If you are a business professional or owner today, success is more and more about relationships. People relationships are the key to career growth, more than results, and customer relationships build brands, rather than the other way around. In this era of communication overload with many misleading messages, we have learned to count first on […]
Relationships
Do You Take Those Loyal, Key Customers for Granted?
Ok. We know that an executive’s job is not easy. Nor is there much time in a typical day for outreach of any kind. Especially in your growing company, you are drawn into daily process issues by all of your direct reports, often responding to questions and problems, leaving little time for strategic thought. That’s […]
The New World of Co-Opetition
The relationships we establish, in business, are very complex and constantly changing. We have relationships with colleagues. At some point, we or colleagues may choose to go work someplace else—even our competition. We don’t, at least I haven’t, stopped those relationships. Most of the time, there is intense competition—I want to beat them, just as […]
How to Inspire Brand Loyalty with Purpose
Do you want your customers to love your brand? Would you like to break through the marketing clutter and inspire brand loyalty? Over the past few years, Americans have been making purchase decisions based on several factors, one of which has been gaining more ground. Many terms have been used to describe it such as, […]
3 Ways to Engage Customers After the Sale
Conventional advice says it costs five times more to acquire a new customer than retain a current one. Yet companies often invest more time and energy into gaining new customers instead of keeping the ones they have. This strategy is unsustainable for companies in the long-term. An influx of new customers is always great, but […]
Every Local Business Needs Review Cards
If you market your local business online, you need review cards. They stand out, they get noticed, they drum up more business. Ever searched for the best restaurant in your area? You’ll probably find that the top listings have a load of reviews that testify to the fact they’re the best; that’s no coincidence. Reviews […]
5 Networking Tactics for Introverted Professionals
Networking events can be an introvert’s worst nightmare. On one hand, they can be essential to success. On the other, however, they can be unfriendly reminders of an introvert’s individualistic nature. While most introverts don’t necessarily have social anxiety, their introspective and reticent personalities means they’re often unaccustomed to large social scenarios. Small talk is […]
Do’s and Don’ts for Entrepreneur Business Networking
I often recommend business networking as the most effective way for a startup founder to find investors, advisors, and even key executive candidates. But what if you are an introvert, or new to this game, and don’t know where or how to start? The answer is still the same, but I have learned over the […]
What We Think of Our Customers Colors Our Engagement
Someone called seeking coaching on a specific deal. He had fallen into traps which blinded him in moving forward with a winning strategy. He started the conversation with, “The key decision-maker is really a jerk! He’s power hungry, his people want to do something with us, they’ve presented compelling arguments, but he doesn’t want to […]
Why Good Contact Centers Need Both People and Technology
Most people dread calling a customer service contact center. They’d rather chew on tinfoil than try to explain to an automated voice that they want to talk to a real person, and long hold times can leave people frustrated. Despite the bad rap, contact centers are an integral part of a company’s customer relations. It’s […]
