Strategic Solutions – Business Coaching Firm

Always create a powerful connection with your customer Have you ever thought about the criteria your customers use to evaluate positive service interactions with your organization? According to Zeithaml, Parasuraamn and Berry from their book Delivering Quality Service: Balancing Customer Perceptions and Expectations, there are 5 key areas that customers use to evaluate service:

1. Reliability- can the customer depend on the organization to accurately and dependably provide service to them?
   

2. Assurance- does the service provider convey confidence about their product or service and do the customers trust that service provider?
   

3. Tangibles- this deals specifically with the appearance of the service area, the store, the lobby etc., and the appearance of the customer service provider. Is the environment pleasing and appropriate and is the service provider dressed appropriately, smiling, warm and genuinely open? If you are interacting with the customer via the phone obviously your smile, your tone of voice and listening intently will create positive points of connection with your customers.
   

4. Empathy- this is the strongest skill that demonstrates that the service provider genuinely cares.
   

5. Responsiveness- this involves the ability to provide prompt or timely service and measures the willingness of the service provider to help customers.
   

Stephen Covey refers to a concept of emotional bank accounts. An emotional bank account works like a financial bank account where there are deposits and withdrawals. Points of connection Points of connection, whether positive or negative, have a direct correlation to the customer’s emotional bank account. If the connection is a positive experience there is a direct deposit. A negative experience leads to an immediate withdrawal from the account. Often times, it takes numerous positive points of connection to create a deposit; however, it often only takes one negative point of connection to deplete an account.

How did you react to the last negative experience you had with a service provider? Was you last stay at a hotel positive or negative? What point of connection formed your decision? Is every point of connection in you business a positive one? Will your clients be adding to their emotional bank account for your business or are they planning to close the account. How can you know? Start now to find out! Create a process within your organization that provides the ability to monitor and measure every point of connection in your service cycle. By creating that process you will be focusing on making every customer experience valuable and hopefully positive.

If you want to know more about how to increase you Customer Loyalty contact Hank Sullivan at Strategic Solutions (510) 432-7596

Soon it will be St. Patrick’s Day and we will be talking about the the luck of the Irish.
In an article by Joe Sherlock, he points out that Luck is simply Preparation meeting Opportunity. That’s what the Irish (and other immigrants) did. They were prepared to find and cultivate opportunities; they made their own luck. So,to make your own luck for your business, you need to do two things.

First, make positive statements about your business, making sure that you’ve removed all negatives – put some blarney in there!
Second, get out there and network to expand your business base.
And, start doing it now; remember the old Irish proverb:
“You’ll never plow a field by turning it over in your mind.”
So enjoy the wearing of the green and I hope you find your pot of gold

Many sales professionals know that a positive attitude is a key element, perhaps the most important element, to success in sales. Even though they know this, most sales professionals find it extraordinarily difficult to maintain a positive attitude all day, every day. The reason: most likely because they believe that their attitude is the result of external circumstances rather than something that is within their control.

Here are some tips to help you stay positive:

1. Create a new definition for yourself of “external circumstances.” You might think that hitting a few red lights on the way to an important meeting with a prospect could be seen as “bad luck” and put you in a bad mood. Definitely not a mood you want to convey to your next potential client! However, if you view those red lights as an indication to yourself of how wise it was of you to leave early, they take on a whole new meaning.

If you are late because of those lights, take it as an opportunity to collect yourself and brainstorm a damage-control strategy.

1. Begin every day with 15 minutes of positive input. If you fill your mind with positive thoughts, you’ll have a larger library of positivity to pull from when your day might not quite go as planned. Read an inspirational book or listen to motivational CD’s in the morning. We happen to know where you can get a few of those! Might we suggest popping in your Sales Development CD’s on your way to prospecting meetings? (If you need one contact us today)

2. Choose your news. You get bombarded everyday with a news media that believes in the mantra, “If it bleeds, it leads!” followed by commercials designed to make you feel better. Our media strives to ramp up your feelings of anxiety by highlighting horrific stories and follows them with advertising that helps you to buy comfort food or medications to relieve the pressures of everyday life. Unplug yourself from this negative imagery. Find alternative sources to keep yourself up to date with the day’s events, such as public radio or print news. It’s easy to choose what to read and listen to.

3. Surround yourself with positive people. Business associates, friends, and relatives who have a negative view about life can make it hard for you to maintain your positive attitude. These people can drain you mentally and physically. Wherever possible, avoid them or at least limit your contact with them. If you cannot avoid them, don’t get drawn into lengthy gripe sessions. Listen empathetically and turn the conversation to a more positive topic as soon as you can. On the other hand, positive people can enhance your life and help to keep you upbeat and with a good outlook on your world.

Business leaders today have found that developing a strategy and a plan is far more effective than leaving the future to chance. Furthermore, the key factors that create higher levels of motivation and commitment continuously fuel higher levels of achievement. Finally, the effective implementation of the plan is as important as planning. This is the true determining factor as to whether or not a company is successful.

The Strategic Planning Process provides a format for developing a Strategic Plan, taking that strategy through the business planning process and establishing measurable goals. It is a process that involves not only determining where a company is going, but also how it is going to get there.

Key Areas:

· Elements of the Strategic Plan

· The External Assessment

· Internal Appraisal

· The Business Plan

· Examples of Vision and Mission Statements

· Critical Goal Categories, The Critical Success Factors

· Business Planning Goals

· Financial Budgeting

· Marketing Communications

· Sales Support

· The Sales Plan

· The Review Process

For more information contact Hank Sullivan at Strategic Solutions at hsullivan@stratsolutions.net

Almost everyone knows that you should prioritize your activities. Almost everyone knows that you should complete your urgent/important/critical tasks each day. Almost everyone knows that planning your day makes more sense than letting others do your planning for you. Everyone knows, but very few do. Why? That’s what finally fascinated us and the answers are why this process was developed.

Key Areas:

· Introduction to Time Strategies

· Goal Setting

· Improving Your Skills

· Establishing a Positive Direction

During this new decade of service-oriented industry, a mastery of Customer Loyalty can mean the difference between success and failure. The corporate trend of raising Customer Loyalty is an art form, treating service as a product that needs to be learned inside and out, and marketing service to customers as vigorously as if it were a direct revenue producer. Unfortunately in many companies, the customer has become a low priority. When people are not treated according to their expectations, they take their business elsewhere. What’s more, they usually relate their bad experiences to as many as ten other people. On the other hand, the rewards for exceeding customer expectations are plentiful. That’s good news for businesses who strive to offer the ultimate in Customer Service which will translate into Customer Loyalty.

The question then becomes not whether to improve your company’s service standard, but how. Excellence in Customer Loyalty pays off on the bottom line by dramatically influencing customer behavior through a dynamic, results-oriented process.

Key Areas:

· What Does the Customer Really Want

· What Does Customer Loyalty Really Mean

· Your Role in the Company’s Success

· Understanding Human Behavior

· The Power of Goal Setting

· Art of Satisfying Customers

· Being a Team Player

· Cultivating Customer Loyalty

· Effective Communications

· The Art of Listening

· Handling Complaints and Mastering Difficult Situations

· Developing a Positive Company Image

· Estimating Your Quality of Service

· Becoming an Excellent Service Provider

Business in recent years has taken on many new and complex dimensions, and this trend is likely to continue. The field of sales has also seen some dramatic and far-reaching changes. Today’s salesperson, as well as today’s buyer, is better educated, more informed and has more options than ever before. These changes have created new, exciting and challenging possibilities in every organization. Sales Development is significantly different from sales training. In training, knowledge is transferred from one person to another. Development occurs only when knowledge is internalized, creating a behavioral change that leads to the expression of positive, results-oriented skills.

Today’s business is sales-driven and today’s salesperson is a key link to success in business. One element that distinguishes profitable companies from non-profitable companies is their ability to better develop their salespeople. The result is salespeople who sell because they want to excel, and succeed because they understand why and how to utilize their knowledge. The Sales Development process not only makes sales development possible, but eminently profitable.

Key Areas:

Success in Sales

The Buying/Selling Process

Your Personal and Professional Growth

Prospecting Fundamentals

Planning Your Success Part I

Prospecting: Advanced Techniques

Communication Skills

Getting Appointments

Planning Your Success Part II

The Introduction

Gaining Favorable Attention

Discovering Wants and Needs

Building the Case for Action

Presenting Benefits and Consequences

Getting Commitment and Follow Up

Overcoming Obstacles for Continued Success in Sales

A leader combines the vision and curiosity of a dreamer with the practical engineering of a builder. A leader is goal directed, looking forward with anticipation toward the attainment of goals. Goals give meaning and purpose to life and serve as a continuous source of motivation in the pursuit of all activities. The capacity for leadership exists in everyone, but most people never take the time to develop it. Leadership is determination, courage, confidence and the ability to view a situation and respond to it.

Positive Leadership assumes that goals can be accomplished, the job can be done, the problem can be solved and obstacles can be overcome. Leaders create their own future because they have faith in themselves.

Key Areas:

· You Possess the Ability to Lead

· Preparation for Leadership

· A Product of the Past

· Formal Leadership

· Goal Setting for Success

· Building Success Attitudes and Habits

· Developing Your Personal Goals Program

· Turning Solutions into Action

· Understanding and Affirming Your Self

· Managing Your Time

· Communications and Human Relations

· Decision Making and Problem Solving

· Motivation

· Continuing Your Leadership Growth

Management over the last quarter century has taken on many new and complex dimensions, and this trend is likely to continue. Advancing technology has created new and exciting possibilities in every organization. Progress creates challenge, and the challenge facing management today is: developing an organization that can meet tomorrow’s goals while continuing to meet the daily challenges of today. To balance these organizational demands, managers need a systematic approach to their jobs. They need Management Development.
Management Development involves the what and how of training and understanding the why of a situation. The result is managers who are working because they want to and because they understand why and how they are essential to the organization’s goals. These managers know that the goals can be achieved, obstacles can be overcome and problems can be solved.
Individually, each manager reflects the behavior and attitude of a goal-directed manager. Collectively they form a powerful force that literally assures the achievement of organizational goals.
Key Areas:
• The Manager as a Leader
• Goal Setting for Success
• Your Action Plan
• Confidence
• Work Environment and Motivation
• Implementing Goals and Strategy
• Decision Making
• Management Communications and Human Relations
• Managing Your Time Use
• Developing Subordinates Through Goal Setting
• Dealing with Negative Behavior

Success in today’s complex global arena is challenging and the rules are changing. For an organization to compete globally, executive leaders will have to create an organizational culture in which everyone is challenged to seek innovative and improved methods of doing business. Leading today’s organization into tomorrow’s competitive arena will require teamwork, collaboration and speed. To create and lead an organization that will maintain a competitive advantage during such turbulent times, many executives will have to transform an organizational culture that was founded on yesterday’s paradigms. Priorities will have to shift and thinking will have to change.

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