Morning Motivator – The REAL Story about Customer Service

"Serving the customer ("customer service") is not becoming a personal concierge and catering to their every whim and want. Customer service is providing an excellent product at an acceptable price and solving legitimate problems (lost packages, replacements, refunds, etc.) in the fastest manner possible."
- Timothy Ferriss, author of "The 4-Hour Work Week"

Have you ever been told "the customer is ALWAYS right?" Did that CONFUSE you as much as it did me? I have never like that comment, nor have I ever BELIEVED it to be in any way true. Frankly, the customer is more often WRONG, grossly wrong, than they are ever right.

Think about it… if the customer was ALWAYS right, why would they need you? Your EXPERTISE, INSIGHT and professional CONSULTATION would be worthless. If they were RIGHT, then everything would be FREE, delivered YESTERDAY and never need any after purchase SUPPORT. Additionally, when YOU are the customer, you would always be right – which we both know is not TRUE. (I need help all the time and commonly have no idea what I want, just what I want in the end).

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
As a customer – what do you REALLY want? For me, I want a FAIR price and SOLUTIONS to my needs. I will pay a PREMIUM for expertise and support, as well as EXPECT a lesser rate in situations where I do not REQUIRE much education or support.

As a BUSINESS leader, I also expect that I am able to offer EXPERT services at a PREMIUM. Should the client require very little support or information, they can have it at a DISCOUNT.

Ultimately, my goal is to find a PARTNERSHIP with my clients, offering EQUAL expertise and support for an equal amount of candid discussion and financial investment. When we FOCUS on solving the questions of clients and pricing APPROPRIATELY, we will find that attracting and maintaining clients becomes a much more simple process…

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Morning Motivator – "Working The System”

"The system is the solution."
- AT&T

I must admit that given the right environment, I am NOT a much disciplined person. I, like many others, can fall back to being LAZY, DISORGANIZED and PROCRASTINATING. I would suggest that most humans are EQUALLY apathetic given the opportunity.

With that being said, I have RECOGNIZED that by building a "SYSTEM" – a set of processes and rules for executing work – I am able to stay FOCUSED and DISCIPLINED in my efforts.

By creating a SYSTEM of rules and actions – you are able to ensure that every CRITICAL step is executed and done so in a TIMELY manner. Additionally, you are able to EXAMINE the system for "fail points," by which you can begin REPLACING or AUTOMATING for greater efficiency. Think of your job as an ASSEMBLY LINE. Every step along the way is the SAME. Every action is CHARTED on a path. Every result can be MEASURED. Every product has an EXPECTED quality.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:

If you KNEW every step along the way of your daily work – how much of it do you think you could ELIMINATE? How much WASTED time is in every day?

Have you considered that if you were more EFFICIENT in your work, you may be able to create BETTER results in LESS time?

I suggest that you spend the next 2 weeks CHARTING your workflow. UNDERSTAND your "system" and how it works. Write it down on a piece of paper and circle the CONSISTENT "fail points." Once you have them NOTED – find ways to ELIMINATE or AUTOMATE those steps. If that is not possible, approach those areas for "RETOOLING." If you are able to DEFINE this process, you will find that your work life becomes SIMPLIFIED, your PRODUCTIVITY will increase and FREE TIME will become available.

Start today… no point in PROCRASTINATING! =)

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com


The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Morning Motivator – To Win, You Must Lose

"All courses of action are risky, so prudence is not in avoiding danger (it's impossible), but calculating risk and acting decisively. Make mistakes of ambition and not mistakes of sloth. Develop the strength to do bold things, not the strength to suffer."
- Niccoló Machiavelli, The Prince

I KNOW what winners know… I just don't do it enough. I KNOW what SUCCESSFUL people believe… even though I haven't yet made it routine. I UNDERSTAND what many others haven't yet figured out… have you?

One of the KEYS to success is INCREASING your failure rate to a MAXIMUM. YES – I repeat – FAIL MORE! Fail more OFTEN. Fail HARDER.

"Failure" as most know the term, it is NEGATIVE… associated with PAIN, LOSS OF JOB and PRESSURE. How many consider "failure" a REQUIREMENT of education? How many people associate "failure" with SUCCESS? How many use it as a gauge for their POSITIVE activity? How many make "failure" a GOAL?

(Here's a secret. The real WINNERS do all the above.)

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
Most people only MEASURE success. They only measure the SCHEDULED APPOINTMENTS, NEW LEADS and CLOSED SALES. They only measure what is ACHIEVED in the lowest frequency. That creates a lot of PRESSURE!

Change the game… measure the GREATEST occurrence – FAILURE. For one week, take a daily measurement of your "failures." The following week, make your GOAL to DOUBLE your failure rate. The following week, TRIPLE it!

Then, once you have spent that time measuring and increasing your FAIL-RATE, look back and measure the SUCCESSES. You might be IMPRESSED at what you can accomplish by just failing a little more often!!

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com


The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Morning Motivator – Is Your Pride Your Problem?

"I not only use the all the brains that I have, but all that I can borrow."
- Woodrow Wilson

Currently, I am on vacation in Florida and have ENJOYED some extra time to think about what actions can be taken to enhance my business, my personal health and wealth. I am also taking the time to re-read "The Four Hour Work Week" by Timothy Ferriss (highly recommended!), which is INSPIRING new thought. Primarily, the idea of allowing OTHERS to use their expertise to help you ACHIEVE your goals…

What I have OBSERVED with myself and many others is the overwhelming need to be "in control" of our ideas. We STRUGGLE with the thought of allowing others to take control of our initiatives, for FEAR of others inability to execute as we expect. We cannot BELIEVE that someone else could do what we do. It is our PRIDE that keeps us from LEVERAGING the talents and special gifts of others.

We must ask ourselves – how many hours can we WORK per day? How much information can we DIGEST and turn into quality results? How much EXPERTISE do we have in all areas of our business and personal life? The goal is to ACCEPT that YOU CANNOT DO IT ALL… or at least not at a high level of EFFICIENCY.

2 DEGREE SUCCESS STEP:
First, ACCEPT that you are not the best at everything… it is more likely that you are one of the WORST.

Second, understand that the path to SUCCESS is paved by "management." Once you learn to direct, lead and manage others in their execution, you will FREE your time in such a way that you can FOCUS on the highest value actions that PRODUCE the most valuable results.

Finally, SEEK opportunities to leverage others. If needed, seek to HIRE people to do a job for you. OUTSOURCE whenever possible. If you understand that your time is worth $40 per hour and you can pay someone to do your non-efficient work for $10 per hour… then DO IT! Don't even think about it, JUST DO IT!!

Your goal MUST be to free your time. It is the addition of time that will allow accessing the true BRILLIANCE you possess…

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com

The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.

Morning Motivator - Someone Else Just Said It Better!

"Don't tell people how to do things, tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results."
- George S. Patton

As a LEADER, we must learn to YIELD to others. We must IDENTIFY the fact that sometimes, someone else can SAY it better, DO it better or just may in GENERAL be better at something... and thus MORE QUALIFIED to take the lead.

I am a HUGE fan of Seth Godin and in reading one of his recent posts, I thought to myself, "I couldn't have said it any better... and I won't TRY to!"

Take a moment to read the post from Seth and enjoy the BEAUTY of this wonderful wisdom!

Here's a favorite excerpt:

Leadership is scarce because few people are willing to go through the discomfort required to lead.

The scarcity makes leadership valuable. If everyone tries to lead all the time, not much happens. It's discomfort that creates the leverage that makes leadership worthwhile.

In other words, if everyone could do it, they would, and it wouldn't be worth much.

It's uncomfortable to stand up in front of strangers.
It's uncomfortable to propose an idea that might fail.
It's uncomfortable to challenge the status quo.
It's uncomfortable to resist the urge to settle.

When you identify the discomfort, you've found the place where a leader is needed.

If you're not uncomfortable in your work as a leader, it's almost certain you're not reaching your potential as a leader.

Cheers,
Zach

*To enjoy past editions of the Morning Motivator go to – http://grow-learn-lead.blogspot.com


The Morning Motivator is a copyrighted publication. The use of this article is open for print or publication with proper citations.