A Positive Team

A few weeks ago we released The Positive Pledge which has now had over 10,000 people share it. As I was reflecting on the pledge I started thinking about all the teams I work with and the negativity that sabotages them. I realized that most of us are part of a team whether it's a work team, school team, sports team, family team, etc. This inspired me to write a Positive Team Pledge for those who want to be their best and bring out the best in their team. Feel free to also share it with your youth sports team, high school team and/or work team.

I pledge to be a positive leader who sets the example for my teammates through my positive attitude and actions.

I promise to share positive energy and encouragement with my team.

I will not be an energy vampire nor will I sabotage myself and team with negativity, complaining and excuses.

When I make a mistake I will own it and seek to improve.

When I'm not performing well I will stay positive and strive to get better.

When I experience self-doubt I will remember a time when I succeeded.

When I feel fear I will choose faith.

When I face adversity I will find strength.

When my team experiences a defeat I will choose to stay positive and prepare to achieve another victory.

With hard work, determination and faith, I will never give up and will always help my team move forward towards our vision and goals.

Today and every day I will be positive and strive to make a positive impact on my team.

Download and Share The Positive Team Pledge with your team.

- Jon Gordon

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You're Fired! By the Real Boss—Your Customer

by Jeffrey Gitomer

Presto! Every customer returns for a second dose of whatever you sell or serve. Is that the reality? Or have you sold them once, and then got fired (and now they're being served by your competition)?

You see, people don't stop doing business; they just stop doing business with you. Each of us has lost a customer or ten in our business career. Why? Lots of reasons. We all know what to do; the problem is we just don't do it.

Being fired is not just maddening and frustrating, it's also an opportunity—an opportunity to figure out why and fix the problem. Here's a list of 14.5 reasons why customers fire you: 1. Showing no genuine or personal interest. Impersonal service. Insincere people. Commission (only) hungry salespeople. 2. Poor response. Take too long to get back to a customer or service a customer and they will find someone else. People will even sacrifice quality for speed. 3. Unavailability. People or product. Formula: "Can't get the stuff I need or can't reach the person I want, equals go someplace else." 4. Hard to do business or order. Long waits on hold. People who are not product-knowledgeable. Computer voice attendant rather than a real human being to answer the phone, and going through three minutes of crap only to get lost or put on eternal hold. Bye-bye. 5. Unfriendly person on the front line. It never ceases to amaze me how many angry people serve on the front line of multimillion-dollar businesses. The first rule of every corporate policy in America should be one word: "smile." 6. Poor or rude collection practices. This is a big one. Taking away someone's dignity when collecting a bill is common practice in business. Most have never taken the time to point out to collection people that keeping the customer is as important as collecting the money. 7. Overpromising. Customers are like elephants—they never forget. You overpromise and under-deliver, you lose. 8. Inadequate capability to handle the customer's problem. Poor product knowledge, or too many service problems and not enough service people. Double jeopardy if you make a lame excuse about it. 9. Too eager to do more business (too pushy, too much pressure). No one wants to buy more from a high-pressure person. Help, don't sell. Create an atmosphere of buying (asking about them), not telling about you. Don't be a pest—have a solid reason for following up. 10. Poor professional package or image. Customer's want to feel that the quality of their business will be reflected by the quality of those they deal with. How's your image? How's your package? 11. Dumb excuses about why you "can't." Customers are calling because they want help. They want help with their situation, not to hear a bunch of bull-oney about yours. 12. Nickel and diming. Charging for every incidental, like copies, phone calls and interest on late payments, puts a bad taste in the customer's mouth. 13. Poor product quality. No matter how much people pay, they expect a quality product. If you're selling price and sacrificing quality, eventually you will lose the business to someone with opposite thinking. 14. Poor service delivery. Everyone expects fast service that's right the first time. How's yours? How's the attitude of those who deliver it? 14.5 Poor training. Don't fire the problem employee. Shoot the person who trained them. Poor or ineffective training is the root of customer dissatisfaction. Success tactic: Make "reasons for customer dissatisfaction" the basis for a new training program. What happens to angry customers? From a variety of reliable research, here is a compilation of interesting statistics. • 91% who leave will never return. • 96% who leave won't tell you the real reason they left. • 80% will do business with you again if their problem is handled quickly, and to their complete satisfaction. • When the incident is real bad and they leave, stories about what happened will be retold for years. Interestingly, most of the time when we lose (get fired by) a customer, it always seems to be their fault. I'd love to have a dollar for every customer who was wrongly blamed. Ninety-nine percent of the time it's easy to assess who's to blame—just look in the mirror. Your mirror. I'll leave you with two questions: What are you doing to build loyalty and ensure repeat purchases? Are your customers resigning or re-signing?

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11 Benefits of Being Positive

Over the years I've done a lot of research on the positive effects of being positive and the negative effects of being negative. The research is clear. It really does pay to be positive and the benefits include enhanced health and longevity, happiness, career advancement, athletic performance, team building and financial success. Being positive is not just a nice way to live. It’s the way to live. In this spirit here are 11 benefits of being positive.

1. Positive People Live Longer - In a study of nuns, those that regularly expressed positive emotions lived on average 10 years longer. (The Nun Study)

2. Positive work environments outperform negative work environments. (Daniel Goleman)

3. Positive, optimistic sales people sell more than pessimistic sales people. (Martin Seligman)

4. Positive leaders are able to make better decisions under pressure. (Heartmath.org)

5. Marriages are much more likely to succeed when the couple experiences a 5 to 1 ratio of positive to negative interactions whereas when the ratio approaches 1 to 1, marriages are more likely to end in divorce. (John Gottman)

6. Positive people who regularly express positive emotions are more resilient when facing stress, challenges and adversity. (Several Studies)

7. Positive people are able to maintain a broader perspective and see the big picture which helps them identify solutions where as negative people maintain a narrower perspective and tend to focus on problems. (Barbara Fredrickson)

8. Positive thoughts and emotions counter the negative effects of stress. For example, you can't be thankful and stressed at the same time. (Several Studies)

9. Positive emotions such as gratitude and appreciation help athletes perform at a higher level. (Heartmath.org)

10. Positive people have more friends which is a key factor of happiness and longevity. (Robert D. Putnam)

11. Positive and popular leaders are more likely to garner the support of others and receive pay raises and promotions and achieve greater success in the workplace. (Tim Sanders)

Download a PDF Poster of these 11 Benefits of Being Positive. Download, print and share.

-Jon Gordon


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Zappos: A Great Example of Exceeding Expectations

I must say, "I truly love Zappos." I think their customer service is great, the site is easy to navigate and it's an all-around super experience. My husband and I are always mesmerized by the Zappos logistics. We can place an order on Sunday night and Monday we'll have our pretty shoes delivered.

So the last time I ordered a pair of shoes, I got my confirmation email which was expected. But right after that, I got this email:



What a great way to exceed expectations. Especially since these days it seems to be a thing of the past.

So how can your business exceed expectations?

• Ship your products out early
• Stash some extra goodies in your shipments
• Get a customer in or out before they expect it
• Have a human being answer the phone
• Give your great customers and fans a thank you gift
• Upgrade your customers...just because they're customers

It's a small gesture and could go a long way with word of mouth. Look, I'm certainly blogging about my experience with Zappos! What can you do to exceed your customer's expecatations? Give it a whirl!

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-VerticalResponse

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THE ROOT OF SUCCESS

There once was a tree that produced an abundant supply of fruit.

Everyone marveled at its ability to produce a record harvest each year.

The owner who sold his fruit at the local market had become one of the wealthiest men in town and he was the envy of all who knew him.

However, as the years passed the owner spent so much of his time counting and selling his fruit that he forgot to nourish the root.

He became so prideful and focused on results that he neglected to see the signs that the tree was dying.

Then one day when the owner went to pick fruit from his tree he was shocked to discover that the tree was barren.

"How could this be," he asked?

But when he inspected the root he found his answer.

The root had dried up.

He was so focused on the fruit that he neglected the root.

He wished there was something he could do but it was too late.

It was a lesson he would never forget!

How about you? Do you focus on the numbers, the outcomes and the fruit?

Or do you focus on the purpose, people, innovation, culture and root of your success.

Always remember the amount of fruit we produce is just an outcome and measurement of how well we are nurturing our root.

If we take care of our root we'll always have an abundant supply of fruit.

Ignore the root and say goodbye to the fruit.

What is the root of your success? What do the root and fruit mean to you? Share your thoughts on our blog here or Facebook page.

-Jon Gordon

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