More Lessons from “The Cult of the Customer”
Posted on July 2, 2009
Filed Under Articles, Communication, Customer Service, Marketing, Miscellaneous, Small Biz - Misc., Speakers | Leave a Comment
By Shep Hykin
The Cult of the Customer comes from five very distinct phases, or cults, that companies operate in. Do any of these describe you and/or your company?
1. The Cult of Uncertainty – This is where most companies are working from. In the worst situation, the customer has no confidence as the experiences are unpredictable. Not to beat up on the airlines, but how confident can one be that a flight will be on time when the airline arrives on time only 75% of the time?
2. The Cult of Alignment – This is where the company has created a brand promise, or mantra, that lets employees and customers know what to expect. For example, Outback Steakhouse had a brand promise that was “Great Food, No Rules!”
3. The Cult of Experience – Even with a great brand promise, the customer may not have
confidence until that promise is experienced, sometimes numerous times.
4. The Cult of Ownership – Once the customer experiences the promise, and it is predictable,
the customer owns it. This is a powerful place to be.
5. The Cult of Amazement – This is the ultimate Cult. When the experience is predictable and
is consistently better than average, the company has risen beyond satisfactory. People may
think that “amazement” means a WOW experience. Yet it is simpler than that. It is confidence
in a consistently above average experience that puts companies into this Cult.
It is in the Cult of Amazement where customer loyalty really begins. Understanding the five
Cults, and where you and your company fit in, is the beginning of creating Amazement, which
leads to loyalty and eventually evangelism; when your customers are more than just loyal.
It’s when they rave about you to their friends and associates.
Which Cult are you in?
Here is your homework assignment. Find out more about these five Cults, and where you and
your company fits in by going to www.CultOfTheCustomer.com/forms and download (at no
cost) a checklist. Before you can know where you are going, you have to know where you
are.
(For more information on The Cult of the Customer, click here.)
Shep Hyken, CSP is a professional speaker and author who works with companies who want
to develop loyal relationships with their customers and employees. For more information on
Shep’s speaking presentations, including his customer service speaking programs, books, tapes
and learning programs please contact (314) 692-2200. Email: shep@hyken.com Web: www.
hyken.com
Copyright ©2009 by Shep Hyken, CSP, CPAE and Shepard Presentations, LLC
9 Ways to Become a Better Listener
Posted on June 30, 2009
Filed Under Articles | Leave a Comment
By Debra Schmidt
Sometimes the most painful feedback can give you the greatest opportunity to grow. I still vividly remember an experience that happened to me 25 years ago. I was about six months into my new role as a manager when a very talented employee marched into my office and asked to speak with me privately.
I invited her to take a seat and she looked me right in the eye and said, “You’re a pretty good manager but I find it really frustrating to work for you.”
My stomach knotted up and although I was afraid to hear her response, I asked, “Why?”
She replied, “Because you never listen to me or the other employees on your team. You pretend you’re listening but we can tell that you’re not. You nod and say, ‘uh huh’ a lot, but it seems like you’re just going through the motions.”
Her words hurt but the message sunk in. After that conversation I solicited feedback from family and friends, asking them to evaluate my listening skills. Their comments were unanimous–I was a lousy listener. I was often more focused on what I was saying rather than on what I was hearing. As a result, I had a tendency to speak without thinking and frequently wished I could take back my words.
I decided it was time for me to learn how to be an better listener. I took classes, read books and even received some personal coaching to help me improve. I’m a fast-paced person and listening does not come naturally to me, so, even after all these years I need to stay diligent and continually work on these skills. Below is a list of some of the tips that I have found to be most helpful in my quest to keep my foot out of my mouth.
Here are 9 ways to become a better listener:
1. Evaluate your listening skills by paying attention to how you currently interact with others.
Which of these scenarios best fits your listening style?
- I do not listen to the speaker because I’m absorbed in my own thoughts.
- I contribute to the conversation but I give no indication of having heard the other person’s comments.
- When I respond, I accurately refer to what the other person has said without judging their opinions.
- I use appropriate body language and make comments to demonstrate empathy for the other person’s feelings.
2. Avoid distractions so you can concentrate on what the other person is saying.
Be careful not to read your email, glance at your watch or check your cell phone display. Each of these actions represents bad manners and you are sending a message that their words are less important than your toys. If you glance away while the other person is speaking you are sure to insult them.
3. Send nonverbal messages to indicate that you have heard what was being said.
Maintain eye contact, but don’t forget to blink, or you may make the other person uncomfortable. An occasional head nod (don’t get carried away with too much nodding), or leaning slightly forward demonstrates that you are actively engaged in the conversation.
4. Don’t make early evaluations.
Don’t be too quick to judge or offer an opinion even when you agree with the other person. Allow plenty of time for them to express their point of view and think carefully before you speak so you don’t hinder their thought process.
5. Practice reflective listening.
This is also called paraphrasing. Reflect back all or some of what the other person has shared to show that you were paying attention. For example, “If I’m hearing you correctly, what you are telling me that…” Only use this technique to reinforce important points. Over-use can make you come across as insincere.
6. Ask good questions for clarification and to show interest.
Ask open-ended questions that focus on something the other person has shared. For example, “Your travel plans sound exciting. Tell more about why and how you chose that destination.”
7. Learn to distinguish when it’s worth it to comment and when it’s not.
Think carefully before you speak. If your comments add value to the conversation, feel free to share them. But if they only serve to draw the attention back to you, it may be a good time to remain silent.
8. Encourage the other person.
Exhibit sincere enthusiasm and respect. Smile, avoid interrupting and use your best manners while listening.
9. Set aside your ego.
If you truly want to be an effective listener, you will need to focus less on you and more on the other person.
Due to the challenges of living in this fast-paced world, many people are poor listeners. Effective listening plays a critical role in business. The most successful people I know are people with solid listening skills. Improving your ability to listen will help you to earn respect, advance your career and generally improve all of your relationships.
Sometimes in your desire to handle workplace conversations as quickly as possible, you can neglect the use of common courtesies as you communicate. Yet the few extra seconds it takes to add them is well worth the time. If you simply focus on getting the task done and rush through internal and external service requests, you’ll miss tremendous opportunities to build loyalty. You’ll learn many more communication tips from the audio CD and handout, Do’s and Don’ts of Customer Communications.
Debra J. Schmidt is known as the Loyalty Leader® and is the author of Building Customer Loyalty from the Inside Out. As a consultant, trainer and professional speaker, Debra helps companies boost profits by leading the way to greater customer loyalty. Visit www.LoyaltyLeader.com to subscribe to Debra’s free online newsletter or learn how you can hire her deliver onsite training to you and your employees.
Memberships = Residual Income, BUT
Posted on June 25, 2009
Filed Under Blogging, Online Marketing, Passive Income, Resources, Small Biz - Misc. | Leave a Comment
When I say “Membership Sites“, what’s one of the first things that comes to mind?
Residual income right?
Getting paid month after month is definitely a nice situation but here’s the problem…
If you can’t get your membership site off the ground, you’ll never be able to enjoy the residual benefits of having one.
And that’s where most people get stuck.
Why?
Because they either make it too hard or they get caught up in the “technical” aspects of building a membership.
Here’s the good news…
I found a solution that will make this a breeze for you.
It’s called WishList Member:
http://member.wishlistproducts.com/wlp.php?af=951103
If you like WordPress, you’ll LOVE WishList Member because it quickly (and easily) turns your blog into a full fledged membership site.
It’s a excellent product and they have great support (including 30+ videos you can view for free before even buying the product).
Take a look:
http://member.wishlistproducts.com/wlp.php?af=951103
Enjoy!
Terry
P.S. If you sell any “digital products” online, you may also want to look at this as a way to deliver your products because it gives you greater control over who has access to your products 
Here is the link:
http://member.wishlistproducts.com/wlp.php?af=951103
P.S.S. After you purchase your copy of WishList Member, give us a call to find out how we can help you get your membership site up and running - You’ll be glad you did
2 Income-Strategies You Can Use to Free Up Your Time
Posted on June 23, 2009
Filed Under Articles | Leave a Comment
By Leesa Barnes
Over the years, I’ve learned from some of the best minds in online marketing, such as:
Milana Leshinsky, Alexandria Brown, Kendall Summerhawk, Melanie Benson Strick, Ramon Williamson, Suzanne Falter-Barns, Michael Port, Scott Stratten, Kim Castle, Andrea J. Lee and countless others whose information products I’ve digested.
Although their strategies differ, the one thing they all agree on is that you should create multiple streams of income in your business. There are many ways to generate money in your business, but we can group them into 3 broad categories.
They are either fixed, leveraged, or residual. Of these, only 2 can free up your time.(And you’ll notice that I left out passive because in my mind, no income stream is truly passive. In other words, you’ll need to do something in order to keep moola rolling in).
Let’s go through each one by one:
- Fixed - The dictionary defines fixed as “not fluctuating or varying.” In other words, this income streams doesn’t move. Sadly, the income of most consulting and coaching businesses are set up this way. You would charge the client an hourly rate and then you do a certain task during that hour.Examples of this are hourly coaching sessions or website development. As you’ve probably noticed, this model doesn’t scale. You have very little free time to create new products or services because most of your 30-40 hour week is tied up working 1-to-1. That means your income will be stuck at a certain level which is typically the mid to high 5-figure range. At this point, all you’ve done is replace the salary you’ve received when you worked full-time for someone else. As Kendall Summerhawk said on her blog on the same topic, “You end up not only feeling burnt out but feeling broke too, even though you’re working plenty hard.”
- Leveraged - In her book Coaching Millions, Milana Leshinsky describes leverage as “creating the content once, then repurposing it in different formats and at different price points.” This is the first thing I teach my clients to do to help them transition from a fixed income stream.Examples of leveraged income are recordings from a workshop that are sold on DVD as a home study course or blog posts that are published as a physical book. The whole idea is to create the content once, then produce it in a variety of formats.
- Residual - When an old television show goes into syndication, most actors will get a small royalty. This is a similar concept that can be used in your business. I first came across this strategy through Milana’s book, however, I’m going to define it a little differently from how Milana did. Residual is when you create a product or service and then you earn money through a subscription model. My monthly membership club, Lead Attractor School, falls into this model. So too does a licensing program. Also, if you sell a service, you can collect money monthly. Online shopping cart systems, such as Cartville, are a great example of this.
Of these 3 income streams, only leveraged and residual can free up your time. And if you want to learn which specific strategies I use in my business, join me on my free preview call series where I’ll share with you how I earn an extra 4, 5 and 6 figure income per month, all while enjoying a 4-hour workday. Reserve your spot for this no-cost call.
What Can We Learn from Miley Cyrus?
Posted on June 18, 2009
Filed Under Articles, Miscellaneous, Small Biz - Misc., Speakers | Leave a Comment
By Jane Atkinson (originally written on May 6, 2009)
Today is my 45th birthday.
I figure 45 is about the half way mark. If all goes well, with modern technology, I may live until 90. Now for my clients who have survived cancer, climbing accidents and hippo attacks (yes, it’s true) I know that life is precious and that I can’t take anything for granted.
And, as the eloquent line from 17-year old Miley Cyrus’s new song “The Climb” tells us, it’s not about reaching the top of the mountains, it’s about the climb.
It’s about the journey of life.
So being at the ½ way mark, I have to check in and ask myself, “am I living my life by design or by accident?” “Am I enjoying the journey?”
