Think. Do. Be. Positive! I am a big believer in being positive. I think, do and be positive as much as possible. I am a glass half full person and get excited and energised over the littlest of things! Do you know that you can do this in sales too? People love it! They love positive, passionate and pro-active people. All the time in fact. You can turn even the grumpiest person around with all of that! You never have to use the word no...... don't believe me - well here goes..

Legendary Customer Service Google defines legendary as based on legends and remarkable enough to be famous; very well known. The companies that deliver that extraordinary/legendary level of service don't have to tell customers in their voicemails and emails, quite honestly; they just do it! You know - we all know them. But what is that makes them legendary? When I was studying for my CIM Marketing Diploma nearly 25 years ago now, I learnt about customer delight. I remember at

Creating an excellent first impression Every so often we all have to have some time off and enjoy a break away from work, so here are some tips to be able to be email free for your half term holiday (what incredible weather!) and give great customer service at the same time as no-one should need to be checking their emails during their annual leave, even people in leadership positions (as I was told I had to in a previous role!) People are paid higher wages for additional res

There’s a story of success nobody talks about enough: the ability to stay teachable after you’ve become good at something. Because the moment you stop learning, you start defending. And the moment you start defending, growth quietly leaves the room. As we started GCSE exams last week at work, I saw this image come up on Pinterest. It really struck me as something to consider whatever age and in both our personal or professional lives. Be humble, be teachable and always keep l

The power of thank you is incredible. In fact the power of words like, 'please', 'sorry', 'hello', and 'goodbye' is amazing. So hello to you this week! I noticed this on a walk this weekend. I stepped off the path to let some people use the path as it was single track and there was a nice little bit for me to get in to, and not one of the group said thank you, which balanced out with an earlier similar event where all of the walkers thanked me for doing the same thing. (Anoth

As we return from a bank holiday weekend during which I hope you had time to enjoy life, sunshine and enjoy the things you love doing with the people you love, it got me thinking. Time is the one resource we all share equally, yet spend so differently. Unlike money, it cannot be earned back, saved for later, or borrowed in times of need. Once it’s gone, it’s gone. That simple truth makes time the most precious currency in both business and personal life—and how we respect it

I was reminded of this quote yesterday whilst at an event. I remember when I read this a few years ago on Pinterest it struck me as being so obvious, so why don't we all practise it? It's like that other wonderful sales quote, "Sell an experience, not a product". But what does it all mean? Customers go online or to shop to find a product in response to a need. Sometimes that product need is easy to fix, but not always. For instance, you want to find an implement for eating so

So in a world where first impressions often happen online, your personal brand is more important than ever. It’s not just for influencers or entrepreneurs—everyone has a personal brand, whether they shape it intentionally or not. I was talking with my husband earlier this week about brands and then personal brand following watching an advert which I thought was rubbish and did not match their brand ... as I cannot remember the brand, potentially shows how much dissonance with

I returned a few days ago from a ten day van holiday with a few hotel stops in the west country visiting friends, family and old haunts. Two experiences spring to mind in the form of two hotels that were the exact same price but were totally different experiences. Let me give you a short overview of each hotel and then the differences to guess which one was a great experience which I would return to and the other not such a great experience. Hotel 1 - Family-run Grade 1 liste

What does real Customer Service Look like? If anyone every wanted to know what real customer service looks like then you don't have to go far. It's Disney. I often make reference to them in my blogs and am always wowed at their values and training programmes for their 'cast' members. You can always tell a brand is good and that their customer service is going to be at red carpet levels (I think) when the the business elevates their people from the name 'staff' to something s

... And I am One of The 82% People really don’t realise the importance of customer service within the purchase experience. I was once told that I was neurotic by a former colleague when making the point that I refused to return to an organisation after poor customer service. Why do people decide to move their custom elsewhere? It’s a pain and time consuming, so for someone to do this, it is a big deal. But people do it for a smooth purchase process and good value for money.

Sales with Empathy One of my favourite quotes is from Maya Angelou who said, “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Empathy is key to ensuring you make a customer feel engaged and valued. I was speaking to a former associate in the independent school sector recently and she was talking about how crucial this is within the sales process. Part of the sales process, for example in schools, is the

I am currently reflecting on my four year anniversary at work which has just passed and looking at happiness at work. I have always been a career girl and have had a number of roles over the years in retail, politics, fundraising and marketing across corporate organisations, charities and education organisations both locally, nationally and internationally. I am a full believer that your brand on the outside is only as strong as your brand on the inside. If you are happy in y

Hello Reader! Right from my first job as a babysitter as a 16 year old where I prided myself on turning up on time, listening to the needs of the parents, ensuring the 'baby's' had what they needed and getting them to bed on time to giving the parents a warm and reassuring welcome back to working at Harrods, then in fundraising roles and latterly school / college marketing and admissions roles, I have enjoyed helping people and making people feel happy. For me it is the most

Last week, was incredible. Not only did my place of work celebrate its 10th anniversary on Friday night with a celebratory event and awards - more about that later in the blog - but we had an all staff development day on the Wednesday which allowed the full team of marketing and learner recruitment the chance to get together. This is so rare as my team look after our receptions and visitors, students and prospective students and we are all about customer first. We took the

I have just finished reading Geoff Ramm's new book, Celebrity Sauce and wow did it explore 'Going the Extra Mile' with amazing celebrity service. I especially loved the story about the retired taxi driver in America...... you are going to have to read it to find out more! Customers want to be wowed..... we as customers want to be wowed too. So why would you not go the extra mile for your customers. That extra mile is not a crowded place and you won't find many of your competi

I saw this on Pinterest recently and thought how clever it was. If we all considered this phrase a little more, the world would certainly be a much nicer place. So consider this phrase when it comes to customer service: 1 - Always tell the truth to help create trust between you and the customer. 2 - Always be helpful - and in fact this is something I always talk about - being proactive and listening well allows you to be helpful and get the purchase process and experience ri

For decades, marketing was a game of visibility. Whoever shouted the loudest, spent the most, or mastered the newest channel usually won. Billboards, TV ads, search rankings, social media campaigns—success was about grabbing attention. That era is fading fast. Today, customers are drowning in options, messages, and promises. Attention is no longer scarce—trust is. And trust isn’t built by clever taglines or perfectly targeted ads alone. It’s built (and broken) through experie

Kindness is crucial in life. If you have watched 'The Boy, The Mole, The Fox and the Horse' you will know when asked what he wants to be when he grows up, replies "Kind". (Note: if you decide to watch this film, a box of tissues is required!) If you ever watched that amazing channel 4 series - Old People's Home for 4 Year Olds - you will remember that parents of the four year olds were keen for their children to learn kindness to others, which this show certainly had in abun

I have realised this week that when people go into negotiations over issues with a relationship or product it should not be a battle: you don’t have to put your battle armour on to have an effective conversation with a customer. When dealing with a customer that is not happy with the product or service, it's easy to fall into one of two modes: defensiveness or just giving everything away just to get the person off the phone or out of the meeting! It is important to note that