Business Karma

/in /by

Business Karma

The Dalai Lama writes:

‘The word ‘Karma’ simply means ‘action’. So when we talk about our ‘Karma’ we are talking about our intentional (and unintentional) acts of body, speech and mind. And when we talk about the fruits of our Karma, we are talking about the consequences of those acts.’

The same is true of Organisations (and teams within them). Their ‘Karma’ are their acts, and the fruits of their ‘Karma’ is their reputation in the market (and therefore their customer loyalty and referrability).

So ‘Karma’ is VITAL FOR LONG TERM SUCCESS in today’s world of informed and hyper-connected customers.

How do Organisations usually know what results their Karma are generating? There are 3 ways:

  1. Guessing (the normal way) – resulting in pain and waste
  2. Surveys (the next most normal way) – the same as guessing, but this time with the added complication of incomplete and misleading information thrown in!
  3. Genuine customer feedback and engagement (the rare way) – resulting in genuine knowledge, motivation, reputation, loyalty and referrals

The conclusions are simple and don’t need to be spelt out.

In a world where the fruits of your ‘Karma’ will determine your success, you need to obsessively listen for your ‘Karma’ and systematically work on it bit by bit, until it is consistently and predictably positive.

And then work on it some more.

Please feel free to contact us for free information on how to do this in your team or organisation: support@salesthroughservice.com

The 4 Basic Behaviours of Service Excellence

/in /by

The 4 Basic Behaviours of Service Excellence

So much is written about customer experience that it often goes in one ear and out of the other.

The key to success in any subject is to keep it simple and do it well. 

So, what are the 4 Key Basic Behaviours of Experience Excellence?

Well, if anything is right, it has to be common sense: so all these behaviours must follow the common sense rules of all behaviours …

 

Rule 1: our beliefs drive our emotions

Rule 2: our emotions drive our behaviours

Rule 3: our behaviours produce our results

Rule 4: our results reinforce our beliefs

 

So, applying this to customer experience …

Rule 1: believe that great customer experience is your product: this is what produces success (NOT your product)

Rule 2: know that emotions drive behaviour: what emotions do you want your customers to have in order to be loyal to you? What emotions do you want your staff to have to be engaged and motivated by you?

Rule 3: what behaviours are realistic, consistent and sustainable: consistency is more important than occasional excellence (as McDonalds have proven so well!), so constantly seek to improve behaviours and consistency little by little, every day and every week (remember Kaizen?)

Rule 4: measure your results: as well as your profits: the results you need to measure are your customers’ opinion of you, because this will determine your future success (we’ll tell you how to do this simply and cheaply in a later top tip).

So: Learn and inwardly digest these 4 basic behaviours of experience excellence.

 

 

 

How can I be a better leader?

/in /by

How can I be a better leader?

I would guess that we all want to be better leaders – after all, better leaders get better results with less effort! So what do you need to do to become one?

Here are a few rules and ideas for you.

  • Remember all customers are volunteers – internal and external customers – they want you to be a great leader, so they have something worthwhile to follow.
  • See your internal customers as your no 1 priority – they’re the ones who need leading, inspiring and motivating to deal remarkably with your external customers
  • Have a crystal clear statement of what you and the Organisation are REALLY about (we call this a ‘customer focused mission’ but don’t worry about the name: if people are hyper clear on exactly what does and doesn’t matter to the Organisation, and the values associated with it, then that’s the job done).
  • Lead the Mission by example, and never deviate (even when times are hard)
  • If you ever do have to deviate, tell your people why and when you’re returning, before any deviation happens.
  • Manage your time effectively
  • Communicate effectively at all levels – win/win thinking and agreements
  • Gather feedback through simple systems and ‘management by wandering about’ obsessively
  • Ensure everyone else does the same
  • Use the feedback to understand people’s REAL needs, and Act effectively on feedback, little step by little step
  • Keep going: it doesn’t matter how slow you go, as long as you never stop!

Remember, there’s not a lot of difference between ‘a great leader’ and ‘a bit of a prat’ … focus on small things done brilliantly … by the inch it’s a cinch, by the yard it’s hard.

There’s your answer to ‘how can I be a better leader’?

 

For free resources and help with leadership and management systems that actually work, please drop us a line at support@salesthroughservice.com and we’ll send you our free ebooks on this subject.