Are Your Customer Service Reps Expendable?

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Your customer service reps have unlimited access to your customers, yet they are often considered to be expendable and typically treated as such. Are you managing your customer service function as a cost center or as a profit center?  How much of your customers’ satisfaction is impacted by your customer service reps? Exceptional customer service is a proven differentiator. When access to information is so effortless that many products are seen as commodities, when the …

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Hostages of Time

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 Another New Year’s celebration has passed. It’s a moment each year when time stands still, providing us with a precious instant when we can reflect, and hope. It’s also a moment that makes us acutely aware just how much of our lives is controlled by the monitoring of time. In fact, I’d suggest that we are so conscious of time’s drumbeat, so busy trying to make each minute of every day productive, that we’ve become …

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Business or Busyness

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Every leader grapples with time management. Whatever your plan for the day, it’s soon altered by circumstances. And when the opportunity arrives to regain control, there’s a choice to be made – business or busyness. Checking email, opening mail, etc. are the first things many of us do when we get time. But countless hours are wasted on uncomplicated activities that demand your time and compromise your productivity. It’s easier to move from one simple …

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Bargaining for Change

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For leaders, change is a perpetual companion, sometimes arising from circumstances and sometimes by plan. When driven by strategy, change always involves a bargain. If the bargain you’re offering is not generating an adequate reaction, then there are 2 remedies. Your bargain involves an “if-then” proposition. “If you follow this methodology, then you’ll accelerate that production line.” “If you take these steps, then your profitability will be more sustainable.” “If you operate like this, then …

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The 3 Key Moments of Enduring Customer Relationships

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It’s no secret that enduring customer relationships are grounded in what the customer believes about your organization – how they feel about your commitment to their success. There are 3 decisive moments that validate the value and endurance of your customer relationships. Doing more than expected during these 3 key moments strengthens the customer’s trust in and reliance on your company, profoundly influencing why they continue to choose you. Your “First Contact” Moment: Customers care …

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3 Leadership Factors That Drive Growth

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An effective leader realizes that sustaining growth, or reigniting it, depends on the depth to which his or her people are committed. Successful, dedicated teams are bonded by more than their aspiration to achieve a shared goal. These 3 leadership factors result from the awareness that your people are your most sustainable competitive advantage for driving growth. Purpose: Commitment cannot be compelled; it must be inspired. People must choose to invest discretionary effort above and …

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5 Questions – How Leadership Drives Growth

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Over a five-year period, the financial performance of organizations whose senior leaders were highly engaged with their personnel was significantly stronger than those companies who followed a different model. Net income growth was almost 18 times higher, and stock price was nearly 3 times higher. While their high level of engagement isn’t the only reason for this exceptional performance, it is clear that leadership behaviors focused on key engagement practices consistently deliver better results. Here …

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Getting Paid

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Until you get paid, contracts are just promissory notes. You deliver the product or do the work based on a promise of payment. Your customer likely expects to pay you. Use these 3 tips to help them keep their part of the deal: Don’t extend credit to new customers without an assessment: If an order will have a large impact on your bottom line, run a credit check before signing a contract, and seek a …

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The Two Driving Visions of Change

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For some, considering a new idea or approach, a change from the current method, represents an opportunity to improve the existing. For others, it represents a threat – what if things go wrong? Conflicting perspectives, driven by people in an organization, with different experiences, who see the world differently. They are the opposing sides of a proposed change, the two driving visions of change. The supporters of change seek to challenge the current line and …

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Crafting Price Satisfaction

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When the selling/problem solving process is done well, both buyer and seller can be satisfied with the final price. To earn your price, and leave the customer feeling satisfied with that decision, preparation is the key. Use these 3 methods to maximize preparation: Start early. Ensuring that both parties will be satisfied when the deal is done begins with your decision to do more than resolve a customer’s current pain. Early in the discovery process, …

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