You Are What You Sell

In my continuing quest to get in shape, or as my nephew says, "Get buff," I've taken up weight training...again. I was concerned about getting mangled because it's been awhile since I last used the equipment. So I signed up for a one-hour orientation with the "fitness trainer." I nearly popped a deltoid when she lumbered (not walked) in. She was at least fifty pounds overweight and looked like she had just rolled out of bed. I swear she was moving in slow motion. My trainer certainly wasn't the picture of fitness and my confidence in her credibility plummeted. Although she seemed to know what she was doing, it was hard for me to get motivated about training if she represented the final results.

Ironically, later that day I overheard a conversation between two people who were discussing the fact that they were looking for a new cardiologist. They didn't trust their doctor's advice because he was a chain-smoker who weighed in at about three hundred pounds.
You are what you sell.

For example:
I know a general manager of a radio station who never buys from vendors who drive messy cars. The visitor parking lot is right outside his office window. When a sales rep is calling on him, this manager checks to see if the rep's car is clean. After the meeting, he will even walk the rep out to his car so he can check the interior. If it's dirty and full of fast-food wrappers, he will not do business with that individual. He believes that if a sales rep doesn't care enough to maintain a professional image, he will be sloppy in his service delivery.

People who sell financial products are selling "hope." Their customers are hoping for financial security. That means the financial rep needs to present a picture of success. He or she must be well-dressed in tailored clothing, drive nice cars and carry a classy-looking briefcase.
In my role as The Loyalty Leader, I teach people how to build loyalty by delivering outstanding customer service. When people do business with me, they expect me to practice what I preach--the five keys to customer loyalty:

1. FAMILY
Use your customer's name at least three times in every conversation. Keep it natural sounding. -Remember personal details such as birthdays, children’s names and accomplishments.

2. FRIENDLY
Smile every time you are on the telephone. Demonstrate sincere enthusiasm when helping your customers.

3. FLEXIBLE
Think of yourself as your customer’s partner. Look for ways to bend the rules and remove service obstacles.

4. FOLLOW-UP
A follow-up phone call or handwritten note is a powerful loyalty-building tool. Thank your customers or co-workers sincerely and often.

5. FAST
Time is a person’s most precious commodity. Respect your customer's time and schedule. Regardless of what product or service your selling, your voice quality and personal image are the first thing your prospective customers will judge you on. You must convey enthusiasm, professionalism and clearly support your products through your actions. If you don't--you will not win your customer's trust or respect.

Debra J. Schmidt provides resources, sales training, customer service training and leadership training to help you keep more customers, sell more products and maximize employee performance.

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You have permission to reprint any of my articles in your newspaper, magazine, trade publication, at your Web site or in your ezine. All I ask is that you use the entire article, my byline and this identifier paragraph:

Debra J. Schmidt, a.k.a. "The Loyalty Leader®", helps companies boost their profits by leading them to greater customer, employee and brand loyalty. Learn more at: TheLoyaltyLeader.com

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sales

Take Time To Praise Your Co-workers

Have you ever found yourself wishing for an occasional pat on the back? If so, you're not alone. It's only natural to want some credit for your hard work. One of the most common complaints in the workplace is about a lack of recognition or acknowledgment for a job well done.

Don't rely on your boss for recognition. Not all bosses are trained to be effective managers. Some are too busy or stressed out to take time to praise their employees. Recognition is a two-way street. It may be that the reason no one verbalizes their appreciation for the work that you do is because they feel unappreciated themselves. How easy it is to slip into the mindset that if nobody does anything for me, I'm certainly not going to do it for others!

That cycle has to stop somewhere, and it might as well be with you. When was the last time you gave any kind of positive recognition to your boss, your co-workers or the employees who report to you? Have you recently delivered a sincere, heart-felt compliment that had no strings attached to it? Employees need that kind of emotional support in their jobs in order to feel fulfilled in their work.

You need to take time to praise co-workers who have done a great job. I once worked at a company where we had business cards that read, "Great Job," "Outstanding Job," "Exceptionally Outstanding Job." There was a place to fill in the name of the employee and your name. We could hand them out to any employee who we felt deserved the praise. It was easy to observe the pride and happiness in the faces of the recipients of these cards. They felt honored that someone had recognized the fact that they had done their job well.

Sometimes employees get so competitive they feel that saying something nice about a co-worker would cause them to give up the edge they need in order to get ahead. Or, they only say something nice because they expect something in return.

Cooperation builds success. No employees today are independent of their co-workers. No one can succeed alone, no matter how great his or her ability. Business today is more than ever a question of cooperation. People will grant your requests if you appeal to their self-interest. Keep in mind that co-workers are your internal customers. They may be in some other department, employees in your own area, or your direct supervisor.

Maybe you've always thought of them as co-workers, or as people you work with rather than for, but make no mistake--these are your primary customers.

Get six special reports loaded with tips on how to improve your workplace and build positive co-worker relationships in the Workplace Improvement Special Report Bundle.

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Patient Loyalty Begins With Doctors

Five years ago, the vice president of a large healthcare system called and said, "We're interested in hiring you to provide customer service training for the staff at all of our clinics."

A week later, I met with members of the executive team to discuss the company's training objectives. They described their goal of building patient loyalty in their outpatient clinics. They were ready to invest in a major training initiative to improve the customer service and communication skills of their clinical staff. I was excited about the prospect of acquiring a lucrative training contract with this prestigious firm.

Then I asked the fatal question, "Will the doctors be required to attend?"

The group let out a collective gasp and the CEO said, "Oh, no. This is just for the nurses and support staff. The doctors would never agree to attend customer service training. They're too busy."

I replied, "But the training will only be effective if it's a top-down initiative. Some doctors are weak in their customer service skills. Many don't set the tone for building patient loyalty because they don't treat their staff as internal customers."

The team was surprised when I told them I would need to decline the training contract unless the doctors were required to participate. I explained that I was concerned that employee morale would decline if doctors were not held accountable for delivering the same quality of customer service required by the rest of the staff.

After more discussion, the team asked me if I would be willing to present a keynote to a group of doctors as a sample of the longer training seminar. I agreed and, a few weeks later, the company offered me the training contract. I would be responsible for training all the clinical staff including the doctors.

Due to their hectic schedules, the training seminars for the doctors were held during evening hours. To my amazement, the majority of these individuals attended with an enthusiastic attitude and embraced the learning. Many admitted that they had not considered the impact of internal customer service on their own staff. They also did not realize how much their behavior toward their co-workers was a model for how the rest of the staff behaved toward the patients.

The doctors liked to poke fun at me and started calling my training seminars, "Deb Schmidt's Charm School." I didn't mind. I enjoyed their humor and was rewarded with scores of phone calls and emails from staff members thanking me for involving the doctors in the training. They indicated that there was a marked difference in the way co-workers were communicating with one another, resulting in an atmosphere of respect and consideration.

Recently, I was buying a cup of coffee when one of these physicians walked over and said, "I don't know if you remember me but I attended your customer service training a few years back. I just wanted to let you know, I'm still being nice!"

Today’s clinics are losing patients and employees in record numbers. Patient loyalty is on the decline, but many clinics are treating the symptoms instead of the causes of their patient retention problems. Set your goals to create loyal patients. But keep in mind that patient loyalty starts with the internal customers—employees and co-workers; and it’s a top-down initiative. It must start with the doctors.

In a June, 2006 Loyalty Leader Survey, 68% of respondents reported "a doctor who takes time to answer all their questions" is the most important aspect of service in a doctor's office or clinic.

Consider the following:

· If employees are unhappy, you’re probably losing patients as a result. On average, American companies lose half of their employees every four years and half of their customers every five years. This suggests that employee attrition may have a significant impact on patient loyalty.

· Workplace attitudes are significantly affected by the way employees are treated by their bosses. One of the most important aspects of improving patient retention is a total commitment by the doctors to building patient loyalty. This commitment must be demonstrated daily at all levels of the organization for the employees to clearly observe it.

· Patient loyalty is the responsibility of everyone within the organization. In order to create a loyalty-focused culture, customer service training needs to start at the top.

· Doctors also need to recognize that their employees are their primary customers. Employees deserve and expect the same caring service that is given to the patients.

· Patient loyalty is earned by consistently exceeding patient and employee expectations through outstanding service. This level of service can be achieved only when doctors are held accountable for their internal customer service skills--in other words, for how they deal with their employees and co-workers.

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business

Old Fashioned Service Still Counts

The Walgreen's chain was founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1901. It started out as a drug store with a fanatically customer-oriented owner, Charles R. Walgreen, Sr.

There is a notable and often told story of how Mr. Walgreen would deliver the drugs to his customers in the early days of Walgreens. A customer would call the pharmacy and place an order for medication. Mr. Walgreen would repeat back the order loud enough so that his assistant could hear it. The assistant would then fill the prescription and deliver the order to the customer's home while Mr. Walgreen continued the phone conversation.

Often times, the customer would need to interrupt his phone conversation with Mr. Walgreen, saying, "Oh, someone's at the door. Could you excuse me for a moment?" When he answered the door, he was surprised by the assistant, who handed him the prescription he had ordered just minutes earlier. Customers started telling their family, friends and neighbors about this amazing service. Word-of-mouth spread quickly and Walgreens expanded throughout the United States.

The type of service outlined in the Walgreen's story seems old fashioned in this day and age. High volumes of orders, lack of time, cost and staffing limitations all present barriers. But even with these challenges, it is still possible to deliver amazing customer service. As a matter of fact, it's easier than ever to exceed customer expectations. In most instances, time-starved customers don't expect your undivided attention. They simply want good, old fashioned service that is delivered by a friendly person.

It doesn't matter how great a company's customer service philosophy looks on paper, exceptional customer service is only as good as the employees who are interacting with the customers. It's really quite simple. Just follow these old fashioned principles:

• Extend old fashioned courtesies. Say "please" and "thank you" to your customers.
• Wear an old fashioned smile, even when you're on the phone.
• Warm up the conversation by taking a few extra minutes to chat with your customers.
• Treat your customers with old fashioned respect. Honor their busy schedules by removing service obstacles that waste their time, such as voicemail systems that are difficult to navigate.
• Wear clothing that reflects good taste and send a message of old fashioned professionalism.
• Demonstrate old fashioned patience when listening to your customer's concerns.
• Remember that without these customers, you wouldn't have a good old fashioned job!

You'll learn down-to-earth, good old-fashioned customer service basics from our training DVD, Achieving Customer Loyalty--Boosting Profits Through Retention.

business

Disengaged Employees Don't Care

You can bet that quarterback Kyle Orton cared deeply about his team and was committed to winning when he lead the Chicago Bears to eight consecutive victories last year. You know he was motivated when he won 10 games as a starter in his first NFL season. The team rewarded his motivation by bumping him to the position of third string quarterback. Orton was benched last year in the middle of a game, because the team was "struggling." It'll be interesting to see if he continues to care enough to do his best for the team--that is, if he ever gets a chance to play again.

Now I'm no expert on football but I was struck by how similar Kyle Orton's situation is to loyal employees who have worked hard for a company for years, only to be bumped when a new "star" is hired. They look on from the sidelines and feel unappreciated for their loyalty to the company. There are many employees who show up on time every day, treat their co-workers with respect and deliver quality work, only to be taken for granted by their managers.

The Gallup Organization, famous for it's research, estimates that 70 percent of employees are "disengaged," meaning they're no longer committed to the company. It's evident in positions from executive officers to front-line employees. This "I don't care attitude" is hurting businesses in a big way. What's going on? Why all the apathy? It could be that the wrong employees are being rewarded.

Most organizations want to blame employee apathy on wages and benefits, but they actually do not play a big role in why people stop caring about their jobs. The overwhelming majority of employees stop caring because of the way they are treated every day. Surveys show that lack of appreciation, lack of teamwork and the perception that the company doesn't care about loyal employees are consistently the highest-ranked reasons for low job satisfaction.

Many managers are nice people who manage by negative reinforcement--demonstrated not by what they do but, rather, by what they don't do. Chances are, these same managers are focusing their energy and attention on those employees with behavioral problems. If loyal employees aren't recognized and appreciated for their contributions, they'll be far less motivated to care about the success of the company. Sometimes, even the best employees will go through rough spots but will bounce back with more energy and loyalty when the company stands behind them with clearly defined expectations, quality training and positive feedback.

Gallup estimates that actively disengaged workers in the United States miss 118.3 million more work days per year than their actively engaged counterparts. Harder to measure are their higher healthcare, workers’ compensation, and safety costs.

But disengaged employees who show up and simply go through the motions of work cause the biggest problem. It's reflected in everything they don’t do and their constant complaints. It’s the negative effect their attitudes have on their co-workers and customers. This problem has become so common as to create a new word, "presenteeism."

Gallup found that the cumulative effect of disengaged employees consistently reduces customer loyalty, sales and profit margins. An "I don't care" attitude by employees translates to an "I don't care to do business with you" attitude by customers.

You can learn how attitude affects your personal and career success in Special Report #10 How to Pave Your Road to Success With a Positive Attitude

business

Beating the Pricing Pressure Blues

The owner of a small business was complaining to me that her sales are down. She told me that her customers are continually asking, "Why don't you have more sales and discounted merchandise at your store?" To try to meet their demands, she held a two-week sale at the end of December where every item in the store was discounted. She offers her customers a 10% discount every Friday, and regularly sends emails to her approximately 5,000 customers to notify them of other special sale offers.

This woman is experiencing a bad case of the pricing pressure blues. She refers to it as the "Wal-Mart mentality," where customers expect everything to always be the lowest price possible. The pressure to keep lowering and defending prices can be draining and demoralizing to business owners, customer service support professionals and sales reps. This creates a downward spiral that causes burnout and frustration. It can even cause a business to close its doors permanently.

There is no such thing as a pricing problem--only a marketing problem. If you are experiencing the pricing pressure blues, it means that you have not differentiated your business sufficiently to make people more willing to buy from you. Differentiation is what makes people want to buy from you rather than buying from the guy down the street. When a business is properly differentiated, it will stand out with the customers and create a situation where customers are willing to pay the higher price. Employees rarely have to defend prices when their company successfully markets the value of its products and the expertise of its staff. Business owners and employees need to focus on differentiating their business from their competitors.

Customers are willing to pay premium prices for products and services when the perceived value is high. For example, take a look at how much people are willing to pay for a cup of coffee at Starbucks. They don't discount their products, they simply make sure each customer feels like they're getting something special for his or her money. How does Starbucks do it? They customize every cup of coffee. The employees learn and use the customers' names. They recognize that a customer's time is valuable, so the employees fly around at top speed to honor that priority. They market their coffee as the "finest," and they invite their customers to stick around and feel at home with fireplaces and wireless Internet services. When a customer walks into Starbucks, they are buying an "experience," not a cup of coffee.

Price is one of the most dangerous ways to differentiate a business. It's a lose-lose proposition because there will always be someone more desperate who will lower their price. Wal-mart does it successfully because it's huge and has access to considerable resources. Rather than fighting the Wal-mart mentality, you need to discover what makes your business, products or services unique.

Find out what matters most to your customers. Is it status, convenience, saving time, your expertise or measurable results? You need to find out how your customers are making their buying decisions for the types of products or services you offer. Ask your current customers these questions:

"What did you like about doing business with us?"
"What other companies, products or services did you research?"
"Why did you decide to buy from us?"
"How did we help you to meet your objectives?"
"What would you tell others about our company, products or services?"

Business success is all about being different in ways that provide greater value to customers. Every person and business has a WOW factor. In order to differentiate, you need to know your WOW. It's comprised of those unique characteristics that will set you apart from your competition. It gives your customers and prospects something to remember you by. When you discover and learn how to market your WOW, you can add real power to your marketing efforts, boost your sales and overcome the pricing pressure blues.

You can learn how to differentiate your business on the Teleseminar CD: What's Your WOW? How to Set Yourself Apart From the Competition.

business

Thank Your Customers Every Chance You Get

The words are simple enough to say--"thank you." Then why is it so rare for customers to hear them? What's even more rare is for customers to see those words in writing.

Consumers are starved for recognition. They want to be noticed, valued and appreciated by the people with whom they do business. A primary reason that customers stop doing business with a company is because they don't hear those words, or they're not communicated with sincerity.

Thanking your customers needs to be at the top of your daily "to do" list. When customers receive a handwritten "thank you" note with no strings attached, it is a powerful way to let them know they are truly valued.

It's easy and fun to send notes to your customers. Just set aside 10-15 minutes each day to write three notes. It's just that simple. By the end of the week, you'll have sent 15 "thank you" notes. Now, imagine if every employee in your company took the time to send three "thank you" notes each day. That's a lot of customer appreciation! Here are four ways that a handwritten "thank you" note builds customer loyalty:

1. It's unexpected.

Customers simply do not expect to feel appreciated. A simple thank you note will surprise your customers and give them something positive about your company to tell their friends. That's why it's so important to send a "thank you" with no strings attached. Don't enclose your business card or information about a "special offer." Keep the message pure.

2. It's personal.

Don't use a label for the envelope. A handwritten address and note is more likely to be opened and read by your customer. The fact that you were willing to take the extra time needed to write the message tells your customer that you are sincere.

3. It's classy.

Handwritten "thank you" notes are viewed as outdated. In the old days, it was considered a disgrace to forget to send a "thank you" note to someone who has done something nice for you. You can probably think of times when your kind deeds or gifts have gone unacknowledged. Every time a customer chooses to do business with you, he or she is giving you a gift. Employees that send handwritten "thank you" notes will stand out from the crowd because it is a classy thing to do.

4. It's contagious.

The more "thank you" notes you send, the more "seeds" of goodwill you plant. This will benefit you and the company for which you work. Your customers will recognize that you do value them. When customers feel appreciated, they are generally more pleasant and refer more business.

Thank your customers when:

-They refer a new customer. This one's important because word-of-mouth advertising is what keeps a company healthy.

-They suggest how you could improve service or other aspects of the business. When your customers feel they've been heard, they automatically feel valued.

-They reach milestone anniversaries as a loyal customer; one year, five years, ten years, etc. A little gift could be included with these "thank you" notes.

-They've been patient with service glitches such as a delayed shipping dates, long telephone hold times, web site problems, or other issues. This lets your customers know that you recognize the value of their time.

-They've made your day brighter due to their positive attitudes. It's a great way to guarantee more smiles in the future.

-They purchased a product or service based on your recommendation. Your customers haven taken some risk when they trust you enough to act on your advice.

-They compliment you, especially in front of another customer or better yet--your boss. Customers like to hear that their positive comments made a difference.

-They complain and give you the opportunity to resolve the problem. These customers care enough to give your company a second chance.

-They turn down your sales pitch because your product or service wasn't the right fit for them. Just because a customer or prospect says "no" doesn't mean there won't be another opportunity to do business with them in the future.

You can learn many more ways to thank your customers from the amazing stories in The Extra Mile: 15 True Stories of Exceptional Customer Service. This eBook is instantly downloadable so you can read it today!

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