Month: April 2017

Do I Know You?

~ whiteknighthub ~ Leave a comment

How well do you know your customers, really? Do they tell you one thing while they’re thinking something else entirely? Are they reacting to the offerings that you’re bringing to the table and neglecting to tell you what they really want? Do they even know what they want?

These are questions that many of us forget or neglect to ask when it comes to our customers. Taking the time to not just get to know those customers but to understand their problems and issues with “out of the box” thinking is what sets you apart from every other salesperson who comes calling.

Read between the lines, ask the tough questions and consider how you could tweak your approach or your offerings to make their life just a little bit easier. When you do this not only are you deepening that relationship with the client but you’re also going to be providing a service that is ultimately more valuable, leaving you in a position as a trusted and strategic partner, moving forward.

So instead of listening to only what is said the next time you meet with your client, tune into your intuition and listen to what it’s saying about what is really going on. And ask the tough questions…

WHY does that matter to you?

HOW do you want to be perceived by your customers? WHY?

WHAT is it that really “lights you up” about your business? WHICH parts are you most passionate about and most drawn to?

Once you start connecting with your customers and clients on this new authentic level that is when everything starts to change. At the end of the day you can never go wrong by committing to become more real.

Up For the Challenge

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How are you – as a business owner, entrepreneur, wife, husband, daughter, friend, employee – challenging yourself today? How are you getting smarter, more successful, and better than you were yesterday?

Are you getting by with the same old same old, or are you being very deliberate about your growth and development? The good news is, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Here is what has worked for tens of thousands of people who have gone before you:

  1. Find a mentor. Find someone you really admire who is better than you – smarter, richer and living a life that you admire. Find a person like that who is willing to teach and guide you, then take the time to truly appreciate them and listen to what they have to say. When you find such a person make sure you realize their worth and tell them frequently how much you appreciate their time and help. A good mentor can easily make the difference between you staying stuck and getting to where you really want to be.
  2. Get some good books. Embrace reading .- or audio books or podcasts – as an opportunity to get smarter and to get an edge over your competitors and others who are in the proverbial room. Reading and learning helps to keep your creative juices flowing too, so be sure to dedicate time every day to this practice.
  3. Examine your habits and figure out which ones are not serving you well. Which habits are bad for your health, are unproductive or even harmful? Which habits do you need to shed and which other ones should you be cultivating? If you can make good habits as much of a no-brainer as brushing your teeth you’re going to start seeing tangible results, pretty much guaranteed.
  4. Rub shoulders with the upper crust. If you aspire to be more successful, richer and more influential than you are now, it’s important to start associating with people of the caliber you wish to become. Please don’t take this as permission to be a fake friend or a “social climber” but do take note of who you’re spending time with. Create and cultivate real friendships with people you actually like, but also think about doing this somewhat strategically. If you want to be an artist you’re probably going to be more successful if you start hanging out with other artists and get into the circles of buyers and gallery owners. The same goes for almost every other industry I can think of.
  5. Think good thoughts. You have to teach yourself to focus on positive, not negative, thoughts. Learn to imagine life as you would like it to be, and not focus on the problems at hand. When you do this you’ll be much quicker to shift your energy into being productive, and you’ll also turn into a kind of magnet for others who will show up and want to do business with you, or help you out in some way. All of that positive energy will make you practically irresistible!

The Essence of Business? It’s the People.

~ whiteknighthub ~ Leave a comment
Small business people  understand that cash flow, policies, and the company’s focus are all directly tied to actual people. Larger companies, however, seem to often forget this fact.

“I’m just a paper pusher.”

“I have to keep my team efficient and make our numbers.”

“Our bottom line is better this year so management is happy.”

In thinking about business, work and careers it’s easy to narrowly focus on your role, responsibilities and metrics for success. This tendency may be amplified if you work for a government agency or large company.

And yes, those metrics are important, but what if you start thinking about your job in broader terms – in terms of the lives of people that you (yes, you) are directly affecting?

Business is ultimately about people. Not just the people at the top. Not only the owners, CEO’s, presidents and the folks with the corner offices. Not just the people who work at a particular company. It’s about all of those people, of course, but in reality is about much more than that.

This “ripple effect” is far-reaching and it’s both real and important.

The often forgotten mass of those affected by the actions of the employees of “Comany A” are people who work for and with companies that do business with the main company. Too often I’ve seen representatives of large organizations adopting a lackadaisical attitude when it comes to processing invoices or approving purchase orders. Taking weeks or months to get that paperwork through might not seem like a big deal to the state employee or to the corporate VP. After all, their paychecks are probably not directly affected by this. But the fact is, to the little guy – the one feeling the ripple down effect – those actions might make the difference between being able to afford groceries or not.

The consequences of our actions are not always immediately apparent to us but that doesn’t mean they aren’t real, both in life and in business. Even seemingly mundane tasks can make a big difference in someone else’s life. Yes, all of the business metrics are important and we have to fill out reports and other paperwork, but ultimately it’s the people who matter. Real people with real lives. It matters that invoices are processed quickly. It matters that lab results are reported correctly.

It matters that someone does their job right the first time, not just to please your boss but because somewhere down the line you’re touching someone else’s life. And what could be more important than that?

How Does Your Money Flow?

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Money, in and of itself, has no value. In order to mean anything it has to circulate. It must flow.

I had an interesting conversation the other day that I want to share with you. I was talking with a woman who is a professional writer and she was telling me about her early career where she was a single mom struggling with money. She described how she was forced to buy the most basic necessities, and how, as a side effect of that, her kids learned the value of money and of working hard.

But what was really interesting about the conversation was when she told me that during that challenging time in her life she was always volunteering to bring food in for food drives or for church functions, how she’d bake brownies for school or donate to local charities. All of that from someone who had nothing, yet somehow they always had enough.

In fact, she told me that the only time she literally couldn’t make ends meet was after she started questioning her generosity and when she had made a decision to stop giving so much.

It’s ironic, but I’ve experienced the exact same thing, as have countless other people, I am sure. I know that for myself, every time I give (even when I feel like I can’t afford to be doing so), I always end up receiving more wealth in some form or another. I might pick up a new client who I wasn’t expecting to approach me, or I might get a forgotten about tax credit in the mail. However the money come back it happens, in one way or another, without fail, and I really do find it very interesting.

In order for money to come to you it also has to flow out. In order to experience being abundant or wealthy you also have to give, spend and act generously. Of course, you don’t always have to do this with money – time, expertise and even sharing a kind word are certainly other ways to give – and they leave you feeling good.

When you hold too tightly to money (or anything else for that matter), you never get to truly experience its goodness or full potential. And guess what? The same principles apply to business, too. On a very base level the whole purpose behind any business is to serve, to help support the employees and others who benefit in some way from the existence of the business. It is not only about (or should not be, anyway) getting the highest number in the bank account.

In my opinion it is bigger than that. And of course money and profits are hugely important, but they’re not as important as the lives that are impacted by the business and by the positivity that it has the power to spread. At the end of the day we are all in this thing called life together, at least at some level.

So, let the money flow for good causes, for helping your employees, vendors and others achieve financial freedom. Become prosperous so you can fully enjoy life, but share in that prosperity too because that is where the real value, joy and meaning ultimately comes from.

 

The Only Thing You Need to Know

~ whiteknighthub ~ 2 Comments

The single most important ingredient for growing any business is the creation of customers who are so happy that they tell your friends about you. That’s it, plain and simple. But how many companies lose sight of this critical element and focus instead on any number of other things: cutting corners, increasing profits, beating the competition…

But what it really comes down to is this one thing. If you can find a way to make sure your customer feels special, feels heard and feels well-served then tell me, how easy is it going to be for your competitor to steal that customer away? Probably not very easy at all, because people will pay a little more and will even go out of their way for a company and a brand that they feel “gets” them and treats them well.

This type of thinking has led people to be able to successfully create restaurants and other businesses that are miles from the nearest town, yet people will go out of their way to go there because of the way it makes them feel once they arrive. It’s also one of the key reasons that some companies succeed while those right next door to them do not.

While building customer loyalty is a long game, more marathon than sprint, it’s also well worth the investment. Customers who are valued and who feel connected are much less likely to chase the next shiny object that comes by, and that’s true even in a world of ever-shortening attention spans.

So, what can you do today to say thank you to your customers, to let them know you care? Give it a try and see what happens. You might be very pleasantly surprised.