Suggest You - Business

The Perils of Positive Thinking
Something bothered me about the teeth of the consultant who was sitting in front of me, on the other side of the helpdesk. I couldn’t identify what it was immediately. I was at my bank’s foreign exchange division, hoping to get some advice on an upcoming business trip. As the positive and friendly consultant was talking, I suddenly realized what seemed out of place for me. Embedded in his front tooth was the ultimate symbol of business success - a gold dollar sign! I struggled to concentrate on our conversation. I caught myself in forced contemplation and my curious mind was analyzing why he chose this unique form of expression. I was ambushed by the realization that it was because he was working in foreign exchange. Different strokes for different folks. Some committed corporate employees choose to personalize their car number plates with the company’s name, but this consultant chose to

, your attitude is what most determines the success of every phone call. Let’s explore two examples: smiling and emotion.

First of all, I don’t need to waste your time talking about the value, the power and the necessity of smiling. You should know that already. However:

FACT: the customer will HEAR your smile over the phone.

PERFECT EXAMPLE: the best piece of advice I ever got on phone service was to buy a little mirror and stick it above my phone. Forced me to smile every time! I suggest you try this for one week.

The next facet of an UNFORGETTABLE Phone Attitude is emotion. If you want to watch a classic movie on phone service, check out Boiler Room. My favorite scene is when the office manager (Ben Affleck) preaches to his neophyte stockbrokers how to connect with prospects during cold calls:

“Get your ass out of the chair! Walk around! Motion creates e-motion!” he yells.

Great point, Ben. In other words:

Motion = Emotion = Enthusiasm = Approachability = UNFORGETTABLE Service

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Would you want to talk to you over the phone?

Whether you’re answering, chatting, listening or putting someone on hold, the phone is your friend. When used in an approachable fashion, it can mean the difference between a prospect and a customer. The difference between a lead and a sale. The difference between a one-time customer an

The Working Mother and Its Chance of Improvement
The technological advancement and the continuous innovations had made everything under the sun to be excruciated by changes not everybody benefited from the realm of development as they say. Only small part of the world determines what really lays ahead, but on the deeper side of the communities whose family experiencing uncomfortable life made the mother work to augment the growing financial gap of the family.In the 3rd world countries where most of the businessmen establish their manufacturing industries had seen the capacity of the available manpower and depending the on the product, most of the laborers are ladies and mothers. What I’m trying to focus is that the father is also working, but due to insufficient income mother has to work also. But the ironic part is that some of these industries do not hire mother. That you have to state on the application from that you are

In 2006, a study of 2,300 British consumers conducted by Harris Interactive revealed the general public's frustration with poor phone service. According to their research, 65% of consumers withdrew their business due to poor service experiences.

Wow.

Well, it’s 2007. How many customers are you going to lose from poor phone service this year?

Hopefully, zip. But let’s explore five keys to UNFORGETTABLE phone service just to make sure.

UNFORGETTABLE Openers
Customers will form an impression of you – and your company - within the first few seconds of their phone call. That’s why the first words out of your mouth are absolutely crucial.

What’s your present opening line? “Hello?” “Good morning?” Or is it some other boring, corporate handbook greeting that fades into the unmemorable multitude of every other phone call your customer will make that day?

FACT: phone greetings are opportunities to make the mundane memorable. To make the customer on the other line smile before she even asks you a question. You must project positivity, uniqueness and approachability within seconds. You can do better can “Hello?”

PERFECT EXAMPLE: for years, I’ve been answering my phone the same way: “HELLO, my name is Scott!” It’s nothing fancy, but nobody else uses it. And that’s the key. It’s fun, quick and usually gets a laugh 90% of the time. More importantly, those five words also happen to be the name of my company, the title of one of my books and the essence of my branding.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are your first few seconds UNFORGETTABLE?

UNFORGETTABLE Callers
OK, now let’s switch roles. You’re the caller. Making an important sales call to the VP of Marketing. And her assistant prompts you with the ever popular, “May I ask who’s calling?”

When you hear those beautiful five words, you should get excited. Why?

FACT: this is (yet another) two second opportunity to make the mundane memorable and project your uniqueness to someone new.

PERFECT EXAMPLE: “Yes. Tell Mrs. Freidman that it’s The Nametag Guy,” I usually say.

In most cases, three things happen next: 1) The gatekeeper chuckles and transfers me, 2) The entire company hears over the loud speaker, “Mrs. Friedman, you have The Nametag Guy holding on line 7,” and 3) The person I’ve called picks up the phone (already laughing) and says, “Hi Scott!”

Score!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Do you have the balls to say something other than your name?

UNFORGETTABLE Waiting
When I was working at the Ritz Carlton, the phone light would start blinking rapidly after thirty seconds of hold time. If an employee was in the area and didn’t pick up the phone to assist the guest, he was written up.

Sure, it was harsh. But you better believe we picked up every call within thirty seconds! Dominoes would have been proud.

Look. Hold time is still a tough issue. I’m not going to get into the technical side of it, i.e., on-hold jazz music, advertisements, wait time and the like. However:

FACT: callers become more frustrated with every passing second.

Unless.

PERFECT EXAMPLE: my friend Dave is a pro at lessening hold time. Whenever he has another call or needs to put me on hold, he doesn’t say, “Can I put you on hold?” or “Would you mind holding for a minute?” Instead, Dave says, “Scott, do me a favor: count to ten and I’ll be right back!”

I still count every time. And Dave almost always comes back as promised.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What words could you use to make hold time more fun and engaging?

UNFORGETTABLE What?
In 2006, RainToday released a scintillating study called How Clients Buy: The Benchmark Report On Professional Services Marketing And Selling From The Client Perspective.

The study gathered data from nearly 200 decision makers nationwide who purchased $1.6 billion in professional services. They were asked about their biggest pet peeves when working with service providers.

And the winner went to (drum roll please)...

“They didn’t listen to me.”

FACT: when it comes to the phone, you must remember these three things:

1. Listening is not waiting to talk.
2. You have two ears and one mouth. Listen and speak proportionately.
3. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

PERFECT EXAMPLES: here’s a sample of several Phrases That Payses™ to use during your conversations. NOTE: I suggest writing them on sticky notes and posting them above your phone:

*Excuse my annoying typing; I just want to get all this stuff down! Similar to the above example. Polite, humorous way to subtlety demonstrate active listening while on the phone.

*I am at your service. Not just for customer service professionals any more, but for everyone! All business professionals are at the service of somebody, be it their customers or coworkers. Say this phrase to reassure your client that you’ve got their back. Remind them that they can ask anything of you.

*Personally. A single word with amazing power. For example, “Mr. Sanders, I will take care of your incorrect order,” vs. “Mr. Sanders, I will PERSONALLY take care of your incorrect order.” You’ve committed. You’ve made it personal. You’ve instilled confidence in Mr. Sanders that you’re accountable for the mistake, even if it wasn’t your fault. Use this word daily.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you growing bigger ears with every call?

UNFORGETTABLE Attitde
More than anything we’ve talked about today, your attitude is what most determines the success of every phone call. Let’s explore two examples: smiling and emotion.

First of all, I don’t need to waste your time talking about the value, the power and the necessity of smiling. You should know that already. However:

FACT: the customer will HEAR your smile over the phone.

PERFECT EXAMPLE: the best piece of advice I ever got on phone service was to buy a little mirror and stick it above my phone. Forced me to smile every time! I suggest you try this for one week.

“Get your ass out of the chair! Walk around! Motion creates e-motion!” he yells.

Great point, Ben. In other words:

Motion = Emotion = Enthusiasm = Approachability = UNFORGETTABLE Service

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Would you want to talk to you over the phone?

Reverse Vending Machines - What Are They
A reverse vending machine is a device that accepts used (empty) beverage containers and returns money to the user (the reverse of the typical vending cycle). The machines are popular in places that have mandatory recycling laws or container deposit legislation in Europe.In some places, bottlers pay funds into a centralized pool to be dispersed to people who recycled the containers. Any excess funds were to be used for general environmental cleanup. In other places, such as Norway, the state mandated that a vendor pay for recycled bottles, but left the system in the hands of private industry. The dominant vendor of reverse vending machines in Europe (with 90% market share) is Tomra of Norway.Reverse vending equipment automates beverage container recycling by accepting containers directly from the consumer, accounting for each container processed, and refunding the deposit to

importantly, those five words also happen to be the name of my company, the title of one of my books and the essence of my branding.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are your first few seconds UNFORGETTABLE?

When you hear those beautiful five words, you should get excited. Why?

FACT: this is (yet another) two second opportunity to make the mundane memorable and project your uniqueness to someone new.

PERFECT EXAMPLE: “Yes. Tell Mrs. Freidman that it’s The Nametag Guy,” I usually say.

Score!

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Do you have the balls to say something other than your name?

Sure, it was harsh. But you better believe we picked up every call within thirty seconds! Dominoes would have been proud.

Look. Hold time is still a tough issue. I’m not going to get into the technical side of it, i.e., on-hold jazz music, advertisements, wait time and the like. However:

FACT: callers become more frustrated with every passing second.

Unless.

I still count every time. And Dave almost always comes back as promised.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What words could you use to make hold time more fun and engaging?

UNFORGETTABLE What?
In 2006, RainToday released a scintillating study called How Clients Buy: The Benchmark Report On Professional Services Marketing And Selling From The Client Perspective.

And the winner went to (drum roll please)...

“They didn’t listen to me.”

FACT: when it comes to the phone, you must remember these three things:

1. Listening is not waiting to talk.
2. You have two ears and one mouth. Listen and speak proportionately.
3. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

PERFECT EXAMPLES: here’s a sample of several Phrases That Payses™ to use during your conversations. NOTE: I suggest writing them on sticky notes and posting them above your phone:

*Excuse my annoying typing; I just want to get all this stuff down! Similar to the above example. Polite, humorous way to subtlety demonstrate active listening while on the phone.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you growing bigger ears with every call?

UNFORGETTABLE Attitde
More than anything we’ve talked about today, your attitude is what most determines the success of every phone call. Let’s explore two examples: smiling and emotion.

First of all, I don’t need to waste your time talking about the value, the power and the necessity of smiling. You should know that already. However:

FACT: the customer will HEAR your smile over the phone.

PERFECT EXAMPLE: the best piece of advice I ever got on phone service was to buy a little mirror and stick it above my phone. Forced me to smile every time! I suggest you try this for one week.

“Get your ass out of the chair! Walk around! Motion creates e-motion!” he yells.

Great point, Ben. In other words:

Motion = Emotion = Enthusiasm = Approachability = UNFORGETTABLE Service

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Would you want to talk to you over the phone?

Upgrading Your Approach to Office Printing
Although formal ratification of a new ISO standard for testing colour printer consumables has not yet been completed, manufacturers have started to quote yield figures based on the new system - a sure indicator that the new agreed test methods will not change. Amongst manufacturers adopting the new system are Epson and Hewlett Packard, both of whom implementing it for their inkjet printer ranges.What is the new Colour Printer Yield Standard System?Essentially, the new ISO system does away with the old "5% coverage" (ink on paper) maxim, and the lack of standards on testing and consumables quoting methods. These methods that consumers have been faced with the need for a great deal of guidance when attempting to calculate the Total Cost Of Ownership equation when specifying new printer installations. The ISO system is designed to ensure that yield figures qu

ut you better believe we picked up every call within thirty seconds! Dominoes would have been proud.

Look. Hold time is still a tough issue. I’m not going to get into the technical side of it, i.e., on-hold jazz music, advertisements, wait time and the like. However:

FACT: callers become more frustrated with every passing second.

Unless.

I still count every time. And Dave almost always comes back as promised.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
What words could you use to make hold time more fun and engaging?

UNFORGETTABLE What?
In 2006, RainToday released a scintillating study called How Clients Buy: The Benchmark Report On Professional Services Marketing And Selling From The Client Perspective.

And the winner went to (drum roll please)...

“They didn’t listen to me.”

FACT: when it comes to the phone, you must remember these three things:

1. Listening is not waiting to talk.
2. You have two ears and one mouth. Listen and speak proportionately.
3. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

PERFECT EXAMPLES: here’s a sample of several Phrases That Payses™ to use during your conversations. NOTE: I suggest writing them on sticky notes and posting them above your phone:

*Excuse my annoying typing; I just want to get all this stuff down! Similar to the above example. Polite, humorous way to subtlety demonstrate active listening while on the phone.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you growing bigger ears with every call?

UNFORGETTABLE Attitde
More than anything we’ve talked about today, your attitude is what most determines the success of every phone call. Let’s explore two examples: smiling and emotion.

First of all, I don’t need to waste your time talking about the value, the power and the necessity of smiling. You should know that already. However:

FACT: the customer will HEAR your smile over the phone.

PERFECT EXAMPLE: the best piece of advice I ever got on phone service was to buy a little mirror and stick it above my phone. Forced me to smile every time! I suggest you try this for one week.

“Get your ass out of the chair! Walk around! Motion creates e-motion!” he yells.

Great point, Ben. In other words:

Motion = Emotion = Enthusiasm = Approachability = UNFORGETTABLE Service

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Would you want to talk to you over the phone?

Just Do it - Jump-Start Your Career
Just Do It! Just Take Your Career Step…Everyone admires those who can just do it. That’s why the Nike ads were so successful--they resonated with people. Many of us at some time or another will complain of feeling “stuck”. We say we’re not ready; we need to do more research or get another degree or more experience. We blame our parents, ourselves, the job market. We complain about all those things we still haven’t done and yet we postpone taking action. When will we be ready to just do it?When I lived in San Diego, California, I produced an afternoon radio program that went to air live from 3 to 6 p.m. I used to arrive early and start digging for good stories to feature. I was always searching for what we called in the business “good radio”—people and stories that would touch the heart and add value to daily life. My search for the perfect show could have been endless. Ther

things:

1. Listening is not waiting to talk.
2. You have two ears and one mouth. Listen and speak proportionately.
3. A closed mouth gathers no foot.

PERFECT EXAMPLES: here’s a sample of several Phrases That Payses™ to use during your conversations. NOTE: I suggest writing them on sticky notes and posting them above your phone:

*Excuse my annoying typing; I just want to get all this stuff down! Similar to the above example. Polite, humorous way to subtlety demonstrate active listening while on the phone.

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Are you growing bigger ears with every call?

UNFORGETTABLE Attitde
More than anything we’ve talked about today, your attitude is what most determines the success of every phone call. Let’s explore two examples: smiling and emotion.

First of all, I don’t need to waste your time talking about the value, the power and the necessity of smiling. You should know that already. However:

FACT: the customer will HEAR your smile over the phone.

PERFECT EXAMPLE: the best piece of advice I ever got on phone service was to buy a little mirror and stick it above my phone. Forced me to smile every time! I suggest you try this for one week.

“Get your ass out of the chair! Walk around! Motion creates e-motion!” he yells.

Great point, Ben. In other words:

Motion = Emotion = Enthusiasm = Approachability = UNFORGETTABLE Service

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Would you want to talk to you over the phone?

Thank You Note After Job Interview
It may seem a little old-fashioned to send a thank you note simply for speaking with someone. On the other hand, you may wonder why you should write a thank you note to an individual who may or may not be interested in giving you a job. Well, once again, our mothers were right. Being courteous can actually get you further in life than doing nothing. Do you recall the old adage; You catch more flies with honey, than with vinegar? Well, in this case, you now have a chance to sweeten that proverbial job position pot.One – When was the last time you received a thank you note for doing something for someone? How did it make you feel? Those two little words can make a bad day turn for the better. Two – A thank you note make give you the winning edge, if an interviewer is stuck making the decision to give you, or a different person, the position available. Three – You have just thrust YO

, your attitude is what most determines the success of every phone call. Let’s explore two examples: smiling and emotion.

First of all, I don’t need to waste your time talking about the value, the power and the necessity of smiling. You should know that already. However:

FACT: the customer will HEAR your smile over the phone.

PERFECT EXAMPLE: the best piece of advice I ever got on phone service was to buy a little mirror and stick it above my phone. Forced me to smile every time! I suggest you try this for one week.

“Get your ass out of the chair! Walk around! Motion creates e-motion!” he yells.

Great point, Ben. In other words:

Motion = Emotion = Enthusiasm = Approachability = UNFORGETTABLE Service

LET ME ASK YA THIS…
Would you want to talk to you over the phone?

Do it right. Be UNFORGETTABLE. Don’t phone it in.

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The way that most people approach their careers is that as long as it puts money on the table, they are happy and they basically relegate themselves to a life full of complacency and mediocrity.

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