Not sure if you are a tuna fish lover, but I enjoy a good tuna salad sandwich like my grandma used to make...

Tuna, chopped celery, little bit of dill relish, salt, pepper, mayonaise, and lettuce piled up on moist sandwich style Italian bread.

How many times do you open a can of tuna and when draining the water from the can the lid goes half way or more into the can at which point you realize you've been jipped once again?

Well, no longer do you need to feel that way.  I've discovered a tuna brand that is amazing.  When you drain the water the lid only goes down maybe 1/4 of the way.  The tuna is so solid that you actually have to use a fork to break up the tuna to shred it a bit.  The taste ... mucho goodo!

Ok, I'm not a tuna fanatic, but I do enjoy it.  The point of my story is two fold.  If you like tuna you'll really enjoy this brand.  If you don't like tuna you can still see a brand that has taken 'tuna norms' and challenged them to become a better option for tuna lovers everywhere.

Check out the best tuna at mwPolar.com.

Just settling in for the night after a fantastic Memorial weekend family camping trip.  Part of the excitement for me is to sit on the beach, in the cooling shade, or next to the campfire and catchup on some reading.  An article written in a recent Success magazine got me thinking.

I'm a pretty passionate person.  I believe in what I'm doing at most any given moment or I just plain don't do it.  As a person in leadership of a business that seems reasonable and expected to me.  But this isn't about focus, rather it's asking the question can you grow enthusiasm in those around you?  What about your partners, your team members, your employees?

In the article Selling Your Authenticity, Roger Dawson brings up four points to help develop your authenticity and enthusiasm...

1. Get feedback from your customers. A lot of salespeople don’t want to hear from people they have sold. No news is good news for that kind of salesperson. Get feedback. The more you hear from your customers that they were delighted with their purchase, the better you will feel about what you do.

2. Improve the quality of your customers’ feedback with this mantra: I’m going to promise my customers less but deliver more. If you are closing sales by exaggerating the worth or value of your product, you are always going to have unhappy customers.

3. Stimulate your sales presentation with enthusiastic third-party stories. If you sell vacations and you can’t get excited about going to Hawaii, you can still enthusiastically say, “Jo and Bill McAuley were so excited about their vacation in Hawaii. They called to tell me that it was the best time they’d had in their lives.”

4. Learn about your competitors and their shortcomings. Some salespeople are reluctant to do this because they have no intention of knocking the competition. That’s fine, but hopefully, the more you know about your competitors’ problems and shortcomings, the more enthusiastic you will become about your own product.

I think the key to growing enthusiasm in your partners, team members, and employees is to have them work through each of the statements/questions above on their own.  Being an evangelist of yourself and preaching it to them may build some excitement and momentum, but for them to internalize it has to become their own and they must 'take some ownership' of it.

I've been encouraging my oldest daughter, who is just 14, to start thinking about starting her own business this summer. I've shared with her several ideas that fit a real need and have a reachable market, yet are also 'doable' given her resources of time and money.  What I'm learning is that even though I can see it and get excited about it it just doesn't happen automatically for others.  In the case with her I am taking it one step at a time.  Having her do the reasearch, propose answers to her own questions, find and recognize the value for who her customers would be, and the like.  She's starting to catch on, but it's necessary for her to do the work and take ownership.

Growing enthusiasm is possible.  I've seen it with my own eyes. Read the entire Selling Your Authenticity here.

Until next time...

Just came across a quote worthy of being noted…

“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking”  -  Henry Ford

It struck a cord with me this morning as I realize that in my distributed/work from home environment the temptation can exist with no one sitting in the next cubicle helping me be accountable …  that I need to continue be aware of doing my best often and always.

Have a blessed day!

Back in 2005 I had this great idea to write a book or blog someday called Flip the Funnel.  Since then I've been collecting ideas/thoughts/suggestions based on the experiences at InterAct Websites, Inc..

Wouldn't you know it that someone beat me to the punch with the book, but I've still got the website and have republished the blog.  I'll get the older articles and some newer stuff as well there soon.

Flip the Funnel is an idea/concept based on taking the sales funnel and flipping it upside down to keep more customers in your funnel vs having them escape to a competitor.  Exciting stuff and I've learned alot through our own trials and errors over the past 5 years.

If you are looking for customer rentention best practices and ideas then flipthefunnel.com may be for you.  Check it out!

I've always been a 'mall haircut' kinda guy.  It's convenient and typcially less expensive than what one might experience in a full service salon.  About a year ago one of our employees who worked for us, back in the day, finished her schooling/licensing and became a stylist in a full service salon.  I put it off for quite a few months, but eventually brought myself to go try it out and give her my support.

It's been very interesting to see and experience many of the little things they do at the salon where she works.  Things like..

1. It's always clean and tidy.
2. It looks and feels warm yet classy.
3. The receptionist takes your coat and hangs it up.
4. They offer you something to drink.
5. There is rarely a wait.
6. Your stylist greets you very quickly once you arrive.
7. Your stylist always remembers your name.

So, how do these translate into keeping customers happy and coming back to the salon?  Well, here's the key (match the same number to the numbered list above)..

1. There is no clutter to distract you from the experience of being there.
2. You feel comfortable and confident in your decision to get your hair cut or styled there.
3. Each stylist has a number in the coat rack area so when you leave they know exactly where your coat is without having to ask.
4. It's nice to know I can show up thirsty.
5. They encourage me to schedule an appointment to get the best service and who doesn't want the best service.
6. They use a computer system to check you in which alerts the stylist from the salon area that you are here and she quickly comes to the front.
7. The computer system also displays your name so they can remember it before they come to the front.

As I walked away with a very handsome haircut ... the thoughts were racing through my head of what little things do we do for our clients that could make a big difference?  What little things do you do for your clients?