Kent Blumberg

Ten reasons I keep coming back to Toastmasters

2010-08-23T13:00:00-05:00

Sometimes life gets too busy and I can't make it to a Monday evening meeting. But whenever I can, I'm going to hop in the car at 6:40 pm and head to the meeting of GSU Baton Rouge Toastmasters. I keep coming back for ten reasons. For the same ten reasons, you should consider visiting your local Toastmasters club.

I can still get better at public speaking. In fact, I have a long way to go before I can consider myself a master of the art. I go to Toastmasters because it is a supportive and positive learning environment.
I like seeing my friends there. Our local Toastmasters club draws 15 to 20 attendees each week. I wouldn't know any of these very cool folks if not for Toastmasters. The club has become a circle of friends who only want two things: to improve their own speaking, and to help me improve mine.
The speeches are great. It doesn't matter if we are hearing a member's first speech, or her 50th speech. Every speech gives me a window into the life of the speaker. I'm fascinated by people, so every speech feeds my curiosity.
I get the chance to introduce new people to the wonders of public speaking, whether it's by chatting with them at a meeting, or mentoring them as they work through the speaking projects.
It helps my hone my ability to speak clearly and succinctly on surprise topics. All of us have the need, at times, to respond quickly and intelligently to unexpected questions. The Table Topics portion of each meeting gives me the opportunity to practice that skill.
It helps me more clearly and quickly explain what I do (business and leadership coaching) to others. The more practice I have with Table Topics (see #5) the easier it is to tell folks what I do.
It sharpens my ear. When I take on one of the ancillary roles (ah counter, grammarian, word-master) it sharpens my ear. I'm on high-alert throughout the meeting, listening for specific things. In turn, that listening practice has improved my ability to listen closely and carefully to my coaching clients.
It tones my critical thinking muscles. When I take on an evaluator role (evaluating one of the speeches, or evaluating the entire meeting), I practice spotting positives and negatives and feeding those back to the speaker in a positive and supportive manner. This mirrors the sort of analysis and feedback every supervisor should be giving to his team members - timely, specific and supportive.
It gives me a place to be helpful. I don't currently hold any formal leadership roles in our chapter, so I am not required to do anything but show up. But I get great pleasure arriving early on occasion, and helping get the room set up. And I love to greet visitors and show them the ropes. I like to help others, and our chapter meetings give me the opportunity to do that.
Okay, the real reason I keep coming back: It's a ton of fun. That's it - it's just plain fun.

You might enjoy Toastmasters. It doesn't cost anything but your time to find out. If you are in the Baton Rouge area, visit GSU Baton Rouge Toastmasters any Monday at 7 pm. If you live away from here, go to the Toastmasters International site to find a club near you. We're all over the world, so there is sure to be one near to you.

If nothing else, I can promise it will be fun.

Why I don't want a referral fee

2010-08-18T13:00:00-05:00

My business is built on referrals. That's pretty much the only way clients find me. I have a website, and this blog, but both serve more to build credibility than they do to attract new clients. Word of mouth is it for me. And I am convinced that the way to build that word of mouth is by helping others - my referral sources - build their businesses.

That's why I don't need a referral fee. In fact, a fee would be deter me from giving referrals to you. Here's why.

Referrals are all about trust. I refer people to you only after I have come to trust you and the job you do. I refer to you only people whom I trust will treat you with respect. When I give a referral, I am connecting two people I value. Money would get in the way of that.

I want to be able to refer potential clients to you free of the taint of a commission or fee. I want to be able to say - with complete honesty - that I am referring them to you solely because I think you can help them. I don't want anyone to think I refer people to you because you pay me to do so.

In fact, a referral fee makes me feel cheap, and it cheapens our relationship. I refer to you because we have carefully built a trusting and mutually supportive relationship, from which we both are deriving benefit. I don't want our relationship to become transactional. And I don't want to feel as if you are my boss, paying me to deliver the goods.

I refer to you, first and foremost, because I am impressed by you, I like you, and I want to see your business soar. I know that eventually you will find some way to help my business soar, too, but I'm not concerned about when or how that will happen. I refer to you because it makes me feel good - about you and about me. That's all I need.

Oh, and a thank you if it works out. That's all.

And my guess is that most of you are like me. How many of you, for example, have told friends about a great new restaurant? I'll bet most of you have. And how many of you received something from the restaurant in return? None of you, I'll bet. You referred people to the restaurant because it felt good to be able to tell them about a great experience and to imagine how they would think of you once they took you up on it.

Okay, so what if you still want to do something for me in return for a referral? Here are a few things you can do that would feel good to me (and to your other referral sources):

Look for people to whom you can introduce me - people who might help drive my business forward.
Give me referrals.
Volunteer to support a charity that is important to me.
Put a plug for me under your email signature (I.e., "I recommend Pat's dry cleaning.").
Endorse me on Linked In.
Write about me on your blog.
On your website, add a link to my website.
Send me a testimonial, with permission to use it in my marketing.
Find places for me to speak.
Tell your friends about me and about my services.
Nominate me for an award.

Any of these would be far more valuable than a referral fee.

How do you reward your referral sources? Are you stuck giving referral fees, or have you found more valuable ways of returning the favor?

How to fire a client

2010-08-16T13:00:00-05:00

Not long ago I gave you nine reasons you might want to fire a client. In this post, we'll explore how to do that - how to pink-slip a bad client.

Choose your channel carefully. The best method is via the mail - real mail, snail mail, the kind that takes a stamp. We tend to take more care with snail mail than with almost any form of communication. The act of putting our thoughts on real paper slows us down and helps us create a clear, non-inflammatory message.

Avoid email. The potential for creating flame wars is too great. And avoid the phone. You won't be able to craft your thoughts as well on the phone, and may feel forced to respond more quickly than would be prudent.

Start your letter cordially (Dear Mr. Blumberg), and avoid emotion throughout.

In your message, spell out your reasons for the decision. Try to put the reasons in terms of your capabilities (we are not equipped to meet your needs), rather than blaming the client for the decision. You might say, "This is not working as well for me as I had hoped," and then explain briefly why that is so. Don't give more than three reasons for your decision.

If you are under contract with the client, be sure to have a lawyer review your options, your decision, and your letter, in order to keep you out of trouble. On the other hand, if you believe the client has breached your contract, be sure that is clearly spelled out in your letter.

An alternative to a direct approach is to raise your fees much higher than you expect the client to accept. Be sure you raise your fees high enough so that, if the client still wants to work with you, you will be okay continuing the relationship. In this case, still inform the customer of your decision in writing.

Run through this checklist to be sure you've covered all your bases:

Check your contract to be sure you follow its requirements.
Keep all documents relating to the termination, including emails and other notes.
Write a cordial but firm letter.
Mail the final invoice.
Don't tell others about your decision. Just leave it between you and your former client.

May the force be with you!

Nine reasons to fire clients

2010-08-09T13:00:00-05:00

Not every client is your ideal client. In fact, some clients are downright toxic. They sap your energy, undermine your brand, waste your time, keep you too busy to take on better clients, send your staff running for the hills and send you running for the Valium. In spite of the revenue toxic clients may bring in, I can think of at least nine reasons to fire them.

The client acts unethically, or demands unethical behavior on your part. All we have, in the end, is our reputation - with others and with ourselves. When we act out of alignment with our values and ethics, or support those who do so, we are out of integrity. When we are out of integrity, we are less effective and more stressed.
You don't like the client. This one doesn't show up on most lists like this, but it's crucial to me. One of the advantages of owning my own business is that I can choose with whom I will do business. I don't have to work with a jerk if I don't want to. Why give up that hard-won freedom? Why spend time with a client I don't like?
Other people tell you the client - or prospective client - is a jerk. Many of us, me included, are convinced that we know better than the rest of the world. That's what gives us the confidence to get up in the morning and go at it one more time. But when several of your trusted friends and colleagues are telling you that your client is a jerk, listen. They are probably right. Unless you thrive on serving jerks, run for the hills.
Your client expects miracles. Sometimes clients have unrealistic expectations of us and of what we can deliver. Sometimes, we are complicit in that, afraid to let the client see we are anything less than perfect at what we do. We bear the responsibility for clarifying what we can do. However, when we have been very clear about that and the client still expects us to perform miracles, it's better to bow out gracefully. The alternative is to attempt a miracle, fail, disappoint the client, and create a negative reference.
The client abuses you or your staff. No fee, no matter how big, justifies an abusive client. If your client yells at you, lies to you, makes unreasonable demands on your time and talent, then fire that client. If your client treats your staff this way, fire the client.
The client undermines you. Professional services engagements (coaching, consulting, legal services, accounting, financial planning, real estate sales, and so on) are partnerships between the provider (you) and the client. A mutually supportive and collaborative relationship builds far more value than one that is all one-way. And if the client is actively undermining you, it's even worse.
The client constantly tries to get you to lower your price. This is a hard one for many consultants, especially those who are still building their practice. The temptation is to give in, just to get the business. But be careful. Yes, it's hard to know exactly what to charge professional services clients. And sometimes we'll get it wrong and ask for too much. But once you have found the fee level that works for you and for most clients, hold firm. Avoid the client who wants the same service you give to others, and wants it for much less money. Let them walk, and find more of those high paying clients.
The client doesn't pay on time, or doesn't pay until after several reminders from you. For me, this one goes back to reason #1. It's simply unethical to delay payment for your services. On top of that, it's a form of abuse (#5) and undermines your ability to do a great job (#6). Don't waste time with late-paying clients. Have a clear late policy in your agreements, and follow the policy to the letter. Don't provide more services to a late-paying client, in the hope that will encourage payment. It won't. Instead, it rewards bad behavior and encourages more late payment. Stop serving the client and demand payment. Send the client to collection if you need to.
The client fails to keep commitments, including appointments scheduled with you. In a collaborative, professional services relationship, you don't do all the work. The client has work to do, too. When the client fails to keep commitments, it makes more work for you. When the client cancels appointments at the last minute, you lose the opportunity to use that hour for another client. Don't let clients abuse you in this way. When a client continually misses commitments, it's time to walk.

Coming Wednesday: How to fire a client.

Chester Reed and doing what you love

2010-08-06T13:00:00-05:00

Do you love what you do? Apparently, Chester Reed did. He retired last month from the job he's held for the last 37 years. A job he loved. Moreover, he's 95 years old. 95!

I hope I am passionate about what I'm doing when I'm 95, and I hope the same for you.

Here's the thing. We are passionate beings. That's one big thing that separates us from other beings on this earth - our passion. Passion fuels us. Passion keeps us going when times are tough. Passion drives us to greatness.

When we aren't doing what we love, we are less than we could be. We fail to reach our full potential when we aren't doing what we love. We may survive. We may even thrive in a material sense, but we won't thrive without passion for our work.

Others can tell when we are "phoning it in." Our lack of passion shows, and we are a bit less in the eyes of others. In addition, we often have the feeling there is something more to life; that we aren't experiencing everything life has to offer.

I'm lucky to be doing what I love. It wasn't always that way, and I know how it feels to be doing something less than what I love. I also know how impossible it can seem to make the leap from humdrum to passion in our work. Life seems to conspire to make humdrum feel safe and secure, and to pull us back from that great leap of faith. I was there. I did not make my move because it seemed too risky to do so.

Until I disagreed with my CEO and he helped me make the leap. By sending me packing.

What had kept me from changing myself were my fears of the unknown, and my ability to imagine the worst. And the fact that I didn't really know what I wanted to do. For months I pursued more of the same. It was only after my wife pointed out how I seemed to be hoping no one would make me an offer that I began to question what I was doing. It took nearly a year from the day I lost my job for me to figure out who I am and what I could contribute to the world.

I didn't take the time - until I was forced - to step back and ask what my purpose is here. Perhaps I could have saved some time and pain if I had done so earlier. Perhaps I had to grow through it all in order to arrive where I am now.

Perhaps.

Perhaps you don't believe it's important to love what you do. If that's true for you, then read no further. But if you are interested in finding your passion, here are some things to try.

Read Marcus Buckingham's Go Put Your Strengths to Work and do the exercises.
List three to five times in your life when you felt strong, smooth, excited and lost in what you were doing. What were you doing at each of those times? Which of your strengths were you using? Whom were you serving?
Find a quiet place to sit and ponder. Imagine you are about to go out on stage to accept a lifetime achievement award. Over a thousand people await you and your acceptance speech. The buzz is huge. What did you do to earn this award? How do you feel about that? Imagine walking out on that stage to give your acceptance talk. It won't be a long one, but it will touch the audience deeply. You make your speech. There is a hush before the audience stands and gives you a rousing ovation. What did you tell them to touch them so deeply?
Be aware of what fuels your passions. When you realize the time has flown, that you just spent a few hours doing something so right for you that you didn't even think about time, note what it is you were doing.
Pay attention to your emotions. Your emotions are powerful clues to the work you were meant to do. When something pulls you, explore it. Somewhere in there may be the key to your passion.

Finding your passion is the first step. What to do when you discover that you aren't doing what you love is the subject of a future post or two.

[Photo by Daniel Hennessy/L2 Agency. Downloaded from http://www.aarp.org/work/work-life/info_06_2010/oldest_u_s_postalworkerretiresat95/.]