If you want to achieve business success, what would be the kiss of death? Whenever I deliver a presentation on leadership or business success, I pose this question to my audiences. Typical responses are… “Not taking action.” Or, “Poor customer service.” All of these are good answers, but not the one I want to hear. [Read more…]
“Make sure whatever you send to the President goes through me first. If you want to speak to him on the phone or see him do the same. I have to protect him from getting bogged down with too much information and too many appointments.”
This is what managers, directors, and supervisors are told by a client’s executive secretary. If you have your secretary or assistant do the same, beware. [Read more…]
I have had the privilege of working with many companies who are known for service excellence – the award-winning Caterpillar dealer, who makes his people role play during down time and uses a state of the art service measurement tool that measures every single aspect of service excellence – including the level of service executives and managers provide to employees, the top producing wealth management firm in Texas that gives clients the impression they are walking into the lobby of the Ritz-Carlton when entering the company’s elegant office and are greeted by the company’s “Director of First Impressions;” American Honda, whose employees rave about how well they are treated by their company; the Harley-Davidson dealer that holds short meetings every Friday morning before opening time to “talk-up” customer service and get people pumped up for sales … and so many more. These already outstanding organizations ask me to work with them because continuous improvement is one of their company’s core values. [Read more…]
It often amazes me how many sales people and business owners tell me that they are uncomfortable asking for referrals.
Some don’t know how to ask, and some don’t ask at all. Referral business is the least expensive way to win new customers, has the highest possible leverage, and the best potential payoff. In addition, a prospect whose name you received through a referral may be more prone to return your call and less likely to look to another provider for their needs. [Read more…]
Stingrays are generally docile and will swim close to divers and snorkelers. I experienced this just last week while on a much needed vacation in the Cayman Islands. I confess, I was really scared of them at first – especially the really big ones like the one below. But when I saw other people enjoying the experience, I overcame my fear. When one swam up to me I held it in my arms, hoping it wouldn’t react to the pounding of my heart and my shaking hands.
When Edwin Land successfully launched his classic invention, the Polaroid camera, he should have stopped there. Against the advice of his sales and marketing people (and without the benefit of market research which he detested), he introduced a device, called Polavision, (selling at the hefty price of $700) that would record an “instant color movie.” So convinced that this device would succeed, Land invested 68 million dollars to promote it. In spite of the desire and the dollars, the product failed. [Read more…]
CHRISTINE CORELLI & ASSOCIATES, INC
6401 Lincoln Avenue Suite 204
Morton Grove, IL 60053 (20 Minutes from Downtown Chicago – 20 Minutes from Chicago airport )
(847) 477-7376
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