"Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."  The Golden Rule concept exists through hundreds of cultures and is known by millions; therefore, it should come as no surprise that it intersects with your business practices and behavior.  It should be your ethical pillar upon which your business sits.

Do you consciously consider with each business move that is made what impact will be felt, how will your decisions and actions show up, and what chain of events/emotions will occur because of them?  If not, you should.  For your business to earn the respect it deserves, you should carefully choose which steps to take and which words to speak.  You should handle the business and treat your employees, coworkers, vendors, and customers with the same regard that you would like for them to handle their work and treatment of you.  What, in the least, should we consider as we put the Golden Rule into practice in our businesses? 

Did you know that customer service is the #1 factor that influences how much a customer trusts your company?  Yes, this is true- according to a customer service survey conducted by Zendesk.  Good service = increased trust and loyalty = higher sales.  The reverse of this is definitely scary; poor customer service can result in your company going down like a sinking ship.  If you have not been focusing on delivering good customer service, there's no need for a life raft just yet.  Let's plug up those holes and give your company some customer service buoyancy by starting with the biggest leak (biggest opportunity), which is the first impression.

Businesses aren't successful by chance.  Someone, who may be you, has to focus and have the vision for what it takes to thrive in today's economy and to continue to provide exceptional service to a demanding consumer market who has high expectations.  Might sound complicated, but let's make it easy and go back to "base camp."  How about you simply embrace and teach our "FOCUS" concept, which is a simple method that truly focuses on successfully serving your customers?  It always comes back to paying attention to service and delivery when you want to move your needle of success and increase your sales.  Right?

It’s no coincidence that companies that deliver outstanding customer service are industry leaders and innovators. So why aren’t companies focusing on improving the service that they deliver?  It seems like this is a no-brainer; however, companies get too lazy, caught up in the day-to-day, and/or don’t want to invest the time and money on mandating a focus on service excellence. Don’t be one of these companies- it’s careless and brainless.

You have heard it all before - to make a sale, you need to understand needs, have good product knowledge, find the "fit," and so on.  All true; however, without delivering memorable customer service by showing that you genuinely care about the customer through treating him with respect and proving that he can trust you, you may still earn the sale, but you won't acquire a bigger sale or loyalty. 

Ringing in a new year is exciting.  You have renewed energy and have a positive outlook on what you plan to accomplish, and your sense of anticipation for what's ahead is further fueled by all of the uplifting messages from the important people in your life.  Like, "Here's to a healthy and happy 2014!" and "May 2014 be your most successful yet!" 

How do you maintain this elevated sense of excitement and desire to succeed?  You don't want to be like the vast majority who sets clear visions, but then loses steam within 1-2 weeks.  Commit now to setting your 2014 goals (if you have not done so already), and then throughout the year, constantly work on them and set weekly/monthly reminders to ensure that you're on track with successfully fulfilling your resolutions.  Determining goals can sometimes feel daunting, but keep most simple.  We can help you get your list of goals started, or we can help you by adding some additional helpful strategies.