Do you feel tired, overwhelmed and slightly burned out? With Q4 upon us, we are in the home stretch, and we need to get our mojo back to finish strong. Do you want to crawl across the finish line, or do you want to be a winner in this race? Let’s do a little review and revamping so we go into the final quarter with the attitude of champions.

What are your daily habits? Seriously!

Do you have a morning routine that energizes you for the day ahead? Do you do some sort of exercise, reading, journaling, review of your goals, setting of intentions, meditation, affirmations? If not, why not?

Most successful people have a powerful morning routine. It doesn’t have to be long. It could be 10 minutes, but it sets the tone for the day. Give yourself every opportunity to be successful. From the list of possible choices to adopt into your morning practice, select one that you know you can commit to and then just do it!You’ll see that it does make a difference.

What do you do to advance your market intelligence? Do you read, listen to a blog, watch a video on YouTube?

Do you make lists of your intended actions for each day? Do you follow up with referrals? Do you do whatever you need to do to move one step closer to achieving your goals?

It’s time to GO-ALL-IN!

Win this game. It’s yours for the taking. Do the right thing at the right time for the right reasons!

The post Q4 Is Here; Finish The Year Strong first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

My brothers and I are grateful for the loving care Mom receives from the nurses and team. It is evident that they don’t put on a show just for us when we are visiting. Every one of them is caring, patient and attentive.

It’s service in the best sense of the word. The assistance provided is about the customer — the person who benefits from the work. Their motto is: “Our ability to respond is your whole reason for living in our community.”

Now for the other side of service. My brother, sister-in-law, daughter and I went to dinner at a local restaurant. We go there every time we visit because the service and food are excellent. But this time, while the food still rated a 10 the server was barely a 4.

How’s that? I ordered the very same dinner as my brother, but while he got chowder, I got none. My brother intervened and my chowder came. The server said, “I know you asked for the same dinner as him, but you didn’t order the chowder.” Huh?

Usually this restaurant serves popcorn with drinks, but not this time. The server’s excuse: my brother distracted her on her way to get the popcorn when he asked for my chowder. In other words, it was our fault, not hers.

My brother ordered a beer and the wrong beer was served. My brother is not a fan of fruity beers, and he can tell by the taste what is fruity and what isn’t. When he mentioned that the beer wasn’t what he ordered, the server didn’t offer to get him another. She stated, “Well, I brought you what you ordered.”

Now these little interactions are minor, aren’t they? They didn’t impact the dinners we ordered that were truly delicious. But, this server is plainly not there for the customer. She lacks the empathy and listening awareness that would enhance her serving. She takes no responsibility for missteps. There was never an apology or even an expression of regret.

We’ll go back to this restaurant and hopefully this same person won’t be our server again. And I am considering a letter to the manager, not to blast the server, but to make suggestions on how his establishment might take a look at the little things that add to excellent customer service which is one of their top values. They proclaim, “We treat people right, and that’s what makes new guests feel welcome, and regulars feel right at home.”

It’s the small things that make a big difference. Take a look at your own business, and make sure that the little things are paid attention to. Your customers certainly are noticing.

And, don’t blame the customer!

The post Blame the Customer first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

I loved this! Don’t be the guy!

It takes concentrated attention to not be the guy who causes poor service, a deal to fall through, or a deadline to be missed.

Another way to think about this is to Be the Guy!who goes the distance to make a customer happy, to deliver on time, to make the introduction that promotes business.

Whether “Don’t Be the Guy!” or “Be the Guy!”, the message is the same. Be accountable. Be dependable. When people know they can count on you to deliver and keep your word, it builds a reputation that is invaluable.

With permission from:

Sebastian De Almenara, Agency Owner

De Almenara Agency

8543 Gunn Highway

Odessa, FL 33556

813-886-5113

sdealmenara@allstate.com

The post Don’t be the Guy first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

Really?

The idea that bringing in new customers needs to be the primary goal appears to be short sighted.

Some years ago, I served as a consultant to a VP at a financial institution in San Francisco. In one of the weekly meetings with her staff, the number of new clients was thrown up on the screen, and there were smiles on the faces all around the conference table.

I asked what the retention rate was. Ooops! No one knew.

The VP requested that number for the following week’s meeting, and it turned out, sadly, that the retention rate was dismal. New clients were flowing in, and flowing out just as rapidly. No one had thought previously of tracking that number.

So we conducted a survey to learn why these new clients were leaving in droves. Briefly, they were not on-boarded with attention to customer satisfaction. Once they came aboard, they were largely ignored. The acquisition was great and exceeded expectations. But the idea of retention never entered the equation.

What are your thoughts about the statement that customer acquisition is more important than customer satisfaction? It’s a great mind twister! Let’s hear your thoughts.

The post Customer Satisfaction: Does it Matter? first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

Today is National Customer Appreciation Day

It borders on harassment. Calls, e-mails, texts are bombarding the customer, asking that they “say nice things about our service”. After having my car serviced, the person who handled the appointment and communication nearly begged me to complete the survey and give her the highest marks so she could keep her job.

I refuse to complete this sort of survey. When someone’s job is in jeopardy based on customer feedback, businesses have gone off the rails!

Another example of such tactics happened in a restaurant. The server requested that we complete the survey and asked if we could please provide the highest rankings. Otherwise his hours would be cut if he fell short of a “10” in every category.

These businesses are not seeking honest and genuine feedback. They are using customer feedback to punish their employees. What sort of manipulation is that!?

When employees are appreciated, you can be sure customers will be appreciated too!

The post Customer Appreciation Day first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.

By The Numbers

78% of consumers have bailed on a transaction or not made an intended purchase because of a poor service experience. Source: American Express Survey, 2011

3 in 5 Americans (59%) would try a new brand or company for a better service experience.  Source: American Express Survey, 2011

Did You Know?

A typical business hears from 4% of it’s dissatisfied customers.  Source: “Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner

On average, loyal customers are worth up to 10 times as much as their first purchase. Source: White House Office of Consumer Affairs.

It is 6-7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep a current one. Source: White House Office of Consumer Affairs

It takes 12 positive experiences to make up for one unresolved negative experience. Source: “Understanding Customers” by Ruby Newell-Legner

The post The Cost of Bad Customer Service first appeared on Lane Business Consulting.