I'LL HAVE THE LOBSTER... WITH A SIDE OF COMMUNICATION

I recently coached a client in presentation skills and as a token of appreciation, he sent me a $150 gift card to Ruth’s Chris steak house.  My wife and I decided to use it to celebrate our eighth wedding anniversary. I have eaten at Ruth’s Chris before and fully intended on tearing through the gift card like Caesar through Gaul, but what happened next was a very expensive lesson in the power of communication. When we arrived at the restaurant, my wife and I requested a booth in the corner so we could be fully present with each other. We ordered wine and perused the menu. I wouldn’t call myself cheap, but I have yet to look at the prices on the menu at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse and not wince ever-so-slightly. Maybe it was the wine. Maybe it was the mood of the moment, but I decided to throw caution to the wind and order the whole Maine Lobster. I love lobster. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of my father returning from business trips to New England with a crate of live Maine lobsters. I can remember being woken up at eleven o clock one night because my father’s plane had been delayed, but that wasn’t going to stop us from having a lobster feast. My mother started boiling a pot and we dined into the wee hours of the morning.  That’s where my love of lobster began and now I was continuing it at Ruth’s Chris steak house. The waiter described the specials, raved about the filet, and finally I asked “hows the Maine lobster?” His eyes lit up as if I’d asked about his children. He went into a description that had me giddy with excitement. “How much?” I asked. “$37.00?, bring me a Maine Lobster”. It was every bit as good as he described. The succulent morsels dissolved in my mouth, the butter dripped from my chin and my smoking hot wife stared lovingly at me from across the table. I was in heaven. We enjoyed the evening all the way through the after dinner B&B. When the check arrived, I pulled out my gift card to see if we had fufilled the limit…we had. Maybe it was intentional or maybe it was because english was our waiters second language, but apparently, when I asked how much the lobster was, he left off the words… PER POUND. I ended up paying $120.00 for a beady eyed shellfish! I was speechless. I should have become suspicious when the manager came over to shake my hand and thank me for ordering the lobster. I now know why the kitchen staff was lined up at the door dabbing their eyes. They were saying goodbye to an old friend. That damn lobster was probably soaking in a tub for years, growing fat, waiting for a sucker like me to come along. What would you do if you were in that situation? I wanted to wring the waiters neck, but I didn’t. I didn’t even complain. I simply paid the bill, tipped the waiter and left with my wife. I decided that the lack of communication was as much my fault as it was Raul’s. Will I go back to Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse? Probably, although that particular restaurant has seen the last of me.

There are two parts to effective communication. Listening is as important as speaking. My fault was in my assumption and not asking questions. His fault was not presenting all of the facts. Did Raul benefit from the lack of communication?... yes and no. Sure he made about thirty dollars more on his tip, but he lost the opportunity to create a profitable relationship. Every time you interact with a customer, it is an opportunity to seed the relationship for future opportunities. Had Raul been more forth coming with the information, he would have created an emotional debt that I would have paid at a future date. Maybe with friends, clients, or even a party of ten.

Are you creating a culture of openness with your clients, customers or team? Do you communicate effectively? As the presidential campaign is in full swing, Mitt Romney is being blasted for not sharing his financial records, and this is ticking some folks off. I don’t care which side of the aisle you’re on, I believe that those who find this offensive do so, not because they care how much money he makes, but rather because of the lack of communication. When you don’t communicate effectively you diminish trust. No trust? No Sale!

TOFU WRAPPED BACON...BE THE BRAND

“Clean Comedian for corporate, government, or personal events. Contact me for rates and availability.” That’s what the post said on the professional speakers and entertainers group that I am a part of on Linkedin. I was intrigued, not because I am looking for a corporate comic, but because I wanted to see the face of the person who would break etiquette and blatantly advertise 

bacon wrapped tofu

on Linkedin. I googled the name and found a youtube clip of a comedy show that he did a couple of years ago. “Clean Comedian” is how this person branded himself and 28 seconds into his act, he dropped the F Bomb. THE F BOMB! Now don’t get me wrong, I am not easily offended by profanity as long as it’s not around my kids, but I AM offended by a misleading branding statement. If you say your book is a best seller, you'd better not mean within your mother’s bible study. If you say you are the toughest man in the world, there had better be a line of broken and battered bodies littering your wake, and if you say you are a clean comedian then you’d better not drop the F bomb. If I were to have a conversation with this gentleman and express my opinion he would probably tell me that he modifies his language based on the event, or he may just tell me to ‘F’ OFF. I would then tell him “you can’t call yourself a vegeterian and have your tofu wrapped in bacon”. Unlike in years past, we no longer have control over our brand. Major companies such as Nike, Apple, and McDonalds spend millions of dollars on creating a branding statement which is nothing more than four or five words that come to mind when you hear a product name. Nike=swoosh, sports, running, football. Apple= Mac, sleek, fast, elite. McDonalds = easy, tasty, kids, cheap. For years, corporations were able to control their brand with advertisments and commercials. This is no longer the case. Thanks to social media and youtube, the control of our brand has transferred to the consumer. If I receive bad customer service, I tell my online community. If I do it in a funny or interesting way then it will ripple into their communities. Videos of me speaking and performing are all over Youtube and Vimeo. Some were put up by me and some by others. Because the internet provides immediate access into our brand, there is a transparency between us and the customer that has never before existed.  The best way for us to promote and protect our brand is to simply…BE THE BRAND. 

No "P" in Customer Service

I used the “S” word in front of my children today.  Yes… the “S” word. The expletive of all expletives, and I said it in front of my babies.  I actually hadn’t even noticed that the word had passed my lips until my four year old admonished me in the car on the way home from the movie theatre. I admit it, I said it…. but that woman really was STUPID !!.

I had just taken my two boys to see The Tooth Fairy with Duane “The Rock” Johnson, and we stopped off at a Hallmark Store to buy a card for a friend who has just had a huge event happen in his life. I am typically not a card buyer, but this was a special occasion so I didn’t just want to pick one up from the grocery store, I wanted to go out of my way to buy from a specialist.

We walked into the Hallmark store and were directed to the Congratulations cards where I perused the various choices. My four year old began tugging on my coat and informed me that he had to use the bathroom…again. After being dragged out of the movie twice I was a little tired of his bathroom breaks so I told him to hold it. I chose a card and walked to the counter to pay. As I waited in line, I noticed that tears had formed in his eyes and realized that he really had to go so I asked the lady behind the counter where the restroom was.  She informed me that they didn’t have one.  You and I both know they have a restroom, so what she meant to say was they didn’t have one for customers. As my son began to cry, I looked at her with a “can you help me” look and she shrugged her shoulders with half hearted empathy and said, “It’s our policy”. I am not one to give customer service lessons at point of purchase, So I held my tongue (no small task) and left with my children.  It was on the way home that I was admonished for the “S” word.

We all have poor customer service stories that we enjoy telling when the conversation calls for it. The fact that I will never shop at the Hallmark Store in Alamance Crossings is no real “AHA” moment. As I contemplate my experience, I would have to say the lesson is this… Mess with me you lose my business. Mess with my kid you gain an enemy.  The sales woman at the Hallmark store in Alamance Crossing, Burlington, North Carolina :-) let policy override common sense and compassion. Had she chosen to ignore “policy” and helped my child and me she would have created a fan. Fans are loyal. Fans will go out of their way to spend money. Fans don’t shop alone.  She chose not to and as a result, not only destroyed a consumer relationship, she created an adversary who will take any and every opportunity to steer people away from her card store. He may even write an article about his experience that is distributed to hundreds of thousands of people.

Patrick Henry is a songwriter, author, and speaker, who shows clients how to create distinction in the market place and
 blow away the competition with the four keys to becoming a “ROCKSTAR IN A ROOM FULL OF KARAOKE SINGERS”. Patrick’s entertaining programs show audiences what happens when Keynotes, Comedy, and Concerts Collide. For more information go to www.patrickhenryspeaker.com

IT’S CALLED A SPEECH

I don’t much care for awards shows. Every now and then, however, I will see someone who impresses or even inspires me, like when Cuba Gooding Jr. won an Oscar for his role in Jerry Mcguire or when Roberto Benigni won an Oscar in 1998 for Life is Beautiful.  For the most part I see a room full of people who haven’t had a job in months who are just happy to be dressed up and out of the house.

My wife enjoys awards shows, so when the Screen Actors Guild Awards aired on January 23^rd…we watched it. I was actually quite impressed with Sandra Bullock and especially Betty White who hails back to an era where class and decorum were the order of the day. I was completely underwhelmed by Drew Barrymore. When the award for best actress in a television movie or miniseries was announced, Drew Barrymore’s name was called. She gave the customary “oh my God I can’t believe it’s me” look to her fellow aisle mates then made the triumphant march to the stage to accept her prize. This is where the wheels came off !!!!

I am a professional speaker. I believe that a person’s ability to effectively communicate thoughts, ideas, and gratitude is paramount in fomenting success regardless of profession. Apparently Drew Barrymore doesn’t think so. As she accepted her award, she began to stutter and stumble over her words in a cutesy and contrived display of ums & ands.  When the awkward moment began to turn uncomfortable, she said “usually improv is a good thing….it’s backfiring on me very badly right now”. I have news for you Drew, IT’S NOT IMPROV….IT’S A SPEECH !!!!.  Considering that you have been in the movie business since before ET phoned home, it is a speech that you should have been prepared for!!!!!!

In a matter of seconds she went, in my eyes, from brilliant to buffoon, from star to stammer, from “bless my stars” to “bless her heart”, all because she was painfully unprepared.

There are certain moments where the right words delivered with eloquence, passion and skill can create, what my friend Scott Mckain calls, a mountain top experience. In sales, these moments happen EVERYDAY. Are you prepared? Have you developed the skill and “material” to inspire people to action?

Three ways to prepare for your awards speech:

COLLECT MATERIAL.

Continually be on the lookout for real life experiences, stories, and anecdotes that can be recalled and delivered with dexterity at a moments notice.  Become an expert in your field and your client’s by reading books, articles and web copy about topics that relate to the field.  Keep a file.


LISTEN TO GREAT SPEAKERS

      Never miss an opportunity to listen to great speakers speak. Don’t steal their material, take note of their style and technique then create your own.
    
PRACTICE

      As good as you think you are, YOU’RE NOT!!!.  I don’t care how many successful wedding toasts you’ve given. Until you’ve delivered a thousand speeches or presentations, you still have room for improvement. Even then, you still can find ways to become better. JOIN TOASTMASTERS…NOW!

The Ballad of Rusty The Roofer

Sitting in the living room of “Yellow House”, watching water drip from four different leaks in the ceiling, I decided that it was time to fix the roof. Yellow House was a rental property in Nashville that I shared with my two beautiful female roommates years ago who, despite my best efforts, still thought of me as a buddy.

After receiving a number of estimates, a guy pulled up unannounced one afternoon in a white van and said “wud up?” Enter Rusty the Roofer. Rusty was a red faced, red headed, redneck who offered to repair my roof for half of what the other roofers would. In my naiveté’ I hired him on the spot. The events that transpired over the next week taught me two things, 1. In the words of Ronald Reagan “trust but verify”, and 2. Never do business with a guy in a white van.

On the first day, Rusty and his crew came out and took all of the shingles off of the house. I had to later apologize to my female neighbors for the cat-calls that were being lobbed from my roof like grapefruit. Taking shingles off of a roof does not require exorbitant amounts of brain matter.  Putting new shingles on, however, requires a bit more skill, but in order to apply that skill one must be present. When Rusty was ready to leave for the day at the crack of two, he told me that he would return the following morning at 9:00 am. I assured him I would be waiting. The next morning, nine o’clock came, nine o’clock went and I was left standing on my porch underneath my naked roof growing agitated. Rusty finally showed up at 10:30 and apologized for his tardiness. I told him that I was planning my workday around his start time so I insisted that he be on time. The following day at 9:00 am, I am standing on my porch waiting for Rusty to show up only to be stood up yet again. When he rolled into my driveway at eleven o’clock, I was hot. I said “Rusty, when you tell me that you are going to arrive at nine….I EXPECT YOU TO BE THERE !!!!! When you don’t arrive until eleven you screw up my whole day.” Rusty looked at me and said “Patrick you’re right. But I have a good excuse. Last night I was out at a bar and met a woman who is doctor from Vanderbilt Medical Center and we [Partied] all night long.” I looked at him with an incredulous look on my face and said “Rusty, don’t take this the wrong way, but you don’t look like the type of guy who [parties] with doctors from Vanderbilt.” He chuckled and said “you’re right, but last night I had it going on, I was looking sharp…. I HAD ALL MY GOLD ON”

I guess I underestimated the seductive charms of a herring bone chain and a nugget pinky ring. I told him that doing business with him was becoming more trouble than it was worth and he looked me in the eye and said “Patrick, you have to admit that 90% of the time, I do exactly what I say I am going to do”.  There ends the ballad of Rusty the roofer.

Like with Rusty, customers judge a vendor or service provider by the 10% of the time their expectations are not met. Here are three ways to turn prospects into clients, clients into fans, and avoid becoming a “Rusty the Roofer”.

1.    1.     DO WHAT YOU SAY YOU ARE GOING TO DO.

Become known as a person of your word. This establishes trust.
Trust enables friendship.“People want to do business with their friends”  (Jeffrey Gitomer)

2.         2.  UNDERpromise and OVERdeliver.

           Too many times we are tempted to say anything to close the sale.
           When you close the 10% margin of error you become a resource
            who provides value. Value creates loyalty.

3.        3.   BE PROFESSIONAL.

           Professional standards of communication and dress have relaxed
           over the last decade. Become known for superseding the standard.

Fatback and Gefilte Fish

I am a Southerner. I am not a confederate flag waving “if the South would’ve won, we’d have had it made” Southerner, but I am proud to be from the South. I grew up in Alabama, went to college in Mississippi, and my roots are known to show from time to time. Not many of my friends, however, know that I was born in Silver Spring, Maryland.

For the first four years of my life, my father was a lobbyist in Washington, DC, and we were the only non-Jewish family living in an all-Jewish neighborhood. From an early age this Southern Baptist Alabama boy developed a taste for Jewish cuisine. Lox, bagels, chopped liver, and gefilte fish were common fare when I was playing with the Lieberman or the Rosenthal kids.

Years later, when I was living in Nashville, Tennessee, as a single musician, I befriended an older Jewish woman who lived in a small house in my neighborhood in Hillsboro Village. I was finishing a jog one afternoon and as I passed her house, I noticed that she was trying to mow her lawn and seemed to be having trouble. I stopped and introduced myself, and then offered to finish the job for her. After mowing her yard, she invited me into her home for lemonade. We talked for a while and she shared with me pictures of her children, grandchildren and even a picture of her ex-husband --  “May God rest his soul….soon” (her words). On her mantle was displayed a beautiful menorah so I told her of my early years in the all-Jewish neighborhood outside of Washington D.C. She said we were the “token gentiles”. We came to an agreement on that day. I would mow her yard in exchange for her homemade chopped liver. Music City had never seen such a deal and probably never will again.

I’ll never forget the advice Mrs. Frank gave me one afternoon over lemonade. She said  “Bubbulah, it is just as easy to marry smart and beautiful as it is to marry dumb and plain”. I married a smart and beautiful woman and I thank God every day that my wife never met Mrs. Frank for fear that she would have followed her advice and done the same. Mrs. Frank was right. It is just as easy to marry smart and beautiful as it is to marry dumb and plain. Just as it is as easy [if not easier] to surround yourself with talented and motivated people rather than those who bring you down.

My favorite quote comes from High Point University President Dr. Nido Qubein. Standing in his office many years ago, I asked him  “What is the secret to your success?” He pointed to a beautiful credenza on the far side of the room and said “Go push the button.” I walked over and pushed a button on the front of the credenza and to my surprise the lid began to fold back and a crystal statue arose from the interior like something out of a James Bond movie. The statue was three figurines holding hands. Dr. Qubein told me that the statue was a gift from his mother and the figure in the middle represented himself, the figure on the left represented Albert Einstein and the one on the right Jesus Christ. The inscription at the bottom of the statue simply read “If you want to be great, walk hand-in-hand with greatness.”

Are the people you are surrounding yourself with pulling you forward in your career or holding you back?

Here are three ways to maintain positive relationship capital:

1. ELIMINATE NEGATIVE PEOPLE FROM YOUR SPHERE Of INFLUENCE.
The biggest and most delicious fruit comes from trees that have had the dead branches pruned away.

2. CREATE RELATIONSHIPS WITH SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE.
A rising tide lifts all boats.

3. FIND A MENTOR.
A commonality of successful people is GREAT MENTORS. Seek out a mentor who is where you aspire to be in their career; has a similar set of values; and is accessible.

Patrick Henry is a songwriter, author, and speaker who teaches clients how to create distinction in the marketplace and blow away the competition with the four keys to becoming a “ROCKSTAR IN A ROOM FULL OF KARAOKE SINGERS”. Patrick’s entertaining programs show audiences what happens when Keynotes, Comedy, and Concerts Collide. To book Patrick Henry for your next event, visit www.patrickhenryspeaker.com

FANtastic Coffee

As a frequent traveler, I often find myself in airports searching for nuggets of inspiration hiding in between the runways. I was on a four-hour layover in the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International airport and had grown a little tired of the book I had been reading since I had left home three days prior, so I put it away and decided to cure my boredom with a cup of Starbuck's coffee. You may be thinking to yourself "why not grab a real drink"? Even in today's stressful travel environment, I have yet to lose my temper and I credit my perfect record to the fact that I don't have [real drinks] in airport lounges. I strolled over to the Starbucks next to gate A-16 where I stood in line. I was a little surprised at how many people they had working behind the counter. After a few "how many Starbucks employees does it take to screw in a light bulb" jokes had flashed through my head, I perused the menu. The employees behind the counter were having a great time. They were laughing, joking around, and seemed to be having a lot of fun as they took orders and made coffee. I heard a voice say "hi, how ya doin"? I turned to see a pleasant young lady behind the register talking to me. I was a little taken aback as many of us are when weare actually confronted with good customer service, so in my best Joey Tribiani voice (if you don't know who Joey Tribiani is then ask someone under 40) I said "how you doin?" I told her what I wanted and she asked my name. "my name is Patrick" "Hi Patrick.... hey everybody this is Patrick" more hellos and smiles from behind the counter. I answered a few questions about my trip and by the time I received my order, I felt as if I was saying goodbye to old friends. I got two more cups of coffee on my layover. Not because I particularly like the coffee, but because a few outstanding Starbucks employees chose to include me in their good time. The employees of the gate A-16 Starbucks understand that having fun at work is important but including the customer in the fun is profitable.

How are your customers being included? When you make a customer feel important you are creating an intimate connection
that will turn them into fans. One common trait of fans is loyalty. Loyal fans are not buying a product, they are buying YOU !!

HERE ARE THREE WAYS TO TURN CUSTOMERS INTO FANS:

1. BE PREPARED !! know as much about their business as you possibly can. In addition to reading strategic pages from their website, spend time on the websites of national trade associations that relate to their company. Read the white papers, best practices, and understand the issues and new legislation that could affect their business. If you have a firm understanding of the issues that impact their bottom line, you can more easily fill their needs.

2. FIND A COMMON INTEREST!! Do you both play the guitar? Do you both enjoy imported beer? Do you share a love of Saltwater fishing? Find a common link that intimately connects you to the prospect.

3. BECOME A RESOURCE!!  Continually send emails, articles, and "swag" with the sole purpose of building their business or positively supporting the common interest you both share. If the consistency of your correspondence is supported by a genuine desire to be helpful then you have turned a prospect into a client and a client into a fan.

Patrick Henry is a songwriter, author, and speaker, who shows clients how to create distinction in the market place and
 blow away the competition with the four keys to becoming a “ROCKSTAR IN A ROOM FULL OF KARAOKE SINGERS”. Patrick’s entertaining programs show audiences what happens when Keynotes, Comedy, and Concerts Collide. For more information go to www.PatrickHenrySpeaker.com