Relaxed Customers Spend More

A recent article in INC Magazine was about a study done on customer's spending habits when they are relaxed versus neutral. The study showed that people were willing to pay an average of 11% more on products when relaxed.

Read the full article here: http://www.inc.com/magazine/201111/why-it-pays-to-help-holiday-shoppers-relax.html

Modern Day Business Etiquette

Just like at social gatherings, there are certain etiquettes to be followed in the workplace. Etiquette expert Eliza Browning had a few reminders for INC readers.

First, focus on the face, not the screen. How many times have you talked to someone and they never once looked away from what they were doing on their computer? It makes you feel like the least important item on their not-to-do list...

Second, curb your criticism. The workplace should not be the same an an online forum. It is best not to criticize other people.

And lastly, observe the elevator rule. What this means, do not talk about a person or people that you just met with until the elevator is on the bottom and you are leaving the building.

See those plus two others here: http://www.inc.com/eliza-browning/business-etiquette-rules-that-matter-now.html 

Secrets to Being Productive

You would think that the most productive people at your company work all the time. Never leave their desk or cube. Eat lunch while working. Work all weekend when they don't have too. Well, that all may be just work, but that does not mean they are being productive.

A recent article by Margaret Heffernan who is a serial entrepreneur and author says, "[Productive people]...don't work more hours than you do. Productive people just have a knack for making the most of their time."

She says three of the things these productive people do are the following:

1) They take breaks
2) They are great collaborators
3) They have lives outside of work

Check out the full article here: http://www.inc.com/margaret-heffernan/most-productive-people-i-know-secrets.html

Is your business social-savy? Here is how to find out!

Foursquare check-ins, Facebook Likes, Yelp, online reviews....Sure, you can read what customers are saying about your business. How do you know if you are performing better that your competition?

Introducing ValueRank.com...A service that for $499 a month will analyze many factors, plug them in an algorithm, and assign a score 1 to 100. These are updated daily. Have multiple locations? You can track and dig into the data for each location.

If you have a retail based business (bank, credit union, restaurant, etc.) you should be monitoring this data.

Check out ValueRank here: http://www.valuerank.com

Three Phrases You Should Never Say to a Customer

These come to you from Ron Burley who is a customer service guru. The three things that a customer service rep should not say are:

1) That's our policy.
2) There's nothing I can do.
3) That's the manufacturer's responsibility.

I am sure there are other things they shouldn't say, but these may be the three most used. Can you use all three in one sentence? Let's give it a shot!

"Mr. Customer. There is nothing I can do because it is our policy that it is the manufacturer's responsibility."

Find more pearls of wisdom from Ron Burley here: http://www.inc.com/author/ron-burley or find him on twitter @consumerrebel

Research on the effects of workplace hostility

Sometimes when you go into a business, you can just tell there is hostility in the air. Well, a study was done recently on how hostility between coworkers effects the customers. The findings probably are not shocking to most people.

"...researchers found that when customers witness employees being disrespectful to one another - yelling, using profane language, or openly criticizing another's job performance - customers not only get mad, but they often try to punish the company in some way"

The only time I have witnessed hostility between coworkers was at Best Buy in the geek squad section. An associate was looking at something for me when his supervisor walked up and began to verbally reprimand the employee for incurring overtime by staying to help me. Needless to say, I appreciated the employee staying to help me, but I also thought that the supervisor should have been fired or reprimanded for saying that in front of a customer.

You can read the full article here: http://www.inc.com/magazine/201202/be-kind-to-your-co-workers.html

Want to fight turnover at your company? Try creating a new hire system.

Even in today's tough job market, some companies still have an issue with turnover. April Joyner wrote about this in a recent article. She lays out a five step system used at Big Fuel. Here are the five steps

Step 1: Meet your colleagues - get introduced and work with as many of your new coworkers as possible
Step 2: Back to school - have a series of classes not only about the company, but also the culture
Step 3: Watch and learn - official apprenticeships pairing new hires with senior employees
Step 4: Face time with the bigwigs - make sure the new employees get some time with the the top execs
Step 5: Tell us how you really feel - get new hires feedback on the program so you can institute improvements

Find the full article here: http://www.inc.com/magazine/201203/april-joyner/how-to-fight-employee-turnover.html

Traits of Remarkable Employees

Jeff Haden wrote recently about three traits of great employees. I agree that these three are important characteristics. How many of these three do you or your own employees have? The three traits are:

1) They're always fiddling
2) They ignore job descriptions
3) They like to prove others wrong

Read the full article along with another five qualities here: http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/the-8-qualities-of-remarkable-employees.html

How to Master a Skill

A few months back, there was an interesting article in INC Magazine about how to master any skill. There are 5 steps:

1) Script the new behavior (write it out)
2) Practice it perfectly (perfect practice make perfect)
3) Rebound and fix (stick with it)
4) Accelerate through mental rehearsal (visualize positive outcome)
5) Make it part of your identity (turn from behavior to part of your character)

Check out the full article here: http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/how-to-master-any-skill.html