Yes! Network Seminar Highlights 11/16/10

Seminar Reviews by Clarity Patton Newhouse - Clarity.tv
Compliments of Metropolitan Lincoln of Garden City - MetroMichigan.com

The Yes! Network is one of America’s leading seminar training companies. President Michael Jeffreys offers complimentary workshops that can take place at your business, networking group or association meeting. For more information, visit YesMidwest.com.

November 16, 2010 – Novi, Michigan. What an excellent pair of speakers at this month’s Yes! Network event. Sam Silverstein gave us a no excuses kick-in-the-pants to help propel our success to the next level, and Scott McKain, with his fabulously deep theatrical voice, put customer service center stage. In case you missed either of the seminars or would simply enjoy a little refresher, here are some of the highlights.

AFTERNOON SESSION

Sam Silverstein’s seminar titled “No More Excuses: The 5 Accountabilities for Personal and Organizational Growth” provides powerful motivation for us to achieve more and specific tools to make it happen.

Sam begins with a story, a choice he once faced between fulfilling a commitment to be the keynote speaker at a conference in Washington D.C. and attending his daughter’s high school graduation, the date of which he’d forgotten to check when booking the D.C. job.

In order to be there for his daughter, Sam had called the client to “work something out” such as speaking on the second day of the conference instead of the kick-off. About half way through the call, the client reminded Sam, “We did license your trademark “No More Excuses” as the theme for the entire conference.” Sam was now torn, debating with himself about which person he should be accountable to. “Is it the client whose deposit I accepted and then spent, or is it my daughter with whom I have a relationship?”

That’s when Sam realized he was asking the wrong question. The question is not, “Am I accountable to my daughter or to my client,” says Sam. The right question is, “Am I accountable to myself?” Furthermore, is accountability one of my values, and if so, do I live by my values? Sam explains that, “When we know what our values are, then our choices are easy.” Because accountability is one of Sam’s values, he attended his daughter’s graduation and then, $10,000 and a bumpy charter flight later, he arrived in Washington D.C. by 2 AM in time to deliver his client’s program at 8 AM.

Sam points out that throughout our personal lives and our careers, most of the excuses we have for not being somewhere or doing something don’t require $10,000 to resolve. What they do require is a commitment on our part to hold ourselves accountable.

“It takes self discipline and accountability to live our lives with integrity and values,” says Sam. But he also emphasizes that when we do, we are able to achieve success. Sam explains, “We alone are accountable for our choices, our actions and ultimately our results. Successful people know that failure is part of the success process. They don’t make excuses when they fail and they don’t accept excuses from others.”

People who achieve great things and companies that grow into great companies create what Sam calls an Accountability Zone™. “That’s where amazing things happen,” says Sam. When you’re in the Accountability Zone™ Sam explains, “What you tell your stakeholder is what actually occurs.” This is what Sam calls “alignment,” and it ties to another important concept that Sam calls “strategic intent.” Strategic intent means that, “We know what we want to achieve and we know why. It’s the ‘why’ that drives us,” says Sam, “not the ‘what.’”

Knowing one’s own strategic intent is critical, Sam explains. We must also be open and above board with what we do as well as with the how and why, which Sam calls “transparency.” When alignment, strategic intent and transparency are all in place, then we’re in the Accountability Zone™. And accountability is something we can turn into a strategic advantage.

To help us turn accountability into a strategic advantage, Sam recommends embracing “Four Phases of Accountability.”

Phase 1: “Accountability that we hold ourself to ourself”

Sam pointed out that it’s easier to be accountable to others than to be accountable to ourselves. Why? Because the easiest person to make excuses to is one’s self. And until we stop making excuses to ourselves, we can’t truly be accountable to anyone else, because it’s a charade. “To be accountable to ourself, we need to know our values,” says Sam. “We need to know what we truly stand for.”

For example, we’ve probably all worked for an organization that had a mission, vision or values statement that they published. Sam suggests that anyone who hasn’t done so already should create their own individual values statement. “Not just ‘I believe this’ or ‘I believe that,’” says Sam. Rather, actually choose three specific words that articulate what you stand for, so that when you get up in the morning or when you have to make a choice, you know what your decisions are based on.

Phase 2: “Accountability we hold ourself to others”

Once we’re accountable to ourselves then we can be much more accountable to others.

Phase 3: “The accountability we hold others to ourself”

“This is the hardest,” says Sam, “because we don’t want to confront others or we don’t want responsibility.” Instead of thinking of this as something to avoid, Sam encourages us to recognize that when we hold someone accountable, we’re actually helping them along.

Phase 4: “The accountability that we help others hold to themselves”

Sam points out that it can be somewhat tricky to help others become more accountable to themselves. One way that Sam suggested is through a “mastermind group” or “accountability group.” This is a small group of people with similar roles or challenges who trust each other and meet monthly to discuss their challenges and report back to the group on their progress, which helps them to be accountable.

In order to truly be accountable, it is essential to eliminate excuses. Sam describes three specific reasons why. One, excuses make us weak. Two, excuses cause us to focus on the story and not the solutions. Three, excuses limit our experience and our horizons. “When we eliminate excuses we’re taking the first step into the Accountability Zone™,” says Sam, “and when we’re in the Zone amazing things happen.”

Accountability can be reactive or proactive. In Sam’s experience, most people see accountability as a consequence, as in “I’m sorry, it won’t happen again.” It’s certainly true that when something goes wrong we need to stand up and take responsibility for it, which can be described as reactive accountability. On the other hand says Sam, “If we had truly been proactively accountable in the first place then we wouldn’t have had to apologize, because it would have gone right.”

Sam describes five “proactive accountabilities” to enhance personal and organizational growth.

1. “Do the right things consistently” – Sam emphasizes “consistently” and reminds us that typically we know what to do, but it’s not enough to do it occasionally. Sam shared the sobering fact that “The difference between what we know and what we don’t know, isn’t nearly as great as the difference between what we KNOW and what we DO.”

2. “Manage our space” – In our business and in our lives, we can’t always build on what we have. We sometimes have to remove something that’s working in order to replace it with something that’s working even better. Sam challenges us to ask ourselves, “What could I eliminate in order to do more of the most profitable things?”

3. “Manage the process” – “Don’t just ‘try,’” says Sam. “Look for ways to make things happen and then manage the process to get the results. It’s not about manipulation; it’s about understanding that there are always options.”

4. “Establish the right expectations” – “A study done of gymnasts showed that they performed based on the expectations that were placed on them by their coach,” says Sam. We can’t rely on a coach. Instead, we are responsible for setting our own expectations.

5. “Be accountable to our relationships” – “Think of your greatest accomplishments,” asks Sam, “and I’ll bet you that for every major accomplishment, there is a relationship involved.” Sam emphasizes that since relationships are critical to our greatest achievements, it is important to foster and grow those relationships by contributing to them in as many meaningful ways as possible.

Sam concludes with a reminder that what we learn from this seminar, or from any other experience for that matter, only works if we put it into action. “My hope,” says Sam “is that we will choose to engage and be accountable to do the right things consistently, manage our space, manage the process, establish the right expectations and contribute to the relationships in our lives. Because when we do, we can all stand up and say, ‘no more excuses.’”

For more information about Sam Silverstein, visit SamSilverstein.com.

EVENING SESSION

Scott McKain’s seminar titled “All Business is Show Business: How to Consistently Create Outstanding Customer Experiences” is as entertaining as it is information, thanks to Scott’s humorous presentation style and strategic business insights.

Scott puts customer service in perspective for us with a “fun” statistic from the Retail Marketing Institute. “70% of customers would go someplace else if it was ‘more fun’ to do business elsewhere.” Scott says this statistic doesn’t mean people want a standup comedian; it means they’re looking for something different, something exciting or enjoyable. In other words, customers want an experience.

Scott shares a sobering statistic from a Xerox survey of repeat business, indicating that only 6% of “satisfied” customers return. On the other hand, 66% of “highly” or “extremely” satisfied customers return. “Obviously what these stats show is that trying to ‘satisfy’ customers is not setting the bar high enough,” says Scott. “We have to raise the bar if we are going to get the repeat business that every company is after.”

Of course, all of us want to transform our businesses and grow so Scott acknowledges that the key question is “how.” He references the Harvard Business Review’s assessment that “the corporation has become a stage upon which you ‘showcase’ for your customers, employees and prospects.”

“In today’s world, customers have difficulty telling the difference between you and your competition,” warns Scott. “If they can’t tell the difference between you and the competitor then you’re both in trouble, because if the customer can’t tell the difference then they’re probably going to make their decision just based on price.”

Scott emphasizes that any business, regardless of the product or service sold, has the potential to differentiate itself. “Starbucks turned something as common as coffee into something special. Evian has managed to differentiate itself on something you can get free out of a drinking fountain.” If they can differentiate coffee and water then you can differentiate what you sell. You just have to know and apply the strategies and methods for doing so.

Taking new steps to differentiate your business may feel awkward and uncomfortable, and that’s normal says Scott. “Because anytime we approach change it’s going to be awkward and uncomfortable.” In order to help us succeed Scott warns us to be on guard against three “destroyers of differentiation:” copycat competition, more/tougher competitors, and complacency – taking our customers for granted and, conversely, our customers taking us for granted. “Each one of these ‘destroyers’ presents a significant challenge,” says Scott, “but collectively they create a collapse of distinction.”

Based on his studies and experience, Scott reports the following comparison of what customers really want to what they typically encounter.

What Customers Really Want
1. Compelling experience
2. Reciprocal loyalty
3. Differentiation
4. Coordination
5. Innovation
6. Personal focus

What Organizations Typically Provide

1. Customer Service

2. Endless prospecting
3. Sameness, can’t tell businesses apart
4. Confusion
5. Commitment to the status quo
6. Product focus*
*i.e. businesses focusing more on what they have to sell than on the customer’s individual needs

“If you can shrink the gap between these things then you are starting toward differentiation,” explains Scott. He points out that when you push, people push back, and the result is loss of customer loyalty. On the other hand, “When you focus on their personal needs, then you start to create a customer experience.” Scott urges us to review our sales processes and ask ourselves, “Are we pushing our products on our customers or are we helping them fulfill their needs?”

To further explore customer expectations and desires, Scott describes three levels of serving customers.

Level 1: “Processing” – This is the basic element of the customer’s expectation. In other words, it’s simply expected as part of the process. Scott reminds us that customers don’t want us to “make it right,” they want us to “get it right” in the first place.

Level 2: “Service” – These are the activities we perform that make “processing” seem more palatable to the customer. A smile and a cup of hot coffee on an airplane are “service” but they don’t mean a thing if the flight isn’t on time, which is a basic element of “processing.”

Level 3: “Experience” – When you make it personal and connect with the customer emotionally you create an experience. “Level 3 is where net new business is earned,” Scott explains. When you do something that shows your customers that you genuinely care, they will come back more often and spend more per ticket. They also become your advocates in the marketplace. They introduce their friends to your company and that’s new business. Level 3 organizations know more about their customers than their competitors do and they care more about their customers.

In order to differentiate oneself in the marketplace, it’s important to clearly communicate who you are. “Everybody says ‘we have great customer service,’ even the ones with horrible service,” says Scott. “So making this statement doesn’t have traction with customers anymore. That doesn’t mean the desire for service has eroded. It means the term ‘service’ has been diluted to the point that it doesn’t stand out for our customers.”

To help an organization stand out, Scott advocates a method used in Hollywood called “high concept.” In today’s world we don’t have time to listen to long descriptions of plots. So instead, Hollywood filmmakers use a high concept, namely a short and powerful grabbing statement to interest and involve the audience. If the high concept is compelling enough, they’ll even make it the title of the movie, e.g. “Snakes on a Plane.”

Familiar high concepts in business include “absolutely positively overnight” for FedEx, “your pizza in thirty minutes” for Domino’s, and “better ingredients, better pizza” for Papa John’s. Scott explains that your high concept is not your mission statement or even your elevator speech, because you don’t have thirty seconds. You only have six seconds to captivate your audience and so it must be brutally brief, Scott insists. The elevator speech can follow after you capture their attention with the high concept. Scott explains that capturing “mind share” precedes capturing “market share” and capturing “mind share” is what the high concept does.

Using an effective high concept is an important element of distinction. Another is developing a difference. To help develop a difference that will distinguish your organization, Scott recommends making a list of every single point of contact with customers and prospects. After you’ve made the list, pick a point where you think you can make a specific difference.

For example, says Scott, “Enterprise does one thing differently. They pick you up. This has turned them into the biggest rental car company in the country. Les Schwab Tires out West has the highest market share and highest margins in the markets they serve. They do one thing differently; before you get your car in park, a smartly dressed guy in uniform sprints to your car, literally sprints. He gets down on his knees and writes down your tire size.” Les Schwab Tires calls it “sudden service.”

Successfully differentiating our company requires us to tell our company’s story and in particular, to tell it in a compelling way, explains Scott. Today’s audience, raised on Sesame Street and learning through compelling stories, desires narrative more than they desire the recitation of facts, figures and fancy studies. “We love telling the story about how the two Steves founded Apple in a garage,” says Scott, “but most of us don’t tell our own story.” He warns, “You can’t wait for the competition to tell your story. You have to tell your own story to your customers and to your employees.”

Anytime we’re interacting with a customer, Scott encourages us to ask ourselves, “If I were being taken care of as a customer exactly as I am treating this customer right now, would it make me feel good about doing business here?” He concludes by urging us to put what we learn into action. “Nike doesn’t say ‘just think about it’ or ‘just hope for it; they say ‘just do it!’”

It’s time to start making a great impression, getting it right, serving with empathy and connecting with emotion, says Scott. “When we do these things for every customer and every prospect every time, we provide the ultimate customer experience.”

For more information about Scott McKain, visit ScottMcKain.com

Your comments and feedback on these seminar reviews are welcomed and appreciated. Sincerely, Clarity