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Why I Empower All My Customers And You Should To!

Some say empowering your customers is the greatest gift you can give your customers. I agree.

I wholeheartedly agree when it comes to making your customers, your clients better. By empowering them, you also make them better clients and customers. Having better clients and customers you have greater success as a business and as a leader. However, what about your best customers? Don’t start segregating the best from the good from the mediocre from the bad.

Don’t Do It!

All your customers turn to you because you are the best.

All of them are your best customers/clients.

Whether they spend $10 a year or $10,000 a quarter, each and every customer is worth your best. Some businesses focus on the top tier $$$ based customers. Some focus solely on the top and mid tier customers. Too few focus on ALL customers from all tiers or levels of money spent on the company’s product or service. Unfortunate for those businesses that refuse to look beyond the top tier as they will never realize the power the mid and lower tiers bring.

Sure most people and organizations have every right to believe that the top 20% bring 80% of the wealth. However, at any moment any of the 80% that bring the 20% can suddenly jump into the top 20% and if your organization is not doing anything to empower that customer/client then rest assured that individual or group will go someplace else. Guaranteed!

If you can’t find time for them, then don’t be surprised when they don’t go looking for you. Do not be surprised when they give their money to someone else.

This is why empowering all your customers is best! That is why I empower ALL my customers and clients. It is not that I expect something in return. I empower them to make the right decisions based on the knowledge, wisdom and skills I share with them. That means I am not only make my customers smarter, I am giving them the tools to use my products or services to the best of their ability. I share with them all that I know about my products and services.

I do this in hopes that they can understand what I bring to their organization and with that understand they can communicate back to me about any ideas, changes, concerns, or questions that serve to ultimately make the products and services better.

You bring them into the fold. You bring the customer behind the counter. You make the client part of the team, part of the creative team. They are now empowered to be innovators of the next version of the product or service.

Being members of the team, your customers/clients are now a valuable component of the organization. This is a component that pays you. They pay you by buying the product or service. Then they continue to pay you by providing the feedback. While feedback is not guaranteed, it is something to expect from some or more of all your customers. Those that provide that feedback will provide feedback that will be most valuable to your and your organization.

Now be careful when you empower them by bringing them into the fold. Too much, too soon may be intimidating and cause the client/customer to withdraw. The same applies for the opposite: too little, too slow. When things move too slow you run the risk of the customer or client losing interest in what you are doing or trying to do.

It will be difficult but if you truly want ALL your customers and clients to be the best they can be then go ahead and empower them. The return on that investment may astound you.

As always, if you questions please feel free to reach out and contact me.

by David G. Guerra, MBA
Author of the Walking Leader and Great To Follow
twitter: @DaveGuerra
instagram: dave_guerra

 

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How I Find Time to Make Media

Somebody recently posted on Twitter, “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door ~ Milton Berle”

Building that door takes time. Time is something that either we have too much of or not enough. No matter how you look at it, all of us have the same amount of time each day. We have the same 24 hours every day. It is what we do with that time that makes all the difference.

Most people don’t know that I produce/create three podcasts, a daily video project (YouTube & Facebook), a weekly sports talk video show and posting on twitter, as well as posting to Snapchat and Instagram (for three accounts). Also, I run my brother’s band’s website plus some other websites.

That is a lot and people ask how do I make time for all that especially there are people that can’t make time to do the laundry let alone do what it takes to create content.

Time Management. I know two words that are easier said than done. In my case, it was easier said than done. I thought “oh will get around to it” and nothing could be further from the truth. I never got around to it. I was not getting things done. As a matter of fact, it was feeling like I was going in reverse.

That is not a good feeling. Finally, knowing that creating media, creating content is something that has to be part of our lives, my life. I had to dive into the deep end. It was something that I had to make time for. I had to do it everyday.

At first, I started with a set time every day. It was 6:00 am. Yes, that early. Why six o’clock in the morning? Simple, it was a quiet time around the house, I was usually up by 5:30am and it gave me time later in the day in case something comes up.

Six in the morning worked. For some reason or another, I was getting it done. Then as things progressed I allowed myself to change venues to shake things up with the videos. Changing venues also meant changing the recording time. Now it was to be all said and done by 8:30am. It worked.

You know what they say in the “7 Habits of Highly Effective People“? It takes 21 days to build a habit. However, what they don’t tell you is that it takes about 100 days to create a lifestyle. I can tell you, now I am well into my daily video that it is part of my life. I start to shake when I run late in putting out today’s content.

The only trick to finding time for video production/media and content creation is start doing it. Do it this moment. Do it right here right now. Then do it again tomorrow and the day after that, and the day after and so on. Keep doing it. Start with one video or one piece of media a day. Nothing fancy. Nothing over the top (save that for later).

However, just start and continue. That’s it. That is the secret. That is my secret. Just keep doing it, even if you don’t know what to talk about, that’s OK just start simple. My advice for beginners is talk about your day, what you had for breakfast, or something that caught your attention in this morning news headlines.

Get out there, do it daily, and the rest will take care of itself.

Cheers,
Dave Guerra
author of the Walking Leader and Great To Follow
twitter: @DaveGuerra
instagram: dave_guerra

 

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Why Baking A Cake Is Leadership in its Purest, Most Delicious Form by David Guerra

Have you ever baked a cake? Most people have at one point or another in their lives have baked a cake. I have baked cakes for as long as I can remember. While cake baking/making is not my vocation (and for good reason) I have baked cakes for many reasons and while all have been tasty, none of them have caused me to quit my day job. All that cake baking has failed to land me a private jet. However, it has done so much for my leadership skills. There are at least three leadership skills that are put into play every time anyone bakes a cake: planning, patience, and doing what you say.

Planning

I would be hard pressed to say that people are ever ready to bake a cake, even bakers. They have to plan for the cake they want to make. They have to know things like flavor, type, number of slices, frosting, frosting type, and any extras. No one just happens to have the flour they need. They plan and prepare for it. Any experience baker will know that you just have a “magical” supply of flour. You have to have an inventory of flour and all the other ingredients to make the cakes you make. Every leader, worth his or her weight in Almond Flour knows before beginning any new project or mission planning must take place. Planning to prepare for the people, resources, and time needed is key to becoming a successful leader.

Patience

Every baker, knows if they do not wait the minimum time to bake a cake the cake will not be done. No one likes a mushy cake, especially when you take it out the oven too soon. On the other side of the coin, no one truly likes a dry  cake. By dry I mean, the Sahara Desert has nothing on how dry the cake is because it sat in the oven for too long. Whether it is baking a cake or leading a group of individuals you have got to have patience to know when to start and the patience to know when to stop.

Doing What You Say

Those that eat the cake know first hand if that baker is worth the investment or not. The baker knows he/she is only as good as the cake that is eaten. If people are not eating the cake then he isn’t putting his money where is mouth is (literally). If the baker is not delivering a quality product then it should come as no surprise that he is not doing what he says he can do which in this case, bake a delicious cake.  Doing and delivering on what you say is essential as a leader, as intent (intending to do something) is not what is going to make you a great leader. Doing things makes you a great leader.

When it comes to being a leader there are so many things that go into becoming the individual that others will follow. However, when it comes to planning, patience, and doing what you say are the top three elements that all future and current leaders must master. To master the top three and just like the cake maker, you have to practice. Practice every day, all day giving no quarter to slacking off. Those that follow you expect nothing less.
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