I recently stumbled across this quote by Steve Jobs. The reason I’m posting about it is because I enjoy hearing people discuss the thought of breaking away from what is safe and commonplace. The world is powered by boring people and changed and pushed forward by people that think differently. These people are not afraid to be remarkable or break the status quo . My goal is continue to drive in a different direction (not literally) and create change in the business world. Through my college career I have found that most teachers are boring and afraid of change. College seems to be more about learning how to do things the safe way so you can get a job with a boring Fortune 500 company. That isn’t what life should be about, I should be learning how to make a difference and how to share my ideas with fellow businesspeople. I’m sure you have read this before but here it is anyway: If you quit your job today and could follow your dream, where would it take you and what work would you do? Leave me a comment about it, I’m excited to see your thoughts.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma - which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
-Steve Jobs
Every time I go into my local Starbucks, I’m never let down. The coffee is always consistent and there is always a student or businessperson diligently studying in a corner. It has always amazed me that people are able to focus and get all their work done in that type of environment. I am the type of person that needs to be able bounce from task to task, to complete many. At Starbucks, I get to busy watching people and trying to figure out why they are meeting other people, what projects they are working on, and any of a number of other things.
So this leads me to ask you, where is your favorite place to get things done?
Until now. I recently migrated completely away from listening to voice mail. I have always been disenchanted with voice mail and have not been the best at following up with it. Switching to Simulscribe made a drastic difference in my efficiency and improved my ability to follow up and organize my callbacks. Typically, I do not endorse services on my blog unless they are truly remarkable and make an impact on my daily life. That’s exactly what happened with these services.
Simulscribe is a voice mail transcription service that I forward my callers to (unbenounced to them) and they leave a normal message. The message is then transcribed and emailed to me. This provides with the ability to view a voice message at any time on my BlackBerry and come back to it later to read it, or I can even read it during a meeting.
SimulSays is their visual voice mail service. It provides a transcription of your voice mail and the audio file if you need to play it as well. You can listen to your messages in any order and come back to them at anytime (think IPhone style, but they were first). You can also easily forward the message to someone else in the form of an email.
I apologize for the commercial; however, I figure if it could make such a big difference in my life it has to be able to help others. Try out their 30-day, no pressure trial. That’s how they got me hooked! If you try it out, please leave your feedback, I’d love to hear what you think about it.
IBM has recently released a commercial that shows a group of employees lying a conference room ideating. In my searches, I have noticed that many bloggers that have posted about ideating seem to have shed a negative light on this idea. I’m on the other side of the fence, I think that having an environment that supports ideating and incubation of ideas will lead to things you may have never done. The beginning of the year is always a great time to think about the strategies your company uses to implement and test new ideas. If you are not constantly coming with new ideas, how are you remaining competitive? I know in the high-tech space, a company without creativity does not exist or at least not for long.
Another important idea: If you’re in a leadership role and your employees come to you with ideas, make sure you do not “fire hose” their ideas. Not all of their ideas will be the “one,” but killing their enthusiasm on one idea will enable them to stop being creative and working to improve the company. Take time to listen and work to find even the smallest amount of value in their idea and point them in the right direction for future ideas. (Fire Hose Hat tip: Julia Marrocco)
UPDATE: I finally found the actually video on YouTube. Watch it below.
While at the dentist the other day, I got to thinking about how much we should really ask our customers to do in order to do business with our companies. Although, I understand the importance of brushing, flossing, using some other random gum cleaner, and everything else they recommend there must be a limit to what we can expect from our clients.
When you engage your customers in the sales process, how much do you ask of them? Who is doing most of the work, you or your customer? As a salesperson, you need to consider some important things while in the process of courting a prospective client:
What value or importance does this portion of the process play in gaining this prospects business?
How can I simplify the process without jeopardizing the integrity of the process necessary to complete the proposal?
As a marketer or salesperson how does this make the client/prospect feel about your company and the experience?
Make sure you are always authentically providing a solution that is in the best interest of your client.
I’m sure there are hundreds of other important things to consider, help me list those with your comments. Ultimately, I want you to think about your customer experience. Take the time map out how a typical customer interaction occurs and if it feels fluid and natural to you if you were to go through it. Another great option is to survey your customers and get their feedback.
The takeaway: Always listen to how your customers and prospects react throughout the sales process and make adjustments to your process accordingly. The biggest mistake a salesperson or SMB owner can make is to avoid customer feedback and not adapt to customer reactions.
During a recent run through my Google Reader feeds, I read a very interesting post by the folks over at Bruce Clay. It really makes you think about some of the sites or businesses that you run across that you have never heard of. I just met one of my friend’s downtown for lunch and noticed a whole slew of businesses on Main Street that neither of us knew were even there. We had a great pizza and a good experience at the restaurant we ate yet, however, we wondered why we had never heard of it prior to that day we drove by and decided to swing in for a slice.
Take a step back and ask yourself: Do your customer’s even know that you show up every day to pour your life into your business? If not, how can you change that and prove that your business if going to be a hit? Maybe it is time to quit running that TV campaign and try a grassroots type of campaign. Or it could be time to quit all together and get out of the Dip.
Over that past several months, I have made some purchases of drastically different products and both came with an amazing customer experience. The two purchases were a Coach wallet at the Forum Shop in Las Vegas and a 2005 Nissan Maxima from a Lexus Dealership in my area. The first post will be about the Coach wallet and a watch for a follow up post about the car.
Going to make both of these purchases I had a preconceived notion of how I would be treated at both stores. During my trip with the guys in Las Vegas, I decided it’d be nice to get something for my wife. I ended up at Coach and had a great experience with the saleswoman. I told her exactly what I was looking for, a simple black wallet, and she gave me some options and helped me check out and gift wrap it. She did this all without being pushy or trying to up sell me on extras. While this was a great shopping experience, it was became remarkable (i.e. Purple Cow) a few days after I got home. A few days later I received an envelope in the mail from Coach. To my surprise it was a HANDWRITTEN thank you note from my saleswoman (scanned image to come soon). I think my jaw hit the floor.
The experience was great, it left me wanting to tell all my friends and tell them about how great it is to be a Coach customer. Now that I’m a customer, they also send me "customer loyalty specials." It is amazing how something so simple has turned me into a repeat customer. Because of my experience, I found myself waiting in line during this holiday season to make another over-priced purchase for my wife. Between the experience and loyalty specials, I couldn’t resist the opportunity to try it again.
Nice job Coach! Keep up the great follow up, this is what great marketable customer service is all about.
This new ebook is a great read that helps education people that are looking to get rich on the Internet. I work with people that read junk about making millions in no time and drinking pina coladas on a white sand beach in the Caribbean. Seth’s book helps dispel those myths and establish a way for you to truly earn free, honest, and valuable traffic to your site. Link to Seth’s blog post about the ebook, with link to download: Click Here.
When looking to fill a void within your firm, what is your first instinct? Do you instantly look to hire from outside your organization? Post the position on craigslist, monster, and the like? Consider looking within your organization for someone that may have the skill set that you need for the position. There is a great benefit and feeling of finding someone within your group that is qualified for the position. This often increases morale and shows opportunity within your organization. Although you may often need to look outside to find the best candidate for the job, consider looking inside first. Your employees will appreciate it, especially during the holidays. ;)
Every time I go into my local Starbucks, I’m never let down. The coffee is always consistent and there is always a student or businessperson diligently studying in a corner. It has always amazed me that people are able to focus and get all their work done in that type of environment. I am the type of person that needs to be able bounce from task to task, to complete many. At Starbucks, I get to busy watching people and trying to figure out why they are meeting other people, what projects they are working on, and any of a number of other things.