As you will have read about, I have been chairing the organisation of a global telesummit taking place on the 8 November 2007 and will be attended by authors, speakers and leaders in the field of personal branding.

In case you have not had the opportunity to study the programme schedule in detail, I am going to post the details of the seminars I will be specifically taking part in. If the event is not of interest to you, then there is no need to continue to read the remainder of this article.

In today’s market place, building brand evangelists for your product or service – be it your customers, employees or partners – is one of the most effective ways to build your business.

Evangelism is the process of of engaging people to believe in your product or idea as much as you do.

I will be taking part in a conversation with leading marketing and business experts to share their perspectives on how we have created buzz and used new technology to build our own brands and create teams of brand evangelists. I will be joined on the panel by Tim DeMello, John Jantsch, Guy Kawasaki and Andy Sernovitz.

This session will take place at 10am ET (3pm Dublin and London) on the 8 November 2007.

If you would like to join me to hear what these marketing experts have to say about brand evangalism, you can register at the personal branding summit website - and if you can not attend then we will be recording the seminar.

I do hope you will be able to join us.

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How many times have you walked into a store and looked to make a purchase but the customer experience was so awful that you left without spending a dime?

Or perhaps the last time you went to your dentist you were met by a grumpy receptionist who made you feel as though it was easier to deal with the toothache than summon up to courage to book your appointment?

Every day, our experience of customer service is made up of hundreds of separate situations which leave with us a lasting impression of what great customer service is and also shape and influence how we connect with our own clients and potential clients.

It could be the way a phone call is answered. Or perhaps whether an email enquiry is responded to in a timely manner.

Let’s take as an example the first time you connect with someone face to face.

There are four key areas that people will notice when you talk with them:

1. Your language: do you use language that is welcoming, engaging and direct? Do you speak language that is jargon free and that your client resonates with?
2. Your tone of voice: is your tone of voice positive and uplifting so that the person you meet realises that you are enthusiastic and genuinely interested in them? Do you leave the people you meet feeling energised and looking forward to speaking with you again?
3. Your pace of speaking: what is the pace with which you speak? Talking too fast and you will be difficult to understand or that you are too busy to care about your client. Talking too slow the conversation can sound tedious and the person you are speaking with could want to run to the hills out of boredom if it takes you a long time to get to the point.
4. Your body language: what signals and unspoken messages you are giving by the way that you stand or sit? Your body language can speak volumes so be sure to smile, make eye contact and remember a firm handshake showing that you are purposeful.

YOUR BIZ GROWTH ACION STEPS

Here are three steps you can take to enhance he way you and your team connect with customers to make a postive lasting impression and build a platform for business growth:

• The next time you have a meeting with a client or potential client, prepare for your meeting considering the language you plan to use and the energy and enthusiasm you are looking to convey in the meeting through your tone of voice, you pace of speaking and your body language.
• Take the opportunity to record yourself either as an audio or a video recording - perhaps on a telephone call or in a meeting. Take time out to review the recording with a colleague, your business mentor or coach and look for areas that you could enhance the way you connect with your customers and clients.
• Identify three key customers who you would like to further enhance your relationship with and set about asking for feedback on how they experience working with you and your team. Remember their perception and experience of dealing with you is their reality. If you want to enhance the customer experience for them the first step is to understand how they see it at the moment.

Take these three steps and you will be setting the foundation of a cumstomer centric culture which is sure to build your brand, enhance your reputation and increase your profits.

And if you are interested in exploring this subject further, I would also recommend two books: “Raving Fans” by Ken Blanchard and “How to Talk tto Customers” by Tom Larkin.

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Establishing your own business may be your life time ambition.

But had you foreseen the challenges ahead, I am guessing there may be days when you wished you had not set up your own business.

In today’s world, as consumers we are all searching for the fast answer:

• audio books are abridged versions of the full book to its faster to get to the end of the story
• microwave take home meals now come in gourmet packaging so you can entertain with less effort but still save face
• and our clothes are made of fabrics that are crease free so we can get rid of the iron - in other words being smart about looking smart.

I sometimes wonder if what many new business owners are looking for is the quick answer to attracting more clients, building a successful business and long vacations. Continue reading

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Have you noticed the trend in business that saying thank you has just gone out of fashion in fact it’s positively ‘de rigueur’ not to acknowledge people and can be damaging to your personal brand.

Here are four examples:

1. I’ve noticed a trait in some of my clients that often when they email me asking questions between meetings requesting information and advice and I reply with detailed answers by email,  don’t get an acknowldegement that they received the email nor a thank you.
2. Then there is the authors and business coaches who I don’t personally know but who contact me to tell me about their great services and perhaps I could help them find a speaking gig in Ireland and promote their programme in my newsletter and blog.  So I duly reply with some suggestions, but again no thank you or achnowledgement of my email.
3. Or how about my ex-colleague who I send information to connect them with a great business opportunity - you’ve guessed right, no acknowledgement or email.
4. And finally there is the entrepreneur who has been a guest on one of my programmes or the radio show but fails to promote the workshop or podcast to their own clients and community throught their newsletter or blog.

There is obviously a new book or teachings on business etiquette that has been written that I just haven’t come across that advises that saying thank you is no longer good business sense. 

I really must do a search in Google and on Amazon to make sure I get access to these new strategies so that I can update my clients, friends and colleagues that this is the case including:

Sheri who shared with her community that she is to be a guest expert on Biz Growth Live with me and how they can join us for the no-cost telseminar

Michael who sent me a lovely personalised Christmas card to thank me for all the support I’ve provided as a leader on his programmes and as a guest expert for his clients

Chris who always thanks me for any observations and insights that I provide and when he shares them with his clients always gives me or other contributors and colleagues clear attribution

Erin who posts regularly on my blog to thank me for the tips and ideas.

It clearly makes bad business sense to:

• give all your clients on your programme a copy of your business book or information product as a welcome package to joining your programme - after all why shouldn’t they pay for a copy themselves like everyone else?
• thank your business partners and affiliates with a small gift or a simple email - why on earth would you want to say thank you if they helped you attract more clients to your programmes, consumers of your book or clients for your products?
• offering attendees of your programme the opportunity to come back time and again at no cost - you don’t want them to become brand ambassadors and raving fans referring you to others, great case studies and showcases for your work and be successful in implementing the strategies you teach after all do you?
• make attribution in an article, do a track back from your blog or make a link to another persons website when you reference them in your post - after all you can’t be considered an expert if you didn’t originate all your ideas yourself can you?

If you’ve learnings on this area of business etiquette that you are happy to share with me and the readers of Biz Growth News, it would be great if you could post your comments here - of course I’ll have to remember not to thank you for the post and the time you took to add your comments.

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At this time of year you often see many industry awards being announced.  But how can entering awards help you build your corporate brand, your employer brand or your personal brand and help you grow your business?

Now I know you can be reticent about self promotion, but entering for an award has a number of benefits.  Here are 5 great reasons to think about entering for a business award: Continue reading

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