Why do you do what you do?

I thought he was the hired photographer but…

At the end of my seminar for a trade association last September, the guy who’d been taking photos all morning came over and introduced himself as Hersch Wellman. He said he was the region’s past president and wondered if I’d be willing to come and speak for its larger Eastern Zone meeting a few months later.

Toward the conclusion of our in-depth and engaging 30-minute chat, Hersch asked me a question I’d never heard posed quite this way. He asked, “So, what do you want people to get from your talks? What’s the message you’re hoping to impart?” In other words, “Why are you doing this?”

Seeing as the talk he’d just heard was on Leveraging Social Media for Business and I speak mainly on the topics of customer service, sales and leadership, I asked him to clarify which topic he was referring to. “All of them,” he replied. “What’s your ‘message’? What do you want people to get out of what you’re doing? … Do you need some time to think about it?”

By the time he was done asking, the answer hit me like a ton of bricks. [Read more…]

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August 18, 2011 by 4 Comments

Why is Client Loyalty So Rare?

Why is Client Loyalty So Rare?

With Maggie’s car lease maturing, we decided to visit her local dealer. This would be her third new car from the same dealership and she has been a loyal patron of their service department as well. We met with a salesperson (whom we’ll call Jake) for nearly two hours. Jake was seemingly doing many things right. He was personable and attentive, used our names often, offered the test drive and injected occasional witty humor. While his product knowledge wasn’t up to par and he admitted to being with this dealer only five months (and to working for about “twenty other local car dealers”), his outgoing personality and aptitude for client service more than made up for his deficiencies.

Much to our surprise, as we’d only planned to look, we eventually ended up in the negotiation stage of the process. When Jake presented a new lease offer, he explained it as, “A flat deal – we’re not making any money and we’re not losing any money.”

I’ll refrain from getting too deep into the details of what ensued and simply say that within five short minutes Jake’s sales manager was saying, “We haven’t [Read more…]

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January 31, 2011 by 20 Comments

4 Tips on Adding Impact to Your Voicemail Greeting

How to optimize the most overlooked first-impression-maker

Have you ever heard a voicemail greeting that really impressed you? Wait. Do you remember anyone’s voicemail greeting? Do you even remember your own? Many people have told me that their voicemail greeting was recorded long ago and they can’t even remember what it says (what they said) anymore. Call your voicemail right now and listen to it with the ears of a prospective client. Would you do business with you? This often-overlooked, first impression maker can have impact (positive or negative)…

St. Louis Gateway ArchLast week, as I exited the Metro rail in St. Louis, I emerged from the underground station, lifted my head I was suddenly looking up at The Gateway Arch for the first time. This beautiful structure stood five blocks ahead of me and at 630 feet tall it was towering over the city, like a protector. As the sun shone brightly against its stainless steel exterior, I was awestruck. I had to get a closer look. I entered the underground museum at the base of The Arch, watched the “Making-of” movie, and then took the egg-shaped tram car to the top where I admired the city from 630 feet. Later, I gladly returned my feet to the grassy field that The Arch rests on, looked up and felt so inspired. I thought, “Wow – this is the perfect time to re-record my voicemail greeting.” So, while standing there, I tilted my head back, thought about the people that began this unprecedented project back in 1963, appreciated its beauty while taking it in, smiled from ear to ear and grabbed my phone …

Consider the fact that your voicemail greeting, in many cases, is your client’s very first impression of you as a person. More often than not, callers will hear your voicemail greeting before they [Read more…]

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March 12, 2009 by 17 Comments

We Felt Like We Were Interrupting Her Personal Life

How Professional is Your Organization? (4 Tips for Being Regarded as a True Professional)

Meet The Parents, Universal Studios and DreamWorks

Meet The Parents, Universal Studios and DreamWorks (CLICK to WATCH (1:41))

We stood there, dumbfounded…
Recently, while attempting to make an airline connection in Brazil, my girlfriend (Maggie) and I took our paper tickets to the counter to get our seat assignments. As we approached the desk, the clerk, “Mariana” had her head down and was carrying on about her weekend to the person on the other end of the phone. When she finally looked up, we were greeted with a half-smile (no words – she still had the phone held against her ear). For the next 31 minutes (we timed it), Mariana continued with her personal phone conversation and occasionally pecked at the computer keyboard, never really telling us what she was doing. Maggie and I just kept looking at each other, as if to say, “I can’t believe this is actually happening.” We felt like we were interrupting her personal life.

You might be thinking, “But Steve, why would you put up with such behavior for 31 minutes? Why didn’t you say something?” [Read more…]

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February 16, 2009 by 11 Comments