We have all seen the reality TV show where the public determine who is going to be the next talent to walk the red carpet. Well in business, you also need to have the X Factor in order to get to and stay at the top. I would ask you to reflect on business’ that have managed to remain afloat for many years especially during these difficult times and ask yourselves this question –  What is it that makes them so uniquely individual and sustainable?

What Is Special About Your Business ?

In any business, we need to ensure that we either provide a unique service or a service that provides that little bit extra for the customer.  The customer may want to shop around, or choose to stay with you as soon as they enter your business premises, whether they are office based, shop front or on the World Wide Web. You must choose your target audience wisely.

Customers are fickle, so they need to be captivated immediately. That means you need to target the five human senses. We make a purchase by means of touch, sight, sound, smell or taste.

What is so Unique about your business that you can target any one of the five human senses?

As I have said in my previous blog, I am the Simon Cowell of the Coaching industry, which indicates that I will reflect back to you directly any areas of development that I recognise in your business.   Sometimes our friends or relatives would not feel comfortable to be so honest, as they are afraid of hurting your feelings! Well, you need a Coach who is not afraid to be so honest with you, as business development requires a direct and honest approach.  You need a strong ego in the business world in order to succeed, so it is time to put to rest any ego insecurities you may have, in order for you to progress with success.

Coaching Questions

• What are your strengths?
• What are your areas for development?
• What are your Unique Selling Points?

If you were to enter the X Factor or Britain’s Got Talent, you will be judged on the merit of your skills, strengths and areas for development. More importantly, you will succeed on the Unique qualities and skills you possess….so waste no time, as that is the most precious commodity to man and it is now time for you to begin to develop and enhance your USP’s.

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As a Business and Personal Development Coach, I consider time to be the most valuable commodity man has at his disposal.  You can bank money, but you can’t bank time, so you need to be careful how you spend it!

Effective communication, is an essential requirement in the business world, so we need to be certain we get it right.  As a Development Coach, it is essential for me to be an effective communicator, as you buy my time, so getting direct to the point is my style! Some see it as refreshing, as they are more often than not surrounded by ‘Yes’ people and others find it a challenge to begin with, as they are not used to someone being so direct with them.

You can call me the ‘Simon Cowell equivalent of Coaches’, but this needs to be my approach, as my time is precious too and I need to be careful how I spend it!

I reflect back what I hear and see. I am considered to be a compassionate person by all that know me well, therefore, my honest communication is considered my strongest asset and will become yours too, if that is what you wish to accomplish. I must warn you, the requirement is to have a thick skin, as being authentic and true to yourself, requires not seeking others approval and an abundance of Self Belief.

Development = Change

Our business time is valuable and work/life balance in todays society is becoming more and more compromised. Stress is a killer, so we must all learn how to manage ourselves and our time, in order to overcome the biggest threat to people and to business’ during this current economic climate.  Sickness levels are on the increase due to stress. Business’ are losing thousands of pounds productivity every second due to sickness or the so called ‘duvet days’. Stress creates a symptom like that of a can of fizzy drink; if you shake the can consistently, we all know what happens when we pull the tab!!

Time is Money

I do not wish to waste my time or any others by ‘tip toe-in’  around any important communication deficiency I detect. Time management teaches us to prioritise and that includes our communication, as communication is the key to any successful relationship.

So now I have introduced my style to your business people out there, let us get straight to the point and here is my first question to you….

• How do you communicate to others in order to build and sustain relationships?

Communication Skills

Perhaps until now, you may have never reflected upon your style of communication. As you are aware, effective communication is the key to any relationship, be it with colleagues, business partners or more importantly, the customer.

Communication is a skill, which means it is something you have learn’t and therefore, you have role modeled from your early years, namely your parents. We may all wear our business hats, however, our style of relating to others has become a habit, therefore, if you have an ineffective communication style, this may have a major impact on the success of your business and career.

You would of undoubtedly heard of the ‘Dr’s bedside manner’ cliche, or lack of them in some cases, well this is a prime example of how we communicate to others, both verbal or non verbal, affects our Customer Relations.

The Solutions to Effective Communication

Listening skills are something that we all at one time or another, need to improve.

• How often do your feel listened too?
• How often do you actively listen to others, without interruption, interpretation or making assumptions?
• Do you question others communication, if you do not understand?

Listening Skills Exercise

Allow someone to speak to you, without saying a word. Simply listen to them without judgement, for as long as it takes for them to speak and then reflect back to them all that you heard and understood for clarification purposes.

I have asked many clients to undergo this exercise with another, taking it in turns to allow each other to speak for two minutes and the other to listen and reflect back verbatim what they heard. The feedback from them was as follows:-

The Listener

• How difficult they found it to listen and not to interrupt or respond, or make interpretations or assumptions.

Essentially, you have to just listen, therefore, you can not think because you are listening hard in order to reflect back verbatim.

The Speaker

• How difficult they found it just speaking for two minutes, as they were not used to being totally listened to.
• How empowered they felt after the verbatim reflection, having been listened too and understood.

The Freedom of Speech

The freedom to express ourselves, is something we are given as a human right and the right to be heard is a profound development tool. Customers need to be heard, we all need to be heard and understood, it is essential that we hear the needs of others, more importantly, the Customer.

We as human beings need to communicate, as it is essential for our wellbeing. Stress is more often than not, a direct cause of miscommunication or not being heard and understood, along with the inability to communicate effectively with Confidence.  We have evolved into communicators, we no longer beat our chests or grunt!

Communication Coaching

As a Coach, it is important for me to empower people, which is something I am extremely passionate about. Communication is empowering and as we are the only species that use words, we need to ensure we use this privilege wisely. I believe we need to select our words with due care and consideration for others, in order to build and sustain effective business and personal relationships.

Change

For those of you who have followed my blogs, you will recognise how much emphasis I place on Change. Change is inevitable; my metaphor for change is ‘like a worn out pair of ‘old faithful’ comfortable slippers you are reluctant to throw away, its time to go buy yourself a new pair, when they start falling apart and smelling!

Comfort Zones

We all have communication comfort zones, which we believe are comfortable, but if you actually take time to reflect, you will notice they are actually not comfortable at all. More often than not, they are actually a hinderance that is preventing you from developing your business from becoming  one of the most successful business’ in your skill set.

Let us not forget – its good to talk but more importantly, it is just as important to listen to the needs of others, namely the Customer!

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Business’ are under an enormous amount of pressure today to provide results, due to the current global economic crisis. Either in sales or outcome/target driven business’, the business world is in danger of compromising the services provided to the customer.  The danger is losing sight of the goal of the business – which essentially needs to be about providing a quality service to customers, what ever service you are providing. The UK has become a service provision industry, therefore, we need to ensure the service is about quality over quantity!

Top Heavy Management Organisations

I have experienced many organisations with a ‘top heavy structure’ and  unfortunately, they are all too unaware of what is really going on at ground level. Results bring pressure and pressure inevitably creates a ‘cutting corners’ approach and ineffective management styles. This will of course compromise the quality of the service provision and also the staff turnover, which in itself is an added expense to business’.

When Coaching a variety of business’, unfortunately I have witnessed the focus being shifted from the customer to the corporate results. Of course results are essential, but rarely have I seen a business focus their attention genuinely to the needs and satisfaction of the customer and ensuring their needs are met consistently, which is the only way to maintain results.

Customer Evaluation

Do you regularly ask your customers to evaluate their experiences of the service you provide? If not, why not?

Resources

I have experienced far too often, that organisations are cutting back on resources; both in staff levels and in the relevant equipment required, in order to provide the service needs of the customer. This is the main downfall of many business’. Staff are regularly put under pressure to provide results and threatened with disciplinary action or even redundancy, if they are not producing results. However, without the level of resources required and quality customer service training for staff, they can not provide the quality service in order to produce the results.

Mystery Shoppers

Every one of your customers, needs to be treated as a Mystery Shopper and seeking regular Customer Evaluation, would help to guarantee a quality provision to the customer which in turn, guarantees the ongoing success of the business.

Pressure sales are not the way forward! We all know what we do and how we feel, if we are put under pressure to make a purchase, or buy into a service!

Reflection

Customer Evaluation assists you the business, in developing your customer service, if you truly listen to what the customer has to say in their evaluations and take action on any negative customer feedback. Remember, you would not have a business without the Customer. Every one of us has a unique requirement, in terms of customer service. Therefore, business’ need to ensure that their service meets the needs of the customer who is essentially seeking their assistance or to purchase a product.

Let us not forget – The Customer is Always Right!

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1.    Ask proactive questions – customers appreciate it when you act as business coach and demonstrate your concern for the process and its result.

2.    Know when to defer – deference it important but too much of it positions you as a hired help.  Inspire confidence by acting collegial and proving yourself to be a competent business expert in your field.

3.    Beat the deadline – getting the work done ahead of time gives the customer flexibility and demonstrates you are efficient and customer-focused.  When you agree a deadline with your customer choose one that you know you can beat.

4.    Give feedback – every process can be improved; you are in a unique position to provide feedback.  If you feel the circumstances are right, tactfully give thoughtful and constructive criticism.

Carole Davidson is an Executive Coach inspiring businesses to succeed.