Reading in Kindergarten

This past week I got to read a story to my oldest daughter’s kindergarten class as part of the class’ secret reader program. I went all out for this - dressing up as a pirate. I read “Roger, the Jolly Pirate” to the class. I even brought a treasure chest and handed out chocolate gold coins for the kids. The kids genuinely loved it and I had a great time as well.

I’m sharing this because I think there are some great customer service lessons that I learned from this experience.

First, the kids fed off my enthusiasm. Don’t your customers feed off your enthusiasm as well? When you are passionate about what you do, people can see it. Zig Ziglar defined a sale as the transference of energy. Who would you rather buy from, or even pay attention to for that matter - someone with passion or a dull person?

Second, you have to earn the right to be heard. While the First Amendment of the Constitution gives everyone the right to free speech, it doesn’t guarantee that anyone has to listen. That’s true in politics, sales, customer service and reading to kindergartners. I earned the class’ attention because I understood what they would value - creativity, interaction, and dressing up.

Third, don’t overstay your welcome. Know when to leave on a high note. I was in the class for approximately 30 minutes, maybe less. If I had stayed much longer, I would have started to blend in with everything else that was going on, the kids would have lost interest, and I would have lost my effectiveness. How often do we overstay our welcome with our customers? Do what you have to do with your customers, understand their attention span, and then let them be until next time. Trying to provide more value beyond this may actually do more harm than good.

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Travel

Over the last couple of weekends I've had the opportunity to do some traveling. As you know, two weekends ago I was in Hartford, CT. This past weekend, the family came with me out to Grove City, PA for my wife and my ten year college reunion. Here's what I've learned from my recent travels:

Always provide yourself a cushion. Whether I was traveling by myself or with my family, when we give ourselves an extra cushion of time to arrive, we can stay more relaxed. When you are planning out your business goals, are you cutting it close, or are you giving yourself enough time to actually complete the goal?

Traveling is a process, not just a result. Yeah, you are looking to arrive at a certain location at a specific time, but when you let go of the result, you can actually enjoy the ride. In my case, I enjoyed the turning leaves of New England and Central PA. We got where we were going with enough time. When you are working on your goal, are you so focused on the result that you miss other opportunities?

Lastly, take a break. I took time off and did no work while we traveled this past weekend. I didn't even check my e-mail. It was a great sense of relief. When you are working on your goals, how often do you give yourself a break? Breaks are important - they give our minds an opportunity to stop focusing on your goal. When we get back to our goal work, we are more refreshed and ready to go - usually making us more effective.

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All Roads Lead to Follow Up

A classic study of sales calls made by Dartnell and McGraw Hill produced the following fascinating statistics:

80% of all sales are made only after 5 or more contacts
48% of all salespeople give up after the first contact
25% give up after the 2nd contact
17% give up after the 3rd or 4th contact

These statistics show that 90% of the salespeople give up before 80% of the sales will ever be made!

Hartford Marathon

The marathon is over. As usual, I learned a few lessons from the race that I'd like to share with you.

First lesson - keep going. I ran 21 miles before taking a walk break. This felt great. It kept me on target to do a personal best.

Second lesson - relax. Several times during the race, I reminded myself to relax my body. This allowed me ease up my body and run easier.

Third lesson - Make your goals big. I set a goal of finishing the marathon in three hours and fifty-nine minutes. I didn't make it in that time, but I still was pleased, because it wasn't ever about reaching that goal. It was about pushing myself farther than I had been before. As a result, I did finish with a personal best - topping my old personal best by 20 minutes.

What are the lessons you are learning in your business and your life? Care to share them with anyone? You never know what you or others could learn.

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Masterminding

Masterminding seemed to be the theme of this past week. I was asked to participate in one mastermind group, facilitate another and I launch a new site of my own on masterminding.

Masterminds can be very valuable for entrepreneurs. They are opportunities to bounce their ideas off of other entrepreneurs. The feedback the participants receive can make a huge impact.

Who do you bounce your ideas off of? Who can give you honest feedback? Who pokes holes in your ideas?

These are the things that masterminds can offer. If you are interested in masterminding but are not sure how to get started, please give me a call at 717-557-5001 or drop me an e-mail and I'll share what I know or invite you to one of the mastermind groups I'm involved with.

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Getting Stuff Done

This was a good week when it comes to goals. I was pleased to accomplish several of my strategic goals this week. Of course, it's a great feeling to accomplish goals - however, I'd say it's more important to understand what allowed me to accomplish so much.

So what happened that allowed me to get so much done? First, I was focused. I knew exactly what I needed to accomplish. I allowed myself to be specific. When I'm specific, I know what the end result looks like.

Second - I faced and overcame obstacles. A big change that happened over the last few weeks was a change in thinking about the obstacle I faced. I was able to overcome my own challenge because my belief about the old way of doing things was no longer acceptable. When this thought changed, so did my behavior. I did the thing I had been dreading previously and I did it without effort.

So what do you need to do to get stuff done this week? What's the biggest goal that have for the week? What obstacles are you facing? Let me know if you need some help.

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