SimpleBiz360™ Podcast

Learning the mathematical power of customer defection rocked my world in 1988. For 35 years I have been chasing the reasons, and solutions.

Season 5 continues our hunt for ways to make customers happy, and to keep them coming back. The headwinds of the Experience Economy beckon the necessity to change our go forward coordinates. If we don’t change, the dreaded Silent Business Killers (SBKs) will overshadow our efforts. The business graveyard is full of companies that refused to, or did not know how to embrace the new metrics of customer satisfaction. We invite you to join us on this weekly chase where we ask important questions, pursue reasons, and look for simple solutions

Youthful innocence has the ability to reveal certain simplicities of life, and business, that are often hidden inside adulthood complexities!

A handful of these bedrock simplicities flooded my mind one spring day in 2023. Three yards of mulch, and 35 wheelbarrows later, I found myself with a short list of foundational observations that can help any of our professional endeavors. Where did I obtain these valuable insights? From my seven-year-old grandson! Today I share what happened on that spring day. My hope is that this episode reacquaints us with some ground level mindsets, that most of our customers would appreciate benefiting from. Thank you to both of my grandsons for making this a GREAT day! I will always cherish the memories from that special Saturday in May!

Imagine how intimidating high-mountain roads could be, if there were no guardrails to protect cars from going off the edge? Processes deliver safety to businesses, in the same way that guardrails protect cars on dangerous roads. Designing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) enables our businesses to pave a multi-lane, super-highway for operational consistency, efficiency, and profitability, However, how often is the customer the main beneficiary of our process expressways? That is our question for today’s show. Episode 207 looks at the different angles we must consider when designing, and implementing process-centricity.

Sam Walton loved this principle, and he used it as one of his top 10 concepts to drive Wal-Mart to meteoric heights. In 1988, I took a chance with this mindset, and it turned our 5.5-million-dollar company into a 12-million-dollar company in 2 years. Imagine exceeding corporate expectations by exchanging a company-centric formula, for a customer-centric recipe? Today we tell a pretty cool story (at least I think it is cool), about building a productive sandbox that is a polar opposite from the competition. This valuable lesson changed my standard business approach forever. Cheers!

Today we look at the all-to-common dilemma of mismanaging customer questions. I once worked with an ex-TV news reporter, who actually created a company devoted to teaching the art of “question deflection.” In fact, this person did quite well. Why? Because there is an enormous corporate appetite for manipulating customer questions. Do we really think that customers like our clever, devious, and manipulative ways of managing their queries? Or, how about the recent trend to just “ghost” customer questions altogether? Do we really think these behaviors lead to a bounty of repeat and referral business? Join us as we look at a solid way to raise the bar on customer satisfaction. Come on folks…JUST ANSWER THE DANG QUESTION!

In life, we find that answers to many of our questions can be found hidden in simplicity. The same holds true for business. Today we look at the silver lining of viewing our businesses through a very raw, elementary, and basic lens. Granted, we all thrive on selling a product or service that produces a payment, but what about the journey we take customers on to that payment? Often times it’s in these “transactional stretches” that we create the most impactful favorable, or unfavorable impressions. Oversimplifying our companies allow us to see what the customer sees! What are we doing right? What are we doing wrong? What can we change to make the transactional journey a better experience for our customers? Enjoy!

Long-term business success can be severely hampered by employees who streak! What is streaking? What are the easy ways to detect if streaking is happening in our companies? What impact can streaking have on our customers? Join us as we uncover three, simple concepts that can eliminate streaking, and set up guardrails to avoid streaking events in the future.

Are we taking customers on a never-ending journey, that seems full of lip service, and zero action? Like a mouse on a wheel, many customers experience the ugliness of pursuing service, only to find their efforts lead them around, and around, and around, with no resolution in sight. My wife and I just endured such a three-month journey, and it was not our first such experience. Many of us have experienced this service wheel on more than one occasion! This episode offers an invitation to search, and destroy any “circular” service that maybe infecting your company! Kick back, do a little day dreaming, and get rid of any “stinkin-thinkin” that may be leading your customer service department. The likely outcome for “circular” service providers is the business graveyard!

Cryptic communication, tardy responses, shoddy detail management, and unanswered customer questions can cripple business success, and hamper future growth. On the flip side, prompt and detailed correspondence can help companies grow by exceeding customer expectations. However, both sides of this coin rest on the shoulders of managing email activity. So, why do so few companies touch on this? Why do so many owners and managers leave such an important function up to personal preference? What do our customers think of how we manage their correspondence? Are there costly dangers to poor email-inbox management? How should we be approaching this administrative skill set, that marries up with our customer service deliverables? We hope our questions can energize quality thinking! Enjoy the show!

Overseeing 8,000 employees creates unique vantage points for assessing business. Wesley uses his career background to support the notion that professional selling is a noble calling, and that this career path is loaded with premier leadership opportunities. We are honored that Wes joins us to highlight, and define, key elements of the profession that many of us are proud to be associated with. This is a great episode to share with anyone still contemplating their potential career path. We have segmented this 1:37:00 podcast into sections that can be accessed quickly and efficiently. We have listed the time markers, and section headings below. Enjoy the show!

00:01: Introduction
05:57: The Awakening
09:21: The Cornerstone
10:40: The “Character” Factor
15:41: Hiring Good Character
22:15: Developing Human Relation Skills
28:06: Developing Leaders
34:30: The “Good Name” Factor
39:12: Evangelizing Truth
45:10: Developing Public Speaking Skills
51:28: The Personal Skill-Building Mindset
1:02:04 Developing Strategic Planners
1:09:41: Genuine Enthusiasm
1:16:52: Advice for Career Selection
1:24:32: Tipping Points
1:33:34: Closing & The Special Song

 From the Shop Floor to the Top Floor – Releasing the CEO Within
by Wesley E. Cantrell
https://www.amazon.com/shop-floor-top-Releasing-within/dp/1615071083

 High-Performance Ethics: 10 Timeless Principles for Next-Generation Leadership
by Wesley E. Cantrell
https://www.amazon.com/High-Performance-Ethics-Principles-Next-Generation-Leadership/dp/1414303416

 Her Husband is Known in the Gates
by Bernadine Bigner Cantrell
https://www.amazon.com/Husband-Known-Bernadine-Bigner Cantrell/dp/161579557X

 Bending the Twig
by Bernadine B. Cantrell
https://www.amazon.com/Bending-Twig-Bernadine-B Cantrell/dp/096470286X