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At your service

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I don’t care what business you are in, at some level it’s service related.  It has to be when two humans interact in the sales process.  So, have you tried to buy your product/service as a customer would lately?  If you sell online, how easy is it for the customer to make the purchase,  how is your customer service?  Do you go above and beyond just the sale with a thank you and maybe a surprise bonus gift?  Do you follow up a month or so after to make sure that the customer is happy with their purchase, maybe include another freebie?

If you sell a physical product in a brick and mortar environment – this will probably have to be done by a secret shopper.  How were they treated during the sales process?  Were they made to feel welcomed or just treated like a number?

This is a good exercise to see your sales process in action and remember that the most effective sales process happens when you develop rapport and a relationship with your client/customer no matter how long or brief the interaction might be.

Being in service to your customers is honoring that relationship at its highest level and will help create raving fans.  Give more than your competition.  Give the extra touch that will make your customer/client feel special.  It will come back to you many times over in repeat business and referrals.

Barbara Glanz has an excellent example of how simple it can be to provide excellent service – check it out.

Service from the heart – it really can be that simple.

Just when I needed a Number One

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Back in the day, my hubby used to watch Star Trek – and I remember seeing Captain Jean-Paul? (the bald good-looking captain) always telling Number One to “get it done”. Well, that’s what I needed – a number One.

I was freaking out. I have two projects that need blogs. This blog was just butt-ugly, I needed help. I posted on elance, rentacoder, I asked friends. posted on other forums. I did Google searches for WordPress blog experts. Why was this so difficult? Surely I’m not the only lady on the net who is techno-blog challenged.

I can write posts, but designing and optimizing a blog to make it look good – that’s not my job. So, back to me freaking out. And, then,

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My washing machine manifestation – a zen moment

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Before you think I’ve gone round the bend – my washing machine really did change my thinking 180 degrees. Quick back story – I’ve been studying the Law of Attraction, positive thinking, personal development for over a year now. That’s a long time for me to be learning anything. I thought I understood it, I thought I was living it -and on some level I was – but not as deeply as after my washing machine moment. It all started so innocently, my washing machine simply stopped functioning on Friday night. This meant that I wasn’t going to address the issue until Monday, as it was a holiday weekend. But, I did make a list of appliance repair shops to call. So, first thing Monday morning, I have my cup of coffee and start making calls. I got five quick “No, we don’t work on your brand of washing machine answers.”, one person who told me that his company did repair my brand, but it would be $110 for the diagnosis, then $110/hour to repair, and no, they wouldn’t apply the diagnostic charge to the repair cost. I had to take a different approach. I sat and thought about what I wanted. I wanted the machine fixed for under $200.00 or I would just buy a new one. So,

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Belief and the Great Beyond

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I feel the need to explain the title of this blog – Beyond Belief. Beyond Belief is where you need to be to experience all that life has to give you. Because it’s there – past what you believe to be true that Faith takes over.

And, this is true whatever religion you may be – even whether or not you believe in any deity. So, if you’re breathing – this means you.

Let me give you an example. Do you have a radio in your car? And do you believe that when you set the dial to a certain frequency you’ll hear what’s being transmitted? Of course you do.

But, three hundred years ago, if I sat you down and told you that there are radio waves that exist – all we have to do is invent a device that will send and receive sounds over those radio waves and we’ll be able to speak in New York City and be heard in Hartford. Well, we know that a man by the name of Marconi was one of a handful to prove that theory. He took the information that he had, that there was the possibility of radio waves and ran with it until he had invented his “magic box” that we now call radio.

The possibility of radio waves, his belief that he could invent the means to prove their existence and, how did you guess – the FAITH to see it through. The faith that what he believed in existed. He went Beyond Belief to the place where dreams come true and found what he was searching for.

So, that’s it – that’s the reason for the name of this blog.

Beyond Belief – it’s the place where reality and magic intersect, belief and faith and the place where dreams come true.

Thomas Jefferson and the pursuit of Happiness

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“When, in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bonds which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”

Thank you. Thomas Jefferson, for writing those beautiful words that declared America’s Independence from the King of England in 1776.

I think it’s very interesting that he chose life first, liberty second and last – the pursuit of happiness. If you are reading this blog post, then you are in possession of the first – life. And, if you are a resident of the United States- then by default you have the second also – liberty. But, how is that third one working out for you – the pursuit of happiness?

It’s one of our unalienable rights, handed to us at birth and yet…

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Naughty Bits and Michael Port on Donny Deutsch

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A mentor of mine, Michael Port, author of Book Yourself Solid, Beyond Booked Solid and The Contrarian Effect was on Donny Deutsch’s The Big Idea last night.  The theme of the program was about selling – with an underlying theme that was a call back to Monty Python’s naughty bits.  But, I get ahead of myself.

Michael handled himself well and managed to get some great content in at the beginning of the program when it was himself and two women, Lisa Scott and Kendra Robinson.  Michael also looked pretty good on TV, (he’s single, darn, I’m not – but I digress)  Donny was his usual rapid fire question self and even though the panel grew even larger when Dave Lakhani joined the group – Donny kept control.  Michael held is own, getting noticed to be on camera to add his opinions in and be heard – great job with that Michael.  Then…Janine Driver, an expert on body language joined the panel and

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Why?

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Think of a dream that you’ve let gather dust. It was something that was important to you when you thought of it. What is it? And why is it still not a reality?

Then ask yourself – is this dream still important to me? This is an important question. If it feels like it is, the it’s time to start making it a reality.

If you don’t live your dreams – you’re living someone else’s dreams. And, is that the way you really envisioned going through life?

In plain sight – or not

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Last week I was in New York City, a place I’m not very familiar with that I visit just a few times a year.

I was walking down 6th Avenue just after getting a cup of coffee heading back to my brother’s place. It was early on a Sunday morning so there weren’t that many people on the street. Suddenly a woman stopped me, pointed to an ad in a newspaper for a beauty salon and asked me if I knew where it was. I looked at the address, it was on 6th Avenue and the number was very close to where I was standing. In fact, it turned out that we were just a couple of doors away from it.

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Personality – You’ve got one – use it

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Why do I start this blog talking about personality? Because it sets you and your business if you have one, apart from every other person on the planet.

I’ll show you mine – if you’ll show me yours. I think I got in trouble for that in grade school, but that’s another post.

Example: I’m a mall walker, I do 2.5 miles about 5 times a week. I would rather walk the mall, than my neighborhood, but that’s just me. As I walk past the stores, I notice the attitude that the mannequins have, the way they are posing, in Nordstroms, some of the female mannequins are naked. I’ll let you guess whether or not they’re naked in Brooks Brothers. You can tell the personality of the store by the decor and the music. Abercrombie and Fitch tells me that unless I have something in common with barely clothed teen boys – go to Ann Taylor. The music is blaring, it’s very dark and hip and cool and totally not me. They might as well have a big sign out front saying – you’re too damn old to shop here, but come in if you’re shopping for your kids.

That’s attitude, it’s personality – and it works. It identifies Abercrombie, tells me who they are and whether or not I should be there. They don’t care who they turn off with the pictures and the music – they’re secure that their raving fans will find them.

This is a great lesson if you’re in business – let your attitude show. It will lure your ideal clients to you like a magnet. And it will keep the clients you don’t want shopping somewhere else.

If I do this blogging thing right, then you’ll be able to tell a lot about me by my posts, the videos I put up, the way my blog looks and if you like what I say and how I say it, you’ll come back.

And, if not, you may be at Abercrombie and that’s cool with me…