January 8, 2008 in REACHING... by Sandy Schussel

Clean Out Your Attic…Forgive Someone

Last year, I did not take my own advice and lost my temper with a vendor. I suggested that a price was too high and the vendor, Erica, went ballistic in her e-mail response, saying, essentially, “How dare you question my price after working with me in the past!”

My response was less than kind, and ended our relationship abruptly.

I know, I know. I would counsel my clients not to lose it, but I did. That ended our relationship… Until December. Two weeks before Christmas, Erica called me and apologized for her part in our little mishap. I accepted her apology and gave her my own.

That incident made my Holiday an even better one.

Erica’s call somehow reminded me of cleaning out an attic. It’s unpleasant, dusty work, but when it’s done, you feel as if you have more room to grow-more space to grow into.

Clean out your attic now. Start the New Year by forgiving some of the people who wronged you last year-not to make you a better person (although it might do that);not to bring you closer to heaven (although it might do that);not for the person who wronged you-but to get rid of the “stuff” you don’t need that may be keeping you from growing.

To be truly focused on what we want to accomplish, we need to let go of the negativity in our lives, and carrying around anger and hurt undoubtedly works against us.

So, follow Erica’s example. Call someone to apologize for your part in a misunderstanding. Call someone who knows you’re angry or upset about something they did or said. Call someone who doesn’t even know why you stopped calling him or her, and tell them it’s okay.

Then, get back to pursuing your dreams. Isn’t this the year you’d like to take the plunge and try a half-hour complimentary session with a coach who can help you do that? If it is, contact me.

In the meantime, keep REACHING…

January 2, 2008 in REACHING... by Sandy Schussel

No More New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year!

I know. I know… This is the time you want to sit down and make those resolutions.

“I’m going to make a lot more money this year.”

“I’m going to finally lose some weight.”

Some of you will even take the first steps. You’ll spend a few minutes taking a look around at your at your business or practice and start to straighten some things out. You’ll join a health club and purposely avoid the cakes and ice cream aisles when you shop-this week.

In a few weeks, though, it will be business as usual. Why? Because Resolutions don’t work! Here’s why:

1. They are not specific enough. How much money? How many pounds and by when? How are you going to do it?

2. There is no accountability built into them. If “Healthy Woman” turns into “Cookie-Dough Ice Cream Eating Woman” for just tonight, who will know?

So, if you don’t make resolutions, what do you do instead?

1. Set goals. Make them specific, measurable, attainable and time-oriented. Earn 20% more than last year. Lose 20 pounds by June.

2. Write your goals down and tell people about them. Give them to someone and ask that person (more than one is better) to hold you accountable.

3. Include with your goals a plan for how you’re going to accomplish them. Napoleon Hill, author of “Think and Grow Rich,” noted that the most successful men of his time worked with a plan. A simple plan…even a stupid plan…is better than no plan at all.

4. Be accountable to someone. A peer–or, better still–a coach. A great deal of my work involves helping my clients focus on what they want, helping them develop a plan to get it, and requiring them to report to me on their progress.

If you would like a great, simple Goal Planning Worksheet, request it from me at sandy@brassringcoaching.com, and I’ll send it to you.

In the meantime, keep REACHING…

Sandy

December 28, 2007 in REACHING... by Sandy Schussel

Happy Holidays!

I have no e-letter for you today, just a link to a wonderful, moving video about customer service and imagination. Enjoy your holiday and get ready for an incredible New Year.

It’s only 3 minutes long and I promise you it will be worth your while.

Here’s the link:

Customer Service Video

Please feel free to pass this along to anyone you know.

I look forward to being of service to you in the New Year and hope yours is happy, healthy and successful!

In the meantime, keep
REACHING…

Sandy

December 10, 2007 in REACHING... by Sandy Schussel

If you want more clients…
Do it on purpose

“Before we discuss whether we’re all in sales,” I asked at a recent workshop of assorted professionals, “someone tell me what selling is?”

“Getting people to buy what you’re offering,” one attendee answered.

“Manipulating them into doing what you want them to do,” volunteered another.

“Twisting their words around so they feel like they’re foolish if they don’t use your services,” proclaimed another.

After hearing a few more negative descriptions like these, I asked them to try on this definition:

Selling is asking appropriate questions so that the prospective client sees for (her)self that (s)he needs what you offer.

The room was suddenly quiet. So I asked six questions:

1. “Do you ask questions?”
2. “Do you listen carefully to the answers–maybe even write them down and think about them?”
3. “Do those questions lead to more questions?”
4. “Do you make recommendations?”
5. “Do you give examples of how what you do might work?”
6. “Do they conclude for themselves that they need your services?”

Observing that virtually all of them had been nodding their heads in the affirmative after every question, I proclaimed: “Then, you are all selling. Now, I want to talk to you about doing it on purpose.”

Maybe you want more clients or better clients, but you’re one of those professionals who views sales as something the guy in the plaid jacket and bad hairpiece does. You picture him with a big smile on the used car lot, telling fibs about the history of the clunker he’s trying to sell you. If this is you, then the first thing you need to do is to change your paradigm.

If you have any customers, clients or patients at all, you’ve been selling. If you start observing carefully what you do right and then duplicate it, you’ll get more and better customers, clients or patients.

Set up a complimentary session to talk with me about how I can help you sell your services on purpose. And, in the meantime, keep
REACHING…

Sandy

September 17, 2007 in REACHING... by Sandy Schussel

If That’s How You Treat Me, How Can I Send My Friend?

If That’s How You Treat Me, How Can I Send My Friend?

Managing our activities in this multi-tasking world is one of our biggest challenges, so we have to be careful that we’re doing the right work when we’re overwhelmed:

Return your calls and answer your e-mails-or have someone do it for you. Let something else go, not communication. Communication with clients and associates-even with vendors-should be your priority.

“Treat my vendors the same way as I treat my clients?” exclaimed Ted, a recent workshop attendee, “Why?”

I shared with the group my first rule of referrals, the one I call the “duh” rule:

Everyone you know and everyone you meet is a potential client, a source of referrals, or both.

A few years ago, one of my clients, Ron, told me he was looking for a marketing firm to help him with a promotion he was planning. I had recently talked with Andrea who, with her husband, had started a terrific advertising and marketing firm. Andrea had consulted me about working with them on time management and client development issues, but had not yet made the decision to hire me.

After I told Ron about Andrea’s firm, he asked me to arrange an introduction to Andrea, and I was happy to help. I left a phone message for her. She did not return my call. I e-mailed her to tell her that I wanted to stop by to discuss a possible client for her firm. She did not respond to the e-mail.

I know that Andrea and her husband were overwhelmed, and maybe they thought I was a “pesky vendor” who was just trying to move a sale along. But by choosing other work over communication with me, Andrea and her husband lost a client and a source of referrals.

I can’t say with certainty that Ron would have hired Andrea’s firm. Maybe not. But it was clear that I couldn’t risk suggesting to Ron that he call Andrea directly. I would be exposing him to the possibility that his call wouldn’t be returned. Or, maybe Andrea would return his call while he was a prospect for her business, but once he was a client, his calls and e-mails would be ignored. And if someone else asks me for a recommendation to a good marketing firm, how could I put that person at risk for the same treatment?

Communicate with the people who reach out to you. If they turn out to be “pesky vendors” in whose product or service you have no interest, simply tell them so.

If I can help you manage your time better, so that you can get more clients without putting in more time, contact me.

In the meantime, keep REACHING…

-Sandy

September 17, 2007 in REACHING... by Sandy Schussel

Waddaywant? Establish a goal, devise a plan to reach it, and…

Waddaywant? Establish a goal, devise a plan to reach it, and…


Thomas Edison had a ridiculous idea in 1878–to create a safe, cost-effective lamp that ran on… electricity! Everyone knew that attempts to use electricity to create light had resulted in fires, explosions and meltdowns; it could never be used to safely light anything.

Edison, however, believed that it was possible to use electricity to create a practical lamp. So, he invited reporters from New York to his Menlo Park, New Jersey laboratory, where he announced that he would produce his new invention, along with a way to link it to power stations via underground cables, in six weeks.

Edison was aware that he would probably have to enclose his lamp in glass, so he had glassblowers on staff. He knew he would probably need some experts–electrical engineers and mathematicians–so he had them available. The only thing he had no clue about was what he would put in the lamp to make it work. But Edison was certain that he would end up doing what he promised, because he had a system.

He also knew that having a system, even a simple one-even a stupid one-was far more likely to get him results than having no system. And Edison’s system was painfully simple:

1. Announce your goal
2. Develop a plan to reach the goal
3. Take immediate and massive action on the plan, and
4. Persist until you succeed

Even the “plan” portion of the system was simple: Randomly test any material or combination of materials until you find what works.

Edison believed that to find the combination of materials he might need to make his lamp work in the time he promised, he would probably have to work through a few hundred experiments. But after six weeks, despite immediate and massive action, he was no closer to finding something that would make his lamp glow than he was on the day he announced his goal. Most people would have given up at this point, but Edison persisted for fourteen months.

In 1879, using low current electricity, a small carbonized thread, and a vacuum inside the glass globe, he was able to produce a reliable, long-lasting source of light.

Waddayawant? Anyone can follow this simple formula and, with the help of a coach or someone to hold him or her accountable, can reach his or her goals.

If there’s something you want to accomplish, contact me to discuss how I can help you have it.

In the meantime, keep REACHING…

-Sandy

September 17, 2007 in REACHING... by Sandy Schussel

Ask These Questions For Every Challenge

Ask These Questions For Every Challenge

Coaches like to point out that there are no problems… just challenges. But, no matter what you call them, if you’re out there working for a living, you’ve got them.

I can’t get enough good paying clients to support my family.

I can’t figure out what I want.

These are… well… challenges. And they have us struggling to solve them. If you’ve been reading this e-letter, you know that I’m about the idea that you need to stop struggling. How about a structured approach? Every time you come up against a challenge, stop and ask yourself three questions:

1. What can I do to solve this problem?

2. Who can help me solve it?

3. What can I learn to help myself?

Steve is a personal injury attorney in Michigan whose practice seemed to have slowed down. After years of making large sums of money and settling one case after another, his caseload is lighter than it has been in a long time. I instructed Steve to answer these three questions for me.

What can I do to solve the problem?

Steve’s first answer was, “I just don’t know.” But after some coaxing, he admitted that he could probably spend a little of his free time showing his gratitude to the attorneys, clients and others who have referred him cases. That was the first of many answers he has come up with over the past few weeks.

Who can help me solve it?

The first answer to this question came easily. Steve hired me to help him solve the problem. But one of my first questions in this capacity was, “Steve, who else can help you?”

After a session or two, Steve had a list of people he could ask for help: People to ask for referrals, and clients and others he could ask to spread the word that he was taking on more cases.

What can I learn to help myself?

I gave Steve a reading list of books that would help motivate him and direct his activity. After starting the first book, Michael Gerber’s E-Myth Revisited and my book, The High Diving Board , Steve called me all excited.

“Sandy,” he said, “I picked up three new clients this week and I’m reading Gerber’s story about the hotel-and I get it!”

I would be happy to help any of you who would like reading recommendations for your particular circumstances. Contact me at sandy@brassringcoaching.com.

In the meantime, keep REACHING…

-Sandy

September 13, 2009 in REACHING... by Sandy Schussel

RED CRAYONS ARE BETTER NETWORKERS

“I’m a great networker,” Elaine, a junior partner in her labor law firm, proclaimed during a workshop I was conducting for her firm, “but I can’t seem to connect with any clients that have real potential.”

“Who do you want to connect with?” I asked her.

“Well…anybody that might need our services,” she responded, with a touch of indignation.

“So, what do you tell people when they ask you what you do?” I asked.

“I tell them I’m a partner in a labor and employment law firm and that our firm works mostly for employers,” Elaine responded.

“That’s one of your problems,” I suggested. “You’re a white crayon.”

“Picture a box of crayons labeled ‘Labor and Employment Attorneys’ in which fifteen of the sixteen crayons are white,” I told the group. If you needed a labor attorney, which crayon will you pick?”

“It wouldn’t matter,” James, one of the new firm members, called out, “They’re all the same.”

“That’s right,” I responded, “But if just one of the crayons in the box was red, which crayon would you pick?”

This was an intelligent group, so no one had to actually answer the question. I continued with a decree: “You need to be the red crayon!”

Then I turned back to Elaine. “Is there a particular area of labor and employment law where you have some expertise, and is there a particular type of employer who might need that expertise you’d like to work with?”

“Well, I have a lot of experience in diversity issues,” she started, “and I know that several of the banks are having issues in their branch offices.”

“Why then, are you not telling people that when you are asked—not just that you are a partner in a labor law firm, but that you concentrate on banks with diversity issues?”

“But, Sandy,” James called out again, “If Elaine is talking with someone whose company isn’t a bank and doesn’t have diversity issues, wouldn’t that turn him right off?”

“No,” I told him emphatically.

“Once you’re seen as a red crayon, people will be curious about how you and your firm might be able to help them—even if you have to make an exception to work with them. Identifying yourself as a red crayon gets the conversation started where it might not have started otherwise. How you move the conversation along is something we’ll discuss later.”

Another benefit of being specific, I told the group, is that you can focus where you network and who you network with better. If Elaine really wants to work on diversity issues in the banking industry, she can look for situations where her probability of meeting the type of clients and problems she has targeted is higher.

Be crystal clear about who you want to work with, what they need, and why you’re their best choice, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a Client Magnet.

In the meantime, keep REACHING…

Sandy

August 11, 2009 in REACHING... by Sandy Schussel

What Stories Are They Telling About You?

If you want more clients, the goal of every existing client relationship should be to get your clients to tell stories about their “magical” experience working with you.

You don’t have to win your case, or save them from the devastation of a recession, or get that old spot out of the carpet, but you do have to provide an experience that shows you care deeply about them and their situation.

When your contacts with clients are simply what they expect, they have no reasons to tell stories about your service. You’re doing what you’re supposed to do. There’s no story in that. Stories come from the extremes: either extraordinary, magical experiences or terrible, disastrous experiences.

Our washer quit on us at the same time as the central air conditioning (but that’s another story). We purchased a new washer and dryer from a major department store chain for delivery last Saturday. On Friday evening, an automated phone call informed us that delivery would take place between 1:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. So, on the hottest day of the year so far, we stayed home in the heat to await the arrival of our new machines.

When at 4:00 p.m., there was neither a delivery nor a phone call, I called the 800 number. Three things happened on that call: I was required to go through a litany of personal information to be certain I was authorized to speak on my own behalf; I was told “We’re sorry for your inconvenience”; and I was informed that the delivery men were running late, but were on their way.

At 6 p.m. I called a second time, having heard nothing from the company and having received no delivery. After the litany and the standard apology for my inconvenience, I was first told that the delivery men had tried to make the delivery, but no one was home. When I protested (it would have been hard to miss a big truck in our driveway or a phone call requesting our whereabouts), the story changed. The new story was that we had been number 9 on the schedule, but they skipped 9, 10 and 11, because 12 and 13 were closer. But, they assured us, we would receive our delivery.

At 8 p.m., my wife Hannah called. After the litany and the apology for our inconvenience, Hannah was told they had finished their deliveries for the evening. Hannah’s response was—how do I put this?—less than friendly, and seemed persuasive, because they promised they would get the truck to us.

At 10 p.m., however, I called again, and after the customary preliminaries, I was told that they simply were done for the day. Then, the call center employee presented me the ultimate irony—an offer to reschedule delivery–another opportunity to spend a day waiting and hoping for a delivery. I cancelled the order immediately.

We spent an entire day at home in sweltering heat, waiting for a delivery that never came, but what was worse was that not once did they call us. They still haven’t called to find out why we cancelled or to apologize for the terrible service or to tell us they’re processing the refund.

In my new book, Become A Client Magnet, I devote several pages to the importance of communication. If just once, someone had called to say they were running late and offered to reschedule, the story I’d be telling now might have had a happy ending.

Clients expect Respect, Empathy, Action and Communication, all of which lead to Trust (note the clever acronym, “REACT”) which, in turn leads to loyalty and referrals. Without proactive communication the stories your clients tell about you will not be the kind you want them to be telling.

Give your existing clients an experience that results in powerfully positive stories and you’ll attract plenty of new clients. Check out Become A Client Magnet for ideas on how to create that experience and, in the meantime, keep REACHING…

Sandy