Customer Engineering

Be real, they are watching you. 

I have often been told that when I smile my eyes light up.  Likewise, I have been told that I can share other emotions as well.  That icy look for example.  Even though I might be smiling. 

So being a visual learner and wanting to experiment;  I decided to see what happened when I looked in the mirror and smiled without smiling.  Mainly focused my mind on a smile.  I was amazed; a twinkle did appear, the eyes did smile.   Okay so what is an experiment without the other side.  I focused my mind on something that annoyed me or just made me ponder and right before my “eyes” there was a change, the twinkle was gone. 

So why am I telling you this.  As a leader, you are being watched.  Clients and team members may not say so but they can usually tell the instant they meet you if you are genuine, honest, and/or sincere. A dead giveaway is a phony smile. 

So keep it real.  I am watching you.   : )

Until next time,

Stephanie

 10 Day Mentoring Program: WWW.ReadySetEngage.com

In a recent online article by Forbes, it mentioned the 10 Things That People are Buying. For example the list includes: Smart Phones, video games and consoles, gym memberships, personal care products and my personal favorite toy building sets ie. LEGOs.

Let’s talk about what you are selling and what your team is buying AND can they sell it to your customers. In today’s climate, one product you may find yourself selling is change. Just a few thoughts on dealing with change.

First of all recognize that people are in different stages of change. Some of them are not buying into it, some of them are thinking about buying what you are selling and some of them are “in it to win it”

For the group of people that are not buying in. You want to include in your strategy an educational portion. It is true that knowledge can change fear to acceptance.

For your group that is thinking about it, your message has to include motivation. They want to keep hoping, so your job is to sell the hope.

For the group that are “in it to win it” activate them. Get them involved in the process. Let them be a part of education and motivation.

Until next time,
Stephanie

Ready, Set, Engage Action Cards:
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Focusing on the customer without connecting your people to profit
is doing business on borrowed time. The experience you provide your
team equips them with emotional leverage to inspire loyal
customers.
- Engagement affects attitude
- Team attitudes affect customer attitudes
- Customer attitudes affect financial performance
- All businesses are in the people business

People want to know what you believe and what makes them valuable
to the cause. Get the absolutes off the wall and help them live
it. Tell team members:
When you do __________
you contribute __________ to the bottom line
and that supports our core belief ____________.

Employees don’t leave companies; they leave relationships and
uncertainty. Anchor your team in the certainty of knowing and
believing. Grounded in clarity, the team can deal with difficult
customer situations or changes in the organizational direction. Get
the absolutes off the wall and into their hearts.

Until Next Time,
Stephanie

P.S. Expand your leadership brand
www.TheLeaderBuilderRecommends.com

Short and Sweet — The thing is no matter how hard you work at it, there will be complaints from clients. 

How you handle the complaint or concern determines your depth as a business and as a leader. 

One straightforward approach is to really listen to the issue and restate their concerns to them.  For example: ‘Am I understanding you were not happy with this part of our service?’ 

Then of course, you want to find a way to rectify by offering compensation according to your policy.  It may be a gift certificate, or a card sent as a follow-up that says ” thank you! Please give us another try on us!

So what if your service doesn’t involve give backs.  Your responsibility as leader is to find a way to avoid excuses and re-engage the client. 

Until next time,   Stephanie 

Short and Sweet — The thing is no matter how hard you work at it, there will be complaints from clients. 

How you handle the complaint or concern determines your depth as a business and as a leader. 

One straightforward approach is to really listen to the issue and restate their concerns to them.  For example: ‘Am I understanding you were not happy with this part of our service?’ 

Then of course, you want to find a way to rectify by offering compensation according to your policy.  It may be a gift certificate, or a card sent as a follow-up that says ” thank you! Please give us another try on us!

So what if your service doesn’t involve give backs.  Your responsibility as leader is to find a way to avoid excuses and re-engage the client. 

Until next time,   Stephanie 

The Ready, Set, Engage Path™ as introduced in my book, Ready, Set, Engage™, is one of leadership mastery, organizational alignment, team engagement and customer connection. You cannot have a successful business without the interconnection of these elements.  In this post, the focus is on customer connection.  Peter Drucker, management consultant helped clarify the idea of a profit center when he said, “The only profit center is the customer.”  I have to admit in my early days of customer partnerships, I could have been heard saying, “if only we could just manage the customer relationship.”  As a customer on the other hand, I don’t want to be managed, I want an experience.  

Customer relationship management SPEAKS - How can your company “work” the customer relationship to meet “your” internal organizational goals?   

Customer experience management LISTENS: How can your company help the customer achieve their goals while creating positive customer experiences?   

Positive customer experiences create engaged, connected, loyal customers. Loyal customers = Profit in the Profit Center. 

Action:  Create a “Make Their Day” journal and come up with ways to create positive, unique, customer experiences for your customers.