Blog

Selling is serving

My 11-year-old son, Coleton, approached me about a fundraiser for his middle school. The students have two weeks to sell magazine subscriptions in order to raise money for the school and qualify for a variety of prizes themselves. Sensing that I may be receptive to a magazine subscription for his

Read More »

Convey authentic enthusiasm

This post is the fourth in a series that will identify 10 different customer service advantages that have emerged from my analysis of customer satisfaction data. Maybe you have capitalized on one or more of these advantages in your own business? The fourth advantage is to convey authentic enthusiasm. To

Read More »

Be compelling

Yesterday, at my son’s football camp, I noticed that whenever he went out for a pass during scrimmage, he’d stop, wave his arms wildly, and call out to the quarterback, “I’m open! I’m open!” The quarterback would glance in Cooper’s direction and see what the rest of us saw—the defender

Read More »

Pale ale for sale?

Earlier this year I stayed in a New York City hotel where I was scheduled to deliver a presentation on customer service. Shortly before my talk, I met the hotel’s beverage director who asked if I had any feedback for him pertaining to the hotel’s food and beverage outlets. I

Read More »

Want to increase profits? It’s simple: Charge more.

I’m currently reading the book Smart Pricing by Jagmohan Raju and Z. John Zhang. Anything published by Wharton School Publishing has been thoroughly researched and applied in the real world of work—beyond the ivory tower of theory and abstraction often associated with academia. In the book’s introduction, the authors present

Read More »

I scream, you scream, we all scream for service!

Last night, my family and I visited one of those ice cream parlors that use a heated stone to meld together savory concoctions of an array of sweets and premium ice cream. Because each order is usually custom-made, it takes a bit longer to fulfill orders here than in typical

Read More »

Unique knowledge drives sales

A couple of years ago, I was shopping for a garment bag for my wife. Her job required travel and her current bag was showing serious signs of wear and tear. I stopped into one of those mall luggage stores and the salesperson showed me a black Tumi garment bag.

Read More »

Poor service hurts sales and I can prove it

This is a true story:  Last Tuesday, December 30th, I stopped by a local liquor store to pick up a bottle of champagne to celebrate the New Year.  I typically buy a bottle of champagne only once or twice a year and it’s usually the same brand: Moet & Chandon

Read More »

Cowbell Sandy

I recently heard a story about a Paradise Bakery & Café general manager who earned the nickname “Cowbell Sandy” from her adoring staff. It seems that a couple of years ago she started an incentive program to increase add-on sales of bottled water, cookies, and other high margin items. She

Read More »
The Revelation Conversation

The Revelation Conversation is Here!