Great Service Takes a Team. Appreciate Your Team.

Have you ever had this situation? Moments before I presented my speech on Creating a Culture of Service to the conference attendees at the Faith and Legal conference in Dallas last week, my PowerPoint crashed. I said a quick prayer and the AV person who had set this up an hour before, suddenly reappeared and quickly got it running.

I was praised for my presentation but it wasn't just me. The AV guy, the wait staff, the janitor, and my able assistant. They all made it possible. Without them the presentation wouldn't have happened.

So what does it take for you to close a deal? Do you do it all by your lonesome? Not likely. You have support staff don't you? Appreciate them? If not why not? If you don't know where to begin simply start by saying thank you. In a recent supervisory class that I conducted for the state of Washington, one of my participants said that he thanked his staff members at the end of every day.

I recommend offering heartfelt and sincere thanks. And saying it regularly.

The days of the lone ranger in service are over. Good service is a team effort. Make sure your team knows they are valued.

Service sells!

I just had the pleasure of visiting a restaurant in Albany, Oregon. In fact, many people from all around the U.S. travel to visit this restaurant. The experience was incredible! Here's what struck my guests and me:

• The waiter was a hoot. He knew all about the food and how to make us taste it just telling us about it. He also made it fun by paying just the right amount of attention to us with a dash of humor.
• The atmosphere was beautiful. Little alcoves made the seating cozy and each guest felt like the experience was private to them.
• The food was exceptional. Here we were, in a small town, and yet the food was cooked by chefs who could have been cooking for royalty.

What can we learn from this experience that can help us deliver service that sells like that? Be good at what you do, pay attention to the small details, create an environment that invites, and deliver more than what people expect. And lastly, make sure that each customer encounter with your business - from the receptionist who answers the phone, your website, the sales people, staff, and management - all show excellence.