Finding success is made up of a number of elements, however, the greatest of these is in a willingness to give and provide exceptional service to others.
Now that you have decided I am a complete nutter, stop and think about this concept for a minute. Doing business is about developing trust relationships, and there is nobody you trust more than those that are interested in your problems, and are prepared to help you with them. What makes this more powerful is your willingness to provide help, advice and guidance to a potential customer without an expectation that you will be paid for every second of your time. If you can view each of these encounters as an opportunity to build positive relationships, business and revenue will flow. You will have generated an advocate willing to recommend your business to others.
Be willing to help
An important success factor is your ability to be responsive to customer needs. You need to be able to understand the customers need and provide innovative options and solutions to that customers’ problem whether that need is real perceived. The solution may lie in identifying the real problem faced by the customer and not a perceived problem they believe they have. The skill is in understanding the customer, their problem and the solution to that problem, and if another supplier is the best alternative, point them in that direction. To be a problem solver means you need to be closely connected with your clients. Work to serve them. Do this by focusing on your values and working to make a real impact on the people you touch in business and in your life. Be humble and honest about your failures. One of the biggest strengths is to admit your weaknesses — and learn from your own mistakes and those of others.
Be Yourself
In the words of Judy Garland “Always be a first-rate version of yourself and not a second-rate version of someone else.” or those of Oscar Wilde “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.” This is sound advice and is particularly important for those people who manage others in the business. You are you, one person, not one person as a business person, another as a manager, another as a friend and another as a partner or parent. Being consistent will build trust with customers, staff, family and friends.
Focus on people
Build relationships, add value to those relationships, solve problems, and build networks to share information and ideas. These are the four foundational principals on which your business and many other successful businesses are built. It is about serving people. And when you focus on meeting the needs of others, then you will be successful. Life is about what you can give and not about what you take.
When you focus on people first, being consistent and honest in your willingness to serve others, you will find success and be consistently happy in everything you do. When this approach is combined together with your business goals, you know you are providing the best possible value to others.
