The Daily RICHual

If you are like me, even a little bit, you are inundated with the latest technological advancements to the point of being a) confused, b) overwhelmed, c) tired of the speed of the merry go round, or d) all of the above.

As we await the coming of the iPhone 27, OS 24, Microsoft 52 and the third version of everything in the last twelve months, how do you (I) keep up? The answer, I believe, is simple: make smart, relevant choices.

I was standing in line at the grocery store today and I was able to witness one of those great nice person stories first hand.

A little (like 4 foot 8) lady was checking out. Her last item scanned was a rotisserie chicken. She handed the cashier her money, it was counted and the cashier said, "I'm sorry, this isn't quite enough." Before the words, "I'm sorry, I won't be able to get it," came out of her mouth, the man next to her in line, said, "Let me get that, ma'am."

"No, no, that's okay," she said.

"I insist," he replied.

You see it on the Sunday night poker challenge, you see it in Casino Royale. At the peak moment of the game, someone risks everything and goes "ALL IN!" They're putting all the chips they have out in the pot and just, simply, going for it. This concept, thought by some to be admirable, is thought by as many or more, to be absolutely crazy. Then there is the small, few who believe that "all in" is not a poker choice, it is a way of living.

To give it all you have, doing whatever you can to be your best is a choice. Each day, upon arising, we have the choice to play this life thing anyway we want. We can play it close to the vest, we can play it straight, we can cheat or we can play "ALL IN.”

As I was watching The Maltese Falcon for the umpteenth time Sunday, I anxiously awaited the "showdown" scene between Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) and Brigid O'Shaughnessy (Mary Astor). After a rough and rocky relationship (both business AND personal), Spade let's her know that he's turning her in for murder, even though he loves her.  "I hope they don't hang you, precious, by that sweet neck. Yes, angel, I'm gonna send you over. The chances are you'll get off with life. That means if you're a good girl, you'll be out in 20 years. I'll be waiting for you. If they hang you, I'll always remember you."

Like Actors and politicians, salespeople are great at the one liner, the soundbite, the quip.

Maybe for the non customeroriented or ego driven salesperson, this "works." For someone bent on building relationships, the cornerstone of effective sales, it comes off mean spirited, defensive, or just plain nasty. How about, instead, think about 3 things:

Boarding my flight yesterday, I was reminded of a time long ago when Frontier Airlines served freshly baked (well, re-baked) chocolate cookies on their flights. I don’t like living in the past BUT, It was a sad day, on April 25, 2012, when my boarding inquiry about cookies, was met with this response, "We are, but I hear from catering that this is the last time." What? I looked it up.

“When we looked at the cookie, we were the only domestic low-cost carrier serving a free, perishable snack on board,” said Frontier spokesperson Lindsey Carpenter. “That doesn’t align with the perception or financial reality of a low-cost carrier.”

OhhhhhhLindsey, that's the whole idea, EXACTLY. It didn't align. That's what made it so great.

This is episode 35 of the Daily RICHual and yet no one is watching, no one is listening. You’d think I would be sad, depressed, running on an empty gas tank of self-esteem.

Good news. I am not. Gary Vaynerchuk said, “Bottom line: I don’t care how many people see something, Quality over quantity. Depth over width. Reach does not equal value and follower count doesn’t mean people are listening. We need to stop focusing on optimizing the number of views.”

In his landmark customer service book, Selling the Invisible, Harry Beckwith offers a three stepm approach to marketing your product or service(s).

Step One is where you are trying to get what Beckwith calls, "a basic, acceptably reliable product" (or service).

Step Two is where competition has entered the scene. Competition creates a need to listen to the customer, listening creates refinements and improvements. Beckwith says answering customers needs is the driving force in this second step. Unfortunately, this step represents the top rung on most companies service ladder. Most will tread water here forever.

Disney, Lexus, the Ritz Carlton and Nordstroms are some of the few that have ventured into Step Three. Here is where the company has created products and services that have gone beyond meeting customers expressed needs.

It is estimated that 290 billion emails are sent every day. To break that down for you, that's 2.8 million per second and 90 trillion a year.

Along with that, several sources assert that over 8 billion cell phone calls are made every day.

AND… according to Tech Jury, 8 trillion, 395 billion, text messages are sent yearly….. Yikes.

I'm not sure about you, but I have noticed people seem to have a text answering urgency, more and more but most people do not answer emails and they don't return calls.

Hockey great, Wayne Gretzky, once explained that the greatest players didn't go to the puck, they went to where the puck will be. Anticipation. Proactive playing? No, he showed us something new. He gave us PREactive.

Customer Service is like hockey. While it is better to react than to do nothing, it is much better to be proactive than to simply react. Being proactive was a great idea when it rose to prominence in the 90's. In today's fast paced world, however, being proactive isn't enough.

As an educator, I often ponder the question, Why Learn?

So, using resources ranging from INC magazine, to Natalie Sisson, to the Campaign for Learning: here’s 8 reasons why you should learn.

1.   95% of people think that learning about new things boosts your confidence.

2.  92% of people think that learning about new things is enjoyable

3.  A sense of accomplishment and pride.

4.  learning can lead to a better quality of life.