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Relationship power!

RESULTS! That's the name of the game for you and your business. And if you're like me, you don't like to wait for results. Thankfully, your wait is over. You can now improve, enhance, upgrade or jump-start your business...immediately!

If you're like most businesspeople, you simply don't have the time or luxury to learn all the crucial essentials of business development:

sales
marketing
negotiations
customer service
competing in a changing marketplace, etc.

Plus, you can no longer solve today's business problems with yesterday's solutions!

That's why, (here, as well as in other on-line articles)...I'll reveal proven, positive and profit-producing strategies in the key areas of business development-strategies to outdistance your competition and reach new levels of unprecedented success.

Relationship power!

Every businessperson I meet waxes rhapsodic about the importance of "relationships."

They tell me how their business is a "relationship business" and their success is "built on relationships." Are they right? Of course they're right. But there's a difference between right and results.

When others talk about "relationships...they refer to whom they know. Their network. Their circle of influence. Their clique. Their internal club. But that's not enough! To truly maximize relationships, two key elements of "relationship power" must exist:

your little r and
your BIG R

Your "little r" refers to traditional relationship-building. It's your:

likability
trust
humanity
sincerity
courtesy
personality
chemistry

The "little r" focuses on your ability to get along. It's your inherent nature to be warm, caring and compassionate. You're empathetic to your customers, clients and prospects. In Yiddish, the word for "little r" is mensch. And a mensch is simply, a good person!

People like to do business with people they like. However, "little r" alone is not enough. You also need to optimize your "Big R!"

"Big R" focuses on your ability to deliver results! Never forget, people are interested in who you are ("little r"); and what you can do for them ("Big R"). One without the other, only assures short-term success.

"Big R" is your ability to be a growth specialist. You, your products, services, company and team have the expertise to help prospects, customers and clients attain a more favorable future by:

maximizing gain
reducing loss
increasing earnings
slashing costs
creating enjoyment
assuring satisfaction
providing security
developing pride
enhancing performance
producing results

Why is the attrition rate so high in professions that require business-development skills? Because once you sell your friends and neighbors, who only bought because they wanted to be a "nice person" and honor their "little r" commitment, you have no real marketable "Big R" skills to the rest of the world.

Remember, your "little r's" and "Big R's" cannot be mutually exclusive. People invest in who you are and what you can do for them.

Profit points:

Maximize your "little r" relationship power: fax/send a prospect/client an article that's of value to their professional or personal interests.
Optimize your "Big R" relationship power: take a continuing education course, listen to an audio-tape program, read a new business book, etc.
Invite a prospect/client to breakfast or lunch.
Use e-mail as a simple and effective strategy to stay-in-touch. (Do an Internet search on a client's/prospect's business or hobby...and send them that information.)
Take action! When all is said and done...more should not be said than done!

Byline: Jeff Blackman, J.D., CSP is an international speaker, author, success coach, broadcast personality and lawyer. His extensive work with clients in the areas of sales, marketing, negotiations, customer service, leadership and adapting to change...has earned him the title of "business-growth specialist." His books, audio and video business-growth tools include; RESULT$, Peak Your Profits, Carpe A.M. * Carpe P.M. - Seize Your Destiny!, How to Set and Really Achieve Your Goals, Profitable Customer Service and Opportunity $elling. To learn more about how Jeff can help you...maximize results, please contact Sheryl Kantor at sheryl@jeffblackman.com, 847.998.0688, fax: 847.998.0675, Blackman & Associates, Inc., 2130 Warwick Lane, Glenview, IL 60026. Contact Jeff at jeff@jeffblackman.com.

Change: Capsize or Capitalize!

How would you like to predict the future...with the confidence, assurance and knowledge that you'd be right? Believe it or not, you and I have the ability to do just that. And, we need not even be a prognosticator, soothsayer or fortune teller!

How? Well, it's really quite easy. Because there is something that's going to happen daily. Guaranteed. And when it does, it will be relentless. It will be rapid. It will be revolutionary. And, it will be reality.

It is truly the only thing that you and I can be certain of. What is it? It's uncertainty or change!

But as David Thomas, Dean of Cornell Business School once said, "The number one characteristic of students who later became company leaders is the ability to withstand uncertainty."

Have you experienced incredible change, especially recently in your life, either professional or personal? I thought so. Get used to it. Because it won't stop.

Yogi Berra, that wise business philosopher once exclaimed, "The future ain't what it used to be!" Despite the absurdity of Yogi's thought process, he's right Just think of some of the changes that we've witnessed in recent years; the fall of the Berlin wall, the democratization of Eastern Europe, the demise of the cold war, the collapse of Communism in the Soviet Union-Northwestern in a Rose Bowl!

Change: The Only Constant!

With the new millennium, change will be the only constant. For example, with genetic animal husbandry we can look forward to hogs that will produce low-cholesterol pork and cows that will deliver milk with pharmaceutical properties...such as insulin...already in place. And if you crave a fast-food burger and fries what do you think will serve it to you? That's right, a robot!

Change is assured. Especially in three areas; computerization, communication and miniaturization. In 1946, ENIAC, the world's first large-scale multi-purpose computer filled 1,800 square feet and stuffed inside it were 17,468 vacuum tubes. In 1974, as a University of Illinois freshman, my physics teacher, Steve Selbrede, predicted, "A computer that could fill this massive lecture hall...will one day fit in the palm of your hand and be more powerful!" He was right! Change...in technology, life and business is a daily constant.

There appears to be only one thing that's speculative: whether you and I will have the ability to adapt to the changes within our marketplace and world. Perry W. Buffington, Ph.D., Professor of Management at Georgia Southern University once said, "The idea of change is one of the few constants in daily living. How we cope with it can spell the difference between successful-and unsuccessful results!"

Now if you're like most people, change doesn't thrill you. It may even scare you. That's okay. That's typical. But it's not change that really frightens us. Instead, it's the uncertainty, the difficulty, the trauma that accompanies the change. For many, their mindset is fixated on doubt and skepticism. They embrace life, personal and professional with a Wizard of Oz philosophy. No heart. No brain. No courage. Forget about the yellow brick road, this is a guaranteed road to ruin! Remember, that if you always do, what you have always done...you'll always get, what you've always got-or less!

Therefore, if you want, need or demand more from your life, business, staff, customers, clients or prospects, you may have to change. The old way may no longer be appropriate or even work. Your past achievements may not be an accurate measurement of your future performance or future successes. Your past assures nothing. It is simply an influencer, not a guarantor. You must not allow your past to block your vision or mission for the future. Clinging to the old way for too long, just because "it has always been done that way," may thwart the implementation of new ideas, opportunities and solutions.

As an astute seminar participant once told me, "If you keep doing the same thing over and over, but expect different results each time...that's called insanity!" Therefore, you may have to ask yourself a series of questions.

Do you choose to innovate?
Do you choose to imitate?
Or do you choose to vegetate?

And if you choose the latter, you might as well do what a client of mine suggests...to simply abdicate!

Profit points:

You must accept change with the understanding that nothing comes to stay, but only to pass.
The most effective way to deal with change...is to change.
The best way to minimize the impact of change...is to make the commitment to planning, on-going knowledge and goal setting.
Your addiction to the past...sets a trap for your future.
You must be willing to bust out of your zone of comfort, security and complacency.

Psychic debt!

Have you ever given a customer a product or service for nothing? Something that you would normally send them a bill or an invoice for, but because of the goodness in your heart, you decided to provide it for free? And...if you had sent them a bill, how much would it have been for?

Believe it or not, I've had clients give their customers hundreds, sometimes even thousands of dollars worth of goods and services for free! Now that's okay, but there is a better way.

Next time, if you're going to give a customer something for free, something that customer would normally pay for or something that has perceived value attached to it, send that customer a bill. That's right, send a bill...but cross out the amount owed and scribble across the statement, "This one's on us! No payment due! No Charge! Complimentary...this is part of our commitment to better serve you!" This language quickly and powerfully conveys the message...that your customer could have paid this actual amount, but instead, the amount was now saved.

Why is this approach so effective? First, it let's your customer know that you made an actual investment of time or money-to provide the product or service. Second, it diminishes the potential that your decision-maker will always expect to get something for nothing. But, most important, what this strategy really does is create in a demonstrable way a business advantage with a unique name or label that I think you'll like.

This strategy is called, psychic debt. And the satisfaction of that debt is likely to have a significantly greater value over the long-term future of your business, than the few extra dollars you might have placed in your bank account now, from the payment of that one bill.

Psychic debt creates a psychological sense of commitment or loyalty to you and your business.

Here's one way, that I counseled a distributor client, Joe, about psychic debt. Joe told me he was providing free delivery to his customers. And if he charged a delivery fee, some of his customers would be paying well in excess of $1,000 a month. Once Joe understood and applied the concept of psychic debt, he then sent his customers monthly, quarterly and yearly transportation or delivery invoices. The actual amounts they could have paid were crossed out. Customers now saw, on a regular basis, that Joe truly was providing them with incredible value and tangible dollar savings.

Does the concept of psychic debt only apply to a product? Of course not. It also applies to your time through consulting, training or the offering of a service. If you provide a client with let's say three hours of valuable guidance or training at no charge, assign a dollar value to that service and then send them-a psychic-debt bill!

Profit points:

Don't give away "stuff" for nothing. Always convey value.
Assign a value to your products or services.
Send an invoice to stress that value.
Cross-off the amount and write a "value message."
Realize that "psychic debt" can be far more valuable than actual debt.

Remove the Mystery!

Despite popular belief, business development is not characterized by manipulation, mind reading, mysticism, magic or mystery. It requires hard work, a sustained effort and the sincere desire to help others.

But it has become increasingly difficult to attain success in our competitive marketplace. All too often businesspeople and companies try to distinguish themselves from their competitors through bland and almost generic statements such as:

lowest prices
great service
superior quality
top-of-the-line
new and improved

Such claims are practically meaningless. They don't tell a prospective customer how low your prices are, how great your service is, the extent of your quality, what top-of-the-line really means, or what you did to become "new and improved." Sweeping and generalized statements don't allow a customer or prospect to perceive you and your product or service as being unique or different. Without any sense of inherent drama or uniqueness, you and your product are relegated to a commodity perception.

What makes you different?

You must continually concentrate on your uniqueness or differential competitive advantage. One of the best ways to do this is by developing for you, your company, products and services-your USP.

USP stands for Unique Selling Proposition. It's a strategy that comes from the world of advertising, but it has direct application, to the world of business development. A USP helps you rise above the clutter of other competitive sales, marketing and service messages.

An example of a USP might be a pizza place that assures you delivery within 30 minutes and if they're late, you get $3 off. Now that's unique! Sound familiar? With that simple USP, Domino's built a huge business.

What is Domino's really selling? Not pizza, but speed. Domino's lets you know that if you want a deep-dish, gourmet style, souffl� pizza...they're probably not the folks to call. But if you're hungry and need to satisfy your craving quickly, they are the only pizza place to dial.

Here are two more examples of creative and effective unique selling propositions:

I spotted this USP in a print ad in a Chicago newspaper, for an eye-care medical treatment center. The ad's headline read:
"If your vision is not measurably improved after cataract surgery, the charges for your surgery, will be refunded!"
A southern California accounting firm provides this assurance to its clients:
"We guarantee you 10-day turnaround (after receipt of information) on your tax return. If we don't make our deadline, we pay you $50 per day, for each day we're late."

How to Create Your USP!

Here are five specific steps to help you develop your USP:

You must make a proposition to each customer, who buys your product or service...that he or she receives a specific benefit or benefits.
The proposition must be one that your competition cannot, or does not offer. It must be unique...either in the brand, the product, the service or the claim.
The proposition must be strong enough to move the masses or attract new customers to you, your people and your product or service.
Your USP can be how your business is operated; how your product is developed, manufactured or marketed; or elements that go into your product or service that are of significantly higher quality, value or durability than that of your competitors.
Your USP can even highlight or be something that your competitors have, but they have failed to explain it or make it known to their or your customers. Therefore, the first company to define that unique benefit, process or procedure and educate their customers, takes a unique, powerful and profitable preemptive advantage.

To preempt...means to replace, to do-away with or to take possession of. Therefore, even if your product or service offers the same benefit as that of a competitor's, guess what? If you're the first one to tell the marketplace, you now have a unique and profitable preemptive advantage. You are the leader. And even if your competitors now claim that they too can offer these benefits, the marketplace perceives them as followers.

Profit points:

What are the greatest frustrations you have with our industry?
When it comes to dealing with others who market or sell related products or services to ours, what are your biggest challenges?
If there was one thing you would change about our industry that would really make your life easier or your business better, what would it be?
Answers to the preceding questions, should reveal a common thread of pain, anguish, concern or frustration.
Your USP should be designed to remove or eliminate these "undesirable threads."

Integrity for Sale!

A joint study was conducted by the Korn/Ferry International consulting firm of New York along with the UCLA Graduate School of Management. The purpose of the study was to determine 16 key traits that maximize effectiveness. The respondents were 1,300 senior executives.

Now what success traits do you think were deemed to be especially significant to these high-level and highly paid executives? Might it be time management? How about education? Interpersonal skills? Self-motivation? Nope. All important...but not the most important!

Believe it or not, 71 percent of the executives polled said the single most important success trait is integrity. That's right, integrity. Now isn't that refreshing news!

If integrity was a product that could be bought and sold in our competitive marketplace, one might think that the demand for it would be high, but its availability frighteningly low. And unfortunately, that suspicion or cynicism is frequently confirmed by the nightly news and daily headlines.

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, millions of TV viewers and newspaper readers have had the opportunity to follow the daily foibles and ethical dilemmas of athletes, businesspeople and politicians. Some of those caught beneath our scrutinizing societal microscope include Wall St. arbitrageur Ivan Boesky, tel-evangelist Jim Bakker, automotive entrepreneur John Dolorean, baseball manager Pete Rose, Olympic sprinter Ben Johnson, speaker of the house Jim Wright, figure skater Tonya Harding, Senator Robert Packwood, hotel queen Leona Helmsley and U.S. President Bill Clinton.

So rampant were stories of ethical misconduct that Newsweek magazine went so far as to label the 80s as the "Decade of Greed!" That sentiment was brilliantly, but chillingly reinforced by actor Michael Douglas in the movie Wall Street, when as the ruthless Gordon Gecko, he defiantly declared, "Greed is good!"

Well, if greed, deceit and situational ethics are good, then the future...could become decades of disaster! Why? Because business relationships will then be characterized by an energy-sapping, mind-manipulating and profit-reducing game of "who do you trust!"

The era of distrust may have already begun. According to a Time magazine/CNN Poll, 63 percent of Americans have little or no confidence that government leaders "talk straight," while 75 percent believe there is less honesty in government today than there was a decade ago. During political elections, the topic of trust is always more than an issue. It becomes a battle cry for all the candidates and parties. The only name uttered more than the contenders is Pinocchio!

A frightening new-card category

While recently browsing through greeting cards at a local pharmacy, my eyes stared and fingers stopped in disbelief when I discovered a new-card category. Are you ready for this? You can now buy those "special select few who play it straight, who are above board, who really do promise a lot and deliver more"-a card that proclaims on its front in bold black letters, "I am proud of your honesty!"

Have we become so mistrusting, so disbelieving, so fearful of being taken advantage of that we now need to congratulate others when they're honest with us? I hope not!

As an ethical business professional, you may be perceived as unique. Just like a diamond is worth more when it's rare and unique, so are you. Your integrity base gives you a profound advantage over your competition. Your unwavering and unqualified commitment to integrity by you and all who work for your company has a dramatic impact on your bottom line. You are no longer thought of as a commodity businessperson, but instead, as a value-driven pro. Your prospects and customers believe in you. They will like you. They will trust you. And they will buy from you. Again and again.

Profit points:

Integrity is a non-negotiable.
You never lie. You never cheat. You never steal. You never fudge. Never!
Honesty doesn't require a good memory.
When you are an integrity-based individual, you possess a special power: an aura of influence.
Reputation rises above riches. Trust overshadows greed. Character commands commitment. Honesty reigns supreme.

This Ain't Chicken Feed!

Some businesspeople forget that the customer or client is your reason for being in business! I assure you, this principle is never forgotten by Quill, one of the leading mail-order office supply or business-to-business catalog houses in North America. Located in Lincolnshire, Illinois, it has achieved tremendous growth and success.

Quill's founder and President, Jack Miller, began the business in 1956 with a phone in his father's chicken store and a $2,000 loan from his father-in-law. Today, this privately held company does annual sales in excess of $500 million. (Quill was recently sold to Staples.)

I've had the pleasure of knowing Jack Miller since the winter of 1987. His office is only 15 minutes from mine, so I've had the opportunity to join him for early breakfasts, as well as interview him on my radio-talk show. Jack, along with his brothers Harvey and Arnold, identify commitment to customers as one of the keys to the company's incredible track record. At Quill, customer service is not rhetoric. It's reality!

Jack's office is a testament to this basic business tenet and to his success. But perhaps what fascinates me most about his office is that he is surrounded by "ideas!" On countless engraved wooden plaques are sayings, quotes and slogans focusing on excellence, selling, commitment and service. One of them declares, "We're happy, but not satisfied!"

Jack and his brothers turn these slogans into measurable action. They are always looking for ways to better serve their 700,000+ customers. For example, Quill sets up customers with an electronic ordering system accessible through compatible personal computers and equipped with special software that Quill supplies. The system enables customers to not only benefit from computerized ordering, but to also review their past purchases, as well as share business ideas with Quill and their fellow customers.

Quill has also made a commitment to significantly enhance or speed-up their delivery system. Every stock order that is received by 6 p.m., is actually shipped that same day. An incredible commitment, when you realize that Quill handles over 12,000 orders each day. This commitment to speed and convenience is also practiced when your order is placed. Quill answers 93 percent of all incoming calls on the first ring.

The Bill of Rights

Quill's dedication to the customer is especially evident when walking through the halls of their corporate headquarters. Throughout its corridors are large framed posters that proclaim, "The Quill Customers' Bill of Rights." It was first published in 1970 when Quill had 32 employees. It was restated, approved and reprinted in the Quill catalog on April 1, 1987 when Quill had grown to more than 850 employees. Today, Quill has over 1,200 employees. Here it is:

The Quill Customers' Bill of Rights

The undersigned officers and the more than 850 employees of Quill Corporation express a desire to clearly state the principles and ideals which guide all of us at Quill in our relationship with our customers.

We feel this unusual step is necessary at this time because we find ourselves when we are customers, both as individuals and as a company, frequently dissatisfied with the way we are treated. Disinterest, discourteousness, bad service, late deliveries and just plain bad manners are too common.

We can't tell others how to run their businesses (except by not buying from them.) But we can and will run Quill as we feel a business should be run. Therefore, the following is a list of what we consider are the inalienable rights of our customers. We expect to be held to account whenever we deny any of these rights to any customer.

As a customer you are entitled to be treated like a real, individual, feeling Human Being, with friendliness, honesty and respect.
As a customer, you are entitled to full value for your money. When you buy a product you should feel assured that it was a good buy and that the product is exactly as it was represented to be.
As a customer, you are entitled to a complete guarantee of satisfaction. This is especially true when you buy the product sight unseen through the mail or over the phone.
As a customer, you are entitled to fast delivery. Unless otherwise indicated, the product should be shipped within 8 - 32 hours. In the event of a delay, you are entitled to immediate notification, along with an honest estimate of expected shipping date.
As a customer, you are entitled to speedy, courteous, knowledgeable answers on inquiries. You are entitled to all the help we can give in finding exactly the product or information needed.
As a customer, you are entitled to the privilege of being an individual and of dealing with individuals. If there is a question on your account, you are entitled to talk with or correspond with another individual so the question can be resolved immediately on the most mutually satisfactory basis possible.
As a customer, you are entitled to be treated exactly as we want to be treated when we are someone else's customer.

Profit points:

Create a Bill of Rights for your company and your customers.
Remember, it takes months, even years, to find, sell and serve a customer, but only seconds to lose one!
The "business" of business-is about acquisition, satisfaction and retention.
In the race for "service quality"...there is no finish-line!
Service...is the difference between a good company and a great company!