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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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.

business

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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