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Hello and welcome! I was thinking about how much I learn every day working with Professional Services Executives, and I realised that it’s that very learning which makes this career so exciting and rewarding. Peter Senge wrote about The Learning Organisation as an instrument for continually enhancing capabilities nearly twenty years ago, and the value of using learning to competitive advantage has only increased since then.
Are you open to learning and enhancing your skills every day? Do you formalize that process by reviewing what you have learned and where it can be used to add value to your services frequently? Doing so will ensure that you stay one jump ahead of your competition – while making sure that clients and prospects are aware of your continually growing and developing capabilities will keep them coming back to you as the acknowledged expert in your field.
Keep on learning, and keep on informing and educating your clients and prospects as you do!
PS: The regular Soapbox feature has made way in this issue for further news on our 2008 Platinum Mastermind Group. Don’t worry – it will be back in the next issue.
Why is the Queue
Out the Door?
I was in town around lunch time the other day, after a business meeting, and on the stroll back to my car walked past the Post Office and a variety of different banks. I couldn’t help but notice what they all had in common: Queues out the door!
It got me thinking. What are these people doing? Why are they wasting so much of their precious time standing in queues? Why, in the 21st Century are so many folks still fighting the crowds and rushing around paying bills during their lunch hour? Personally, I’d rather be relaxing over a cappuccino and a good book.
A possible reason could of course be that there is insufficient staff around to cope with customer demand. We’ve all been at the bank, the post office, or even the supermarket and never seen every single checkout / teller / cashier position manned. It always feels like they all go to lunch the same time we do!
However I lean more strongly towards another reason for all the queues: Customer resistance to using the alternatives.
Humans are creatures of habit. If we’ve always done things a certain way, we unconsciously do them on autopilot time and time again. So we have always gone in to the bank to pay our bills. We always go to the post office to buy our stamps or to pay our Road Tax. We take 3 hours on a Saturday to do our grocery shopping.
Newsflash: If we keep going to busy places at busy times and rejecting the alternatives, we will keep having to stand in queues!
By the way: our whole philosophy here at Zee2A is to challenge conventional wisdom and find better and smarter ways of doing things. Read more here.
So are there smarter alternatives to standing in queues at the bank, the post office, or the supermarket? Yes, yes, and yes again!
The Bank
I can tell you honestly, that I never go to the bank anymore. Trust me, spending almost a decade and a half working with or for banks, I’ve spent more than my fair share of time inside. I also spent so much of that time trying to educate customers on the alternatives, but I have never come across so much resistance in all my life.
There truly is very little real need to stand in a queue at the bank – just about anything you’ll ever need to do, can be done another way.
- Paying bills? No problem, just set up a direct debit or standing order and you’re set. There’s no need to keep an eye on the calendar either, and you’ll never make another late payment again. Many companies even give you discounts for paying this way. (Bonus!)
- One-off payments? Mail a cheque or pay by card over the telephone.
- Need cash? Use the ATM – plus, most UK banks allow you to withdraw funds from any other bank’s ATM at no charge. You can even get ‘cash back’ when you pay for your shopping at most supermarkets.
- Need to pay-in money? Use the ATM (cheques or notes only, not coins); or put your deposit in a sealed envelope and drop into the deposit box normally located near the queuing area, or through the mail slot at the bank after hours.
- If you haven’t signed up to use your bank’s online or telephone banking service yet, what on Earth are you waiting for?
Most banks will allow you to apply for a loan, an overdraft, or a credit card online or via their telephone banking service. Most will even allow you to transfer funds to an account overseas at the click of a button. I strongly suggest that you visit your bank’s website for full information and to apply for these services. See – you don’t even have to go in to the branch to do that!
(Are you concerned about using these alternatives and the growing threat of Identity Theft? Learn how to protect yourself by reading our e-book available as a free download to subscribers. If you aren’t a subscriber yet click here and sign up – you will be taken to the Download area after verifying your subscription.)
The Post Office
Do you know that you really don’t need to spend time standing in a line at the post office anymore?
If you are one of those people who queues for ages waiting to renew your road tax, for heaven’s sake do it online! For the last few years I have renewed mine via the DVLA secure website. I pay by card, and the new disk arrives within a week.
I don’t even buy stamps at the Post Office anymore. I either buy them with my groceries at the supermarket, or use the nifty facility on the Royal Mail website where I can buy postage online and print it directly on to the envelopes!
Even International Driving Permits, Passport and Drivers Licence Renewals can all be applied for either online or by mail if you don’t leave things to the last minute.
The Supermarket
There are three ways that I habitually do my shopping these days, and my choice depends whether I’m buying a small basketful or an entire trolley’s worth. If I am only picking up a handful of items, I absolutely love the fact that I can use the self-service checkout that most supermarkets have begun installing.
If I have more time on my hands and want to do a ‘proper’ shop, I use the Self-Scanners available. I scan the barcodes as I choose the items and pack them straight into my shopping bag. I even get a preferred checkout where all I do is hand over the scanner and my means of payment, and voila!
When I’m pushed for time, or perhaps want a bulk shop without the hassle of pushing a heavy trolley and packing and unpacking the car, then online shopping is the winner. For a nominal charge I can upload my shopping list and have my shopping delivered at an agreed timeslot. The driver is even courteous enough to bring the shopping straight in to my kitchen, with a smile.
I can’t tell you how many stress-free hours I have saved myself over the last few years by just exploring and then using the alternatives available to me. I would much rather my precious time be used in a more productive way!
If you would like to learn how to make more profit while working less please visit our website to see how we can help!
(If you're unfamiliar with the concept behind Front2Back 2Front please go here to read the explanation in our launch issue.)
I recently bought a new car. If you've done it at all you'll know that once your heart is set on a specific vehicle you just have to have it, and waiting for the dealer to get it ready, the bank to process the loan documents, and so on is agonising!
The dealer I bought from didn't have an arrangement with my finance house, so when I arranged a pick-up date and time with the salesperson he told me that if the finance house payment hadn't cleared his bank by that time I wouldn't be taking the vehicle. I was understandably (I think) miffed, and told him that if that happened he would have a severely annoyed possibly ex-customer on his hands. He must have felt that the deal was secure (I was REALLY excited about the car, and my deposit had been paid) because that's when he uttered THE WORDS:
"That's not my problem."
WHAT?!?!?!?
If you learn nothing else in life, learn this: When someone is your customer, and their demands are reasonable, it is ALWAYS your problem! Because it doesn't matter if they have already paid you a deposit, the deal can (and will) fall through if the customer gets even the slightest inkling that you don't care about them. And they will tell everyone how you mistreated them - just as I'm doing now.
It is ALWAYS your problem. If that doesn't sit well with you, take a job in a factory.
Find out how to make this year your BEST EVER in terms of marketing and profitability, and gain access to a panel of business experts who contribute tried and tested guidance on your Key Business Strategies.
Learn more about our 2008 Platinum Mastermind Programme here or go here to apply for membership.
Only ten applicants will be invited into the 'inner circle'. Early Bird Pricing has been extended to 30 April to ensure the highest quality group!
PLUS PLUS PLUS
We are hosting a FREE Mastermind Intro Teleclass on Wednesday 7 May at 3pm UK Time (9am Central Time). We will be outlining the Top Ten things you need to do to catapult your business into unheard-of realms of success. Click here to register for the teleclass.
Come and meet us – and do some great networking in the process! Here are a few places where we’ll be in the next few weeks:
- Mon 31st March 5:30pm – Speed Networking at The Lime Leaf (top of town, Basingstoke). An official North Hants Chamber event. Book a place here.
- Wed 2nd April 6:30pm – The Best Of Basingstoke networking. Book a place by calling Steve Allen at (01256) 900025.
- Tues 8th April 6:30pm – Tadley Networking.
- Wed 9th April 12:15 – NHCCI lunch, Wessex Conference Centre, Winchester. Book here to attend.
Did you miss our presentation at Business South earlier this month? Due to popular demand we are putting on a repeat performance!
When? Tuesday 22nd April 4pm-6pm
Where? Brewers Fayre, Down Grange, Winchester Road, Basingstoke RG22 4ET
Topic? Cracking the code of Professional Services Marketing – as we said its a 'repeat performance' so read the blurb from Business South here.
Price? Nothing. Zero. Zilch. Gratis. (you get the idea!) – although please do purchase drinks and or food, to support our gracious venue provider
And as an added bonus: Local Accountant Paul Sherrington will be sharing some news of how the latest Budget will affect our businesses.
Please RSVP to Vanessa so we can ensure sufficient seating and support materials!
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Subscribers receive as a free gift an Audio workshop entitled 