No one’s ever died of customer service . . . have you ever seen “employees bending over backwards to perform exceptional customer service” cited as cause of death?

     Many of us who own or operate a business have no doubt wished we were dead while waiting on-hold for a techie in some obscure country that’s probably only had running water and electricity for a couple of months, to tell us how to fix a computer or electronic device in an accent so thick as to remind us that we’ve probably had better communications with a bucket of sand.       

What makes so many of us—as business and professional practice owners and operators—so reluctant to provide the kinds of clear, simple, pleasant, attentive, long-term customer care, relationship management, and service that we invariably seek for ourselves? 

     Surely, it doesn’t instill much buyer confidence in the business or professional practice whose “first face” to the public is preoccupied with conversing and looking over your shoulder to carry on a discussion about last night’s date or tomorrow’s meeting with a fellow employee—or with another person in line behind you, whom you feel certain must at least be a cousin.  Oh, and add some chewing gum to the equation. 

     Speaking of shoulders, when you are waiting patiently behind someone else’s, what’s so unreasonable about expecting the “first face” to look up at you and smile or wink or hold up a finger (no, not that finger) or simply say, “Thank you for being patient; I’ll be with you in just a moment.”  A tiny little acknowledgement takes the edge off of a service delay, and will often stave off ill customer feelings or temper tantrums . . . maybe even murder!  

     Here’s the bottom line: A sale is made or broken in the first ten seconds! and There is no such thing as a second first impression!  

AT LEAST—make sure the first person your customers come into contact with knows how to smile and be pleasant, how to act respectfully and courteously, and how to show a responsive and responsible attitude.  In fact, if you’re looking for more than overnight success, every single employee (regardless of pay, rank, or responsibility) needs to demonstrate these attributes all of the time, every day, with every encounter . . . in-person, in writing, and on the phone . . . no exceptions!  [Exceptions need training!]    halalpiar                            

For experienced consulting assistance with the design and delivery of customer service training programs that get results, fit your needs, and match your budget, contact Hal Alpiar at www.TheWriterWorks.com

Created by tunnel-visioned corporate types, the small business career trap puts a strangle hold on re-entry to the corporate world once a corporate employee has “defected” to take a shot at running her or his own business.  It’s like deportation.  Or shunning!

The reason for the tunnel visioned label has to do with the corporate assumption that you can only play football or baseball, not both.  And once you switch sports, you can nevermore recapture credibility in the field you left behind. 

   It’s a pretty ridiculous, close-minded approach in theory and on paper, but nonetheless stands as the unspoken rule in the reality of many, if not most, large companies.  “This guy couldn’t hack it with his own business and now he wants back in; he’ll only screw things up here too!”  Or: “She doesn’t know how to think like a corporate executive anymore.  Her entrepreneur instincts and mindset will only wreak havoc in our organization!” 

     Wait a minute!  You mean there’s no wealth of unique contributions a small business-experienced individual can make to stimulate the prevailing lethargy of so much corporate life?  An example?  Sure.  Banks.  Hospitals.  Publishers.  Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to start a list of losers here.  Let’s try that again.  An example?  Sure.  Show me a successful small business owner who lacks energy, or who will agreeably waste away untold hours of daily meetings that have little or no bearing on his or her responsibilities in order to play company politics!  Just one.  Show me just one!

     And isn’t it interesting food for thought that the corporation exists in the first place because the entrepreneur(s) responsible for its launch had no tolerance for the time-consuming, energy-and-resource-wasting behaviors that bog down and abort serious business growth and development, which may define the company’s current problem? 

     So, okay, maybe there aren’t lines of entrepreneurs banging down your company’s HR door, but if you can accept that small business thinking and acting could fill an important catalyst role in your organization, you might consider specialized training. 

     Watch here for future commentary on Hal Alpiar’s

“Corporate Entrepreneurship”(c) management

training programs . . . teaching corporate executives

how to think and act more like small business owners

. . . to produce increased sales and revenue streams,

enhanced customer relations, more responsive and

more responsible attitudes, and to meet and exceed

the charges of their mission statements.    

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Hal@Businessworks.US     931.854.0474

 OPEN MINDS OPEN DOORS

Let it go, let it go, let it go.

Oh, “snow”? Okay . . .

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Why is it that those most in need of breaking out of workaholic life patterns are the ones most resistant to the suggestion that they consider doing this? 

They’re afraid to let go.  Can their egos be so powerful that they can’t believe the rest of the world and their own business interests could possibly continue to survive without them?  Sometimes.  Would they rather drive themselves into a cardiac ward, or a grave, and know that they “never gave up the ship”?  Often, I believe.

I’m not talking about people who love and enjoy their work, and who thrive and flow with the challenges and joys they cultivate from the daily tasks that face them. 

 That’s probably only 5-10% of the world’s population!

I’m referring to those who prefer to live as slaves to their egos and never acknowledge the distorted thinking that engulfs them.  It’s alot like being mentally retarded.  The difference is that people with this “disorder” have the ability to choose. 

For those caught up in career stagnation, it’s too threatening to even consider change.  Instead they must invest themselves in maintaining the status quo at all costs.  As renowned therapist and author Virginia Satir points out, these people “get dried up and shriveled up” and go nowhere. 

And don’t you think this preoccupation with lethargy affects family growth and growth opportunities for those who work with them?  You’d better believe it!  Look around for status quo seekers.  They’re everywhere, harboring pain and misery . . . and transferring their own inadequacies and choices not to choose and not to change, to others around them. 

How dim the lights that light these lives.  How stagnant the businesses they run.  How rebellious the children they raise.  How inhibited their mates and partners.  How little the true brightness of life shines upon them.  

Odds are, unless you’re a shrink, you’ll never change these behaviors in someone else.  So do the next best thing: 

Surround as much of YOUR life as you can every day with people and circumstances that project brilliance and fun and positive attitudes and positive behaviors. 

Your business life and business interests (and personal life as well) will prosper by every measure.  

                                                                                                        

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Hal@Businessworks.US

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson]

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals. God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone!

BLOG POST FROM

A SPECIAL DOG

     Hey People!  My name is “Barnegat,” like the Bay—Barnegat Bay on the Jersey Shore.  It’s where I spent my youth.  I was a dumpy little tyke when I first jumped off the dock into the partly frozen February lagoon on the backside of our house that faced the open Bay. 

     Exhilerating isn’t quite the word, but I do get chills just thinking about that day.  I guess the point is—that like a lot of things in life—I just took the plunge in stride.  Maybe being young and innocent has a way of blocking off worries. 

     Sure, I was shivering when I got out and even after I shook off the freezing water and got wrapped into towels and blankets, and I have to admit that I felt relieved when Dad sprawled out across the icy dock and stretched and reached to grab me out from under. 

     Sometimes I wonder how he managed to pull me up, what with my frenzied fight or flight response going on, and me nearly pulling him in after me, but you know what?  I wasn’t worried.  He was worried.  Mom was worried.  Our neighbors were worried.  It was a bowl of worries.

     It’s funny, when I think about worrying, I think it really doesn’t accomplish anything. 

     How’s that for smart old philosophizing from a smart old (almost 11!), white-faced (but still truly adorable!) Golden Retriever?  I think worry only creates stress, doesn’t it?  And what does stress do?  Stress gives folks ulcers, and headaches, and heart attacks, and addictive habits and literally every disease and ailment in existence.  And then it finally kills people.  So why would you choose to worry?  Isn’t that like choosing . . . . . . . . .?               

     . . . besides, I’d rather choose tennis balls and chewbones.   

PAW NOTE: Barnegat was Hal’s sweetest dog (out of a dozen), who lived to be 13 and who accumulated a hundred years of love (oh, and admiration for her ability to write blog posts)!

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Hal@Businessworks.US or 302.933.0116

“The price of freedom is eternal vigilance!” [Thomas Jefferson] 

Thanks for visiting. Go for your goals. God Bless You.

Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

     One of the best interview questions you can ask a job applicant is “If I handed you a million dollars right now, what would you do with it?”  You’ll learn a whole lot more about what makes an applicant tick than you would by asking the person to explain the details of information shown on her or his resume.

     Open-ended questions put an applicant more at ease than requests for formal recitations of what you already have in front of you on paper, or can easily find out.  Open-ended questions can give you true, realistic, unrehersed insights about an individual’s ambitions, values, key relationships, sense of loyalty, spirituality, and even bad habits, among other things.  Ask and then listen.  Don’t interrupt.  Take notes. 

Oh, so you think you’d take off for the

 islands and live as a beachcomber?

     Then ask questions about the answers you get to “the million dollar question.”  Oh, so you think you’d take off for the islands and live as a beachcomber?  Which islands would you most likely consider and why?  Would you take up exotic foods and drinks?  What kinds of transportation would you take to get there?  (Fly there in a rush . . . or take your time, plan your routes, and see the sights along the way?)   

     In responding to open-ended questions, people often tell more about their real selves than what’s on a resume.  And if spontaneity and creative thinking are qualifications, you’ll get a taste of what an applicant might bring to the table.  The more you know about a job applicant, the better your odds for success with making the right employment decision.                halalpiar     

 Thank you for your service to our country.”    

     Like clicking on a seatbelt, make it second nature to reach out to anyone you meet or see who is or has been in America’s military.  Reach out to shake that person’s hand and simply say, “Thank you for your service to our country.”  You shouldn’t need to ask why.  And if you’ve ever traveled to a third world nation, you positively know why. 

 Thank you for your service to our country.”    

     This Memorial Day, let us each take a moment of silence out of our own lives and be thankful that we are even able to do that:  to be thankful for the freedom we have—to walk down the street, to express our opinions publicly without fear of reprisal, to travel between states without fear or intimidation or threats to be murdered, to pursue our careers and religious feelings and family lives in the ways that we choose, to be able to choose in the first place, to be able to vote and elect our representatives in government, to have so many dedicated young men and women serving so selflessly in our military, to have a flag and a nation we can be proud of. 

 Thank you for your service to our country.”

     There are so many more freedoms that we forget about most of the time, that even on Memorial Day, we tend to lose behind hot dogs, hamburgers, baseball, beer and soda . . . behind family and friend gatherings, ice cream, boatrides and horseshoes.  Yet these, the very things in life that count the most, come from the courageous veterans of our military who have given their very lives, their body parts, their hearts and souls for us that we might enjoy our precious rights and freedoms.

 Thank you for your service to our country.” 

    Next time, anytime, you meet or see someone who is or has been in America’s military.  Reach out to shake that person’s hand and simply say, “Thank you for your service to our country.”                halalpiar

GOT LEMONADE?

     Soaring food prices killing the restaurant business?  But now there’s smaller-portion meals on smaller plates with more parsley to look bigger which not only creates a bigger demand for parsley but also pumps up the sale of smaller dinner plates. 

     There’s a bigger demand for restaurant purchases of menu printing that makes the prices more obscure.  (And even lighter silverware, I’m told, to make the food seem heavier?  Now that’s bizarre!) 

Smart businesspeople

are creating smart

opportunities. 

     Higher gas prices increase sales and leases and rentals of hybrid fuel efficient cars.  With resultant vacation travel distances being more modest, more local resorts are buying more local advertising and offering more all-inclusive package deals to save visitors from having to drive anywhere else. 

     More foreclosures generate more creative financial services . . . and realtors are finally having to earn their commissions (or join the real workforce!).  Poor home sales have increased home repairs and renovations, and of course increased sales for Home Depot and Lowe’s. 

     Writers who can’t get their books published are writing more articles (and blogs!) which are leading to selling the books they couldn’t sell just by writing books! 

     More snow than expected sells more shovels, sweaters, gloves and candles.  More heat than is comfortable sells more air conditioners, fans, screens, shorts and T-shirts.  More rain than planned for sells more umbrellas, raincoats, hats and boots. 

     Look around you.  See what problems you and others are struggling with.  Brainstorm with yourself and see what happens!  Oh, and remember that Thomas Edison made ten thousand tries before inventing the light bulb (not 10,000 failures, he was quoted as saying, but 10,000 attempts!).  

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 Hal@Businessworks.US     931.854.0474

 Open minds open doors

 Thanks for visiting.

  Make today a GREAT day for someone! 

     If everyone in your organization knew how to deal effectively with customers, you wouldn’t need any Customer Service Reps!  

     Imagine if every customer point of contact with your employees (regardless of position, title, location, salary, or responsibility) could be met with smiling eyes and patient, understanding, cooperative attitudes . . . and then, produce knowledgable, genuinely helpful, and respectful responses . . . in person, in writing and on the phone.  A dream?  No.  Read on!  

     Think of the money you’d save and profits you could spur by not having to pay soft (non-bottom line contributing) salaries.  Think of the reputation you’d gain in the industry, the community.  Imagine how thrilled your customers would be to realize that literally ANYone they’d be speaking with in your organization would be capable of resolving any issue or problem, or addressing any need?  Impossible?  Sure, if you choose for it to be.  On the other hand . . .

     Have you ever dealt with LL Bean?  They come pretty close.  And this is not a stagnant old family business; they’ve managed to stay up with the times, even lead the way, by sticking to the basics of providing exceptional customer service at every level.  Does it pay?  You can look up their net worth, but it should suffice to say they are presently on the way to opening some 30+ new stores!

     Where to begin?  Goal-setting (See my post for May 7) and strategy development (See my post for May 2).  Then do it!  Hire a management trainer with experience in CRM (Customer Relationship Management), who will custom-design a program to suit your objective and strategies, as well as your budget.  Qualified individuals or “Tag-team” trainers will do better work than a training company of dozens or more who will be inclined to “overkill” and overcharge.                    halalpiar

[See www.TheWriterWorks.com for more information on Hal’s training background.  He designs and delivers customized customer service training programs for management and staff . . . results? . . . numerous small and mid-sized companies have been able to restructure their approaches to customer relationship management and re-direct the salaries saved to punch up revenue and profit-producing areas!]     

CLAMS

PRODUCE

 ICE   

(Outside a fresh fish and vegetable market on the Jersey Shore)

LOWEST PRICE

 JUST REDUCED!   

(On top of a House For Sale sign in Southern Delaware)

ALL BINGO

    WINNINGS FINAL.    

(On a church marquee next to a graveyard in Central New Hampshire) 

CORDSA WOOD

   FUR SEAL HEAR   

(Spray painted wood sign, back road, mountains of Northern Maine)

Post or send me some that you’ve seen recently, with some not too specific locations! 

halalpiar

Entrepreneurship?  It’s flyin’ by the seat of your pants and shootin’ from the hip! 

• It’s working late, turning out the lights and taking out the trash yourself!  It’s taking risks, but only reasonable ones! 
• It’s having nobody tell you what to do . . . but you can’t take sick days, personal days, or much of a vacation! 
• It’s being able to stop and turn on a dime! 
• It’s tough money times, physical exhaustion, a brain drain, joltingly competitive at every turn, and fed by a never-ending stream of shocking surprises. 
• But those who live it wouldn’t trade it for anything!  It’s a workaholic and business junkie all rolled into one.  It’s all about the excitement of making your idea work!

     Entrepreneurship is indeed all of those things, and more, but the common thread is attitude.  Entrepreneurs are individuals who instinctively or who have learned to believe in themselves and their ideas above all others.  They are curious, inquisitive, if not feisty explorers.  They are motivated by and focused on making their ideas work, not—contrary to popular opinion—on making money.  Money is something that happens when their ideas work.

I kood hardly even spelt ontrahprenoor, 

and now I are one!

     It’s the kids with the lemonade stands, the ones who go door-to-door selling stuff they find in their basements, attics, garages, or closets, who have entrepreneurial instincts and attitudes to begin with.  

     A common characteristic shared by many successful entrepreneurs is that they were lousy students in school, didn’t like being controlled and organized or told what to do, and would often go far beyond the simple science lab experiment, to nearly blow out the windows! 

     But these aren’t the only kids who grow up to succeed in self-owned and self-managed business!  Many others stumble into entrepreneurial attitudes along the way.  And still others are actually taught.  Entrepreneur schools and college level programs that have reached mainstream academia now crank out thousands of graduates each year. 

     Those who are “made” entrepreneurs often go on to successful careers minus many of the black and blue marks that come along with the trial and error, on-the-job learning we tend to associate with traditional “born” entrepreneurs. 

     More on this coming soon includes a bird’s eye view into specialized entrepreneur functioning in unexpected places!          halalpiar 

[See www.TheWriterWorks.com for results-guaranteed consulting help with business expansions, startups, and writing services that cater to entrepreneurs . . . over 500 new business success stories!]