It's true that many…marketing channels are primarily geared toward reaching current and potential customers, but you should also endeavor to reach another very important constituency through your full-spectrum marketing efforts—your employees.

-Kirk Kazanjian, Driving Loyalty

One of the clearest ways to determine if an email is the best way to communicate with the recipient is to ask yourself if it focuses on who, what, when, or where.  If, however, your email delves into why or opinion, you may want to think twice about sending it.  The recipient only has your words on the page to decipher your meaning, intent, and tone.  Without visual clues or the sound of your voice your message can easily be misunderstood.

- Peter Post, Emily Post's The Etiquette Advantage in Business

During the planning phase of your presentation, always remember that it's not about you.  It's about them.  The listeners in your audience are asking themselves one question—"Why should I care?"  Answering that one question right out of the gate will grab people's attention and keep them engaged.

- Carmine Gallo, The Presentation Secrets of Steve Jobs

Said by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe, "The Rule of expectations uses expectations to influence reality and create results." The problems that are encountered are when people fulfill these expectations negatively. Why is this? We all make decisions based on what others expect of us. If you are a clear and precise communicator, disciplined to the point of ensuring your expectations are completely understood both in principle and delivery, then this blog is probably not going to highlight much for you. However, for the many of us in the customer service world, both as a provider and/or a consumer, there seems to be lots of room for improvement.

After you apologize, tell the customer what happened.  Stick to the facts.  Keep emotion out of it.  Be truthful, even when your company made a mistake.  The customer may not like the answer, but your honesty will be appreciated.  In the end, a customer is going to respect an employee who is frank and honest over one who evades, covers up, or lies.

- Renee Evenson, Customer Service Training 101

The most compelling selling message you can deliver in any medium is not that you have something wonderful to sell.  It is: "I understand what you need."  The selling message "I have" is about you.  The message "I understand" is about the only person involved in the sale who really matters: the buyer.

-Harry Beckwith, Selling the Invisible