Profitable Relationships

Breaking up is hard to do.

You may disagree if you are looking at the current divorce rate, so humor me and think about your answer to this question:  How long have you stayed in a relationship after you knew it wasn’t working?

Hmmmm…and why do you stay in a bad relationship?

“It’s comfortable.”

Guilty? I am. I’ve stayed and tried to make relationships work way after my gut, head, and heart all were telling me to RUN! Sticking around hoping for the other person to change, the situation to change, the feelings to change. Change happens. But the change you are looking for usually doesn’t occur in well-established, comfortable relationships.

Comfortable is just another word for lazy. People are innately lazy, very lazy.

Now don’t go getting in a tizzy with me. Not all people are lazy. Successful people definitely wouldn’t be classified as lazy. They don’t stay in relationships that aren’t creating a profit for them. Yes, a profit.

Most people have a misconception about profit. You hear “profit” and you think money. I don’t. With a background in, and passion for non-profit, I tend to think differently about the concept of profits.

Profit defined:

profit |ˈpräfit|

noun

1. a financial gain, esp. the difference between the amount earned and the amount spent in buying, operating, or producing something.

2. advantage; benefit

Take a minute and focus on the second definition: advantage or benefit. Business relationships either produce a profit, or they don’t. And that profit is both financial and beneficial.

Let me break down the true profits of great business relationships:

Pleasure. Your business relationships should be a PIA: pleasure in action (not the other kind of PIA!). You should be experiencing pleasure while doing business together, not pain. It’s a happy, joyful exchange…most of the time.

Respect. A mutual respect for how each person and each company conducts business and it’s openly shown. Respect is two-fold; something you feel and something you demonstrate.

Open Communication. When things are going great and when things go wrong you communicate. Proactive and open communication is a relationship maker or breaker. You should be able to express your thoughts, issues, fears, hopes, dreams, passions, mistakes, and victories. And they should be able to with you.

Friendship. The best business relationships evolve into friendships. You genuinely like each other, want what’s best for each other, and enjoy working together.

Investment. There is a mutual investment in helping both parties achieve success. That investment could be time, energy, resources, people, ideas, or money. But on some level you are making a contribution to their success.

Treasure. You feel appreciated, wanted, needed and accepted as the treasure you are.

If you aren’t feeling the profit in your relationship, it may be time for you to initiate a breakup. EEK! Don’t fret; I’m not going to tell you to breakup without giving you a quick three-step how-to.

How to facilitate a business breakup:

1. Explain why you feel the relationship is no longer working. No blaming. No pointing fingers. No accusations. Deliver an honest account of your feelings.

2. Listen. Allow for a rebuttal, response, and excuses (hopefully no crying or worse, screaming!). Listen to their thoughts and feelings with an understanding that they could feel exactly the same or be caught off guard.

3. Propose the next step. Provide an action plan for how to dissolve your relationship properly. No hard feelings. No burning bridges. Develop a professional exit strategy to ensure both parties are content.

Relationships take work and effort by all involved. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Heed my advice: if it isn’t working – don’t stay hoping, wishing, and willing change! You create the change. Step up to a breakup. Because in business, only one type of relationship works: a profitable one.

I’m your Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista. How may I help you help yourself?

Stephanie Melish, one of the few, hand-selected, Gitomer-Certified Speakers is the ONLY Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista in the world! Stephanie trains, sells, and speaks to companies and associations all over the country. To book Stephanie for your next event, please visit www.GitomerCertified.com or contact the Michelle at Buy Gitomer via email at michelle@gitomer.com or by calling 704-333-1112.

Fan Friendly

I wore fur (faux of course!) to a Nascar race.
That's beside the point.

Have you been to a Nascar race?
Have you had a pit pass?
Hot or cold?

A few weeks ago, I was able to attend the Bank of America 500 race in Concord, North Carolina with a hot pass (THANK YOU Red Bull Racing and Brian Vickers!) and it was amazing. I never thought I would associate the word amazing with Nascar, but there is really no other way to explain the experience of a race - in the pits. Well maybe you could say exhilarating, loud, hot, entertaining, or friendly, OVERLY friendly.

That's right. Nascar is overly friendly. Not driver-to-driver (no, they want to leave skid marks on each other) but driver/race team to fan = overly friendly.

What does it take to be overly fan friendly?
It boils down to one KEY trait: Accessibility.

As I was walking out of the racetrack, I thought to myself (literally) that Nascar was the most fan friendly sport I have been to. And I have been to professional football, basketball, hockey, tennis, wrestling, wait - not wrestling, and baseball events. And while they are all great events, none of them top the fan friendliness of a hot pass for Nascar. The accessibility that a hot pass allows is to let a fan to be down in the pits through the entire race, to stand by the spare tires they so feverishly change during the pit stops. I touched the tires. I stood alongside the pit crew, the staff, and the girlfriend(s), as I watched in amazement at how, to them, a fan was a friend. There were no looks of annoyance, only looks of smiles and acceptance, allowing me to feel like I belonged, where so clearly, I did not. Duh - I do not know how to change tires!

How much access do you allow your fans (this would be your customers)?
How close do you let them get to the inter-workings of your business?
Do you let them revel in your success?
Do you allow them the right to look behind the curtain?
Are you fan friendly or fan unfavorable?

What does being accessible allow your customers to feel?

1. Important. When you allow your customers access to the inner workings of your business, it allows them to feel most important. It makes them feel trusted. And when a customer feels important and trusted by the people and business where they spend their money, they are going to spend more. They are going to remain loyal. They are going to tell others. Just like I did.

2. Connected. I felt connected, like I was part of the team, by simply being allowed to watch them work. How often do you allow your customers to see how your company works? Do you allow them to see you at your best? When you do, they feel connected to your business. Connection is nearly as important as feeling important, when a customer feels connected, or a connection, they will want to share this connection with others. What are you doing to connect with your customers?

3. Amazed. Amazement is often lost in the world these days. The only people who have amazement in their life on a regular basis are children. Why shouldn't you and your customers feel this way? Now, while your company may not be as exciting and amazing as watching a ten second pit stop, I bet there is something that you are doing that is amazing and exciting, why wouldn't you allow your customers in on it?

Isn't this how you want all of your fans to feel? Important? Connected? Amazed?

YES!
So, begin taking steps to be more fan friendly for your customers. They will more than appreciate it - they will be a fan for life, your fan for life.

Want to see a picture of me at the race (fur and all)? Visit my Sales Barista Facebook Page.

I'm your Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista. How may I help you help yourself?


Stephanie Melish, one of the few, hand-selected, Gitomer-Certified Speakers is the ONLY Double-Tall, Non-Fat, No-Whip Sales Barista in the world! Stephanie trains, sells, and speaks to companies and associations all over the country. To book Stephanie for your next event, please visit www.GitomerCertified.com or contact the friendly folks at Buy Gitomer via email or by calling 704-333-1112.