Greetings!
With September fast approaching it feels like everyone is trying to squeeze in a few more days of relaxation before school starts and everyone gets back to work. It's a good time to reflect on the next quarter and what you need to change to keep your business on track. |
| Crossing The Line |
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The next time you are driving on a two lane highway look at that yellow line. It's the only thing that keeps someone on the other side of that line from running into you at full speed. As a society of drivers we have together agreed to stay on our side of the line. Have you ever been in conversation with someone and suddenly thought "TMI", too much information. That person just crossed the invisible line dividing interesting and too personal. Kind of like crossing that yellow line, right?
Think about your interactions with customers. We all need to relate to our customers, but we need to strike a balance between indifference and indulgence. The people I know who are very good at that stick to "safe" subjects - school, food, work, travel, family. They avoid "emotionally charged" topics like religion and politics.
It's no different with employees and vendors. You are paying them to perform, not listen to your complaints or triumphs. While you do have a responsibility to understand their requests and concerns, there's a fine line between empathy and sympathy - "I understand how you feel" rather than "I would feel the same way".
In business, your responsibility is to lead. While we all prefer to be liked, those who succeed are respected by the people who work with them. Think about the people you most respect. They are probably true to their principles, good listeners, respectful even in disagreement, and quick to help when asked. They respect the line
Be a leader. |
| Focus on Sales
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You can't lose something you don't have, but someone else can take it. I often hear people complain that they lost a sale. That's negative thinking. What they mean, of course, is that the customer didn't agree to purchase from them. Let's look at the facts. The customer made a decision. If you did your best, it was no fault of yours that you didn't land a sale. Don't wallow in self pity. You can't control the behavior of others, you can only influence it.
Learn from the experience and move o |
| Networking Tips |
| Serendipity is defined by Dictionary.com as an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. More of those discoveries actually happen when you are out there meeting and getting to know people.
I was vacationing recently and badly needed a haircut. I went to the local salon and, as she was cutting my hair, the stylist asked why we were in the area. I told her we were staying with a doctor friend who was doing a few shifts in the emergency room at the local hospital. She asked me what his name was. It turned out that she had taken her son to the hospital the night before and he was the doctor who had treated her son. She told me he was the best doctor she had ever seen.
When I got back to the house I told my friend the story. He was surprised because it was a just a kid with a fever and no unusual treatment was required. I had the opportunity to remind him how much people appreciate the way he does his job.
Don't you just love it when those accidents happen? |
