Customer Cravings – The Keys To Good Service

Yes, it is easy, do what you say you will. But surprisingly this is rarely the case. I don’t know about you, but I find all too often vendors and providers don’t do what they say they will. Recent experience getting quotes for replacement windows has been frustrating to put it mildly. Before getting quotes, I made some calls. My favorite response was Anderson Windows, and they license great grandfather’s designs! They said I had to come to the showroom first, but that they were rarely there and I needed to call first, not convenient. Don’t bother with Anderson (at least in Atlanta).

Bring samples of product or brochures of work. Next was the quoting, the first contractor came out and wanted to create a life long relationship for all sorts of services, but never managed to get me a quote on just my windows, nor was he prepared with any samples or even brochures. Case Contracting, don’t bother.

Listen from the get-go, if you don’t have the right product, don’t quote. The second provider came out and wasted my time by asking me all sorts of interior design questions when he realized in the first three minutes that he didn’t have the product I wanted, despite my being very specific in my original call. I didn’t keep track of his name, he didn’t have what I wanted.

Don’t promise what you can’t deliver. The third vendor swore he was qualified and could beat the other quote received by at least 30% but when his quote did show up it was higher than the original. He never followed up with a call and despite my leaving two messages at his office, he didn’t return the call until two weeks later saying he’d lost my number (but called me three times before coming out the first time.) The irony is that his salesmen told me he is the company owner, and almost never does calls. Now, we know why! While he had the product I liked and I’d have considered paying it as he was the first to show up with samples, I’m not comfortable doing business with someone I have to track down even when I like his product. Atlanta Window and Door, disappointing.

Follow up, follow up, follow up. The result is I still have one quote that is higher than desired, but at least the salesman has followed up repeatedly every week with me, touching base and checking in. He turned his quote around the fastest. I don’t love the product but might do it anyway. Pella, there is a reason these guys got big in an industry that is evidently a mess.

I am awaiting one more quote, hold your breath. I am!

Lessons From The Garden

Some that see my garden see a lot of work, I don’t. I see a chance to get outside in the sun and breeze and enjoy the best that nature brings. Last year was my year for a lot of work, and this year I am reaping the results. Can you say the same of your business?

Last year I made careful decisions on planting perennials, not annuals, I only wanted to do this once. I weeded, watered, fed, and talked to my budding chaos of blooms, it has rewarded me tenfold. You can do the same with your business. What actions can you take this year, this month, this week that when nurtured, followed up on, and activated will bring you success in years to come? It is often easy to do the one shot wonders, as in the garden, the annuals that bring immediate color and beauty instead of the perennials that require more care. Yet it is the perennials, in the long run, that give me my time back to enjoy the flowers of my labors, rather than continue to plant, again and again. Wouldn’t you like a chance to plant once, tend for a lifetime, and enjoy the success and rewards?

The Law Of Attraction

The Law Of Attraction, Michael Losier

Yes, I know that there are a plethora of books on the market today with the subject of the law of attraction. This was recommended by a fellow coach and relationship expert. I was impressed and pleased to find that Losier addressed two significant questions that others do not. The first is how to deal with your doubts, and the success of “allowing statements.” The second quandary for me has always been putting what is not yet here in the present tense. Losier directs us to use the terminology “I am in the process of attracting.” This works well for me. While many prefer the power of present tense, I could apply that only if I adhere to the movie “What the Bleep Do We Know” which suggests that everything we desire is all right here, right now, just perhaps not on the plane we are operating on. (Yes, I know that is a big one to wrap your mind around!) You can check out Losier’s book at www.lawofattractionbook.com. He also provides a wealth of work sheets and support online.

Relationship Resources – Building Your Business

As discussed in the last issue, it is vital to ask, ask, ask to find the best and most appropriate resources and service providers to ensure your business success. But, getting the resources and providers is only half the equation, it is building the relationships that really matters now. How do you create a long term business connection? There are just five essentials:

* Craft a Letter of Engagement – This clearly states the terms of how you want to do business, including anticipated lead times for goods and services, professional behavior on both sides, an agreement to the number of changes accepted without additional fees, and payment terms and method.

* Stay in Touch – Even during slow times, I make an effort to stay in touch with regular vendors and service providers. Keeping in contact means that they will be ready to step in and be of service when you need it, rather than reopening the relationship after a long hiatus.

* Demonstrate Thank You – This is more than just a verbal thank you, but means that you send a note or email for a job well done. In some cases a gift of thanks is appropriate. I know that during my busy season, I keep my workroom supplied with random pizza and occasional flowers, and when it really gets tough, I send in Godiva chocolates! This helps my projects to get to the top of the heap when I need a rush job done.

* Pay promptly – Just because your clients might keep you waiting for your invoices doesn’t mean you can keep your suppliers waiting for theirs. When you have a history of paying on time or even early you can garner extra time in the event of a cash crunch, or qualify for discounts on invoices.

* Refer, Refer, Refer – When you are pleased with a service or product refer it to business associates as a valued resource. Feature them in your newsletter or ezine. Or perhaps you want to provide a link to them on your website and if appropriate ask for a reciprocal link.

Lunch And Learn With Atlanta Women In Business

Please join me at the May 16th AWIB monthly meeting. I will be presenting the Top 10 Ways to Celebrate Your Life: Creating a Legacy of Celebration. As successful and talented women of accomplishment and action, it is vital that we learn to create a living legacy that celebrates our unique gifts and contributions to our families, our friends, and the world at large.

Celebrating Your Life is about renewing and rediscovering our gratitude for each and every day. It is about not waiting for an event or occasion but instead making our own events and occasions because we want to celebrate the goodness of life, the abundance of our blessings, and the great fortune to be here, alive at this point in time.

Join me with Atlanta Women in Business!

Where & When
Thursday, May 16th
11:30-1:30

The Ashford Club
Glenridge Connector

RSVP
Prepayment required: $35/member, $45/nonmember. Send your check today to Atlanta Women in Business, P.O. Box 28613, Atlanta GA 30358.

Divine Wisdom At Work

Divine Wisdom At Work, Tricia Molloy

Divine Wisdom at Work is a powerful, practical guide to getting what you desire and deserve by using univeral principles—like the Law of Attraction, Affirmations, Visualization and Gratitude. Author Tricia Molloy is a friend and business colleague who has used these principles all her life. I fully recommend and endorse Tricia’s work, it mirrors much of my own in designing your signature life. Through talks, workshops and coaching, Tricia inspires others to work with wisdom . To order this book, go to http://www.divinewisdomatwork.com/Buy.asp.

Seek And You Shall Find!

For the first five years following college and armed with a degree in hospitality management, I was a Purchasing Agent in hotels, including Opryland Hotel, Callaway Gardens, and Grand Hotel on Mackinac Island. If you ate it, drank it, wrote with it, or slept on it, I bought it! Research was critical, and I’ve always been good at finding a source. The hotel, and particularly the chef, relied on my abilities to track down the best product at the least cost (translates to optimum value). Today, for me, design is no different. Every design professional is only as good as their resources.

As a speaker and author, I am constantly on the look out for new resources to build my platform. This includes resources that can produce product for me, services that can video and photograph, talent that can edit and format, and much more. I never stop looking because as fast as technology is changing, the next best provider may be around the corner. Don’t get lazy and set in your ways, it will cost you too much.

Any professional is only as good as their Rolodex, though in this day and age it may be phrased as their Blackberry. Yet so few seem to be versed in the art of the hunt and will sooner default to “ I don’t know how to do that, I don’t have a source for that, I can’t find it.” Wow, this is so short sighted in the information age. With the advent of the internet, you can find everything and anything. I guarantee it – so does Google and Yahoo!

Even with my coaching clients, I find that often they want to give up quickly when faced with needing a new resource for either a service or a product. I then ask them where else can they look? How can they dig deeper? Often it is one more connection away. If it is a service, sometimes checking local universities and colleges for part time talent can be a cost effective answer, or even tapping Craig’s List or eLance.com. Get outside of your own circle, and stretch yourself. Without the needed service provider or product sought you won’t achieve the goal you have set. Ask, ask, and ask again. Tell everyone you come into contact with what you are looking for, ask for their recommendation. Some of us are natural connectors and will do whatever we can to connect you closer to your goal. Others will shrug their shoulders and say “I don’t know.” Remember to say to yourself “next” and move on.

The next essential in finding key service providers and product resources is building the relationship. Stay tuned for next week’s tips on making the most of the connections that you have, the lost art of thank you and more.

When Saying No Means Yes, to Success!

In the last two weeks, I’ve had a slew of PR opportunities come my way but for design, not for speaking, coaching or writing. Now, ordinarily I would simply pursue these openings, but I realized that it was not in alignment with my current desired experiences or path and said “NO.” It wasn’t easy but it was a relief when I did because it affirmed that I am on track and on purpose, and it also meant that the resources that would have been needed would be available for new opportunities that are a fit for me. It is often difficult for us to slow down long enough, and get clearly focused enough, to say yes to only those opportunities that truly align us with our path and our purpose. Often we scatter our efforts and our resources with the thinking that any opportunity is a good one. It isn’t. Just as not every client is a fit, nor is every project. Once you get truly clear, concise and targeted, you will find that your efforts will deliver far greater results in far less time.

What can you say “NO” to that will mean a “YES” to your success?