I am constantly amazed how often I hear the phrase "I don't have time to read, write, blog, etc" yet the average adult watches close to 3 hours of television every day. What are you doing every day to be more successful in your career? Author and Salesman Jeffrey Gitomer gives us a peek behind the curtain as to what has made him so succesful. It could be the most important six minutes of your day today!
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In today’s ultra fast paced society it can seem like a real challenge to stay connected with others. Networking in business is such a valuable, proven tool that it is a shame that many people feel they don’t have the time to network. However, social media sites such as Facebook and Linkedin are tools that offer great ways for staying in touch with others. If you think social media is all play and no work, then you don’t know what you’re missing!
Relationship and Networking expert Keith Ferrazzi gives us 5 ways you can stay connected using social media. Check out the list below and see how you can put one or more of these ways to use today to help you grow your network and business! 1. The Good Samaritan: Scroll through your Facebook or LinkedIn wall and find two people you can help. Remember, it doesn’t have to be something big. Even a cheerful “hello” can be helpful some days. But you might be surprised how easy it is to find more specific opportunities to help when you go looking. 2. The Resume Builder I: Go to LinkedIn and write a recommendation for someone whose work you admire. 3. The Resume Builder II: Ask a former boss whom you know appreciated your work to write a recommendation for you. Let them know one great sentence is really all you need! (I guarantee you that nine times out of ten you’ll get more than just a sentence.) 4. The Positively Postal: Make list of people with birthdays and anniversaries in Feb or March. Buy cards, sign, stamp, and send. A month of goodwill created in less time than it would take to watch Law and Order! 5. The Conversation Starter: Leave a comment – or better yet, a question – on a blog post or status update that doesn’t yet have any comments. Or… why not…. Share your favorite relationship-building “mission” with the community here. If you peruse the Business section of your local bookstore and/or your favorite online bookstore you will find no shortage of books written on the subject of getting more business or winning more customers. Yet in today’s business environment the one quality that seems so often to be missing with many companies, is good service. There is nothing more frustrating when you are a consumer than when you receive poor service or you get the feeling that a company could care less whether you continue to buy their products or not. What companies seem to forget is how willing and likely consumers are to share their bad news or tell their friends and co-workers about who not to do business with.
Here are 10 easy steps you can follow to ensure you drive your customers away: 1. Don’t call your customers back when you promise them you will 2. Spend more time telling your customers what you can’t do instead of what you can do 3. Ignore your customers by not staying in contact with them 4. Provide poor after sale service 5. Have a staff full of unhelpful or rude employees 6. Make your customers wait either in line or over the phone because of poorly trained staff 7. Have your customer’s phone calls be placed on hold by an automated voice 8. Have a staff full of employees with an “I can’t be bothered” attitude 9. Provide a complicated process for your customers to file a complaint 10. Have a very difficult return process Publically traded companies often take a lot of heat from the general public (you and I) and very often it’s for good reason. It often seems that all that matters is how much money the company is bringing in or where their stock price stands at any given moment. The reality is that for-profit companies are in business for this very reason, to make a profit. No company creates a business plan and opens their doors in hopes they lose money. At the same time however, there are many great examples of for-profit companies that regularly give their time and money back to the communities where they do business. Their focus is often on the environment, our school systems and community outreach opportunities. These are wonderful and no one could argue that our world would be a much better place for our children and the next generation to come, if companies expanded these efforts. When is the last time you heard of a company giving back directly to its customer at the expense of their profits? This concept is so radical that I bet you wouldn’t easily forget. Look no further than to the chain of bakery-café’ quick casual restaurants, Panera Bread. They just announced they are opening up their third non-profit, “Pay What You Wish” location or what they call their Community Cafes.
Some may argue this is just a gimmick to attract media and good well to their company rather than having true altruistic motives. I don’t believe it is but even if it was you cannot overlook how radical this decision is and the true value they are providing to their customers. As Founder Ron Shaich states “This is not about a handout," Shaich said. "This is about a hand up, and every one of us has a need for that at some point in our lives." Panera Bread should no doubt be applauded for their generosity and taken nothing aware from what they are done; I want to focus on another aspect of this great story. A less obvious aspect of this story is the fact that Panera Bread was willing to take such a big risk. Innovative companies are willing to take strong calculated risks in order to exceed their customer’s satisfaction and at the same time, differentiate themselves from their competition. I haven’t heard of any of their competitors following suit, have you? No doubt there are some who oppose this idea and probably even some within the company who wonder if this is such a wise idea. This however is a normal response to a company taking a risk. Anytime you go against the grain so to speak you are opening yourself up to criticism and skepticism. However, there is also risk in going with the flow and continuing to do business the very same way it’s always been done for you and your industry. The definition of insanity is doing the very same things but expecting different results. If you want your company and/or your products to stand out you must be willing to take a risk. Risk is not easy and you have to be comfortable with the fact that you can potentially suffer loss. Panera Bread is not the only company that is finding success by taking a risk and going against the grain. The difference however, is they were not willing to standstill but instead they have decided to do something about it. Do you have an idea or solution that you have been thinking about but you know others will think is crazy? The question you need to ask yourself today is “am I taking a bigger risk by not taking any action?” If you surveyed sales professionals and asked them if they would rather be viewed by their customers as a sales rep. or strategic advisor, the answer would not surprise you. The question then is what does it take to become a strategic advisor? In order to reach this status, you as the sales professional need to stop merely selling and start helping your customers. This may seem for many sales professionals like blasphemy. A common response may sound something like this; “Aren’t I trained and paid to sell?” Yes, but if you focus only on selling you will continue to be commoditized by your customers. Instead, by helping and educating your customers you can become a strategic advisor and true resource for them. This is also a great way to differentiate yourself from your competition. Companies have many sales people trying to sell them their product or service but have very few who are providing what they really need, answers and solutions. As author and speaker Scott Ginsberg states “The reality is, customers don’t need more service-they need more answers.”
Those in the sales profession understand that they are really in the service profession. Serving is more than just resolving issues that arise. You serve your customers by providing them with answers as well as educating them. How different might your sales results be if you viewed your customers not as a means to pay your salary but as pupils who attend your class? How much time do you put into lesson planning? Do you show up every day ready to teach? Sales representatives mainly have transactional relationships with their customers whereas strategic advisors are able to gain entrance to higher levels within the customer’s organization. As a result, they are able to understand their customer’s objectives and goals and are able to offer answers and solution that will help their customers meet these objectives. The question then is what does helping my customer really look like in an everyday situation? Here are a few seemingly simple but impactful ways you can provide help: 1. Listening o How hard do you work at listening? o Are you truly present when you are in front of your customers? 2. Industry Research o Do you spend time understand both their business and industry? o Do you know what challenges they are currently facing? o What makes customers choose them over their competition? 3. Continually bring ideas o Are you introducing your customers to new things on a regular basis? o How often do you send your customers articles or information on ideas or products that they may be interested in? Today more than ever customers are looking for value and that value often comes in the form of help. So the question is, are you spending more time selling to your customers or helping them? Napoleon Hill, an American author who was considered a great writer on success, poised this question in his book Think and Grow Rich. Not only was this his most famous book but it’s considered one of the best- selling books of all time. The concept like so many others successful concepts in life is simplistic in its form but powerful in its impact. To be successful you need to have your own personal group of advisors or people in your life or immediate circle that can play an integral role in your development and success? Companies have Boards of Directors that fill this role and who hold the President and CEO accountable while at the same time ensuring the company is moving in the right direction. What about you? Who do you turn to when you want career advice or need help with a business problem? In other words, who sits at your table?
The old saying definitely rings true here that no man or woman is an island. Being independent is a good quality but can be taken too far when we become isolated and don’t reach out to others for advice. One of the enemies of success is the line of thinking that what worked in the past or is working now will continue to work in the future. We all need people to bounce ideas off of and who can hold us accountable by speaking truth into our lives. This of course is not a new concept. The tricky part is who should receive an invitation to your dinner party and sit at your table, so to speak? Your selection is critical as you are not looking for fans but rather those who will not be afraid of telling you what you may not want to hear. Your personal group of advisors or those who sit at your table can be divided into two categories; “Invisible and Visible Counselors”. Invisible Counselors are those who you don’t have a personal relationship with but are fed by them in other ways. Examples of these would be authors, speakers, business leaders, Religious leaders, etc. Visible Counselors then are those who can actually sit at your table with you. Some examples of these would be mentors, friends, family members, co-workers, etc. If you already have your own personal group of advisors that you trust and can rely on then you are on the path to success, whether personally or professionally. If not, according to Napoleon Hill it may have to do with readiness. “Psychologists have correctly said that ‘when one is truly ready for a thing, it puts in its appearance.’” If you were to conduct an in-depth study of the most successful, industry leading companies, you would find their success is due in no small part to their willingness to innovate. These companies understand that in order to stay ahead of the competition they must continuously innovate their products and services. They also understand that just because a product was successful in the past is no guarantee that same product will be in the future. This is the belief that if you continue to stand still for too long you will either be left in your competitor’s dust or worse run over. What happens though when you reach a point where your customers are just not willing to pay extra for this innovation? This is the challenge or problem with innovation.
In a Wall Street Journal article back in May of this year, this problem was referred to as the Umbrella Problem. “Manufacturers say that ‘they have a tough time innovating, because most people aren’t willing to pay much for an umbrella’. As a result, they are locked into a design mindset that ‘hasn’t changed in centuries.’ Even the director of product development at umbrella-maker Totes admits that ‘the umbrella is an archaic thing…it’s fundamentally a stick with spokes with a piece of cloth on it.’’ This article makes a strong point that maybe instead of the product being innovated, it is the business model that needs innovating. If the customer is not willing to pay more for an umbrella then maybe the answer is in how it is marketed and packaged to the consumer. A great example of this would be if an umbrella was packaged with a partner company like London Fog and offered a “total rain protection system.” The consumer would theoretically buy a pair of rain boots, a rain jacket and even a hat at a much higher total price. The manufacturer could then throw in an umbrella and market it as a “freebie”. Since the umbrella would be part of the total package, if the consumer loses it they could contact the company and received a free one (up to a maximum #). The “total rain protection system” subsidizes the cost of the umbrella and more importantly the consumer feels like they are getting the umbrella for free! Innovation is a great way to become a leader in your industry. Yes it requires risk, but there is also a big risk in not innovating but rather continuing to sit still. Steve Jobs states clearly the importance of innovation; “Innovation distinguishes between a leader and a follower.” If you are having a hard time finding new ways to innovate your products or services, why not look at possibly innovating your business model instead? In business, vulnerability is often incorrectly viewed as a weakness. Vulnerability is not a weakness but rather a way to build further loyalty with your clients. At the end of the day vulnerability is about service. Being more concerned about your client and their needs, than you are about yourself and your own needs. An example of this would be a salesperson willing to risk a short term sale or commission for the sake of a long term partnership. In runner’s terms, this would be training for a marathon instead of a 5K race. The word service shares the same root meaning as servant and subservience. In order to build loyalty with your clients you need to serve them or more importantly, serve them better than your competition does.
While vulnerability builds loyalty, fear is what tears it apart. Fear can be a crippling emotion and can paralyze us from taking proper risks in business. Author Patrick Lencioni explains there are three fears that prevent us from building trust and loyalty with our clients: 1. Fear of losing the business- We can become solely focused on not losing the business that we get sidetracked and our fear can become a barrier to providing the proper service to our clients. 2. Fear of being embarrassed- We incorrectly think that if we are truly vulnerable with our clients and admit the limitations that our product or service has or if we don’t have an immediate answer or solution to their question or need, then we will embarrass ourselves. The truth is we can gain further respect and built further loyalty by being honest and forthright. The one thing that most clients feel is the unknown. They don’t want to be surprised by something that they were not expecting and that will have damaging affects to their business. 3. Fear of feeling inferior- We all at one time or another have felt a sense of inferiority. Of course we all want to be respected and not treated as those we are inferior to others. However, providing great service to our clients means that we do whatever it takes to help them even at the risk of feeling inferior. Being vulnerable with your clients is not telling them what you think they want to hear but rather telling them what you know they need to hear, no matter how hard it may seem at the time. The loyalty and trust that you can build by being naked in front of your clients far outweighs the fears you may have. Go ahead, get naked! There is no better time to realize the importance of “having a guy” than when you need something done. If you have some electrical work that needs to be done in your house, most people would rather use a personal reference than gambling on an unknown company you found on the internet or phone book. In business, “having a guy” is commonly referred to as having a network. For instance, if you are unemployed, you have a higher likelihood of getting a good job through networking that you do by simply filling out an application and hoping for a call back. Networking however is not like a lawnmower that you can jump fire up when you need it. It requires time and energy and the building and maintaining of your network should be a lifestyle.
The question then is how can networking become a lifestyle when you are going a 100 mph as soon as the alarm goes off? In order for this to happen, networking cannot become just another task on our ever growing daily to-do list. If you view networking as something that you have to do instead of viewing it as a critical component of your success, you are missing the mark. Networking Expert Keith Ferrazzi‘s solution to combat this mentality is that “we must Ritualize relationship building.” “We should create a system of simple activities that you can carry over time as habits and that become as natural to you as your morning cup of coffee.” Keith gives five ideas that can inspire your own personal “Relationship Rituals:” 1. First thing every day after you turn on your computer, ping one friend and one acquaintance. 2. Every weekend, invite someone else into an activity that you normally do alone (walks, gym sessions, gardening, shopping trips). 3. Pick a day for a weekly check-in with a colleague/associate/friend, during which you share a success, a challenge, and make a commitment for the upcoming week. 4. Every Friday, send a broadcast – status update, blog post, Tweet, etc. 5. Host a monthly dinner or happy hour. At the end of the day the rituals need to be customized to fit your specific networking goals and lifestyle. The most important thing is that no matter what your rituals are that you act upon them every week. Here are a few others that work for me: 1. Bring two people together who you know want to do business together. This will instantly bring value to both of your relationships. 2. Utilize your commute time more effectively by talking to a friend or acquaintance. 3. Use social networking tools such as Linkedin and Facebook as another vehicle to keep in touch with your current network and build a larger one. If someone were to ask you what you’re passionate about, would your answer include your job or career? My guess is that for many, the answer would be an emphatic no! Is it even possible then to find passion in a job that is not necessarily your dream job? The topic of passion or lack thereof in the workplace came to me on Saturday night as I was sitting amongst thousands of fans in an Amphitheatre, enjoying my own passion in life. For me, it comes in the form of the rock band Rush. There is so much joy in being surrounded by a group of people who share the same passion. I wondered what the impact would be if this same type of passion was shared in most workplaces. Passions can be hard to describe to others who don’t share the same passion. They often seem to center around things we get to do or enjoy rather than things we have to do. This may be one reason why passion seems to be missing in the workplace. Whether you are in your chosen field or not cannot be the one determining factor. Sure, some jobs are more enjoyable than others but the question that remains is whether there is something in the workplace, preventing you from having this missing ingredient?
It is not hard to tell who possesses this ingredient in your job. It is clearly evident in their actions and how they interact with their co-workers and customers. They don’t have to tell us about their passion because their actions tell the whole story. They are not concerned with title, status or power. Instead, they find joy in the little things that most people miss. Having someone who is passionate about what he or she does is the best marketing strategy that a company can have. Unfortunately, the opposite of this is also true. As a consumer, we can all think about a time that we have interacted with someone or a group of people whose passion was clearly not in their job. However, it may not always be so easy to spot. I have a close friend who feels stuck in his current profession. He is very good at what he does but feels that his work is so often just shuffling papers around and filling his time with activities that will be deemed meaningless in the future. He has mentioned many times that he finds no passion in what he does. One could ask why not quit and find a job in an industry that you are passionate about? In many cases it is easier said than done, especially if one has responsibilities and a family to provide for. What then can one do to find passion in their current job? Here are some ideas that may help you find this missing ingredient: 1. Volunteer- Volunteering at something you enjoy can provide you with an alternative source of passion, which you may not find in your current job. 2. Choose To Be Happy- Sounds simple but simplicity is often difficult to put into action. 3. Do Something You Love Every Single Day- If you can find something you enjoy doing every day, your job won’t seem so bad after all. 4. Take Charge of Your Own Professional and Personal Development- Don’t wait for your employer to provide this. 5. Ask For Feedback- Don’t wait to hear from your boss or your co-workers. If you are not getting the feedback you need, why not ask for it? 6. Avoid Negativity- This includes negative conversations, gossip and unhappy people as much as possible. 7. Make Friends- Building friendships at work can provide a much happier work environment. |
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