Posts Tagged ‘Customer Service’

Texas Customer Service Speaker Endorsement from Weaver Boos (Dean Lindsay is based in Dallas Texas)

“We invited Dean to provide the “kick-off” speech to a very important internal leadership summit that involved our Firm’s top 70 leaders. Both entertaining and informational, Dean’s keynote provided the jump start we needed to get the Summit off on the right foot! The issues that Dean focused on, service in a challenging environment and the message of “Be Progress” were echoed throughout the weekend, long after Dean wrapped up his speech on Thursday night. Thanks for providing a rockin’ start to our conference!!!” – Jeffrey P. Young, Principal, Weaver Boos Consultants

Watch Dean Lindsay – Texas Customer Service Speaker Video Clips

How can Texas Customer Service Speaker, Dean Lindsay,  Be Progress for you?

Dean is ready to discuss your program – shoot him an email at: Dean@DeanLindsay.com or give him a buzz at: 214-457-5656

Booking a Speaker – Questions to consider

When Booking a Speaker Question 1:

Is there a theme for the event? (If so, Dean customizes his presentation to fit the theme.)

When Booking a Speaker Question 2:

How do you want the audience to Progress (think, feel, or act differently) as a result of Dean Lindsay’s presentation?   Here’s a Quick Link to Dean Lindsay’s bio & stuff

When Booking a Speaker Question 3:

What is the date and estimated time of presentation or presentations? (We are comfortable with time changes, dates can be dealt with too with enough notice.)

When Booking a Speaker Question 4:

How much time is allotted for Dean’s presentation?  Got a few minutes now?  Watch Dean in Action.

When Booking a Speaker Question 5:

What major challenges are attendees facing – tough economy, mergers, re-organization, tough sales climate, stress, customer relationships?  It is OK to answer All of the Above.

When Booking a Speaker Question 6:

What subject/topic would you like Dean to cover?  He ain’t the guy to talk about boring stuff.

When Booking a Speaker Question 7:

What is your budget?  Dean is quite affordable but he does have two daughters to put through college for goodness sakes.

When Booking a Speaker Question 8:

Are you interested in videoing the presentation?  If so, for what purpose and can we get a copy?

When Booking a Speaker Question 9: 

Would you like Dean to present multiple times on same date or multiple dates (hint: you get a pretty good discount if the answer is YES, plus Dean has various topics and loves to talk.)

When Booking a Speaker Question 10:

Are you interested in purchasing Dean Lindsay’s books for attendees at a discounted bulk rate?  (They are good books too.  Cracking the Networking CODE is recommended Reading by Profit Magazine and Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One Minute Manager® calls, Dean’s newest book, The Progress Challenge: Working and Winning in a World of Change - “a much needed kick in the pants for all of us.”

When Booking a Speaker Question 11:

What is the size of the audience? (in estimated total people not estimated total pounds).

When Booking a Speaker Question 12:

Tell us about the audience (job responsibilities, experience, age, etc.)?  Dean’s perfect audience is smart and ready to think and have fun.  Is that what you got?

When Booking a Speaker Question 13:

How can Dean Lindsay Be Progress for you (i.e. help you LOOK GOOD)? 

Dean is ready to discuss your program – shoot him an email at: Dean@DeanLindsay.com or give him a buzz at: 214-457-5656

Be Progress.

MetroPCS Vice President’s Endorsement – Dean Lindsay on Customer Service

“We recently had the opportunity to have Dean come speak at a Global Service Meeting. We appreciated the fact that Dean took the time to talk us about the event and customize his presentation to focus his vast experience on our goals. The feedback from the attendees was OUTSTANDING! Dean was humorous, energetic, and very relatable – everyone walked out reenergized too!! We would highly recommend Dean for any event and plan to have him back soon.”

– Greg Pressly

Vice President of Customer Operations

MetroPCS

Watch Customer Serivice Video Clips from Speaker Dean Lindsay

Booking info for Dean Lindsay, Customer Service Speaker

Free Customer Service Article

The Upside of Customer Complaints

By Dean Lindsay - Author of The Progress Challenge

 “A customer who complains is my best friend.” — Stew Leonard

It’s interesting to consider that when someone chooses to become our customer, they WANT to be loyal.  They want us to rock their world.  They want the relationship to last.  They see us as Progress.  They don’t want to change.  They choose us. 

 So, why do they sometimes leave or choose to work with others? 

How do they decide that moving to some other supplier is Progress?

 The above question is tough to answer since research shows that, on average, 24 out of 25 customers will make their switch without telling the business of their dissatisfaction.  No news is NOT good news.  It is dangerous to think that customer silence is a good thing when it is overwhelmingly the quiet customers – clients, guests – who just leave.

 Consider:

What are some reasons you stopped doing business with a particular company? 

Did you tell the company about your dissatisfaction?  If so, how was it received?

Complaining is tough on everyone, including the complainer.  There is an element of risk to relaying dissatisfaction as a customer. We don’t want to come off as a complainer. 

Instead of coming out and sharing a concern, it is quite common as customers to let our concerns and dislikes build up to the point that we feel it would be easier to leave than attempt to fix all that’s wrong. 

Often customers choose not to complain when there is a problem because they – often rightly – feel that it won’t do any good to complain.  They don’t trust how the complaint will be received.  “No one is going to do anything about it anyway.”  Maybe, they think the company is too big to care or believe their concerns will fall on deaf, uncaring, possibly even rude ears. 

Ponder & Progress

If a customer shares a ‘complaint,’ what should they expect in return? 

As a customer, what would you expect?

 So again, why do customers leave?

 As the research suggests, most of the time we don’t know.  Only one 1 in 25 is willing to inform a business about their dissatisfaction and enlighten the business about possible needed modifications.

 And most often, how is  this 1 in 25 treated? 

How much attention and respect do their concerns get?

How are you treated as a customer when you ‘complain’? 

 We know customer complaints are to be minimized.  We also know that rarely are they totally eliminated.  We also know they are no fun to listen to.  In fact – and it may be embarrassing to admit – but sometimes we wish the complaining customer would just go away.  I did say “sometimes.”

 There is a powerful upside to customer complaints however.  Customer complaints are one of the most inexpensive, available, useful and yet ignored forms of customer market data.  Truly proactive and insightful companies see a customer ‘complaint’ as a proven way to gain valuable insight into possible needed improvements (not just as a demand to repair damage).

 “Mistakes are the portals of discovery.” 

– James Joyce

That complaining difficult customer that we sometimes wish would just go away is extremely valuable.  Often customers know our weaknesses better than we do because they feel the effects of our weaknesses. 

 Wouldn’t we rather have our customers tell us what they need instead of telling our competitor?

 We should be careful what we sometimes wish for:  That complaining customer will eventually go away — along with their business, their buzz, four to five positive referrals and their valuable insight into how to make our companies better.  View a complaint as an opportunity for improvement, an opportunity to progress.

“Your best teacher is your last mistake.”  -Ralph Nader

Ponder & Progress

What are some examples of how your organization has benefited from customer feedback?

 Be Progress.

Dean Lindsay is the author of The Progress Challenge: Working and Winning in a World of Change.  You can get more info on Dean and sign up for his free monthly newsletter at: www.DeanLindsay.com. (You are welcome to repost this article as long as links and this brief bio are included.  Thank you.)

Free Customer Service Article – The Upside of Customer Complaints

Hiring a Speaker?  A Dozen Questions to Consider

By Dean Lindsay

hire a speaker, how to

Hiring the right speaker for your event is no easy task. Here are 12 questions to consider when hiring a speaker:

Hire a Motivational Business Keynote  Speaker 1.
Does the speaker’s topic and style match your audience/event?

Hire a Motivational Business Keynote  Speaker 2.
Is the speaker committed to customizing their presentation to fit your audience/event?

Hire a Motivational Business Keynote  Speaker 3.
Watch their video(s). Is the speaker informative AND entertaining?  Start now…Click here to check out mine.

Hire a Motivational Business Keynote  Speaker 4.
How much pre-presentation research does the speaker do? Do they interview attendees? Study your website? Request company material?

Hire a Motivational Business Keynote  Speaker 5.
Does the speaker provide a master copy of a customized handout?

Hire a Motivational Business Keynote  Speaker 6
Is the speaker accessible to attendees before and after the event?

Hire a Motivational Business Keynote  Speaker 7.
Is the speaker super easy to work with?

Hire a Motivational Business Keynote  Speaker 8.
Do the speaker’s fees fit your budget? If not, can a sponsor be brought in?

Hire a Motivational Business Keynote  Speaker 9.
To possibly negotiate fees…can you offer multiple performances, your products and services, professional video of presentation, list of attendees, testimonial letter, referrals, extra nights accommodations, choice of time slot, choice of date, publicity, spouse airfare and meals or something cool?

Hire a Motivational Business Keynote  Speaker 10.
Does the speaker offer any discounts for local events, time of year, or non- profit organization?

Hire a Motivational Business Keynote  Speaker 11.
Can the speaker also do a breakout or provide other needed presentation services that slot that would save money on hiring and flying in another speaker?

Hire a Motivational Business Keynote  Speaker 12.
Will the speaker Be Progress ?

hire a speaker, how to

“Customers are the most important part of the production line.”

– W. Edwards Deming

“A satisfied customer? We should have him stuffed.”
– Jon Cleese as Basil Fawlty of Fawlty Towers, BBC Television Program

It is hard to understand why so many businesses allow customers to leave dissatisfied and stop being customers? It costs up to five times as much to attract new customers as it does to keep customers. Yet many businesses focus on attracting new business rather than relating to the needs of the customers they do have.

Why do customers leave? Simply put, the reason most customers stop doing business with a particular company is because they were not satisfied. Some element of quality was not there. It could be anything. Could be the lack of friendly service, the wine list, the return policy, weak after sale service, inconvenient business hours, the parking.

It is hard to say since 24 out of 25 customers will make this switch without telling the business of their dissatisfaction. Only one out of 25 is willing inform the business about their dissatisfaction and enlighten the business about possible needed changes. Customer complaints are one of the most inexpensive, available, useful and yet ignored forms of customer market data.

Your customers know your weaknesses better than you. The insightful companies train their employees to see a complaining customer as a chance to gain valuable insight not just repair damage. Yes, the customers we wish would just go away are extremely valuable A complaining customer will eventually go away — along with their business, four to five positive referrals and their insight into how to make your company better.

But don’t overlook the damage they can do to your business. The average dissatisfied customer will tell over fifteen other people about your lousy product or service. However over 90% of all complaining customers will do business with you again if you resolve their complaint quickly and professionally. Businesses must start cherishing (complaining) customers.

Five Quick Tips:

Thank them for their interest in making your company better.

Never call what the customer is doing as complaining.

Listen intently and never interrupt.

Don’t make excuses. The business that makes a mistake, then offers an excuse for it, has made two mistakes.

Be honest. As Waylon Jenning says, “Honesty is something you can’t wear out.”

Lose the battle to win the war. The battle is this situation. The war is fought to keep this customer and their money and their positive referrals flowing through your company. We must always be Cherishing Customers.

An issue many organizations face is respecting individual behavioral differences and the judgments made based on those differences. Without an understanding of human behavior, these behavioral differences have the potential to lead to problems in the workplace. The search to understand the reasons for our diverse behavior is an age old pursuit. The ancients explanations were interesting. Empodocles (444 BC), the founder of the school of medicine in Sicily, believed that everything was made of earth, air, fire, and water. These external elements were combined in an infinite number of ways thus explaining the diversity of behavior.

In 400 BC, the Greek philosopher, Hippocrates, came to the conclusion that it was not external factors. He disagreed with many in his day who believed human behavior was connected with being born under a certain astrological sign. Hippocrates theorized that it was something that takes place “inside” the individual.

Check this out, Hippocrates believed, if a person had a fast hot fluid running inside their body than they would be direct, decisive and a leadership-type person. If a person had a fluid that was warm and slow, that person would be family oriented and relational. Hippocrates named the different personality styles phlegmatic, choleric, sanguine and melancholy. Even though Hippocrates’ theory had no scientific or medical validity, it was the first substantial method for identifying and grouping types of human behavior.

Hippocrates’ method was expanded upon in the early 1920s by Carl Gustav Jung, a Swiss psychologist and one of the most influential modern behavioral theorist. In 1921 Jung published “Psychological Types” which described four psychological functions: thinking, feeling, sensation and intuition. Jung also classified the four types further by calling them either “introverted” or “extroverted.”

Today, the DISC behavioral model is commonly used as the universal language of observing human behavior. DISC measures observable behavior and emotions, the “how we act” versus the “why” or “what” behind our actions. The development of the DISC model is due to the work of the American psychologist, Dr. William Marston, an expert in behavioral understanding.

In 1926 Marston published “The Emotions of Normal People” in which he grouped people along two axis: either active or passive tendencies relative to their favorable or unfavorable view of the environment. An interesting side note is that much later in his life Dr. Marston created “Wonder Woman” while serving as an educational consultant for DC Comics. To write the “Wonder Woman” comic, Marston used a pen name: Charles Moulton.

Marston’s DISC research showed how behavioral characteristics can be grouped into four fundamental styles. People with similar styles tend to exhibit specific types of behavior common to that style. Such types of behavior influence how people prefer to communicate, manage others and otherwise interact. The four styles are: Dominance (D), Influence (I), Steadiness (S), and Conscientiousness (C).

Understanding these four different behavioral styles makes us better able to act with respect toward other persons, even those who we see as “different” or hard to understand. Today this language is learned and applied in business interactions to improve effectiveness, build productive teams and resolve conflict caused by diverse behavioral preferences.

With an understanding of DISC comes an increased ability to create a causal environment where people want to move forward and perform at their best. Groups begin to explore their differences more openly from a behavioral approach rather than from the usual diversity perspectives of age, gender, lifestyle or race. This translates into greater understanding, respect, satisfaction and leading-edge productivity on the job.