Business streakers are fast operators who vanish just before they get the project ball across the finish line. These enthusiastic beginners magically disappear at critical times. As a result, customer projects yawn past expected completion dates, and the streaker fails to answer crucial phone calls, emails, text messages, or knocks on the door. Poof! Gone! Nowhere to be found! Then all of a sudden, like an unexpected sand storm, the streaker reappears to frantically bring the project across the finish line with a flurry of issues, mistakes and excuses. If you are a company leader, we encourage you to locate your streakers, and then STOP them before they ruin your company. Retrain them if possible, or remove them. This is why customers detest business streakers. Customers want even-keeled project management that avoids streaky service hampered by problems!

Support the show

We are going to flip the tables and talk about customers for one minute. As vendors attempt to provide quality services, questions may arise that need customer input, or direction. The customers can be both invoice-paying customers, or internal associates. Regardless, I have watched many transactions travel through time-wasting, and money-wasting rapids that could have been avoided with expedient, and comprehensive customer feedback. Do you want smooth and timely transactions? Okay, then answer 100% of the questions you are asked, and answer them with punctuality! Quality transactions are usually paid for with the two-sided, customer/vendor coin.

Support the show

This can be a fun, simple and productive exercise. Start by asking yourself for the top three things that irritate you when you purchase something? Then, hunt within your own company to see if these pain points exist within your operational structure. Once found, eradicate them and replace them with customer-pleasing services. Do this exercise periodically, and turn your lemons into saleable lemonade.

Support the show

Design well. Manufacture to exceed expectations. Take no shortcuts. Audit properly. Audit regularly. Be the customer. Constantly improve. Imagine if you were to run your company with these seven principals? The result could be a premium price that you explain once, and that is defended by exceptional deliverables.

Support the show

Do you want to deliver a pleasant surprise to your customers? Do you want to look fresh and exciting to customers? If so, all you have to do is take ownership of you actions, and retire the societal trend of blame-shifting. Novel. Humble. Endearing. Lucrative. Make action ownership a hallmark of your company, and watch your business grow!

Support the show

Many companies put the cart before the horse by expecting customers to trust them first, rather than earning trust through action. Has your company inverted the trust relationship? Repeat and referral business grows for companies that consistently demonstrate trustworthiness. Do your actions back up your marketing and sales claims? Are you expecting and demanding trust from customers, or are you willing to be an earner?

Support the show

We live in a feature driven product world. Buttons, modes, settings and codes accompany so many products we buy. But what benefits do all these features serve? If you are not in the habit of explaining what the features do for customers, now would be a great time to start generating effective ways to explain the benefits of all these buttons, modes, settings, and codes.

Support the show

This is a classic example of putting yourself in the customer shoes. If you want to make customers happy, do your very best to eliminate mysteries. The best place to start is to voluntarily provide information that addresses the questions of why. If you can prevent your customers from asking unnecessary questions, they will love you for a long time, and refer your company to other people.

Support the show