Through Your Neighbors Eyes

When I first decided to come and stay in my dad's house after he passed I was not sure if I was doing the right thing or not.  But, today I was reassured my decision was the right one. 

A neighbor of my dad's for over 13 years came by to ask him about the dumpsters in his drive way, not knowing he passed.  After sharing the news of his passing she broke down.  Once she was able to speak, she shared with me that though they did not talk much, he was her only friend in the neighborhood.  She told me stories how he would come help her get her snowblower running each winter, and give her pointers on keeping her yard looking good.  She said every time she spoke to her family out of state, she always would tell them about John, the amazing man who lived on the corner.

My dad was an extremely private man, but always eager to offer a helping hand whenever he could.  He lived his life to serve others, in the military, working as a teacher and deacon, raising me, and of course how he treated his neighbors. 

I wanted to share this story with everyone today so you can think about it the next time you see a person needing a little help, to make sure to help them out.  Because, hopefully after you pass, your children can be at your home and hear such a touching story from your neighbor like I did today.

Sales Poem

So I had to write a poem for my Literature class, and decided to write it on my favorite subject, SALES!  Would love some feedback and comments on the poem.

My Life, My Sale

By: Michael C. McMillan

A name and number is where it starts

Five minutes of attention is all I want

For six long months I call without losing heart

I wonder what skills you need me to flaunt?

Finally I reach you, and you are interested in what I have to sell

All my work seems to have paid off, if I can just make this sale

Then right as I feel you are one of my newest clientele

 You let me know senior leadership may have to bail…

So as quick as I can I get to the airport

Contract in hand, I will not let this deal fail

Yes, I know how to make sure to win this sport

I hope your team is ready, because I am ready to land this whale!

            A last minute meeting with your entire team

            Then out with a signed contract and the fulfillment of my dream!

How Far Do You Go For Business?

So this week was an exciting week at the AGA/EEI Customer Service Expo in Fort Worth, Texas.  Had the opportunity to meet a lot of great people, and get the full Texas experience...LOL!!!

The one thing I took away from this trip is that to be in sales requires you to be willing to always live outside your standard comfort zone.  For instance on this trip to Texas at the big networking social event on Wednesday evening I found myself faced with doing something I NEVER thought I would ever do, ride a mechanical bull...

LOL!!  I still am laughing at the fact I was brave enough to get my butt up there to do this...

Why, did I decide to do this you ask?  Simple, because as I sat there watching almost the entire group go up and do it one by one and get their photo taken doing it, I knew if I had any shot in connecting with these people after the show I had to get up there and do it.  And here was the result:

I lasted a whole 15 seconds on that bull before getting bucked off.  And you know what, I had the time of my life doing it.  Now granted it was a little embarrassing to say the least, but the photo and experience was well worth it.

So this leads me to the question I ask in the title, what are you willing to do for business?  Could you have put your pride aside and got up on the bull to ride it?  If not, why not?  Sales is all about building a bond between your company and another, and common experiences is the sure fire way to make sure that happens.  So next time you are at a social affair and you see something you would NEVER do, take a minute and ask your self, could this help me drive business and build a closer relationship with my prospects?  If the answer is even maybe, get up on that bull and have a good time!

Very Cool infographic of how and agents accent effect Customer Satisfaction!!

SIRIUS-XM BAD EMAIL!!!

If you follow my blog you know I am not ever a person who goes on rants, but this email I just got made me so mad I had to write about it.  Today I get a "Marketing" email from SIRIUS-XM with the subject line being "An Important Message from the CEO of Sirius-XM".  Now normally when you see something like this it is business news that is pretty substantial to the company, so I am interested.  

When it opens here is what I see:

My issue is that if you just glance at this email like I did the first time I looked at it, you would take from it that your rates are going up, to bad so sad.  But, if you read it carefully you will see that you do not have get a rate hike if you just tell them you want to stick with the service you have now.  

I am not sure if this was done intentionally or what!  But, I will tell you when I first looked at the email I was so mad that my bill was going up I started to write them a letter blasting them about raising my rate when they cannot even offer me my discount for multiple systems on both SIRIUS & XM because they are on 2 billing systems.

I wanted to show this to all my readers so you can see how your customers can view your email marketing programs.  If I would have gone on just my first reaction and not looked at the email again, I would have cancelled my service with SIRIUS-XM and told everyone I know to do the same.  So remember everyone, before you send out an email like this make sure to have an outsider take a look and get their instant reaction.  If the first reaction is anger, rewrite!

Operational Efficiency vs. Operational Quality

Many organizations have historically wanted to lean heavily toward Operational Efficiency to keep costs for supporting their customers to a minimum.  But, with the current economic climate and increased market competition, many businesses have begun to realize they must shift their focus over to Operational Quality to maintain and grow their customer base.

To make this type of change requires a complete shift in culture and business process in your call centers, which can be a long process to do without the assistance of a partner like The Connection.  By partnering with our team it will allow you access to an entirely new pool of agents who do not have a preconceived notion of how things have always been done.  It allows you the opportunity to start fresh and mold an entirely new group of support specialists for your customers that can be focused on Operational Quality!

So if you team is looking to make the change, please let me know so we can set-up a time to have you out to one of our centers and come up with a game plan to get your organization and The Connection working together to build an amazing support solution for your customers!

To Your Success & Prosperity,

Michael C. McMillan | Director of Sales

The Connection® Contact Center Services

11351 Rupp Drive, Burnsville, MN 55337

Direct Line: (952) 948-5476

Cell: (773) 301-2202

Fax: (952) 948-5498

Email: mike.mcmillan@the-connection.com 

Website: http://www.the-connection.com

Happy Halloween from The Connection Call Center Crew!!