he wasn’t in the film!
How well do you think the interview went after that?
Belief in your self
Mar 19th
Don’t live down to expectations. Go out there and do something remarkable. ~Wendy Wasserstein
Do you remember Paul Potts on Britain’s Got Talent? Watch the video below and look at the judges expressions before, during and after Paul starts to sing. Their reactions to him change completely during his performance, as he puts his heart and soul into Nessun Dorma.
When Paul walked out on that stage he didn’t look confident, he didn’t sound confident and he didn’t inspire confidence. If he didn’t have faith in himself why should anyone else? Once he started to sing though that all changed!
Believe in yourself…
Here’s Simon Cowell’s take on Paul (you will need to double click the video):
Simon Cowell on Paul Potts
When you meet somebody first impressions are crucial. If they don’t expect much from you, they will start to look for evidence to back up this thought process. Thankfully for Paul, his natural ability was able to rise above the initial impression he had made.
Having confidence and faith in yourself and your ability is the key to making the most of opportunities. If you check out some of Paul’s latest video clips on you tube you will see a world of difference in the aura around him. He is still shy, but he exudes far more confidence in himself. As a result expectations of what he is capable of are far higher.
Adding Value
Mar 12th
I recently carried out some coaching work with a luxury tour operator, and was working with the sales teams with the aim of looking at how we add value to the clients holiday experience.
From a company point of view they wanted the sales consultants to start selling the added extras, such as spa treatments, golf days and so on, as profit levels on these were good, and experience told them clients often booked them anyway when they were there.
There was resistance about this from many consultants, as they were price conscious. Clients were already spending an average of £5K per person on a holiday, and were intimidated about asking for even more money. This was understandable as the consultants only used to spend approximately £250 per person on their own holidays!
The (real life) example we used was of a couple that were looking to book a honeymoon in St Lucia. They were understandably very excited about it and the holiday consultant involved did a great job of meeting their requirements.
Using her knowledge of the island and the hotels she was able to recommend the ideal hotel to the prospective husband who was organising the booking.
It would be their first trip to St Lucia and the consultant advised him that the normal transfer to the hotel took approximately an hour and a half from the airport. The transfer would be by jeep and would involve going over hills on a fairly rough road. The better option would be to make the transfer by helicopter, would take 20 minutes and would give them fabulous views of the island. Yes it would cost an extra $80 each, but it would be a great treat to surprise his new bride with and a fantastic way to start their honeymoon. The client agreed and the holiday was booked.
When they returned from holiday the consultant gave them a call to make sure they were happy with the holiday, the hotel and the island. She spoke to Mary, the new bride.
Mary was delighted, the weather had been fantastic, the hotel was brilliant and she was really touched by the flowers that the consultant had arranged for them upon their arrival. The first night they had gone to the bar for a drink before their meal, and had met another couple who were also there on their honeymoon. The couples talked about their weddings, how good it was to be in St Lucia, how great the hotel was and so on.
Mary told the consultant about a specific part of the conversation:
“Wasn’t the helicopter transfer fantastic?” asked Mary.
“what helicopter transfer?” asked Julie, the second bride.
“Oh, Brian arranged it, the company we booked with told us that the normal transfer took over 90 minutes and was quite rough, so we might be better transferring by helicopter. It was worth it, because we got some fantastic views of the island and the hotel as we came in”
“Why didn’t we do the helicopter transfer?” Julie asked her husband.
“I didn’t know there was one, they didn’t tell me.” The gloomy husband replied.
The questions we asked the consultants, were
“How do you think the two couples felt about their honeymoon when they were sitting in the bar?”
“How do you think they felt about the consultant who had sold them the holiday?”
“Who had the best honeymoon?”
“Which company was recommended for future holidays?”
“Who benefitted the most from the extra $160 it cost for the helicopter transfer?”
Adding value to the cutomer’s buying experience is a benefit to everyone involved, and unless we take the time to make the client aware of all the relevant options available to them, we are doing the client a disservice.
How can you add value to your clients buying experience?
Effective Communication
Mar 12th
My son is obsessed with collecting Match Attax and was desperate for the special edition Fernando Torres and Steven Gerrard cards. We decided to have a look on ebay and managed to find one of each with auctions ending within an hour. He was over joyed when we won both auctions and we duly paid the required fees.
There were two different sellers and the buying experience for each card now started to change.
The person selling the Gerrard card immediately sent an e-mail confirming the purchase and outlining what would happen next. In the e-mail we were told to expect the card to arrive in 3-4 days and we were given contact details should there be any problems.
The card arrived on the second day, in perfect condition, delighting my son who took it into school to show his friends.
Meanwhile, we had paid for the Torres card at the same time but had heard nothing from this seller. I wasn’t unduly concerned as I had paid via Paypal, so the payment was covered, but this had no meaning or relevance to a 7 year old. So, I sent an e-mail to the seller asking them to confirm payment had been received and when we could expect the card to be posted out. No reply.
A week went by, still nothing. I checked the terms and conditions on ebay, which stated that they wouldn’t act until 2 weeks had gone past, so I sent another e-mail, still no reply. Twelve days after the auction had ended I received an e-mail, apologising for the lack of reply and assuring me the card would be with me in a day or so. It arrived 2 days later, in perfect condition.
The process with the second seller was within the guidelines laid down by Ebay, so there was no cause for complaint, and the seller has provided the service required of them and the product is exactly as described.
However, the feeling remains that the service provided by the first seller was far superior to the second, and I believe this is due to the level of communication provided. Our expectations were managed far better through effective communication. We knew what to expect and the seller actually managed to exceed our expectations by getting the card to us quicker than we expected.
The way we communicate with our customers can make all the difference in the world to how they feel about us. Manage their expectations through effective and timely communication and they are far more likely to use us again and to recommend us to others.
The manner of our communication is an indication of the level of our professionalism and how we treat our customers. What we need to remember is that our clients do not know what happens behind the scenes, all they can use to base their opnions on, is the information we supply them with. If we don’t bother to keep them up to date with what is happening, how do you expect them to feel?
By communicating with them at appropriate times with relevant information, we show that we value their custom.
How well and how often do you communicate with your potential clients?
Reaction to the economic climate
Mar 9th
A friend of mine is a Sales Director for a major PLC in the UK. He recently attended a dinner for Business Leaders where the guest speaker was Peter Mandelson. I asked him the next day how the dinner went and what Mandelson had to say. He said Mandelson’s most interesting comment came at the end of his talk when he said;
“It would be a shame to waste this recession.”
He’s right, it was an interesting view to have on the current economic climate; particularly when you compare it to the mainstream view in the media, where they seem to be competing with each other to paint the gloomiest picture possible. You know things are bad when the BBC designs a special logo to use on stories about the down turn in the economy.
A lot of Business Leaders I’ve spoken to who went through the last recession are viewing the current climate as an opportunity to review the way their company operates and to take a fresh look at the processes they have in place. They also don’t want to lose their best people and are looking at the options they have to ensure they retain them, and one of the most popular routes being taken is to provide them with training, coaching and mentoring input. Their logic behind this is that when the economy does start to turn round they will be ready to take advantage of the market conditions, as they did when the last recession came to an end, as their people will be better motivated and prepared.
I’ve also been speaking to a Divisional Sales Manager in the marketing world about how their sales people are coping in the current climate, surely times are tough for them? Not for their best sales people.
The top sales people are using the fact that a lot of companies are battening down the hatches to try and ride out the storm as an encouragement for their own clients to be more aggressive in the market place.
If for example a client had 20% of market share prior to the market shrinking, to retain order quantities they argue their client needs to chase a bigger part of the market that is out there. With other companies cutting back on advertising and promotion this isn’t as difficult as they might think. This is proving to be a successful strategy both for the sales people and also for their clients. The ability to identify opportunities and to recommend the best way to exploit them is what sets the top sales people apart. This creativity is also a quality that is really valued by a client and helps them to take a fresh look at their business, and often opens up potential new markets for them.
Peter Mandelson is right, it would be a shame to waste this recession. What’s the old cliche? When the going gets tough, the tough get going………
Yes times are tough, and it would be very easy to sit around and join in with the negativity, or you can generate your own positive self fulfulling prophecy.
Now is the time to review strategy, share best practise, get creative and look for new opportunities.
How are you doing this?
