Watch Out – Emerging Entrepreneurs Ramping Up

October 30, 2007 at 6:23 pm | Posted in sales, Sales Training | Leave a comment

Last night I had the opportunity to conduct a training class for WIBO. As told on their website, “the Workshop in Business Opportunities (WIBO) is a ‘boot camp’ for entrepreneurs. It is a non-profit organization with the mission to enable small business owners and budding entrepreneurs in under-served communities obtain financial success in starting, operating, and building successful businesses that develop economic power, provide jobs, and improve communities.”

All I can say is wow. Amazing energy, terrific business ideas and enthusiasm and drive that are often lacking in many of my “traditional” seminars attended by seasoned sales professionals. Very inspiring and what a fabulous organization (http://wibo.org).

It’s an honor to be able to participate in their program. Take a look.

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Fresh Direct Rocks

October 26, 2007 at 7:41 am | Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Did anyone really think that Fresh Direct would be a success? And, if you’ve never ordered from them, do you currently think that the food that they deliver is somewhat stale and unappetizing? The truth is that Jason Ackerman developed an awesome company with a business model that is truly customer friendly and the lucky recipients of Jason’s brilliance are…well us. I used Fresh Direct last night for a small 60 person cocktail party that I organized and ran at Brand Experience Lab in NYC. The food, paper goods and beverages (including beer and wine) were delivered on time and in perfect condition by two courteous drivers that waited while I counted the boxes to see that everything was in good order. That done, the next test was in the quality of food and yes, Fresh Direct delivered on that as well. I’ve used them several times with equally great results so in this age of customer service / corporate dissappointment, I thought I might give a shout out for a company that gets it right!

If the Shoe Fits

October 15, 2007 at 12:36 pm | Posted in Customer Service | 2 Comments

There’s a good article about Zappos.com in the October 07 issue of Direct Magazine. The article talks about Zappos’ “maniacal focus on a customer service-driven culture”. Having purchased shoes from Zappos, I can attest to their unfailing desire to go above and beyond what is expected. And that’s the point isn’t it….I mean isn’t good customer service merely delivering on what is expected in terms of product or service. Isn’t GREAT customer service giving something more—something unexpected that totally wows your customer. I wonder how many of us really do that wowing on a consistent basis. I’m a customer and I’m rarely wowed; in fact, most often I am sadly disappointed in the service quality that is delivered. Have you had any customer service WOW experiences recently. If so, please share!

Back on the Grid

October 9, 2007 at 7:11 am | Posted in Uncategorized | 1 Comment

Transitioning back from two weeks away has proven to be easier than I expected. It could be because I kept current by checking my Treo every so often, deleting many emails yet also attending to small things that needed attention, but could be dispensed with quickly and not drag over until I returned home. It seemed the best thing to do so when I got back to the office the emails were not overwhelming. When I “admitted” to doing some work while away I got mixed responses. Some folks understood that in my situation as a solopreneur I have only myself to lean on (a scary thought, yes?); others went so far as to tell me that I was “stupid” for not vacating both my physical as well as mental premises.

Personally, I think that you do what works for you. Total work blackout for 2 weeks would be impossible for me to do and the stress when I returned would more than eliminate most (all?) of the pleasures experienced while away.

On another note, if you go to Barcelona, stay at the Casa Camper. Awesome place, fabulous brand. Check out their web site too.

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