Customer Service – Page 2 – thoughtLEADERS, LLC: Leadership Training for the Real World

How frequently do you update your strategic plan?

February 20, 2020/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How frequently do you update your strategic plan?

We refresh more than once per year—13%
We update it annually—43%
We update every couple of years—19%
We rarely refresh it—12%
What’s a strategic plan?—13%

Regular strategy review. 56% of you are refreshing your strategic plan every year or even more frequently. The world moves rapidly. Priorities change quickly. Investing the time in regular reassessment is highly recommended. Shifting too slowly in response to market changes can put you at an extreme disadvantage you might not recover from. For those of you who don’t have a strategic plan or aren’t updating them regularly, you should be concerned. Even if you aren’t the owner of the strategic plan, you can still push for the organization to review it. Ask your leadership team if you can help lead the review. Offer to do some of the work. The organization you save might be your own!

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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What portion of your time do you work from home?

February 13, 2020/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: What portion of your time do you work from home?

100%: 7.6%
75-99%: 8.2%
50-74%: 5.4%
25-49%: 8.2%
1-25%: 54.7%
0%: 15.8%

Time from home. 85% of you spend a decent amount of time working from home. Only a small portion go to the office every day. As an employee, be sure your home environment is conducive to being productive and actively manage staying connected with your office coworkers. It can be easy to leave people off meeting invites or forget to check in with them when they’re out of sight. If you’re leading a team with remote workers, find ways to involve them in team events and conversations. This takes deliberate effort on your part. Team members who feel disconnected find it easier to “mail it in” and also have less attachment to your organization. This puts them at higher risk for looking for greener pastures elsewhere.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

When someone does something differently than you would, how do you react?

February 6, 2020/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: When someone does something differently than you would, how do you react?

I encourage people to try ways different than the way I would do something. 39.6%
I accept their way and try to learn new approaches. 50.9%
I accept their way but still think mine was better. 8.3%
I tell them they should have done it my way. 1.2%

Different isn’t wrong. The vast majority of respondents are open and encouraging of doing things differently than they’d do it themselves. For those who are challenged by seeing someone do something differently, you’re missing an opportunity to grow (and possibly do things better than you ordinarily would). When you have that moment of “I wouldn’t do it like that…” please pause, inquire, and seek to understand why they’re doing things differently. They might see risks or opportunities you’re not aware of. You might learn something new. You might help your organization perform better. You owe it to yourself and your colleagues to constantly learn new ways of doing things.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

How do you handle impatient customers (both internal and external customers)?

December 12, 2019/0 Comments/in Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How do you handle impatient customers (both internal and external customers)?

I bump them up on my priority list since they’re asking for a response: 45%
I keep them in their spot on my priority list and let them know other issues are ahead of them in line: 39%
I immediately respond to their needs and drop everything else: 12%
I respond slowly to get them to slow down and be more patient: 3%

Their emergency isn’t your emergency. I hear many people have challenges with time management. 57% of you are making your own lives more difficult. One of the biggest issues they face is unexpected interruptions. When someone calls or drops by with something important to them, it’s tempting to put them at the top of your priority list. That can cause several issues. First, you condition them to bother you if they want action. Second, it delays others waiting patiently ahead of them. There’s nothing wrong with telling someone “I’m working on a few things ahead of your request and will get to it as soon as I’m able.” Most reasonable people understand and accept that and doing so gives you back control over your priorities and your work. Give it a try — you might be surprised by how easy and effective that approach is.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

How Leaders Quench the Service Thirst of Customers

October 21, 2019/1 Comment/in Books, Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Ryan Shaw

We’ve all heard the idea of being customer-centric, but how you utilizing your leadership to best serve your customers.

Today’s post is by Chip R. Bell, author of Kaleidoscope (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

The very thirsty crow came upon a pitcher of water. But, the water was deep and the neck of the pitcher narrow. Aesop’s Fables tells us the rest of the riddle. The crow picked up small pebbles and dropped them one by one in the pitcher causing the water to rise high enough for a drink.

I needed a prescription refilled for an eye ointment, and my usual pharmacy was unable to get it for a week. So, I called the pharmacy attached to the local grocery store. The “I’m having a horrible day” cashier-receptionist answered my phone call to fill the prescription. When I arrived at the pharmacy, she stood guard over the cash register with a scowl telegraphing the same attitude I had heard on the phone. Behind her were the pharmacy manager and two pharmacy assistants.

“Are you having a great day?” I asked cheerfully in a rather loud voice. “Not particularly,” she said.

“Well,” I announced, putting a pebble in the water pitcher so to speak, “I am here to help your day get a lot better.” She was unmoved. One of the pharmacy assistants nervously smiled at my way-too-obvious attempt to get her “happy water” to rise in the pitcher.

“How much would this ointment cost without insurance?” I asked her in my very best happy-go-lucky cheerleader voice. I had Googled the answer in advance. “Three hundred and fifty dollars,” she answered. “Gee whiz,” I teased. “How much would it cost just to get new eyes?” The other pharmacy assistant laughed to herself without looking up. But the cashier was not joining in the fun. “I know you are going to fix me right up!” I added, still trying to alter the mood!

My last attempt at a bit of happy talk: “Is your day getting a little bit better?” I asked. “Not really,” she said, flatly.

The expressionless pharmacy manager standing six feet from her finally looked up from his work. His countenance clearly conveyed his condemnation. He was not amused at my attempts to elevate the attitude of his front-line ambassador. This pitcher of customer delight remained out of my reach as I vowed to go back to my old pharmacy where I didn’t have to work so hard to get a fraction of positive service.

How much exposure does your entire organization get to your customers?

August 8, 2019/0 Comments/in Balanced Lifestyle, Career, Customer Service, Leadership, Poll /by Ryan Shaw

Our reader poll today asks: How much exposure does your entire organization get to your customers?

A lot. Every function of our company regularly interacts with customers: 34%
Some. Occasionally customers will meet with specific groups they have to interact with: 29%
Little. Only sales, marketing, the front line and support really interact with customers: 38%

Know your customer. Just because a function is “behind the lines” that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t expose them to customers. Bring a customer in for a team meeting. Invite customers to speak at your off-sites. The more clarity everyone has around who the customer is and what matters to them, the better your organization can serve them. It doesn’t have to be frequent and it doesn’t require a lot of effort but it can yield huge results. New ideas and opportunities can come from those interactions. It will also help ground your team in why the work they do is important. Take advantage of the opportunity to know your customers more closely.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

Did you enjoy this post? If so, I highly encourage you to take about 30 seconds to become a regular subscriber to this blog. It’s free, fun, practical, and only a few emails a week (I promise!). SIGN UP HERE to get the thoughtLEADERS blog conveniently delivered right to your inbox!

Positive Work Cultures are More Productive

December 3, 2018/0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Achieving a breakthrough organization is achievable for any leadership team willing to invest in designing for the future of work. Creating work that is both customer-centric and that is employee-centric is possible.

Today’s post is by Jessica Higgins, Chief Operating Officer at Gapingvoid Culture Design Group.

“Although there’s an assumption that stress and pressure push employees to perform more, better, and faster, what cutthroat organizations fail to recognize is the hidden costs incurred.” – Proof that Positive Cultures are More Productive, Harvard Business Review

The timeworn industry standard is to focus on purely bottom-line results. Productivity obsessed leaders, however, experience a massive, and often invisible, cost of doing business this way. News outlets are reporting that employee burnout is costing US business alone over $300 billion in labor costs annually. Voluntary separations and employee churn are well documented in companies, but what is less well documented are healthcare costs, which are increasing rapidly, according the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Simply put, your machines are breaking down on you, and most leaders are failing to see it. In any average company, human capital is the primary expense. This means that your people have the highest replacement cost, and the highest value. I am arguing that you should start treating them this way.

It’s well proven that employees cost around 4 months of time to train. In companies that haven’t resorted to 1099s primarily, there are healthcare costs associated throughout the year. Let alone your churn rates, unemployment, recruiters and all of the other expenses attached should any employee choose to leave.

The cost of implementing more holistic management systems that take care of your human capital quickly become cheap, once all of your invisible costs of old management are brought to the surface.

I first noticed this trend at the beginning of 2017, and increasingly this year. In my work in culture design, historically leaders have desired to employ culture-based management systems that improve engagement and productivity. But then the opposite started happening. CEOs started coming to us with the opposite issue. How do I make my teams work less?

I dug through the research and found the following statistics, and solutions, for rethinking your people-side of your business.

A Simple Sales Tip for Maintaining Great Relationships

August 15, 2018/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Leadership, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

How effective are you at maintaining client relationships? Do you stay in touch with them or do you lose the relationship over time? Do your clients and prospects respond to your messages or do your emails end up in a black hole? Here’s a simple tip for maintaining contact with your clients and prospects.

Client relationships are the lifeblood of any business. Be deliberate about maintaining them. Regular contact will keep you top of mind.

Find meaningful “excuses” to reach out to them. Some of my favorites include “Hey I read an article and I thought of you” or “I heard about a cool new technology and I thought you might be interested in it.” Send these notes and leave it at that. Don’t try and sell during those interactions. They know you eventually want to sell them something. Beware of excessive contact, they’re going to ignore you or block you if you’re in their inbox too much. Focus on being helpful and good things are going to come.

I have one client who I’ve had a great relationship with over the years. Every once in awhile I’ll see something that I think would be interesting to him and I drop him a note and I said “I read this and I thought of you.” He always writes back and says “Thanks for the information. Interesting. I appreciate it… not that you’re trying to sell me something.” This has become a running joke with us that at the end of every interaction one of us says “not that you’re trying to sell me something.” He understands the nature of the relationship because he is a great salesman too. He and I both know the deal but he doesn’t mind my outreach. He actually welcomes it because he knows I’m trying to be helpful. These interactions help me stay top of mind, so anytime he has a need that my firm can fill, he’s going to call me first.

Some reasons you might wanna reach out to connect with your clients and prospects include things like:

A Simple Way to be More Professional

December 20, 2017/1 Comment/in Business Toolkit, Communications, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

When salespeople call you to explore working with you, a simple technique can help you appear much more professional. If you’re not interested, just say so. Immediately.

Over the 14 years I’ve run my firm, I’ve heard a polite “no, thank you” more times than I can count. That’s fine. Rejection, especially when it’s quick, enables me and my team to spend our time on more fruitful conversations.

It’s the silence that kills me. And I know I’m not alone in this. I’ve spoken with countless executives, entrepreneurs, and salespeople over the years and there’s a common pet peeve – people who simply don’t respond to your messages.

It’s unprofessional folks. It’s discourteous. And if you were the one being ignored, you’d see how unpleasant and frustrating it can be.

“But Mike, I get so many sales calls and some of them are so pushy and I’m so busy so I don’t have time to respond.”

Yes, there are idiot salespeople who don’t know how to take “no” for an answer. That’s not what I’m talking about here.

What I’m talking about are the respectful salespeople and entrepreneurs who legitimately believe their product or service is a fit for you and your organization. They draft a polite email or leave a courteous voicemail. Then they wait patiently for a reply.

And they wait.

Eventually they’ll follow up a couple of months later to check in. And again, they get no response.

Here’s the important thing to realize – you’re wasting their time and coming across as unprofessional. And those salespeople and entrepreneurs have long memories. By ignoring them rather than being candid that they’re not a fit, you’re taking a risk without even realizing it.

5 Questions You Must Answer to Measure Your Business Well

November 29, 2017/0 Comments/in Business Toolkit, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Leadership /by Mike Figliuolo

Focusing on metrics is key to achieving your desired business results—but it can be difficult to determine which metrics actually matter. There are five major questions you need to answer to ensure the metrics you’re measuring matter and you can take action based upon what they tell you.

Some metrics are easy to put numbers to. Revenue, inventory levels, and customer retention are solid numbers. Knowing those quantitative measures is essential to understanding your business. That said, you also need to measure qualitative aspects of your business like associate engagement and customer satisfaction.

Regardless of the measurement you need to answer five things about it:

1. What’s the measurement’s purpose? Know the significance of the metric and what you’ll change in your business based on the numbers you measure.

2. What data source will you use? Different sources of data can yield different results.

3. How will you calculate the metric? Define a formula, especially for complex measures.

4. How frequently will you measure? Measuring takes effort. Be efficient and only measure as frequently as you need to.

5. Who will review the measure? Define the stakeholders who are going to receive the reports.

For qualitative measures, the data gathering method is critical. Use a simple and standard method wherever possible. Consistency matters over time so you can get true trend data. Put thought into the measures up front so you’re not changing them frequently and invalidating data you’ve already collected.

My firm conducts classroom training. At the end of each course, we’ve asked the same 14 qualitative questions for the last 13 years. Regardless of the class we’re teaching, the instructor teaching it, or which client we’re teaching it for, it’s always the same 14 questions. What that enables me to do is get a true sense of trend data and compare instructors, clients, and courses over time. I can look at a course that I just taught yesterday and see how it stacks up versus something I taught last year or even last decade. That consistency gives me a richness of data to analyze.

As you think about the measures for your organization think about both the quantitative and qualitative ones and apply those five questions to everything you’re going to measure.

Sometimes you’ll want to create your own measure in order to capture a unique aspect of your business or to drive a specific behavior. When building these unconventional measures, articulate the purpose of measuring it, and specify how long you’ll measure it, especially if it’s being used to drive short-term performance.

4 Questions to Make Difficult Switching Decisions Much Easier

July 31, 2017/0 Comments/in Books, Business Toolkit, Customer Service, Guest Blogger, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

In an age of too many options, four simple questions can provide a clear approach to making those frequent decisions in a way that saves us time.

Today’s post is by Jack Quarles, author of Expensive Sentences (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

We live in a time of unprecedented options. Those of us in developed economies of the 21st century, even with average incomes, have more choices than ever before in what we eat, what we wear, our jobs, where we live or travel, our entertainment and education… and the list goes on.

Our ability to customize the details of our lives is dazzling, but it is not free. Abundant options require abundant decisions, and decisions require energy. Life’s never-ending buffet brings byproducts: too many options can paralyze us, and fear of taking the wrong option can haunt us.

We can benefit from thinking about how we make decisions, and intentionally adopting practices that help us manage the cost of decision-making and feel more confident in the choices we do make.

Let’s examine a class of decision that we face every day: stay or go, fish or cut bait, keep on the same path or change direction. More specifically, we’ll consider people and companies we pay, whether at work or at home:

Do I like my accountant, or is it time to switch?
Should I change gyms?
Do we need a new marketing consultant?
Is our lawn care guy charging us too much?

There are both cost and benefit components to these questions. If your gym is nearby and your friends go there, it may be worth twice the price of a different gym with the same equipment because you’re more likely to go and use it. That’s an easy case. Other decisions aren’t so easy, and sometimes those questions of “Am I paying too much for this?” keep lingering in our mind without a clear answer.

Replacing Gray with Black and White

Selling by Word Alone Doesn’t Cut It in Today’s Market

May 1, 2017/0 Comments/in Books, Communications, Customer Service, Entrepreneur, Guest Blogger, Sales /by Mike Figliuolo

Selling isn’t just about the words you pitch. A much more powerful approach is to show the customer your work and let them interact with it early in the sales process.

Today’s post is by Ken Rutsky, author of Launching to Leading (CLICK HERE to get your copy).

In an 1899 speech in Philadelphia, Missouri Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver is reported to have said,

“I come from a state that raises corn and cotton, cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I’m from Missouri, and you have got to show me.”

And from that day forward, Missouri has been known far and wide as the “Show Me State.”

Today, marketers and sales teams alike should take heed of this advice and move beyond telling and describing their value to showing and demonstrating it to buyers early and often in the buying cycle. After all, what’s really left to tell since the customer has probably already visited your website?

There is no shortage of materials and advice out there on the topic of content marketing. Content Rules, by Handley and Chapman—a popular book in marketing circles—spends a lot of time focusing on just that; and it is necessary and recommended reading and table stakes for today’s sales and marketing efforts.

However, stopping there would fail to take two critical variables into account: engagement and experience, the “Show Me” factor of modern sales and marketing efforts. One of the hallmarks of breakthrough market leadership is very high levels of engagement and experience delivered in our marketing programs and sales experience.

We can look at both engagement and experience as continuums. Engagement measures the level of interaction that the customer has with our content; we are most engaged when we are interacting, least when we are reading. Engagement, through multiple senses and interaction, creates memorable content-marketing engagements.

From an experience perspective, we can describe or demonstrate our value, or have the customer participate in understanding the value. Communication of value via experience is vastly more effective at winning customers’ preference than description. The combination of engagement and experience is the holy grail of marketing and sales effectiveness. Let’s take a look at an example: