Only the customer can do that.
What you can do is improve your products, your sales team, your offers, your sales tools, your training, your marketing, your image...
Sales is not something you do - it's a result of things you do.
How are you doing them?
Test of win/win.
Do people do business with your company or work there because they have to - or because they want to?
If they do it because they have to - you are in peril the day they don't have to - because that's out of your control.
If they want to - you're far better off - and they are, too.
Any company has some happy customers. The real measure of consistent excellence is delivering it to the broad population of inconsistant customers - with no exceptions.
Not all customers will be happy with the same thing.
Do you lack unhappy customers?
We all work hard to get and keep customers. Some customers are tough and require special attention.
But when a customer just refuses to be happy - it can be a good idea to let them go in favor of spending your resources on someone else, or several others you can make happy.
When you're doing all you can and it's still no fun - it could be time.
When you set out on a journey or towards a goal - if you decide at the outset that you will do whatever it takes for however long it takes to accomplish it and never give up - you will not fail - and likely get there faster and with less angst and suffering than you'd have otherwise.
What have you firmly resolved?
There's 9 1/2 months left to 2012. You're taking your organization on a trip.
Where are you going? Does everyone know?
Since we're not all wealthy, I think we'd all have to agree that a man who amasses wealth didn't do it by thinking like the rest of us.
Would you trade places with your competitor and be happy?
As the leader, is your standard default answer to your people "NO"? Then you consider what you'll allow them to do?
Being the "NO" guy is a pretty good way to get your best people to leave, and the rest to stop asking. Then you're on your own with all the responsibility.
Unleash the ideas of many brains, and celebrate their output. You'll get more of it!
A big part of my job for the last 25 years has been training people. My observation is that people like to be trained. They like to learn things that will help them in thier jobs and they like to be "in the know". I also know that the investment in training is an excellent one with very high returns.
"What happens if I train my people and they leave?"
Well, what happens if you don't and they stay?
When is your next employee training?
How do you multiply the results your organization is getting each day?
Through your people of course!
Work with them with intention!
