Randy Cantrell is the founder of Bula Network, LLC - an executive leadership advisory company helping leaders leverage the power of others through peer advantage, online peer advisory groups. Interested in joining us? Visit ThePeerAdvantage.com
Do you know how much it costs to get a new customer? Figure that out. Then, take a new look at your customer recovery/retention practices. You may find that the money you think you’re saving is costing you valued customers.
Another video that I recorded 5 years ago for the retailing space focuses on a supreme opportunity every company has in turning around disgruntled customers. It’s a fast path to greater customer loyalty.
It doesn’t matter if you’re selling software, tires, cars or ebooks. The magic is still in taking care of customers. My business philosophy is still valid.
Five years ago I recorded this video. It was primarily for people in the retailing or online selling space, but the message is true no matter what space you’re in, and no matter what you’re selling. Customer experience is still at the heart of the matter.
Some thing never change. Namely, my philosophy that outstanding customer experience is the path to remark-ability! And it doesn’t matter what you’re selling.
Is it possible to create loyalty even when you haven’t sold anything?
Yes, absolutely. It can happen if you’re committed to being remarkable.
People talk about a “loyalty ladder” but I’ve always thought of it as a circle. It starts with a “suspect” (anybody who is breathing), moves to prospects (anybody who might be interested in what you’ve got to sell), then goes to shoppers (somebody who has a higher interest in what you’re selling), then a customer (those are prospects we’ve converted into buyers, but they’ve just bought from us once), then to clients (those are the folks who buy from us more than once) and ultimately ADVOCATES (the people who wouldn’t dare buy from anybody else, or recommend anybody else). We can create advocates from folks who don’t even buy from us though.
If you use a pen to do a crossword puzzle, you’re deliberate. Or stupid.
If you use ink to complete a crossword puzzle – you’re a deliberate person. How can you be a pen user instead of a pencil user…with a fat eraser handy?
Frequently I’m engaged in a conversation with people who are on a quest to make an improvement. Maybe they’re trying to elevate their sales or revenues. Maybe they’re working to upgrade the people on their team. Or maybe they’re trying to launch a brand new enterprise.
Invariably somebody will utter something – usually a cliche – about commitment to the goal. I’ll hear things like:
“We need to go all in on this project.”
“This is our primary objective. We’re committed to seeing it through.”
“We’re at the point of no return on this.”
People express this in a variety of ways. Here’s one of the more popular ways I hear it…
It’s time to burn the boats.”
Many people cite the incident in the 1500’s during the Spanish conquest of Mexico when Cortes gave the order to burn the boats in order to force his troops to conquer the land. I don’t even know if that really happened, but if you Google “burn the boats” it’s not the only example of it. And doesn’t it sound good? I mean, how much more deliberate do you want to be?
We value that level of commitment. We even romanticize it. But I don’t agree with it because it presupposes that you – or we, or anybody else – can be more deliberate if we’re desperate. For quite a few years I’ve given the following advice to clients…
“Don’t presuppose that you’re not able to chase it hard enough unless you’re desperate. Thoughtful intent can often beat desperate. Embrace thoughtful intent as you chase your goals.”
Being deliberate isn’t desperation. It’s not intention. It’s not just being thoughtful. It’s thoughtful intention. More technically correct, it’s action taken with thoughtful intention to move closer to the goal.
Too many people are chasing dreams. They hop from thing, to thing, to another thing. Mostly in their mind.
I suspect a few other people actually do something. They take some action. They don’t think much about it, confusing motion with action. It’s a common myth to think that because we’re moving, we’re taking meaningful action.
Then there are the people who think about it ’til the cows come home, then they take an action. But they’re so slow to act they don’t get much done. And their rate of speed is so slow there’s rarely any momentum.
And then there are the desperate. You’ve been desperate before. Burned boats foster desperation. It may not foster deliberate action though. Well, to be fair, it may not foster positive deliberate behavior. Thieves, murderers and other criminals often act out of desperation. And quite often they’re very deliberate, but only in committing more crimes.
That proverbial point of no return is a poor method for incorporating deliberate behavior into your life. Or more deliberate behavior.
There’s a scene in an old Al Pacino movie, And Justice For All…where Pacino’s character, an attorney, takes a helicopter ride with a judge, the pilot. Unbeknownst to the attorney, the judge likes to play a little game where he goes beyond the halfway point.
“We’re NOT alright, land!” That’s not just a great movie line, it’s wise advice. By the way, the judge crash lands the helicopter in shallow water just 90 feet from the landing pad.
Desperation can create panic. Not exactly the ideal inspiration for wise action. Or thoughtful intentions.
Deliberate action is best taken when we’ve considered our options and figured out our “next best step.” It’s what we do when we put a puzzle together, or work a cross word puzzle, or work a math problem. Truth is, it’s pretty much what we do no matter the problem we’re facing. Solutions are worked out because we’ve got a special skills as humans. We can run scenarios in our head. We can answer a problem with a hypothetical and theorize (quite often with great accuracy) how it MIGHT turn out. Then, based on those mental models we’ve run in our head, we can take deliberate action to do what we think is best.
We can avoid being stupid by avoiding putting ourselves, or letting ourselves, be put in desperate situations. Stupidity happens when we neglect to pre-think what we’re doing. Don’t believe me? Then you’ve never raised teenagers.
the available body of facts or information indicating whether a belief or proposition is true or valid”
My first blush take on the word deals with careers and organizations. Today’s video is based on using the word as it relates to interpersonal relationships at work.
The CEO was describing a person – a leader in his organization. “He’s got pixie dust,” said the CEO.
I inquired, “What does that mean?” Thinking I knew, I still wanted to hear this chief executive verbalize it. And he did.
“He just handles things more remarkably than anybody else on my team. It’s almost as if he’s clairvoyant.”
That’s pixie dust power and effective leaders have it. Poor leaders don’t. And it makes all the difference in the world in their work…and in their careers.
1. I’ve got to figure out how to serve clients without being face-to-face because it’s growing increasingly impractical and too expensive. How can I learn it and maybe more importantly, how can I transition clients to embrace it?
Let’s start with the last part, transitioning clients to a new way of interaction. I’m going to have be somewhat generic because I don’t know how your clients are wired or what their current expectations are. My first concern would be their demographic and technical abilities. For example, if you’re going to connect with them via Skype or Google Hangouts On Air or some other online video conferencing technology, your clients are going to have feel comfortable with that technology. Even though it’s easy for those of us who use it regularly, it can be like flying a spaceship for people who aren’t familiar with it. Additionally, do your clients have the technology. I’m assuming a two-way (perhaps more) interaction since you’ve said “face-to-face.” Delivering content to clients in a passive manner is easy enough as long as they’ve got computers that can access the Internet. But it can grow increasingly complicated if we’re now asking clients to get online and interact with us live.
You may also find it difficult to transition clients from a higher touch experience to one that’s lower touch. I’ve seen this with clients who spoiled clients with a level of responsiveness that simply is impractical or unsustainable. For example, some service professionals who don’t know how to properly manage their time, or client experience, can unexpectedly train clients to expect them to answer the phone directly every time they call. When these clients aren’t able to get “the boss” on the phone they feel slighted. Through the years they’ve grown accustomed to getting him on the phone anytime they want. It can be tough weening them off that expectation, but it’s important to devise a process that will better serve the clients and the business.
It depends on a few things I’d like you to consider: scope, scale, context and content. When I say scope I mean the breadth of it. That is, how broad is this in your business? Let’s use a software company as an example. An enterprise software company may have 100 clients. An end-user software company could have millions of users. Two very different scopes. When I say scale I mean the depth of it. That is, how deep is this in your business. The enterprise client may have a dozen critical users even though there are 100 clients. Now we’ve got 1200 potential individual people representing those 100 enterprise clients. The end-user software company is serving individuals so it’s a one-to-one ratio when we think of scope and scale. Still, it’s millions. Context is the level of interaction necessary. The enterprise software company needs to provide more hand holding than the end-user software company. It requires much higher interaction. Content is the actual information exchange needed in the interaction. For the enterprise software company it’s customized to suit each client. For the end-user software company it’s one-size-fits-all.
As you can see, these four factors help us establish the methodology. If you’re a customer of an end-user software company like Skype, or WordPress…then you realize you’re not going to get high touch interaction. There are millions of users and it’s impractical for us to be able to experience that with such software companies. Over the years, we’ve been trained to submit support tickets. That helps the company manage the customers and their own product better. We’re mostly satisfied with that unless the response times are too slow. Additionally, these kinds of companies have knowledge-bases that answer all the most frequently asked questions or address the most frequently encountered problems. For the enterprise software company with far fewer customers, and customers who are likely paying much larger sums of money, the expectation is different. A support ticket system may still be useful for both the company and the client, but what happens next is likely going to be very different. It may be a phone call. It may be a 15-minute guaranteed response time. And it may have a support fee attached. Again, the four factors impact the client’s expectation and the company’s business model to handle these things.
Many service professionals, such as coaches and consultants, do business virtually. I do. Again, I’d challenge you to incorporate the four factors and think of how they apply to what you’re doing. Technology is getting more widespread and usable. Things that were once rare are commonplace now. Skype for instance. It may be that you’ll have to teach and train your clients in the proper use of technology. I even know some who provide their clients with a webcam and USB microphone, plus training in how to use them. That way, they’re insured of a good experience for their purposes and for the client.
The bottom line is you must do what’s in the best interest of serving your clients so your business can be sustainable. Face-to-face interactions are sometimes necessary, but many times a virtual session is just as good. Here in DFW I could easily spend an hour in traffic. Additionally, face-to-face time is more costly for a client. When it’s needed, I can make it available, but at a premium price warranted by the high touch nature of it. Or, I can conduct a virtual session for a much lower price because I don’t have to factor in the wasted time required when face-to-face sessions are in play. I’d suggest thinking about making both offers, but put a premium on the highest touch offer so when people do select it…you’re happy to say, “Yes.” What I see too much of are businesses that will make that offer, then bemoan the fact that clients select it. Resentment toward clients is a bad habit afflicting too many business owners. Avoid that by putting pricing in place that makes you happy when clients select it. If you can’t do that, then don’t make the offer. As with all of these things an honest, upfront sales story should be crafted so clients know exactly what you’re doing and why. Tell the truth and I’m betting you’ll be able to transition clients to your new process. Expect to have a few clients who may be more difficult. That’s okay, just do enough hand holding with them to get them to better understand how this is going to benefit them by keeping costs down and giving them improved service.
2. I’ve heard you talk about the “Knowing-Doing Gap” so I read the book. Thanks for talking about it. My question is about how I can make sure people are doing what they know. Sometimes we have people failing to perform as well as we’d expect, but sometimes it’s as though they honestly don’t get it. We want to hold people accountable, but we also want to make sure we’re fair.
Willingness is a big factor in accountability. The simplest way to approach this is to make sure that every employee has proven they “get it” and they can properly perform. [coaching kids in hockey story]
Training, training, training. Don’t overlook the “show me” step. It’s a frequent trap employers get into. They simply assume employees know what to do, how to do it and when to do it. Until the employee has proven they know, assume they still need training.
If a person can’t show you, after sufficient training, then you either have a competence issue or a willingness issue. Either way, the employee has to go. You need people who can and will do what’s needed.
The minute a person shows you they can do the work, expect it to be done properly every time. If they fail, you should assume that you’ve now got an issue of willingness. They’re just unwilling – for some reason – to do what they know they must.
Address that directly and quickly. Follow the HR guidelines of your company and make sure you’re obeying all the appropriate laws governing proper employee discipline. Put it in writing and be clear. Provide additional time and support to help the employee get back to a place of willingness. Sometimes it’ll succeed. Sometimes it won’t. The employee must be in a position to control his own destiny. Do the work properly, keep your job. Don’t, and lose your job.
Don’t be a coward and hope things will improve on their own. They won’t. Besides, it’s unfair to the rest of team who is performing.
3. Podcasting seems to be going crazy. I’m a longtime listener, but have never really considered using podcasting in my business. I’m an attorney focused mainly on helping fathers who want to be part of their children’s lives post divorce. How would I be able to use podcasting in my practice?
Content marketing gurus will urge you answer the questions your clients are asking. A few years ago that would have been good advice, but today there are millions of businesses attempting to do the exact same thing. You need to do something different. I’m a big believer in zig zag — that is, if everybody is zigging, you need to zag. Now that doesn’t mean you need to reinvent the wheel. It just means you’ve got to do something to set yourself apart.
If you’re a person comfortable speaking in front of people and if you’ve got a conversational style of communication with your clients I say give it a go at podcasting. But many attorneys are so steeped in the language of the law, which is what law school has properly taught them, they find it hard to talk like a regular person. If you’re not able to talk like a regular person I’d encourage you to avoid podcasting. Ask your non-attorney friends for feedback.
Assuming you want to move forward – and I’m not going to discourage you, even if you love attorney-speak. Practice can help. And it will help provided you stay with it and devote yourself to learning.
Let me just give you some ideas about content. Address the fears and concerns of potential clients. I’d assume a dad you serve has a lot of trepidation. Do a series of podcasts talking about that. Talk about how you work, and what the client can expect in that first meeting. I’d imagine most of these men have never had to go through this process before. Help guide them, through the podcast, in how you work. Hearing your voice in a friendly, conversational tone can help you stand out from other attorneys doing exactly what you’re doing…but prospects have no way to getting a sense of who they are because they don’t have a podcast.
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