There's no better way to market your company or to add some "pow!" to your credibility than to have your satisfied customers do the work for you.  When you give these happy customers the power to make a difference in your business, they automatically become more emotionally invested in the relationship and your company's success.  Everyone likes to know that their voice has been heard and that they have made a positive impact, so why wouldn't you capitalize on your biggest marketing asset- your current customers- by empowering them to help you to be better and to earn more business?

Do you use proper email etiquette?  Knowing and using proper etiquette is imperative since it is, more than likely, your most used platform for communicating with your customers.  How you "show up" via email is a direct reflection of how you do business and greatly impacts your customers' ongoing perception and trust in you.  Let's make sure that your largest area of exposure to your customers (emailing) is something that you and the rest of your company do better than the rest.  

Being successful at conducting sales conversations is not something that requires loads of training or preparation.  Yes, you want to have the right tools on your training tool belt so you can be prepared, but you don't need to hold back from tackling sales success due to your intimidation or the lack of knowing some of the basics of selling.  Basically, you just have to keep it simple (like we instructed in the K.I.S.S. ("Keep it simple, stupid!") article about customer service), and you will find it's easier than you think to simply be a sales rock star.

A LOT!  For those of you who don't know, K.I.S.S. stands for "Keep it simple, stupid" (not calling you stupid; just don't want you to act stupid).  According to Wikipedia, the meaning of K.I.S.S. is: "The KISS principle states that most systems work best if they are kept simple rather than made complicated; therefore simplicity should be a key goal in design and unnecessary complexity should be avoided."  Now applying this principle to customer service makes a lot of sense, right?  Businesses often neglect to uphold customer service standards since they don't want to put in the work required to train on and maintain them.  This is where businesses go wrong- implementing good, basic customer service practices is not hard, and for many people, it comes naturally once they are given a gentle nudge to embrace these skills. 

"Go with your gut"- we've all heard this advice before, but do we regularly apply it, or do you talk yourself into sorting through all of the facts so you can follow your head?  We all know the battle between determining when to use our head or to let our gut lead the way.  You are stuck between two choices, need to make a decision, or are at cross roads, and you desperately wish you had a crystal ball or psychic intuition to tell you what to do.  Following our instincts so we can make better, smarter decisions, which lets your experience and expertise guide you, can help you to excel the success of your career and business.  Did you know that about 50% of big decisions in businesses end with the gut?

Surely you have heard Oprah talk and write about "being your best self," "living your best life," and "living in the moment."  Once I had my kids, I found that these messages meant so much more because I found myself constantly being swallowed by the chaos of balancing work and family, and I was not appreciating each moment as it was occurring.  Like many working parents, I continue to struggle with my balance and worrying about where I am falling short rather than focusing on what I am excelling at and what I did to the "best" of my ability that day.  Now how do these messages of being our "best self" in our "best life" while being fully present in the moment apply to how you do business and work each day?  I firmly believe that how you show up at work directly reflects who you are and how you live, so Oprah's lessons are extremely important for your professional life and in your business.