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Nightingale-Conant presents Deremiah

Servant's Mentality

Do you find yourself wondering, How can I communicate with my customers in a way that makes them fall in love with my business? Today even great companies struggle with the complex subject of how to win lifetime customers.

Many business owners wonder why their customers go elsewhere; how to stop them from walking out the door singing, "Where Is the Love?" Some businesses seem to be losing customers faster than they can reel new ones in.

This leaves many people looking for the latest technique that will give them the edge over other customer-focused businesses. But perhaps another technique isn't needed. What if it required a lifestyle change — to servanthood?

Wondering if this is for you? Well, what percent of your sales come from new customers compared to your existing customers? If you stopped acquiring new customers, what would happen to your business? If your business is reliant on a steady stream of new customers, this might be an indication that you need to start applying the simple principles of the Servant's Mentality and turn your existing customers into your greatest asset and best source of growth and profits.

The Servant's Mentality is not a technical fad you try on customers to win their attention. It's a commitment and belief you embrace that continuously elevates your customers to their kingly stature. And kings like to be served by people they believe have their best interests in mind. That's one reason why the Servant's Mentality works — it reaches to the core of what pleases the kingly customer.

This isn't a sales technique you can use today and decide not to use tomorrow. Serving kingly customers is a lifestyle, 24/7, 365 days a year. You never, ever, ever, stop serving the king.

THE KING CONTROLS ALL THE WEALTH

Every king operates most successfully when he is respected and exalted in his kingdom, and the servants know that it is honorable to serve the king. They also know the king owns everything in the kingdom, and herein lies part of the problem. When servants focus their attention on the kingly customer's wealth — the money they hope to receive — more than they do on pleasing the kingly customer, disaster is imminent.

Your kingly customers know when they're being admired only for what they have. You cannot fake this. Lifelong customers are too savvy for this immature approach, and over time they will sniff out insincerity and seek service elsewhere.

The great cosmetic tycoon Mary Kay Ash knew one truth about human nature — and an idea that's worth its weight in gold — when she said, "Never approach your customer with dollar signs in your eyes." And to borrow from Zig Ziglar, "If you give your kingly customers enough of what they want, they will most certainly give you enough of what you want."

Another key principle of the Servant's Mentality is to always be an attentive listener. What a king says is law, so listen to the laws your customers communicate and never break them. If you're not truly listening when your kingly customers speak, they'll find a new servant with the right mentality who will.

Remember: If you serve your kingly customers totally and completely, they will assure you of the proper protection and riches you need in order to survive. Your kingly customers control the flow of currency in the kingdom; they keep the doors open, the lights on, the phones operating, the heat and the air moving throughout your business, day in and day out.

If you have a true Servant's Mentality, you will never have to fear losing your customers to the competition, because there won't be any. Most businesses are still trying to use gimmicks and techniques that carry no weight in comparison with the authenticity of the Servant's Mentality that you'll bring before the kingly customer. And, Whoever you serve will serve you back. Whatever you provide your kingly customer will come back to you increased and multiplied. The gates around your customers' kingdoms will remain open to you, and they will introduce you to other royal customers in their realms.

DON'T HIRE EMPLOYEES — HIRE SERVANTS

What's the foundation of your customer service? In the world of kingly customers, all customer service begins and ends with "the servant." In my research examining hundreds of companies across diverse market segments, I've concluded that businesses lose customers because they fail to hire people with a true desire to serve. Stop looking for employees and start hiring servants!

The servant is someone who can passionize™; it is any person within your business who can directly serve your customer to greatness. Interaction with a servant will begin with passion and end with passion. This passion for the customer is continuous and contagious. The customers and other employees pick it up and pass it along.

The real servant takes nothing for granted. That is why the Servant's Mentality must be a lifestyle and a culture, and not a technique. The servant knows every encounter with the customer has an impact on the relationship, and unless the mentality is genuine, the customer will know.

Today's customers are assessing not only the look and feel of your business, product, or service but also how you appeal to them, what you say, and how you say it in person, over the phone, and via email. You must develop a keen sense of detecting when kingly customers are dissatisfied.

You must adopt the Servant's Mentality as the only way of dealing with your kingly customers regardless of whether they are new, existing, or potential customers. When you use it consistently, the Servant's Mentality will have an incredible impact on how you perceive your customers and — equally as important — how your customers perceive your business.

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