Random Acts of Kindness

Previously I attended an open house and grand opening at the business of one of my network partners. This was a relatively new business venture for a very nice couple who are quite professional and quick learners of Gratitude Marketing.

The several attendees present were very supportive of the business and wanted to contribute to its success through their attendance at the event. Their attendance indicated their support for the couple’s vision and integrity and demonstrated how anyone can show gratitude for others by spending a small amount of time and effort.

The hosts’ supporters donated items of various value levels for a prize drawing and food for the event’s attendees to enjoy. The business owners announced both the prizes and food with an appreciative reference to the donating person and their business. If the donating individual was present, they were recognized for their generous contribution with a short promotion of their business.

This was a mutual gratitude for each other in a networking partnership. Both the business owners who were holding the event and those who supported them, either through their attendance or their donations to the event, were engaged in Gratitude Marketing. Mutually, they gained through their giving to others.

During the drawings for prizes, the donator of one of the prizes and the host decided not to award this prize to a drawing ticket holder but to a young child who was in attendance. They publically recognized her as the youngest attendee and presented her with a very appropriate gift making a young girl very happy.

This random act of kindness reflected the integrity of both the host of the event and the person who donated the prize. Random acts of kindness are great ways of showing gratitude to others. We often discuss doing the right thing. This was an opportunity to do something that was the right thing, and was a random act of kindness.

Each and everyone one of us has the opportunity every day to perform random acts of kindness. Sometimes it is within the bounds of our business, sometimes it is outside our regular business duties. Sometimes it is just what we should do if we stop and think about life.

As you go about your day, each and every day, think outside the box, use your imagination, and see what random acts of kindness that you can perform. You will discover that they stop being random as your days go by. They will become part of your Gratitude Marketing process, something that you do everyday, all day.

Look at what you did yesterday and what you will do each day. Whose life can you impact in a positive manner, often for a small, inexpensive cost for you? Then do the right thing; show your gratitude for someone else, perhaps for just their smile. You will find that your kindness will return to you from unexpected places.

Want to share your experiences? Leave your comments, and maybe I’ll include your stories in a future posting. If you wish, call, or text, me at 360-314-8691, or email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com. I would like to hear what you have to share. Who knows, maybe we have some experiences in common?

Measure Time in Deeds, Not Minutes, or Hours

How do you measure time? Do you count the minutes, and hours, that you spend in your networking relationships? Perhaps you should measure your time spent in networking partnerships in deeds instead of minutes or hours. After all, aren’t deeds more important than minutes?

Entering into networking partnerships is a form of Gratitude Marketing. We are marketing ourselves and our businesses, and we should show our appreciation for others. That is what we discuss here each and every week, isn’t it? Well, it should be Gratitude Marketing; otherwise we are just looking to get what we can for ourselves.

How about the time that we spend in marketing through networking? I’ll bet that you spend lots of minutes, hours, and even more in this effort every week, if not every day. How do you measure that time? Perhaps you record the time spent in each meeting, each project, maybe each telephone call. Maybe you should not record time in this manner; maybe you should just count the deeds that you perform in the interest of others.

When we undertake making Gratitude Marketing our guideline for our networking, we determine that we will try to assist others in improving their business, in improving the lives of others, and in making everyone else’s success become a reality. We do this by our encouragement, by our gratitude for their business and efforts towards us, and by advising them in how they can improve themselves and their lives.

This takes a toll in time from our own lives and businesses. However, we must not look at the time spent; we must look at the deeds that we perform. We also must look toward performing more and more of these deeds than we routinely do perform. Whatever the number that we perform, it is never enough. There is always another deed that we should be completing for someone that can help them. Being a giver is a never ending lifestyle.

Don’t misunderstand; I do not mean that we should start keeping score on the deeds that we perform for anyone. If you are doing that, stop immediately. That is not what we should be doing. Karma doesn’t work like that, anyway. What you do for someone will not be repaid by something from them; it will come back to you from somewhere that you don’t even suspect or even expect. The deeds that we do for others should not show in a tally system or count listing of any sort. Just do for others, and the result will flow for all.

So, stop keeping track of the time that you spend in helping others and trying to make the lives of others better. When you stop, you will find that there is so much more time to do so much more. You will be surprised by how much more that you can accomplish. Remember, there is always someone else that needs your helping hand or your kind thought or gesture.

As you go through your day, try to look for more opportunities to make others feel your gratitude or experience your assistance to them. Then, see if you don’t feel better by not tracking the time spent doing this.

Afterwards, you can let me know how this makes you feel by leaving me your comments, or you can email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com, or you can call, or text, me at 360-314-8691. Let’s see if we can start keeping time in deeds done, but let’s don’t keep score on the number of good deeds that we do for others. That’s not good karma.

Eyes and Ears

The human body is a very well designed machine. We have a brain that does swift calculations, makes great decisions, and drives the body through its motions each and every day. We have limbs that do various things, like walking grasping, pulling, pushing, climbing, and other motions that get us from one place to another. All in all, the human body is fairly fantastic in its design and performance. So what does this have to do with Gratitude Marketing?

Consider two parts of the body, the eyes and the ears. The eyes see whatever is within our vision range, and the ears hear whatever is within our realm of hearing. They are input devices, like a computer keyboard or a mouse. They absorb what they see or hear and input the information to our brains so that those brains can make decisions with that data. We input information so that our processors can churn through the data and give us the benefit of that processing.

We also have a mouth, that wonderful body part that provides our voice to the world. This is an output device, much like a computer monitor or printer. With the mouth, our brain can communicate our thoughts to others, providing input to their ears and even allowing their eyes to see our feelings though smiles, grimaces, and sneers. Did you ever hear the expression “an angry mouth”?

We have all heard the advice that we have been given two eyes and two ears, but only one mouth. That means that we should intake twice as much information through our eyes and ears as opposed to the information that we put forth through our mouths. In other words, look and listen twice as much as you speak. Unfortunately, we cannot resist the urge to speak, speak, and speak some more. We babble and pollute the ears, and eyes, of whomever we have targeted with our words.

Our brains are marvelous devices that work wonders with our bodies, multitasking all the time, even when we are asleep. However, our brains cannot, on their own, stop us from vomiting words all over the people with whom we meet and speak. We must make a conscious decision to stop all the talk and speak only when we think seriously about what we are saying. Then, and only then, can we build relationships with others.

Gratitude Marketing implies that we should listen to the needs of others, attempt to solve those needs for others, and provide information to others that will help them in their quest for improvement and success. We cannot know what someone needs unless we listen to them, observe them as they are speaking with us, and attempt to solve their needs. We cannot solve their needs if we do not listen and hear their cries for help.

Have you ever listened to yourself speak? Perhaps the next time you meet with someone, ask if you can record the conversation. Then play it back and count the number of times you speak to them before you listen, the number of times you cut their words off, answering their questions before they finish them, or the number of times you try to fix something about them before you hear what it is that is broken.

We all have two eyes and two ears to receive input from others. We only have one mouth to provide output to others. Don’t be the person who vomits words all over someone, before you know what it is that they need to hear from you. Don’t be the person who others say: “He never listens before he tries to sell”. Practice some Gratitude Marketing. Please leave me your comments, or email me at Jim@JimTeasley.com, or call, or text, me at 360-314-8691.

Make It Easy for a Prospect to Become a Customer

The customer buying experience is that journey on which we take a prospect from the initial meeting to the completed buying transaction. This buying experience must be enjoyable for the customer. If it is not pleasant, the customer will go elsewhere for their next purchase, if they even last until a purchase. In addition, they will tell others how unhappy they are with the business process that was required to purchase from us.

What can a business person do to make the customer enjoy the buying experience? What can we do to make that journey pleasant so that they will want to do it again? What can we do to get them to tell everyone that they know about us and our great service? Happy customers bring us more and more prospects for our businesses. Gratitude Marketing should be the path we follow.

Did we have a simple “menu” of choices of products, or is it confusing? How do we feel when we walk into a restaurant and receive a “book” that contains page after page of entrees from which to choose? Is it a pleasant buying experience, or is it a test of our endurance? Do we get confused and give up, buying anything to end the work?

We must let the prospect know that we are grateful for a new inquiry about our business. We must make the prospect comfortable with the fact that we are honored that they picked us to engage for the solutions to their needs. They must know that we consider their inquiries as a reward for our great customer service to previous customers.

How do we move prospects from being “tire kickers” to serious prospects who are actually looking at how our offerings can benefit their business? We must apply the principles of great customer service before the prospect becomes a customer. We must be available for inquiries; we must be responsive to requests for information, maybe even before the inquiry is made. We must be proactive.

There are simple actions that we can take. Answer the phone call requesting information or return the voicemail, or email, inquiry, promptly and clearly. Be available to meet with prospects, answering all questions placed on the table. Clarify all marketing information so that a prospect understands what we offer and how much it really costs. Make it simple and clear with no surprises later.

Keep in touch and follow-up with prospects; do not allow anyone to believe that they are ignored. If we ignore a prospect or an inquiry during the prospect phase, we look like we will do the same after the prospect becomes a customer. The majority of lost customers leave you through their belief that they were taken for granted or ignored.

We all need to take a hard look at our customer buying experience and see if we need to streamline or clarify it. Make it easy and simple for someone to do business with us, and we will have customers who bring us other prospects for the great experience. Don’t make our customers believe that they have survived an endurance test and won the right to buy from us.

Gratitude Marketing can help us improve our customer buying experience? How can we discover what works well and what doesn’t work at all? Our current customers would tell us if we ask them. Agree or disagree; please can leave your comments here, or email me at Jim@SOC4Now.com, or call, or text, me at 360-314-8691. Our networking partners should be able to assist us in improving our customer buying experience. Just ask for their help.