Want More Business? Do YOU Go the Extra Mile?

Every now and then something happens that so clearly reinforces what we already know we should be doing, but don't always do, that we are forced to take a look at ourselves. The story that follows may help you do just that.

I've been telling anyone who listens to me, for many months, that now (more than ever before) you need to be serving your customers in any way that you possibly can, even though that service may not result in a sale or $$$ in your pocket right now. Anything you can do to add value to your customers and help them stay in business, and do so profitably, is a very good idea. In other words, you need to go above and beyond the "call of duty"...you need to go the extra mile.

If you're reading this newsletter you probably already know that I'm a professional speaker and sales trainer. Part of my job description is that I travel. Often. I've gotten pretty good at travelling over the last few years...I can pack a suitcase and be out the door in about 5 minutes with everything I need. (having much of what you need pre-packed is the key!) I know how to navigate airports, how to travel on a plane as comfortably as possible and how to live in hotel rooms for extended periods of time. Yet, with all this knowledge and experience, last week I made a dreadful mistake.

On Sunday, May 10th, I was at LaGuardia airport in New York waiting to catch the 4:00 shuttle to Boston where I was to be working with a large publishing company the next day, training their Subscription Services (Customer Service) people on how to turn service calls into selling opportunities. I was looking forward to the workshop and as I sat in the terminal, munching on a snack while listening to my iPod, my thoughts wandered. I had checked my luggage (horrors!) because I had my laptop in a backpack and I also had a garment bag with a suit and shirts. Yes, I could have worn my suit and packed my shirts in my luggage so that I could carry everything on the plane but I needed to coach my son's soccer game just before heading to the airport and didn't want to do it in my suit. I had laid my black garment bag over the black seat next to me. When they called my flight (on time!) I gathered up my iPod, tossed away my garbage, retrieved my backpack and headed onto the plane. The US Airways shuttle flight wasn't crowded so I had an entire row to myself and life was beautiful.

As I always do, I took my phone out of my pocket and went to put it in the magazine slot on the back of the seat in front of me. I was immediately grossed out when I noticed that whoever had sat in my seat on the previous flight had eaten a banana and left the peel in the magazine slot. I figured I had two choices...press the call button and wait for a flight attendant to come and take the banana peel or get rid of it myself. I decided it would be quicker, and kinder, to handle it myself so I reached in, got the discarded banana peel and headed to the galley to throw it out. Holding it between two fingers, so as not to get leftover banana on my hand, I held it up to the flight attendant and said, "I found this in the magazine slot at my seat. Can you believe that some pig left it there?" She was very friendly and we got into a conversation about how thoughtless and inconsiderate some people are and she thanked me for taking care of it instead of calling her over to do so. I returned to my seat, feeling good about myself, started reading and quickly dozed off.

I woke up a short while later to the captain's announcement that we were starting our descent and in the fog of waking up started thinking about what I would need to do next. Gather my stuff, deplane and go wait for my luggage, get the luggage, find a taxi, get the hotel, check in, unpack and get some dinner. "Wait a minute," I said to myself..."back up." As I thought about gathering my stuff I saw a picture in my head of my backpack slung over my shoulder and my garment bag in my hand. It was then I realized that I had left my garment bag in the terminal in New York. After calling myself a lot of less-than-flattering names, I started trying to figure out how I was going to fix this situation. I couldn't appear in front of my client the next day in jeans and a t-shirt (I could, but the training wouldn't have the same effect) and it would be too late to buy new clothes that night (it was Sunday) and I needed to be at the client too early the next morning to shop for a new business outfit before the program began. I was thinking that I was going to have to catch a flight back to NY, get my stuff then catch another flight back to Boston, a time consuming and expensive proposition. As the flight attendants came by, gathering up last minute garbage, I recognized the friendly attendant, Jane, that I had spoken with before about the banana peel. I explained what had happened and asked if she had the phone number of anyone I could call at LaGuardia to see if my bag had been found. She said she had a friend who worked at the terminal and as soon as we landed she would call for me, which I thought was a really nice thing to do.

We landed, and as I was waiting patiently (okay, waiting IMPATIENTLY) to deplane I saw Jane up front talking on her cell phone. By the time I made it to the door, as the other attendants were doing their, "Buh byes!" Jane pulled me to the side and told me that she had called her friend, he had found my bag and was holding it. Somewhat of a relief but the story gets better. Jane then informed me that this flight was turning around in 30 minutes and she was flying back to LaGuardia AND was returning to Boston later that evening AND that she would be glad to bring me my bag if I would meet her at the airport when the plane landed. She asked if I would be willing to do that. Would I be willing to come back to the airport at 9:00 p.m. to retrieve my lost garment bag? You bet! I thanked Jane and gave her my business card with my cell number just in case anything happened. I went to my hotel, checked in, had some dinner and made sure I was at the airport at 8:30 so that I would be there waiting for Jane when she arrived. I'm a very positive attitude type of guy, but I have to admit my mind was filled with all the things that could go wrong with this situation, with the end result being me NOT getting my garment bag returned but at 9:00 Jane came down the escalator with my garment bag in hand. As you can imagine, I profusely thanked her as, even though this wasn't a huge inconvenience for her, it wasn't part of her job description and in my opinion, she went out of her way to help me, with no thought of getting anything in return for her kindness. In fact, I bought her two boxes of candy to say thanks and almost had to force it into her hands as she kept saying, "It was my pleasure and no problem at all."

Did I have to throw out the banana peel? Nope. Did Jane have to bring me my bag? Definitely not. To me, Jane went the extra mile with no thought of getting anything in return. She gave excellent customer service. Will Jane get something out of this event? Probably not (other than the boxes of candy) but I can tell you that I wrote a well-worded letter to the CEO of US Airways, Doug Parker, relating this story to him and praising him and his company for employing caring people like Jane AND letting him know that it's this type of service that will make me choose US Air in the future whenever possible when I fly. (and I fly a lot) While Jane may or may not ever know about the letter I wrote, or get any type of reward or commendation, the company she works for (US Air - did I mention their great service?) will get more business from me than they have in the past.

Are you going the extra mile for your customers? Would you have offered, with a smile on your face, to bring me my garment bag? Do you provide the outstanding customer service experience that Jane did, turning an occasional customer into an advocate? (you can bet I'll be retelling this story to audiences all over the world every time I talk about examples of good customer service. will that result in more business for US Air?)

Use every tool at your disposal to help your prospects and customers. Do it with NO EXPECTATION OF GETTING ANYTHING in return. My bet is that each act of going "above and beyond the call of duty" will bring more good things coming your way. Who knows, maybe even an unexpected sale or two.

Make It Happen!

Jeff

7 Tips to Keep a Customer for Life!

This article was contributed by my friend and associate Randi Busse, a customer service guru! Randi is President of Workforce Development Group, a customer service coaching and training organization. Randi works with businesses to improve the customer experience and increase customer retention. She helps you turn your customers into Raving Fans! Contact her at randi@workdevgroup.com

7 Tips to Keep a Customer for Life

How hard is it to get a customer? Last time I was shopping at Wal-Mart, they didn’t have an aisle filled with them (well, actually, they did, but they weren’t for sale, they were shopping too!). Customers typically aren’t lined up outside your place of business waiting to do business with you. And your phones probably aren’t ringing off the hook with them calling to buy your products. If they are, you can stop reading now. However, if customers are important to your business, as they are to most, once you get them, you want to make sure you hold on to them, preferably for life.

Following these tips will put you on the path of “keeping customers for life!”

Tip #1 - Be enthusiastic! If you want to WOW your customer, the way to do it is with enthusiasm. Let them know you are happy to help them and happy that they have chosen to do business with you.

Tip #2 - Use your customer’s name. Dale Carnegie once said, “There is nothing sweeter than the sound of one’s own name.” Using the customer’s name shows you are interested in them.

Tip #3 - Smile. Even if you’re on the phone, and especially when you’re on the phone. A smile can actually be heard over the phone. You will sound friendly and interested in what the customer is saying.

Tip #4 - Listen. Pay attention to what they are saying. The customer should have your undivided attention the entire time they are on the phone with you, or in front of you in your business.

Tip #5 - Express empathy. Doing so let’s the customer know that you heard what they said and that you have a genuine interest in helping them.

Tip #6 - Ask them what else you can do to help them. Show interest in them and their needs.

Tip #7 - Thank your customers for calling. There are plenty of other companies that do what your company does. And yet this customer chose to do business with you. Let them know you appreciate them and their business.

Customers for life is not a myth. It can, and should, be your reality. By following the simple tips above, you can create customers for life and turn them into raving fans. And raving fans always tell other people about their experiences!

Psssst...The Recession is Over! (Pass it on)

Are you buying into what CNN, MSNBC, the New York Times and almost every other media outlet are sending your way? Are you buying into the gloom and doom? Are you seeing the Grim Reaper, with his scythe, walking a step behind you and your career? Or, are you looking for the positive signs that things are starting to improve? Are you observing that the turn seems to have started for many? Are you looking for, and finding, the abundance of opportunities out there just waiting for you? The choice is up to you!

Several years back a friend and business associate, Jeff Keller, wrote a book titled, "Attitude is Everything!" It's a great read and I highly recommend it but I do take exception with the title. Attitude isn't everything, but it sure means a lot! You see, things aren't always as they seem and the way we "view" the world around us, in great part, creates our everyday experiences. The way we look at things, and our attitude about them, actually creates our "reality."

Let's use my favorite networking group, American Business Associates (www.aba-ny.com) as an example. Every two weeks I meet with a group of fun, interesting and talented local businesspeople for the purpose of helping each other grow our businesses. We do this by getting to know and trust each other, sharing intelligence about who we know, what we're working on and what we need as is done in most networking groups. Somewhere between 18 and 30 people attend each meeting and we go around the room introducing ourselves, giving our brief commercial and often sharing what's happening for us currently. We refer each other business whenever we can.

The interesting thing, to me, is that out of this group, almost to a person they're saying that business is very good to great! It's not that they happen to be in businesses that thrive in a recession. (e.g. - auto repair or alcohol sales) It's not that they're more talented than you or me. (although most are extremely good at what they do) It's certainly not that they're lucky. No, to a person what sets them apart from much of the rest of the world is they have the attitude that business is good for them, they expect it to continue that way and they take the actions necessary to make sure it does so. Each of the people in this group has managed to keep a smile on their face, a laugh on their lips and a positive attitude that no matter what happens to the rest of the economy they will not only survive, they'll thrive!

As a professional speaker and sales trainer I'm the first to tell you that just having a positive attitude isn't enough. In fact, in most circumstances you can have all the positive attitude you want and it sometimes makes very little difference. Next time it's raining, walk outside with a very positive attitude that it's going to stop raining immediately and see where it gets you. Not very far, I suspect, unless you happen to be more connected than I am to the "Rain Gods." But try this on for size...It can be raining and you can choose to be upset, or even depressed, about it. Or, you can change your attitude to, "Wow...what a great day to sell! Lots of people will be in their offices open to speaking with me." It's always your choice and it always makes a difference. What we expect to see is what usually shows up for us. I attended a 5-day seminar in Southern California last week and, I promise you, we were shown in example after example that what we expect to see, and what we're thinking, actually create what shows up for us unless and until proven otherwise. If you expect more doom and gloom from the economy, you're likely to get more. If you believe we can expect more bad news financially, it's going to show up.

Am I saying that less-than-great stuff isn't happening every day? Nope. Some people are losing their jobs. Some are losing their homes. Some are struggling to stay "afloat" in a sea of debt. It's happening but it doesn't have to happen to you. Some people who've lost their jobs have started their own businesses and are prospering. Some have lost their homes and while they probably would prefer to still have their home, they're happy to be free from crushing mortgages. A universal law says that for each negative there's a positive. Sometimes you have to look hard to find it but the other choice is to bask in the muck as you sink deeply into it.

For those of you looking for technique from me ("But Jeff, how do I become better at setting appointments with decision makers? How do I shorten my sales cycle?" etc.) I still teach that stuff and there's more of that coming in future columns. But, unless you get your head (your attitude) on straight you can have every "trick" in the book at your fingertips and it won't make a bit of difference.

Spend five minutes (or more) each morning as soon as you wake up "creating" your attitude for the coming day. Visualize everything going your way...meeting prospects who are happy to see you...shaking their hands after they say, "Yes, I want to do business with you!" Physically put a smile on your face as soon as you realize that you've left sleepy time and the day has begun. I do, and most who know me would tell you I'm among the happiest, most positive people they know. It's a large part of who I am and any success I have. Does that mean everything goes my way every time? Nope, but I expect it to and suggest that a lot more does go my way because of my attitude and the expectation that things will continue to do so.

You, and your attitude, shape and create not only your every day experience but your overall success in sales and in life.

Go out and Make It Happen! And be sure to let the rest the people in your world in on the secret....the recession is OVER!