What 4 simple words can earn you customer loyalty?  These four will:  We value your business.

That’s what a salesman at a Washington area office of Case Design recently learned.  After an exasperated customer needing an hour of repairs to be completed suggested that if the company really wanted her business that the repair service company consider changing its policy on work hour minimums.

And then something surprising happened.  After realizing that it was talking with a long time customer, the salesman called back the customer to say, We value your business.  We think we can work something out. And it did, scheduling the customer for an hour of repairs.

And then something else surprising happened.

The customer took them up on it,  but she ended up having to reschedule.   It turned out that if she fully assessed her repair needs, one hour wouldn’t be enough.

How do you earn customer loyalty?  What simple words or actions have been successful for you?

Email your comments to heathertaylormedia@gmail.com, or the comment box below.

Gordon Gekko, the Machiavellian lead character in the movie Wall Street (and its sequel) probably thinks napping is for wimps.  In the same way he dismissed the benefits of a midday meal (“Lunch is for wimps,” he famously remarked to his protege, played by Charlie Sheen), he’d probably view napping as counter to increased productivity.  Why?  It’s because it contradicts much of corporate culture’s belief that in order to increase our productivity means that we must do “more, bigger and faster.”

Except Gekko would be very wrong, according to Tony Schwartz, best-selling author and the President & CEO of The Energy Project.  Schwartz joined me today on a taping of the Money Matters & More radio show to talk about the value of napping to achieve peak performance.  “The recent evidence is overwhelming, says Schwartz. Naps are not just physically restorative, but also improve perceptual skills, motor skills, reaction time and alertness.”

How valuable is it for you to nap?  Take a brief energy audit to find out at www.theenergyproject.com.

And what, if any companies have adopted this new ethic?  How do we convince company heads and corporate leaders who haven’t?  To learn more, be sure to tune in to my Money Matters & More interview with Tony Schwartz this Tuesday, September 28th at 9:30 a.m. (ET) on Blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more.

Write that book!

You know the one I mean.  It’s the book that demonstrates to the world that you possess expertise in your field, and that your superior product or service is worth the selling price.

It also means that you’ve multiplied your possible revenue sources.   As the author of a book, you raise your visibility and credibility.  In fact, once they’ve written a book,  it’s not uncommon for new authors to be involved in the following activities:

– Speaking at conferences or meetings

– Leading workshops and seminars

– Identifying greater networking opportunities

– Finding new clients and customers

Sound appealing?

That’s the advice of my recent Money Matters & More guest, Donna Kozik, author and founder of My Big Business Card, a consulting and executive coaching firm that provides support to entrepreneurs and small business owners.

To hear more about writing a book to promote your business, check out the Blogtalkradio interview.   Click onto the words, “Listen to Money Matters and More”, located to the right of this paragraph.

Let me know what you think of Donna’s idea on Facebook (heathertaylormedia) or Twitter (moneyandmore).

Have a great week!

Heather

Don Draper knows a thing or two about fixing what’s broken when it comes to business.  Whether you’re an entrepreneur or a job seeker, he’s got some lessons to share.

In last night’s season premiere of Mad Men, his newly formed advertising firm seemed doomed for three reasons:

– He bombs an important media interview.

– He alienates his colleagues and staff.

– He loses clients.

So what does Super AdMan Don Draper do?

He does what the rest of we mortal entrepreneurs and job seekers have to do:  he hits the reset button.

In his case, that meant recognizing the cold reality of having a new company with diminishing revenues and the need to do three things:

1. Clarify what it is that he wants.  (In his case better press, more and better clients.)

2. Find a way to increase the firm’s visibility and viability by identifying his audience, the market he wants to reach. (In his case, it’s a The Wall Street Journal reporter.)

And a third element:

3. Make sure he’s got contacts that allow him to try to try correct his mistake, or at least try a do-over.

In Draper’s case, a colleague’s contact at The Wall Street Journal, enabled him to hit the reset button by pitching a compelling story to another high-visibility media outlet.

Now if he could just figure out his personal life…

(photo by Salvatore Vuono)

What one experience do Oprah, Mozart and Eminen all share?  Mentoring.  Each of these individuals benefited from having a mentor show them the ropes.  In Oprah’s case, it’s been Maya Angelou.  For Mozart, it was Johann Christian Bach.  In Eminem’s case, it’s Dr. Dre.

How can mentoring help you find a job, get a promotion or start a new business in the 21st century?  Join me today at 11:00 a.m. (Eastern) to find out during my interview with best-selling author and mentoring expert Dr. Lois J. Zachary.  She’s co-author of the new book, The Mentee’s Guide, Making Mentoring Work for You.

Have a great week!

What’s holding back so many women entrepreneurs?

Is it women themselves, obstacles posed by stereotypes and misperceptions in the business environment as a whole, some combination of the two, or something else entirely?  The Wall Street Journal contributor Sharon Hadary, who’s also the former  and founding executive director of the Center for Women’s Business Research offers a survey of her findings on today’s edition of Money Matters & More at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern).  She’ll talk about what holds back women entrepreneurs in the 21st century, and what can be done about it.  To tune in, check out blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more.com.

Have a great week!

How can you sell almost anything, no matter the economic climate–even when the “anything” includes “peddling nuclear power to environmentalists?”   Author, journalist and freelance writer David H. Freedman recently spent time with supersalesman John “Grizz” Deal and discovered Deal’s nearly fool-proof system for making a sale.

His article, On the Road With a Supersalesman can be found in the April 2010 issue of Inc. Freedman’s new book, Wrong:  Why Experts Keep Failing Us–And How to Know When Not to Trust Them will be published in June.

To hear today’s Money Matters & More interview with Freedman on Blogtalkradio, be sure to tune in at 10:30 a.m. (Eastern).  [Blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more).

Have a great week!

Are you feeling stuck in your work and personal life?  Do you wonder why and want to do something about it?

Coach and consultant Kim George has some news for you:   no pill, person, information, motivation or circumstances will enable you to become great.  The truth is you’re already great.

Kim George joins me today on this week’s edition of Money Matters & More at 10:30 a.m. (Eastern) on Blogtalkradio to explain this good news.  To hear the live interview, click onto Blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more. The author of Coaching Into Greatness. 4 Steps to Success in Business and Life George will talk about greatness and how each of us can eliminate the barriers that keep us from doing what we are able to do.

If you’d like to call into the show to ask a question or make a comment, please call the switchboard line at (646) 929-1832, between 10:25 and 10:45 a.m.

Have a great week!

In How to Start Each Day Motivated, an article written last month for Entrepreneur Magazine, Sid Kemp, a best-selling author, small business consultant and coach, makes the case that leading a business with passion can’t be left to chance.  Instead, he argues, it takes focused, deliberate and consistent effort.

Entrepreneurial passion–that’s the theme on today’s edition of the Money Matters & More radio show.  Be sure to tune into today at 10 a.m. (Eastern) on blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more.  Kemp  joins me to talk about how entrepreneurs can succeed, even (or especially) when things don’t go according to plan.

Got a question for Sid Kemp?  Be sure to call into today’s show with a question at (646) 929-1832.

Thanks!

What’s in store for entrepreneurs on ABC’s Shark Tank next season?  Be sure to tune into a Blogtalkradio interview with one of the show’s star’s, Barbara Corcoran, successful businesswoman and savvy real estate adviser for the Today Show.  You can hear her today at 11 a.m. (Eastern).  To find it online, click onto blogtalkradio.com/money-matters–more.

Thanks!