Confidence is Key!
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As many of our recent posts have been Small Business related, we are continuing this week by sharing this great post from International Management Speaker and Business Coach, Donald Cooper!
Confidence is #1
Every five years a leading advertising trade magazine asks thousands of people to rank, in order of importance, various factors affecting their buying decisions. In their most recent survey, ‘Confidence’ was rated #1, Quality was #2, Service #3, Selection #4 and Price was #5.
Personally, I think they missed the real point by not asking the important follow-up question… “Exactly what is it that you want to be confident about?” I think that when people rank ‘Confidence’ as #1 what they’re really telling us is that they want Quality, Service, Selection and Price! They want it all and they want to be confident that they’re getting it all…and that’s why they put ‘Confidence’ as #1.
Does that sound like your customers? They want to be confident that you understand them, that you care about them, that you know what you’re talking about and that you’ll deliver what they want, when they want it. So, to be your customers’ ‘Preferred Supplier’ you must create confidence.
Everything we do, or don’t do, creates or destroys confidence. How we look, how we sound and how we perform at every touch-point matters. So, we must act with absolute integrity and we must have high standards of performance, appearance and behavior in every part of our business, not because we’re old, or mean, or cranky, but because anything that destroys confidence, destroys our business must be eliminated. Always explain to your Team why we have high standards…but never apologize for them.
Remember, customers also want to be confident in themselves. How can you coach them, help them and encourage them to be confident in making wise purchasing decisions and to wisely use, care for or consume what you sell? How can you be their ‘Caring Coach’?
Bonus thought: Every business has a fundamental decision to make. ‘Are we trying to get our customers to do what we want them to do…or are we 100% committed to helping them do what they want to do?’
Action to take: Create a small team of some of the best minds and hearts in your business to look at every part of the business with you. Thinking and feeling like a customer, make a list of everything you see and feel, at every touch-point, that might destroy customer confidence…everything that creates confusion, suspicion, resentment or doubt, or causes stress. Then, create a list of the specific things that you will change or do to create more confidence, more clarity and less stress. For each improvement that you commit to make, get specific about who will do what, by when, at what cost, with what outcomes, measured how and rewarded how, to make it happen. Document commitments and follow up. The world is run by those who follow up!
That’s it for this week…
Live brilliantly!
Donald Cooper
For more great business advice or to learn about the services that Donald Cooper offers, please visit his website here.
Thank you!
Your Costen Insurance Team