Ten Keys to Customer Loyalty

Young couple agree to the dealThe goal when creating a customer is to give your customers an unexpectedly positive experience that keeps you and your product at the top of their mind.

Your goal is to have frequent interactions with the customer, so when the time arrives for them to purchase your product again, they will think about you and your business first.

By doing this you start to add value to them that your competitors aren’t doing. This value is often the point of difference that sets you apart and stops your competitors moving in on your key customers. Continue reading “Ten Keys to Customer Loyalty”

True Leaders Are Not Invincible

True LeadersThe word “leader” often conjures up an image of a driven, successful, almost super-human person who has the power to shape the world around them with their ample amounts of charisma, work ethic, intelligence, and powers of persuasion. Leaders are looked up to in times of crisis, and they are counted on to keep a level head in any situation. This status sometimes lends an air of invulnerability to these people; they are sometimes seen as not possessing human flaws and emotions. That cannot be further from the truth – no matter how confident and head-strong leaders can seem, they feel the same fears, indecisiveness, and insecurities we do. They may put on a facade of invincibility, but they are just as human as you and me. Continue reading “True Leaders Are Not Invincible”

Your Most Precious Resource is Time – Use it Well

Most precious resource

If you ask a business owner what their most precious resource is, they’ll usually give one of a few answers. Money is the most common, while others say their employees, community, or family. What is less stated is the one resource that can never be replenished or gained back – time. Once you waste your time with something, you can never get it back again. Some busier business owners understand this, but newer ones haven’t yet learned how to utilize their time effectively.

Business owners that don’t have enough time to do things usually have the same problems: they don’t delegate tasks well, they don’t prioritize tasks, and/or they aren’t well-organized in their day-to-day life. These issues are as simple to fix as they are common; most of the time, you only need to make a slight change in how you accomplish or go about completing certain tasks in order to squeeze more productivity in the time that you use. Continue reading “Your Most Precious Resource is Time – Use it Well”

How to Delegate Effectively

How to Delegate

How to delegate effectively means understanding that delegating tasks and authority is a defining aspect of being a boss, yet personal experience has likely shown you that it’s a skill that many managers lack. Whether it’s a lack of delegation, too much delegation, micromanaging, or putting the wrong people in the wrong places, a failure to properly assign tasks to people can result in a dysfunctional workplace. As the boss of your own workplace, you’ll be responsible for deciding who goes where and who does what. Much of your workplace’s productivity and morale will depend on your ability to not just lead but lead well. Continue reading “How to Delegate Effectively”

7 Tactics to Beat the Competition

Business Practices

It’s often far easier to rest where you are than to push yourself to the next level. Complacency, however, leads to mediocrity; which almost always leads to disaster. So, if this is true, how can you keep yourself responsive, resourceful, and recharged to keep up with the competitive business environment you are part of? Here are seven tactics to help you move ahead, even while others fall behind:
1. Practice self-discipline versus self-indulgence. Self-indulgence is thinking about how you feel at a given moment, then deciding what action, if any to take and worrying about the consequences later. Self-discipline is thinking first about the consequences; then taking appropriate action, and feeling great about your decision. Think about it this way:
Continue reading “7 Tactics to Beat the Competition”

What My Customers Have Taught Me

Kent BoehmOver the years I have had the pleasure of coaching and teaching many businesses throughout Calgary and Western Canada how to get the best results possible. What some of you don’t know is that my clients also teach me every day. I have learned that you should:

  1. Do Business as Often as Possible with Your Customers

Although this sounds like a given, it is frequently forgotten. I have met dozens of business owners who want to grow sales, yet never invite past customers back or track the frequency of the business they have done with their past customers. Save time and money by tapping into the network you have already established. Continue reading “What My Customers Have Taught Me”