Self Improvement Information

There are many memorable moments in our lives.  To a parent, it is their child’s first steps, first tooth, or many other moments of our child’s growth.  In our business life it is when we make a total commitment to our goals and to the business that we are pursuing.

Many people  never make that important decision.  They drift through their working years going from one thing to another.  Trying a business here, and tiring of that, and moving on to another one.  It reminds me of when I was a child, and the first swim of the summer season.  My friends and I  would put our big toes in the cold water and squeal from the shock.  It seemed too brutal to just jump in, with a total commitment.  As I got older, I realized that the commitment of  jumping in, although it was a shock to my body,  saved so much time.   Even with the anticipated agony of the frigid water, once it was over, it left me so much more time to swim and enjoy the water.

I have known a lot of people, when starting a new business opportunity,  only want to put their toe in.  They refuse to immerse themselves in a total commitment.  They say, “I’m going to try this”.  What they don’t realize is that “trying” something is like attempting to drop a pencil.  You either drop it, or you don’t…there is no “try”.  “Trying” leads, almost always, to failure.

Then there are the half hearted people who really believe they are giving a commitment to something.  At the first sign of  the pain in a challenge, all you can see is their dust as they fly down the road to the next business or opportunity.

Commitments are life changing.  When we truly commit to something, we give it our all!  Fulfilling marriages are not made by bolting at the first sign of trouble.  Marriage, as anything else, has its painful moments.  Some of the happiest couples have worked through some of the worst pain in their marriage.

Succeeding in business is much the same.  There are painful moments in any business, whether you are an employee or an entrepreneur.  The most successful people I know in the business world had to slog through some of the toughest challenges imaginable.  They made a commitment.   They got tough.  They planted their feet, burned their bridges and committed wholeheartedly to success.

My advice is to jump into the freezing water of your business with a total commitment.  If you make a total commitment and you fail….you fail.  Dust yourself off and go at it again.  Don’t waste time licking your wounds.  Successful people fail fast, and fail forward.  Meaning, they embrace their failures for the lessons they bring.  Get back in the game, and use those lessons to, once again, commit to the success in their future.

As a leader of people, when we can garner our people’s trust we can create a team of devoted people who will give 110% more to the team.  As Rensis Linkert, the noted psychologist who’s main focus of study was management styles, said, “The greater the loyalty of a group toward the group, the greater is the motivation among the members to achieve the goals of the group, and the greater the probability that the group will achieve its goals.” What creates  team loyalty?

The leader sets the atmosphere and is the glue that binds the team.  If you have ever been a leader of people, you probably know creating loyalty in a team is, sometimes, easier said than done.  Let’s face it.  Some people, no matter what is done are not loyal people.  It’s not their nature.  They are easy to spot.  They blame others for everything wrong in their life.  They bad mouth their spouse or friends.  They don’t have close relationships with too many people.  With these kind of people, I don’t know if there is anything that will inspire their loyalty.

Most people, especially the ones attracted to team activities such as sports, or like to join groups of people, are able to become loyal members of a team.  The leader, often times, has to earn the loyalty of the team.  Even in situations such as corporate jobs, where their is a designated hierarchy and the leader is apparent by their job title, loyalty has to be earned.  Here are three tips to becoming the exceptional leader of a loyal team:

1.  Reputation is everything.  The team will look at how the leader treats others.  They will watch for the ethical treatment of customers, other team members, and family.  When someone joins a team, they are joining the leader.  A team looks up to the leader.  They assume what the leader does is 100% right all the time.  If they perceive anything less, the leaders credibility is lost.

2.  People are looking for a leader they can trust and believe in.  By the time we reach adulthood, we have had many opportunities to be hurt by people we can’t trust or believe in.  By the time we are adults, we have been stabbed in the back a number of times.  It doesn’t only make us leery, it makes us discerning.  People will still look for a trustworthy leader.  If a leader is worthy of trust, people will give their all for that team.  On the flip side of that coin, if a leader proves themselves unworthy of their team’s trust, there isn’t any amount of money or salary that will buy back that trust.  The leader will never get their best effort.

3.  To become a great leader, you must first become a great person.  What do I mean by that?  Our character is what we build our entire lives around.  The foundation of a house are built with strong materials.  A house built upon the sand will not stand.  Our character is much the same.  The characteristics of honesty, integrity, loyalty, and sincerity are the traits of a great person.  If a leaders sacrifices any one of those traits in their business dealings, they will lose the respect of their team.

People are not “born to lead”.  They learn to lead, often times, by following a great leader who embodies the 3 tips above.  Great leaders create great teams, who create great leaders who create great teams.

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Some days, the business world feels like a “dog-eat-dog” world.  Many of us learn the hard way, through hurtful experiences, how people can’t be trusted.  On those occasions, loyalty appears to be a rare commodity. Napoleon Hill says, “A lack of loyalty is one of the major causes of failure.”

Does this mean that everyone is disloyal?  Is loyalty as out of date as your grandmother’s wedding dress?  I believe, for some people, loyalty is not an important trait to have.  They see no value in being loyal to their friends, spouse or country, much less a team or company. To them, loyalty is passe and obsolete.  But, I think, the majority of people value being able to trust and believe in someone or something.

If that is the case, as a business person, how do we foster loyalty from your customers or team mates?  Today, I am going to give a three tips to increasing customer loyalty.

1.  Give your customers what they want. They want to feel good about who they are doing business with.  They must feel that they have received the greatest satisfaction when they deal with a salesperson or company.  They see this when we go out of our way to make sure they are happy with our service or product.  Have you ever been in a restaurant where you may have found a hair in your food or something equally disgusting?  How did the restaurant handle your concern?  I am not a surly, hard to please, customer.  When I have a complaint, and it is met with indifference, I won’t got back to that restaurant.  When the restaurant name is brought up for a return visit, I tell people why I won’t go back.  On the other side of the coin, when I have been treated with respect and given something complimentary to make up for my dissatisfaction, I will come back to them.  Doesn’t this leave the restaurant or business open for scammers.  Yes and no, if you could keep 10 customers satisfied by the way you handled their complaints wouldn’t be worth 1 scam for a free dinner?

2. Believe in and show your ethical principles. When customers see you have principles such as honesty and trustworthiness, it makes an impression.  They know, if you have those characteristics, they are in safe hands. Here’s an example.  My husband and I go to the Ozarks often.  We always stop at a little shop on the way there.  It is run by an Old Order, Mennonite family.  They sell a few antiques along with candy, produce, spices, etc.  On one of our first visits we stopped in to check them out.  My husband fell in love with an old cooler, called the “Pleasure Chest”.  We happily paid for our things and a way we went.  The next time we stopped by, the proprietor recognized us and told us he had overcharged us 90 cents.  He even had a note hanging up beside the adding machine.  We were shocked and very pleasantly surprised.  We didn’t know we had been overcharged.  We were convinced that this is a trustworthy, honest and ethical business owner.  We make a point to always stop in.  We always find something to buy when we do.

3.  Let your customers know you appreciate them. Be the master of the “thank you notes”.  It only takes a few minutes to hand write a note and drop it in the mail.  Thank them for their business, for a referral, etc.  When I was in sales, I always included a referral card with my thank you note.  I was always appreciative when the card came back, filled out with their referrals. I would then send a thank you note to the person who made the referral every time I closed one of their referrals.  Because I did this, very rarely, did I have to prospect in the cold market.  It is always a nice surprise to receive a personal thank you note in the mail.  It is a huge giver of “warm fuzzies”.  Pick up the phone and leave a message or a quick “thank you” if you reach them.  We always took our car to one place to have our car worked on.  Not only were they reasonable and did good work, but they always called a few days later and said thank you for the business.  We referred many people to them over the years.

Not everyone will go the “extra mile” to make their customers feel appreciated.  The businesses that do will reap the benefits of increased customer’s loyalty and many repeat visits and referrals.

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