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Hello,
Greetings to the
latest issue of the Success Newsletter and a special “Welcome Aboard”
to the hundreds of new subscribers worldwide.
I am running a few weeks late with this issue, not like me at all! I
could give you a million reasons: my family and I moved house recently,
business is hectic, proposal deadlines to meet. But I am not one to
make excuses, and excuses do not cut it, so please accept my sincere
apologies, and I sincerely hope that you enjoy this delayed slightly
longer than usual issue as a bonus.
SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: Healthy Living in a 24/7 World
I am very excited and proud to announce and to be associated in the
launch of a day long event titled Healthy Living in a 24/7 World. One
Day that can change your life! Our mission is to make a positive
difference in peoples lives.
In partnership with first class quality people, respected and top
professionals in the field of healthy living, wellness and stress, we
will be hosting a series of day long public events across Canada this year. This day long
event and workshop will discuss all aspects of healthy living,
wellness, success planning, relieving stress, setting goals and
motivating and inspiring your self for peak performance and success.
The events are open to anyone interested in managing their lives more
effectively in this hectic and pressure filled world we live in.
Everyone attending will leave with a plan of action. This dynamic event
is focused on results. We are committed to your success and well being.
While we are focusing on Canada in 2007, we are
anticipating expanding our events in to the USA in 2008 and
internationally in 2009 outside of North America.
We are also very excited to have John Tesh at
several of our events as a very special guest. John is a leading,
respected figure in the entertainment and broadcasting industry. A
former co-host of Entertainment Tonight for over ten years, and a
talented and in demand musician, John now hosts one of the most
successful syndicated radio shows in North America: John will be speaking
about “Intelligence For Your Life” and taking part in a question and
answer period. We are honored and excited to have John join us at our
events.
Please check out the website at www.healthy-living247.com
for more information about when we are coming to a city near you and to
order tickets. Seating is limited and these events will sell out fast
Sponsorship opportunities are also available, providing exceptional
visibility for your organization. For more details please contact our
marketing director Alex Detre at alex@healthly-living247.com
Other Stuff
I will be speaking in Southern California in early May, in Dubai in the
United Arab Emirates and Zurich, Switzerland in early June 2007. If you
would like to take advantage and explore opportunities of having me
speak to your organization while I am in Dubai, Zurich, or Southern California please contact me
personally for more details at charles@cmarcus.com
or call me at 1-800-837-0629.
Moving into the 21st Century
Have you visited our updated website at www.cmarcus.com
yet, complete with a new look and new information? Also I am in the
process of putting together a blog. We are
almost there, with just a few technical glitches to work through. I
will be able to share with you experiences and information that will
hopefully add to your success more regularly and “as it happens”. .
There will also be a section for you to submit and review comments. For
those of you who have encouraged this
initiative, thank you for all your encouragement and patience. Please
keep checking back to the website for an update.
Have a terrific few months. Give that one 1% extra effort every day in
all that you do. Make a difference. Be consistent. Live life
exceptionally.
To Your Success
Charles
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In
This Edition
1. Make the
Customer the Star
2. 7 Key Strategies for Leading Your Team
3. Inspirational Quotes
4. Recommended Reading
5. Services
6. Privacy Policy
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MAKE
THE CUSTOMER THE STAR
As I alluded to
above, my family and I recently moved. An experience all by itself,
and I am sure most if not all of you can relate to your own experiences
of moving at one time or another. As a result, we were exposed to
many different trade persons, and companies whom we had to deal with
for one reason or the other. One or two of our customer service
dealings and interactions were excellent, most were just average, and
some were frankly downright terrible. This left my wife and I shaking our heads in disbelief at people’s
incompetence, lack of professionalism, and fundamental bad manners.
Below are some ways to make the customer (read “me”) the star and win
their business and loyalty every time.
Let’s get this one straight right away:
1. Whatever business you are in, it is the customer or client who
keeps you in business and helps pay your bills. Companies who
don’t recognize this are insane and doomed to failure. Focus on
making the customer the star in every sense of the word. Treat them
like gold. You are not doing them a favor. It is not about what is
important to you. It is about what is important to the customer. Have
their best interests in mind at all times. Start from what you need
to do, and then think about what will add exceptional value to the
customer. Be a problem solver.
Some other things to think about…
2. Show enthusiasm, passion for what you do, have a great attitude
and empathy for your customer at all times. Too many people we
interacted with treated us like we were an inconvenience to their day
instead of being an integral important part of their day. Go the
extra mile, make them feel special. Take a pride in what you do and who
you represent.
3. Return your phone calls, e-mails, faxes and letters promptly.
You would think this would be a no brainier, an easy one, right…. I’m
afraid not. It is amazing the number of times that we had to chase
and follow up with people. This left a very bitter taste and
impression with myself and my wife and we would never do business
with these people again.. Simple ways to do
this include: a) Not being late for appointments. There are really no
excuses for this unless it is an absolute emergency. b) Following up
and appreciating people for their business. What does it take? A
brief phone call to make sure everything is okay and that your
customer is happy and satisfied. Added bonus would be to follow that
with a hand written note to thank them for their business. Think this
one would be just common sense? I guess common sense is not common
anymore! Be a pro at all times.
4. Never get defensive with the customer. Nothing infuriates a
customer more than someone telling them their request, complaint or
question is not valid, speaking down at them. This implies to the
customer that you don’t care, or don’t believe them, it is also
disrespectful. Listen to them, hear them
out, show compassion and empathy. Feel their pain and frustration.
Put yourself in their shoes. Make it right for them. If you can’t fix
their concern, find someone who can. No excuses, and again, never,
never put people down or infer to them that they are not telling the
truth.
5. Hire real professionals who will do a great professional job
for you and for your customer. In our case, there was work that
was sloppy in a lot of cases; paperwork was not done correctly,
mistakes were made time and time again. Of course human errors occur,
but not on the scale that we experienced. Go the extra mile. Focus on
differentiating yourself through service and caring. Insist on
references you can check out personally.
6. With number 6, I go back to number one. It is not rocket
science, make the customer the star; they keep you in business, not
the other way around. Learn to listen very carefully at all times
without interruption. HEAR what they are telling you, what their
needs are. Be caring, concerned and willing to help them at all
times. Do not make excuses. promises or
deadlines you can not meet. It will come back to haunt you and ruin
your credibility. Be honest and upfront with people and if you are
going to be late or can’t meet your deadlines, tell them. They will
respect you more for that than trying to make excuses or beating
around the bush.
My late father used to tell me “son, be in business for your customer
and your customer will be in business for you”. Sound advice you can
take to the bank, money bank guaranteed. If you want to be successful
in business today, you must be on top of your game at all times, and
be better today than you were yesterday and better tomorrow than you
were today.
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7
KEY STRATEGIES FOR LEADING YOUR TEAM
1. Set the
right tone every day
Remember, image is important. Image is created by how people act and
how they treat customers. It is also created by how leaders set
expectations. Everybody should know what is expected of them. People
look to you for setting the right tone, be consistent, no surprises,
be crystal clear on this, no grey areas. Everybody has to know their
role.
2. Hire only the best and be able to make the tough decisions
Who you hire reflects on your leadership and represents you. Hire for
passion, attitude, work ethic and people who are team players before
talent. Stay away from the prima donnas or the dream stealers.
3. Education is the key
Training your staff on a continuous basis on every aspect of the
industry/profession you are in, is paramount to your success. When I
worked at Vidal Sassoon’s they used to say “If you think education is
expensive, try ignorance”
4. Create a terrific working environment for your team
Your people will spend as much time at work often as they do at home,
so make it a comfortable environment for them to work in. Plan
enjoyable events and activities to build team relationships and bond
them. If your people enjoy their work space and feel wanted, special,
important and appreciated, you will see less
turnover and higher productivity. When they start to say MY company instead
of where I work, you know they are with you.
5. Have an open door policy and always give feedback
Always be available. Great leadership is about allowing your people
to voice their opinions, not to feeling threatened by their ideas or
opinion. Listen carefully to what your employees tell you and then
act on their ideas accordingly. When people feel valued and they feel
they have a voice, are respected and have a say in the overall
running of the company, you will see far more creativity, less sick
days and lower turnover. This policy will nip any issues in the bud
6. Value and reward your team
This one is so important. I know first hand how powerful it is.
Reward people’s accomplishments, recognize their achievements, let
them know how much you appreciate their hard work and efforts and the
contribution they are making, will create an incredible working team.
Happy and loyal team members create happy and loyal customers. Your
customers can see when an employee is happy or not, and trust me,
this matters.
7. Challenge your team to make a commitment to excellence every
day
There is a time for fun and a time for work. Challenge your people to
give that extra1% effort every day, to be proud, resilient,
professional, and to truly give that customer experience every time.
Key to success is consistency.
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Inspirational
Quotes
“Mistakes are part of the dues one pays for a
full life”
Sophia Loren
“The problem in business today is that common sense is not common
anymore”
Charles Marcus
“Many things will catch your eye, but only a few will catch your
heart. Pursue those with a passion”
Unknown
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Recommended
Reading
How to Make the Rest of Your Life by Mark Victor Hansen
and Art Linkletter.
How do we ensure that our bodies remain fit, our minds alert and
creative, and our finances stable through our senior years? This
terrific book is mainly targeted to baby boomers, but there is wise
advice and wisdom for people of all ages to learn from. Featuring TV
icon Art Linkletter, still going strong and
incredibly active well into his nineties, and Chicken Soup for the
Soul guru, Mark Victor Hansen, I recommend this book to anyone
looking how to make the rest of your life the best.
The Power of Selling: 101 Tips To Improve Your Sales Results
By Kelley Roberston
This excellent new book will give you practical and powerful ways to
increase your sales success no matter what you are selling or what
level you are in the sales process. The author is a master sales
expert and motivator, and writes from many years of success in sales
personally, as well as teaching experience with thousands of sales
professionals worldwide. Each chapter is filled with strategies,
tips, approaches and insights for you to take your sales game to the
next level. You can order this book directly from the authors website. Also please check out Kelley’s
content rich weekly free newsletter at www.robertsontraininggroup.com.
This is one of the very few newsletters I personally subscribe to and
read every week and would encourage you to sign up too….
Visit the Number #1 ranked site on the web for Self Improvement,
as ranked by Google and Yahoo.
Highly recommended. This site contains a treasure trove of articles
on every aspect of being successful and bettering yourself,
including: managing your finances, diet and nutrition, health and
fitness, love and relationships, success skills, spirituality,
employment etc. The list goes on and on..
The website link is:www.selfgrowth.com
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 If you haven’t done so already, another book for your
collection would be my best selling book,
Success is Not a Spectator Sport. Feedback from others has been
phenomenal, and beyond anything I could have expected when I was
writing it. I am truly honored. To order your own copy,
or a copy for someone you know would benefit, please visit my newly
designed website or call toll-free in North America 1-800-837-0629, or
1-905-847-2323 outside North America or in the local Toronto area.
The book is also available through Amazon by
clicking here
Buy Success is Not a Spectator Sport directly from
Charles
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Services
Charles Marcus
is a success strategist, motivational keynote speaker and seminar
leader. He works internationally with corporations, associations,
companies, organizations, colleges and universities that want to
motivate and inspire excellence in their people and maximize
performance potential. To Book Charles for your future convention,
sales meeting, retreat, customer appreciation day or important event,
or for more information on Charles and his presentations, please
contact him personally at:
Telephone: 905-847-2323 or Toll-Free in North America at
1-800-837-0629
Fax: 905-469-8790
OR YOU CAN BOOK CHARLES DIRECTLY THROUGH YOUR FAVORITE SPEAKER
BUREAU WORLDWIDE
Email: charles@cmarcus.com
Website: www.cmarcus.com
Bureau Friendly Website: www.charlesmarcus.net
Charles is also available for telephone consultations and for
personal coaching. For further information on how these services can
work for you, please contact him directly.
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Copyright
permissions
© Copyright 2007 Charles M. Marcus: All rights
worldwide reserved
Permission is granted to reproduce this newsletter in whole or in
part provided the following byline below appears along with the
article and that a copy is sent to me after publication. Thank you:
To check previous issues for publication, please go to www.cmarcus.com/newsletters.html
.
Charles Marcus is an
international motivational speaker. To subscribe to his FREE personal
and professional development newsletter, please send an email to
subscribe@cmarcus.com. An electronic copy will be sent out to you
every two months. For more information on how Charles, his book and
his programs can benefit your organization or group, please call 905-847-2323.
Toll-free in North America at 1-800-837-0629, or
visit his website: www.cmarcus.com
Copyright 2007. All rights worldwide reserved.
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Privacy Policy
Please rest assured that your name and email will NEVER be sold or
shared with another. It will remain private.
Please DO NOT FORGET to notify us of any change in your e-mail
address
We appreciate and welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please send a
message with your comments to info@cmarcus.com
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