Do you sell products just to make a buck?  Or do you honestly try to sell to benefit your customers? 

I recently joined an MLM company.  I didn’t join to get rich quick.  I didn’t join because the representative promised me the moon.  And I surely didn’t join because I didn’t have anything better to do.  I joined because the sales representative, Natalya Androsova, and her associates introduced me to a product that can help me and my health, and they proved to me that the results I received were their priority.

I have been committed to walking/running more.  Mostly walking, my legs have sort of forgotten how to run.  I know I need to lose some weight, and I like to eat.   My left knee is bone-on-bone and has been for some time.  It hasn’t bothered me for years but has started to bother me a bit more the last several months.  I do not want to have a knee replacement.  I recently had a muscle treatment that seemed to help my knee.  Shortly after that I was at the GOP NC Convention where I met Natalya and her associates. 

The name of the company is Lifewave.  It is a technology that uses patches on various parts of your body.  I’m not going to try to explain it all here.  You can check out my page by clicking here if you want to learn more.  Natalya “patched me up” with a few patches.  She explained how they are supposed to work but even with my smarts it was weird to my understanding.  I figured that it was worth a try.

The next day I walked a mile or two with no pain from my knee.  But I had to consider whether it was that because of the muscle treatment I had received, or because of the patches.  I shared with Natalya and she promptly sent me some more patches to use over the next week.  No recruiting pitch.  No pressure to buy more product.  While I’m quite sure the muscle treatment helped me, I am also convinced that the Lifewave patches are helping me too.  I have done several walks and have still experienced no pain in my knee.  I signed up with Lifewave.

My point isn’t about how great or not Lightwave may be.  The point is that whether you are part of a network marketing organization or a traditional brick and mortar business, if your product or service does not solve a problem, answer a need, or provide some other benefit to the customer, you will have a much more difficult time selling and your business may not survive.

I didn’t sign up for Lightwave because it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, (ok, that’s an old guy’s saying from way back).  I signed up because of the attitude and effort that Natalya and her associates put into showing me that they care about whether this product could benefit me, the customer.

Why do your customers buy from you?

I ask you, “how much effort do you put into whatever you are doing at work, your business, or anywhere else?”

Friday I participated in a district convention.  The registration table was not at or near the entrance to the room.  There was no one checking I.D.s.  Delegates just picked up their name tags.  This was important because only delegates were eligible to vote.  That by itself almost caused a big problem.

One speaker could not go two sentences without inserting filler words (uh, ah, etc.) and another speaker who was supposed to be speaking about the qualifications of one slate took his time to denigrate the opponents.  It was very unprofessional.  I’m not talking about normal political attacks, but this speaker actually started making accusations that were totally irrelevant to the proceedings. 

Yesterday, I purchased a couple chain saw blades at a local hardware store.  I needed to cut a root out where we plan to plant a new tree.  I read that roots can be harder, but I would expect that a brand-new blade should be able to cut through four inches of wood.  In this case two blades couldn’t do it.  I believe the blades were defective.  I returned to the store today where the employee said that the manager said, “once you use them we won’t take them back.”  In other words, even if the product was poor quality or defective, I was out of luck once I used it.  How would I know if there was a problem if I didn’t use it first?

A lack of preparation, poor planning, and a lack of common-sense thinking can end up affecting your bottom line.  I probably won’t be returning to that hardware store, one that I’ve been going to for more than a few years and have spent a fair amount of money with.  The convention that could have been completed in a few hours went at least an hour longer than it should have and instead of bringing people together created conflict.

Don’t let something that you have control over defeat you, whether in business, sports, or life.  As a coach I was taught and also taught others that there are two things you can control in life: Your attitude and your effort.  It’s hard enough to beat the challenges that we face.  Don’t help beat yourself.

Once you get those customers in the door the first time, your next goal is to have as many of them come back again, and again, and again.  You need to create maximum customer satisfaction to achieve maximum customer loyalty.  While no business can perfectly please every customer, the primary need is to have as few angry customers as possible.  If a customer becomes P.O.’d they are most likely not to return to buy more of your products at whatever price you are selling.  Worse yet, they will now go on their social media platform or platforms of choice and tell everyone they can not to come buy your products or services.

So how can we avoid getting to the point of no return?

1.  Always Under Promise and Over Deliver – managing expectations is key.  If a customer gets a better deal than they expect, if they get more food on their plate than they expect, if they save more money than they expected, they will probably be happy and tell others.
2. Be Realistic.  –  There are three aspects to business:  Price, Quality, and Service.  In 95% of businesses, the customer can have any 2 but rarely can you have all 3.  If something is good quality and the business provides excellent service, it probably won’t be a low price, etc.
3. Finally, TRAIN YOUR EMPLOYEES HOW TO SERVE CUSTOMERS. – This is the most important aspect.  Do not assume your employees know how to handle customers (especially unhappy ones) or even how to deal with people.  I cannot say this enough. 

For more on how to improve your customer service, visit my website at https://coachmikenow.com.  There you can schedule a complimentary 30 minute session with me to discuss how we can help your business be the star with your customers.

This last week it seems that I had one battle after another, most of them tech driven.  The first thing to happen was that one of my favorite Uncles passed away at 98 years old.  I have great memories of when I lived with my Aunt Doris and Uncle Sandy.  Uncle Salvy was Uncle Sandy’s brother-in-law.  Every year we would spend Christmas Eve at Uncle Salvy and Aunt Stella’s house, eating tamales and opening presents.  Although I haven't talked with him in some time, I will never forget him.

On Good Friday, I went to get my hair cut.  I was short on time and wanted to make sure I didn’t have to wait long as the girl who does my hair usually is in high demand.  She is good.  Well, since they don’t take reservations, I had called to inquire about the procedure to get on the list so I could be first up when she came to work.  When I arrived, I was told something else which made sense but was not what I was told.  So, after a tense discussion, I sat down to wait for my turn.  Suddenly, one of the three ladies who was involved in the discussion came and told me if I wanted to call them names (a vulgar name specifically) that I could leave.  She did this in front of everyone in the lobby.  I don’t tend to call people names, especially that name.  You’d have to make me much angrier to get to that point.  There’s more to that story.  Perhaps I’ll share in the Clubhouse.

Saturday I had trouble with my cybersecurity software.  Sunday we had a battle with our tv provider.  I also had another issue with an ongoing problem with another company that I am currently promoting.  It seems like I find all of the sub-issues in their system, LOL.  The main guy I’m dealing with called me a “pain-in-the-ass” but quickly said that was actually a compliment because I’m sort of weeding out issues they need to prepare for.  He told me that the action I took Sunday which triggered the latest issue he had not seen happen previously.  I was the first.  This is why you should hire me to be your proofreader… LOL.  I guess I have a gift for spotting or exposing issues.

You might be asking why I am telling you about all of these battles.  I’m doing so because what is important is not the battles I’m having but how I am dealing with them.  It is about my attitude when issues occur.  Do I get angry?  Yes, but usually only slightly.  I am slow to anger usually.  I’ve always been a very patient person… well at least since my 20’s.  How do I do this?

1. I start each day saying “This is the day that the Lord has made.  I will be glad and rejoice in it!
2. If I have an issue with a person or a business, I recognize that we all have days where we are not our best.  I try to resolve the issue directly, not turn into gossip or blast my anger all over social media.
3. Finally, and maybe most importantly, I know that good things can happen in bunches too.  I’ve had a day where I won two $500 lottery scratchers on the same day.  I’ve had experiences where I was offered multiple jobs from different companies on the same day and had to choose which one to take.

If you are trying your best to do your job as well as you can, to be the best person you can be, then don’t stop.  I remember as softball coach at a clinic I attended once said she knows her players are not going to be 100 percent all the time.  Her rule of thumbs was for her players to give her 100 percent of what they had at each moment.  If there were only at 80%, then she wanted 100 percent of that 80%.

Put this into your habits.  Recognize that you are human.  Recognize that we all have limits.  Give the best your are able to give at each opportunity.  Recognize that almost all events are temporary, good or bad. 

And don’t give up.  Don’t quit.  The game isn’t over until the clock runs out… unless you quit.

Don’t quit!