What strikes me is that the same is true for those who are successful at business. It is consistent dedication to a particular niche that gets people to the top of their field. It is a fine tuned focus that enables people to become the expert, to become the one to follow if you want to know what’s happening in a particular field or industry. It is also the discipline to “fit it all in” that helps those people appear to be everywhere and get everything done (blogging, writing books, speaking, handling clients, etc.).

The lesson are these:

– find the one thing you are truly best at (and preferably enjoy doing)

– determine what it would take to get to the top (or at least be a gold medal contender)

– set aside specific time each day to fine tune your craft

– set aside additional time each day to fine tune those extra activities that will help you be better (social networking, speech writing, etc.)

– when you’re ready, put yourself out there and go for it with gusto!

Finally, don’t be afraid of failure. All of the top athletes on the podiums have slipped, tripped, fallen, and been injured and may have even had some doubt, but somehow their belief in themselves truly never wavered and they continued to sacrifice and put in the time necessary to get to the top.

Great life and business lessons from the Winter Olympics. Thanks athletes!

Good customer service is your greatest source of business. Let me say that again, good customer service is your greatest source of business. If you are not focused on providing the most outstanding customer support possible, you are missing an opportunity to let other people sing your praises, and now people can sing your praises, not just over coffee, but over Twitter, LinkedIn, RSS feeds, etc, etc.

Here are a few recent experiences I’ve had with good and bad customer service. Purchased a Calvin Klein coat at Macy’s. Zipper keeps separating. I don’t want to return the coat (it’s really beautiful!). I called the Macy’s store where I purchased it and asked if they had another and was told I needed the receipt and she couldn’t look anything up for me by my account info and despite saying, “This is Jill, how can I provide you with outstanding customer service today?” She was quick to inform me that she had other things to do and couldn’t wait for me to look for the receipt and I should call back. I called the main Macy’s number and got through to a woman who gave me all the info and said I should call back the store and they would find the coat at another store, have it delivered and I could pick it up there…. called back the store and was stuck in a 30 minute loop and couldn’t get the original department. Finally got through got the same woman who told me the main call in number was wrong and that she couldn’t order it for me, I would have to call other stores and have it delivered to my home and pay for shipping. Several of the stores I called said they didn’t actually have it and couldn’t help me. Finally reached an Ohio store clerk who apologized for all the other stores and said she would find the coat for me, which she did and called me back with the all the details. Awesome.

In the meantime I called Calvin Klein in NYC who told me they would reimburse me for $25 for the zipper repair and instantly sent me the claim form. Super!

Now the dark side…. Recently I paid my Bank of America bill using their online payment system (which I do all the time and I always pay off the full amount due), but I had to send it from two different sources. Their website is awful and too complicated and while it allowed me to make two payments, they couldn’t be the same amount (weird). So I made one less and realized the total would be short by about $150. I tried to fix it and again, the site wouldn’t let me. So I figured, no problem, I would pay the interest on the left over $150, how much could that be? Then I received my bill and found a $38 interest charge (25% on the outstanding balance!). When I called to say there must be some mistake, the woman on the other end of the phone said, “No, we charge you on the full amount even if you pay most of it on time, but leave $1.00 outstanding… WHAT? I just paid nearly $8,000, I have a flawless credit history and have paid my entire balance due every month since having the card. When I asked, “Could you waive it this one time for me since I’m such a good customer?” “No sorry we are not allowed to do that. Is that all? If so, I hope I have provided you with excellent customer service today.” WHAT??? No you haven’t! And now I can tell the word about in many different ways. I hope to never use that card again!

How is your customer service? Regardless of whether you are a big company or a small one, good customer service is your more important asset. Call in to your own company, how is the phone system? Ask for customer support and report a problem, how is it handled? What happens when you place an order on your site?  Try it. If you have poor customer service you are sending people to a competitor and encouraging them to tell the world about your bad customer service.

Want to take it a step further? Ask your customers how you’re doing. Most companies are afraid to do this. They don’t want to hear the negative responses. You should not only hear them, you should respond to them and make changes based on them (if appropriate of course, there’s always a few folks you won’t ever please). Make phone calls to customers, set up an on-line survey, send an email, do something and find out if you are maximizing one of your best marketing tools – good word of mouth.

ARE YOU LISTENING BANK OF AMERICA!? 

This week HBO aired a movie about her life starring Claire Danes as Ms. Grandin. It is a moving and thought provoking look into the lives of those we may not understand, those who are “different, but not less.” The entire movie is filled with inspiration, but one image that I found particularly empowering was that of the door. When confronted with a difficult situation, Temple Grandin is told by one of her professor’s to think of it as a door that she can go through rather than an obstacle. It is a theme throughout the movie. And it applies to each and everyone of us. Next time you are confronted with a situation that appears to be insurmountable or a roadblock or stumbling block, consider it instead to be a door with something new and exciting waiting on the other side and you will somehow find a way to get through it.  And perhaps find a wonderful opportunity waiting for you! You can watch the movie on HBO over the next several weeks; but I also recommend reading one of her many books. You are bound to find even more inspiration!

Temple Grandin; inspirational!

In the past I have given many workshops and seminars on marketing. During the past two years I have been asked “Should I blog?” at every workshop. My response has traditionally been, “probably not.” My reason for that response was because most business people don’t have the ability to transfer what they know in their industry into layman’s terms so that others can easily understand it AND because in order to blog successfully, you need to be consistent; you need to make a commitment to spend time each week blogging about something interesting. Most people can’t even find the time to check their LinkedIn in-box each week, much less blog about something consistently in a voice that people can understand.

Therefore, my response about creating a blog is the same; probably not, unless you will make a weekly (or daily) time commitment to it and you will find a way to transfer what you know, what is news in your industry, or what might be a revelation to your target audience and turn it into layman’s terms that will excite someone enough to contact you about it or share it with others.

If you still want to blog and now understand why it is important and how to do it, then perhaps you can assign someone within your company who has knowledge and time and the ability to write well, to create a company blog. If so, be sure to oversee it and make sure that it properly represents your firm.

When you are brave enough, open it up to comments from visitors. Scary? Yes, why? Because people might say something negative about your company, yes, they might. What a wonderful opportunity for you to respond quickly and carefully and make sure that you come across as a responsive and caring organization. It is actually a chance to shine.

So, before this goes on too long. That’s my blogging 101 lesson and very first post (I actually have a blog on my website with other posts, but this is an official WordPress blog!). Please feel free to comment and to ask questions. My intent it to have this blog as an open marketing and public relations forum where people can ask questions, get answers and have healthy discussions that move everyone forward. Afterall, the recession is over (according to Alan Greenspan who just reiterated that on Meet the Press this morning!).

Looking forward to hearing from you!