Kristy Deegan Blog

Listen to their listening

“What?” “Why are you responding like that?” “I didn’t say that!” “I can’t believe you can think that!” Any of these sound familiar? So often we are SURE of what we said and get annoyed that the person responded in an unexpected manner. This happens between spouses, business relationships, parents and teenagers....it is universal BECAUSE, as I mentioned last week: there are so many variables in each conversation that it is a wonder that we communicate at all. What’s wonderful is that you can always clean up anything that you mess up in a conversation. The key is to listen to how the other person is listening to you. Get very curious about their reactions. If they don’t “look like” they are hearing what you are saying or if they are reacting in a way that doesn’t “go with” what you meant, you can interrupt yourself and ask them how…

Reporting

I hate writing reports. I avoid verbal reports. Those meetings are so boring. What’s the use of having targets, if you don’t monitor their progress? What’s the use of having a team, if they aren’t on board with what you are doing? Reporting is a necessary task, BUT it can be fun. Remember, you picked a monthly target and broke it down by week and day. All that is needed is a structure to communicate what your target is and where are you toward it’s achievement? The purpose of reporting is to a) see where you are with respect to your target, b) get support in reaching the target. This can take less than 5 minutes. Coaching around reaching the target may take a little longer, but all salespeople can use a little inspiration.... and c) be accountable. How many of you small business owners track and monitor your sales…

Measurement for Success Customers

As business owners and service providers we do not often know if the customer is satisfied. More importantly, if the customer is dissatisfied. How can you measure that? Well, you can ask, but you won’t often get a true answer face to face. One way to ensure customer satisfaction is to clearly understand your customer is and what makes he/r happy. Make a list of “satisfied criteria.” As an example, the customers for a dental lab are mostly dentists. Make a list of what a dentist would expect: perfect color match, easy fitting, etc. Then have a set of expectations for the technicians to meet so that the dentist will be satisfied. The best way to ensure customer satisfaction is to know what it is before they come in and provide it at the time of service. Tie this into the meetings with employees and their goals for improvement. Another…

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