Re:Focus

Who Cares About Customers?

One day, when you get old, would you like your family to support you or would you like them to care about you?

If you're family supports you, that means they will pay the bills for the old age home, call you the prescribed number of times and visit you on your birthday. But if they care about you, they will visit you more often and not on any set schedule. They will bring the grand kids over and make sure you get an extra helping of marshmallow sweet potatoes (your favorite) at Thanksgiving.

No one wants to be supported, we want to be cared for. So why are so many companies so proud of their "customer support?" You see it all the time on websites...the link in the upper corner that says simply, "support." To most that means giving you the ability to send an email with your question.  Support means answering your questions and acting in the prescribed manner.  But "care," that's an entirely different standard. Care is human...like the customers.

There is power in words - just as you plainly understood the difference when I asked you if you wanted to be supported or cared for when you get old, so too does that word impact the behavior of the people we hire to support...er...care for...our customers.  Firstly, the department itself is usually called, "customer support."  It should be called, "customer care."  We tell those who work in the department to offer "customer support."  We should be telling them to "care for our customers."

We, as customers, can always tell the difference too.  A customer support agent who has been told to offer "support" tends to follow a script.  They tend to be matter-of-fact about things. And even if the problem is not resolved to your satisfaction, they will actually tell you all the things they've done to help you and that there is nothing more they can do. That is, by all fair metrics, good support.

But customer care agents who have been told to take care of the customer, will talk to you differently.  They have more patience.  They will go out of their way or even ask one of their colleagues for help if they don't know the answer.  There is no script.  They don't need one.  If you hire someone who likes people and you tell them to take care of other people, there is no special training required...just special words to inspire them to do the right thing...to take care.

Do You Know Why?

  Why are some people and organizations more innovative, more influential, and more profitable than others? Why do some command greater loyalty from customers and employees alike? Even among the successful, why are so few able to repeat their successes over and over?

 People like Martin Luther King Jr., Steve Jobs, and the Wright Brothers might have little in common, but they all started with why. Their natural ability to start with why enabled them to inspire those around them and to achieve remarkable things.

 Three and a half years ago I made a discovery. I discovered that all the most inspiring and successful leaders, regardless if they are individuals or organizations, regardless of their size or industry, all think, act, and communicate in the exact same way—and it’s the complete opposite of what everyone else does. I called this powerful idea The Golden Circle, and it provides a framework upon which organizations can be built, movements can be led, and people can be inspired. And it all starts with WHY.

Any organization can explain what it does; some can explain how they do it; but very few can clearly articulate why. WHY is not money or profit—those are always results. Why does your organization exist? Why does it do the things it does? Why do customers really buy from one company or another? Why are people loyal to some leaders, but not others?

Start With Why is a book for those who want to learn to inspire others and for those who want to find someone to inspire them.  Start with Why is available now at your favorite book seller.

Special Promotion: Buy two copies, give one away and we can inspire even more people...

Tell Me What To Do Not What Not To Do.

We have an obsession in America with telling people what not to do.  Don't smoke.  Don't pollute.  Don't eat fried food.  We do the same with our colleagues, our employees and our customers.  But telling people what not to do just isn't as effective as telling them what to do.  Or  better put - amplify the positive instead of trying to fix the negative.

Let me give you an example.  What do you think of when I tell you, "Don't eat McDonald's.  It's bad for you."

Did you think of a Big Mac?  Did you think of the amazing smell of their fries?  Or did you think of eating nuts and lettuce - the healthier option.

The fact is, our brains can't process negatives.  It's like saying to someone, "don't think of a pink elephant."  It's the first thing that pops in to your mind.  So instead of telling someone, "don't eat McDonald's because it's bad for you,"  say, "eat broccoli, it's really good for you."

Tell someone not to eat McDonald's because it's unhealthy and your imposing your dogma.  Tell someone to eat broccoli because it's healthy, and now they become accountable for their own well being.  The decision making becomes proactive instead of reactive. 

Now think about this in a business context.  We impose our dogma on people everyday.  "Choose us not our competitors."  "We're better than them.  Buy this."  When was the last time a company simple laid out what they believe about the world and how their products or services are helping to advance their cause and then said simply, "do what's right for you."

When was the last time someone squeezed you on your price and you simply replied, "if it's too expensive, then you should go with someone else."  Shifting accountability is very powerful.  And it's in accountability that people perceive value.  Don't forget, value is a perception held by the buyer, not the seller.  Value can only be perceived if the buyer is accountable for their own decision instead being pressured to do what you think is the right thing to do.  This has nothing to do with the quality of the product or the service - telling someone not to eat McDonald's because it's bad is good advice...just not as effective as telling them to eat broccoli because it's good.

So...from now on, don't tell people what not to do.

I mean...from now on, tell people what you believe and allow them to make the decision that's best for them.

Answers to Common Small Business Issues

A few quick answers to some common small business issues.  A short clip from MSNBC.

(even though it is a small business show - the principles are universally applicable)

Questions include:

• How to balance growth without impacting customer service and diluting your values

• The best way to generate buzz for your company without spending a lot on PR

• What to do when a client won't pay because they are dissatisfied with the quality of work

• What to do when you have an opportunity to meet a venture capitalist when you're not ready to meet yet

• How to deal with two important employees who don't get along

Write The Perfect Want Ad

Writing the perfect want ad has a structure and  it follows The Golden Circle.  Why - How - What. 

First I asked rhetorical questions trying to connect my Why with the Why of those reading the ad.  My Why is to inspire people to do the things that inspire them so that, together, we can change the world. Anyone who doesn't want to change the world and who doesn't believe in the power of inspiration won't like working for me.  The title of my ad alone will appeal to those who do.

With a quick nod to what the job is, I explain exactly what it's like to work for me.  I'm honest about myself because I don't want any surprises and I don't want whoever gets the job to get something they weren't expecting either. 

How I wrote the ad automatically screened out most of the "bad fits," so I wasn't overwhelmed with responses.  And for the bad fits who did reply, it was easy for me to screen them out myself.  Most importantly, the ad appealed to the "good fits," and all the candidates I met were amazing.  I ended up hiring someone in less than a week she is fantastic.

Remember - there's no difference between customers or employees - people will either believe in what you believe and want to buy your products or they will believe in what you believe and want to work for you.  That they are a customer or an employee is merely a behavioral difference.   Either way, how you write your ad matters.

Good luck and feel free to email if you have any more questions.

Here is the actual ad I posted on Craig's list to hire a new personal assistant.

Do you believe you can change the world?

Do you believe the world needs a little more inspiration in it these days?

Do you want to help make the world a better place?

If so – I might want to meet you.

I’m looking for a personal assistant to help me on my quest. Everyday I wake up to find ways to inspire people to do the things that inspire them. I teach leaders and companies how to inspire people. I speak about it and write about it. But I can’t do it alone – I’m an organizational disaster – so I need help so that I can be as efficient and effective as possible.

There is no office, so you’ll be working virtually most of the time. You’ll have lots of flexibility and freedom with your schedule, so you can do other things – but I am not interested in someone who is a personal assistant to other people.

I travel a lot which means there is lots of scheduling that needs to get done – so you should be a super organized person.

And, as my personal assistant, I might ask for you to help with some personal errands too.

In a nutshell – I need a right-hand man (or woman)...I need a babysitter...I need someone who will help keep me organized and work with me to make this world a better place.

Can you help?

If you’re interested, drop me a note – tell me a little about you and we can set up some time to talk more.

Whoever will help me, I guarantee will help make this world a better place.

Thanks.