A Note from Ruby Read More Special Offer: 2 Great Ways to Save This Month Read More Feature Article: "Self-Centered to Customer-Centric: How you can help your employees see the light!" Read More Ruby Recommends Read More	March 31, 2009 Volume 6, Issue 3 Sign up for this Newsletter or Read Past Issues
"Helping organizations make exceptional customer service a way of life through consulting, training and keynotes."

Ruby Newell-Legner, CSP

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A client asked me a great question the other day -

"How can we handle a group that tends to be more 'self focused' rather than 'customer focused'?"

I think the key is helping staff understand "what is in it for them" to help them overcome their "self-focused" perspective. Sometimes employees don't understand that "customer-focus" is just a lesson on real life and how they treat everyone around them. If they understand that learning those skills can help them with relationships beyond the job, perhaps they would become more interested in improving their customer service skills and the perception they leave with others.

Tim Sanders, author of "Likeability Factor" says - "people who are well liked are more apt to get what they want out of life than those who are disliked." He defines the Likeability Factor as "the ability to consistently produce positive responses from the people around you."

Tim sums up the problem of being "unliked" like this: "Being unlikable is like expelling toxic waste into your social life".

Sharing that graphic concept with staff members who are overly "self-centered" would shed some light on how important it is to be more outwardedly focused.

With that in mind - I listed the basic skills of customer-centric behavior below. As you read over it, notice that all those skills pertain to personal relationships as well.

In working with customers or in every day life with family, friends and colleagues, follow these basic rules to improve your "Likeability."

• Offer a friendly greeting and a fond farewell.
• Use a pleasant tone of voice and smile often.
• Be easy to get along with.
• Exude friendliness.
• Remember that humor is a great tool when used appropriately.
• Exhibit a genuine concern for others.
• Focus conversations on the other person by asking questions and showing interest in their life or situation.
• Ignore distractions and listen more than talk.
• Anticipate other people's needs and offer help.
• Show empathy and sensitivity to people's thoughts, feelings and experiences.
• Display a positive outlook and an optimistic attitude.
• Compliment others to build their self-confidence and reinforce their decisions.
• Demonstrate honesty, sincerity and authenticity.

I recommend designing a learning experience to help your employees see how these skills can help them "outside of work" in their personal relationships. A group exercise could help them see the light on how to be more "customer-focused" at work.

On Tim Sander's website he offers a self- assessment that will stir some healthy discussion and would be a great activity for a staff meeting. You can find it at http://www.timsanders.com/images-downloads/l-factor-self-assessment.pdf.

According to William Cottringer, Ph.D.,a personal success coach who speaks about happiness, "A healthy dose of likability will get you further in anything you do. Likable people have the most positive influence with others. They get better results and are happier and more successful."

Implementing these perspectives and activities will help shed some light on helping your team members become more "customer-centric" and less "self-centered."

© 2009 RubySpeaks, Inc. You are free to reprint or share this article providing you include Ruby's copyright information, leave it unaltered and include Ruby's contact information on the page.

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Apr. 02, 2009	Webinar with Ruby, 11 am MDT - How to Select Great Employees!, Click Here
Apr. 09, 2009	Webinar with Ruby, 11 am MDT - How to Develop an Effective Employee Training Program, Click Here
Apr. 16, 2009	Webinar with Ruby, 11 am MDT - Supervisory Skills for Success, Click Here
May 04, 2009	Presenter, 8th Annual Government Customer Support Conference and Expo 2009 Alexandria, VA
May 13-14, 2009	County of Los Angeles Parks and Recreation Department Arcadia, CA

Recognized as a leading provider of staff development programs for the Leisure Industry, Ruby Newell-Legner has designed and presented more than 1800 programs in nine countries.

Ruby offers customized learning programs, targeted to supervisors and front line staff. As an award-winning, international speaker, Ruby works with organizations to build better relationships: from front-line employees to customers, from co-worker to co-worker, and from supervisors to the employees they supervise. She helps participants refine skills that make relationships work.

Whether you are building a new team, or looking to rejuvenate your existing staff ... Ruby can help. To check Ruby's availability, call today at 303-933-9291 or send us e-mail Info@RubySpeaks.com

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