Chapter 7

Power blends

The recipes in this chapter are all about giving yourself that extra edge, and really boosting yourself and your business. I talk about bigger picture issues such as principles, respect and credibility, as well as the two most important factors in building your brand — communication and customers.

Assumptions

Are your feelings getting in the way of the facts?

You’ve probably heard that to assume makes an ASS out of YOU and ME. Believe it. When you make assumptions, you let emotions colour your view of a situation. Emotions can blind the smartest people. Some of the assumptions you make about others might be wrong.

Check yourself: are you an emotional person? Do you react to situations, or do you respond? If you react, don’t!

A reaction is explosive. There have been times when I’ve been told a story by one person and reacted by ringing another to blast that person. Then, when the second person’s side of the story is put forward, I’m left feeling foolish. People don’t necessarily mean to lie; they may only give you their version of events — a filtered view. When you’re handed the objective facts of a situation, or told both sides of the story, a knee-jerk reaction is often out of place. A response is more measured. In this case, you wait until both sides of the story are in front of you before choosing how to reply.

There’s no doubt about which of these actions is more professional. Be a person who responds, rather than reacts. Learn to sleep on situations. Keep that angry email in a draft folder for a little while before you hit send. You must also ask questions. It comes back to my philosophy that no question is silly. Asking questions means that you are not making assumptions. It also means that you will have all the information you need to make (hopefully) the correct decision.

Janine says …

Come on … You have to admit that at some point in your life you’ve jumped to an assumption and, in your mind, have built a situation up to something it is not. And then you discovered that what you’d assumed was not actually quite right. I had an executive who used to tell me various things that people were saying or doing in the business. As I trusted this colleague at the time, I would often get angry and act on this information — to then find that I had been told a half-truth. I learnt quickly that you should always wait until you have the whole story before you act. Acting on wrong or twisted information is a fast way to ruin that great reputation that you have worked hard to develop.

Key ingredients

Here’s how to stop yourself jumping to assumptions:

• Think before you speak. Yes, the story you’re hearing may seem outrageous, but you may not be hearing the whole story.

• Try not to make assumptions of any sort — whether you’re assuming that someone else will fill the empty printer tray or that a staff member knows what you’re thinking.

• Try to keep your negative emotions out of the office, particularly if you are the leader. As the boss, my emotions set the daily tone for the entire office, so it’s vital that I keep positive.

Mentors

Everybody needs guidance — yes, even you!

As the journey of Boost continued and I was trying to manage the incredible growth, I discovered that there were things I didn’t know. More correctly — everything I was doing was for the first time! Fortunately, I had help along the way, and still have a number of business mentors.

The first is Geoff Harris, founder of Flight Centre. Geoff called me one day because he was looking for a business opportunity; he’d heard that Boost was a company that was going places. Over the next few months, Jeff and I got to know Geoff and his ideas and philosophies better. His stand-out attribute was the generosity he showed us in sharing his amazing knowledge, even though at that stage he had no financial involvement in the business. Geoff has enormous integrity and honesty. His philosophy of empowering his staff, of giving them ownership without giving them the farm, was an enormous lesson for us.

The others are people who may not be long-term mentors but who have been generous with their time and advice — people like James Fitzgerald from Muffin Break, and Lesley Gillespie from Bakers Delight.

All these people have given me a wealth of invaluable knowledge. I’ve found that those who have been in business for many years are often very open about sharing their experience. It’s refreshing when this happens, and it has always encouraged me to make sure I help other people where possible.

Is it any wonder that I firmly believe everyone should have a mentor? After all, nobody has all the answers all the time. Sometimes you just need help from someone who has ‘been there, done that’.

Ask someone you respect to be your mentor, your personal sounding board, but don’t have too many expectations. As with all things, the timing must be right. The person you approach must be in the right circumstances to give you his or her time. Geoff Harris, for instance, was looking for an opportunity to help someone. Be incredibly respectful of that person’s time. You should realise that you’re encroaching upon this person’s space. If the person you approach agrees to be your mentor, you must allow him or her to set up the means of communicating and amount of time given. Hopefully over time, your mentor may be happy to increase dealings with you. Always respect your mentor by following through on any advice provided.

If the person you admire doesn’t have time for mentoring at the moment, look at other ways to study this person’s success. Read about him or her, and read any books he or she may have recommended — there is always a lot to learn.

Janine says …

As I mention in this section, Geoff Harris was an important mentor for me. Geoff and I were the perfect pair: he received enormous joy out of teaching and I was a sponge that took everything in.

Geoff’s message on culture fit was also loud and clear — in any meeting when we spoke about acquisition, the first topic that was discussed was always whether the possible acquisition was the right cultural fit for our business. One thing Geoff, Jeff and I agreed on was that we wanted to do business with people we liked and who had the same integrity and honesty in business that we had. If people did not get the tick, we would put a line through the business and move on.

I am thrilled to call this man my friend.

Key ingredients

Keep in mind the following about mentors:

• A mentor can be an invaluable source of experience and wisdom. Sometimes the best thing a mentor can offer is a pair of objective ears.

• Be respectful in your approach if you’re seeking someone’s mentorship. Understand that a ‘no’ is probably not a rejection of you personally, but rather a reflection of the person’s time constraints.

• If the person does agree to mentor you, don’t expect too much in the beginning. Allow the relationship to develop over time. Also, prepare well for each meeting so you maximise your and your mentor’s time.

• There are professional mentoring networks in place. By contacting one of these, you might be paired up with a suitable person who has decided he or she has the time to give something back.

Principles

Frankly, you can’t run a business without principles.

Set clear principles for your organisation and stick to them. What does your organisation stand for? What is its moral fibre? If every staff member knows the answers to those questions, your company will have a united front. Of course, your mission statement will evolve over time. As your company grows, so too will your perspective; however, your core values should stand firm.

What do your goals and principles look like? Write them down; the power of doing this is phenomenal. The following outlines how our goals and values look at Boost.

The goals of Boost Juice bars:

• Make certain everyone operates by the same principles.

• Have a clear and concise mission statement.

• Build leaders rather than managers.

• Hold to the highest possible standard of ethics.

• Have a clearly defined organisational structure.

• Encourage the development of character.

• Develop a broad award program to highlight achievements.

• Build morale to foster enthusiasm, devotion and esteem.

• Respect real-world experience; respect the team on the front line.

• Have an ongoing formal training program in place.

• Inspire positive action in suppliers, franchisees, staff and customers.

Boost Juice believes:

• Decisions must be made by individuals, not committees.

• Executive staff should present solutions, not just point out problems.

• We must analyse exactly what the consumer wants.

• A business plan is a road map from here to there.

• Issuing orders is 10 per cent of work; execution is 90 per cent.

• Having clear standard operating procedures reduces confusion.

• Any written communication should be kept simple.

• All briefings should be brief and to the point.

Janine says …

Business is like a living beast: you may think you have the right culture and everyone is living by the right principles and then a number of things go wrong you realise you are off track. This has happened many times in my business — as it has with raising our children. I find with my kids that all seems to be going great and then one day they are out of control. I’ve realised that the thing that has usually changed is not my children — they’ve not suddenly become feral — but me. I had lost focus and hadn’t followed through on the principles that I live by as a parent and leader of a business. You quickly find yourself surrounded by chaos when you lose sight of the vision. You need to continue to check yourself to make sure you are consistent with your message and your actions.

Key ingredients

Here’s how to make sure your principles are consistent and maintained:

• Every organisation should have clear principles and goals, and these need to be communicated to all staff. These principles and goals ensure that your team members understand what’s expected of them.

• Periodically, you also need to check that your and your staff’s behaviour matches up to your core principles and goals. Sometimes everyone can get caught up in the day-to-day chaos, so it pays to step back and assess from time to time.

• Make your principles and goals clear during the hiring process. Companies often spend a fortune on outside experts on culture, trying to get staff to have the same principles as the company. You’re wasting your time and money if you have not hired people with the right principles in the first place.

Super supplements

Here’s how to really keep yourself and your staff in line with your core goals and beliefs:

• Write down your top five goals and put them in the front of your diary. Goals that are written down are more likely to be achieved.

• Also write down your core beliefs that work in with your goals and are going to help you achieve them. The mind is a powerful thing — you choose your core beliefs, so choose good ones. You also choose whether you’re going to follow your goals or not, so simply choose to follow them — it is no more complicated than that.

Respect

Respect is much harder to earn than dollars and it can be more valuable.

Respect cannot be bought, sold or traded. You must earn it. In my opinion, having the respect of peers and staff members is the most valuable goal to which a manager can aspire. Your employees don’t necessarily have to like you; however, if they respect you, they will listen, understand and cooperate. They will trust in you. If your staff believes what you say, they will follow your instructions. If your customers believe in your product or service, they will buy it.

Showing respect for others is equally important, and the more you do so the more others will give you respect in return. Being an attentive listener is the first way to do this. Never interrupt or mock people when they have found the courage to speak. They believe in what they are saying and you owe them the space to air their thoughts. Try to learn something from them or something about them. By encouraging people’s opinions and ideas, by sharing in their successes and not blaming other people when failure occurs, you will earn their respect. Also, if you value other people’s time, they will acknowledge that your time is important too.

Always put yourself in the place of the people you’re dealing with, and treat them as you wish to be treated. If you give them the respect you believe you deserve, you will find that others begin to treat you in the same manner.

This is particularly important with creditors and debtors. Pay on time and keep the wheels of commerce rolling! You want to be paid quickly, don’t you?

Janine says …

We’d worked with a particular supplier from the very start — the relationship was great, we liked the company and its staff went above and beyond to ensure we always had supply. This was until the owners sold the company. After this, the relationship started to sour — the new owners were inflexible and did not return calls. The relationship got to the point that we needed to cancel the contract simply to guarantee supply. A meeting was called and a very tall man came in. My hope was that we could either resolve our problems or part company with respect. His strategy was to threaten and use heavy-handed tactics.

From the moment he sat down, there was no respect in the room shown by him for me, which in turn ensured that none was shown for him. It inevitably ended with the only winners being the lawyers. The shame of the whole episode was that if both parties worked together with respect and with a firm commitment to resolve the problems, it would have ended in a win–win.

If all negotiations are based on respect, even if you think that you got a raw deal, you know that in the future it will all work out. I would much rather be respected than liked. Great leaders are respected. If you are always looking to be liked first, you will find that respect will eventually dwindle.

Key ingredients

Here are the components for building respect:

• If people respect you, they will believe in you. This is the cornerstone of good leadership.

• Respect is a two-way street. Treat people with respect and they will respond in kind.

• Attentive listening is an important part of showing someone respect. If you are distracted, people can quickly pick up on that fact and it will make them feel unimportant to you.

Confrontation

Yes, I’m talking to you!

Most of us will go a long way to avoid a confrontation and I used to be exactly the same. Now, however, I’ve learned to deal with unpleasant situations. I face up to difficult problems at the beginning of each day and get them out of the way. At Boost we call it ‘eating that frog’, a phrase one of my executives picked up from a book by Brian Tracy.

You won’t earn respect for being inactive and pussyfooting around an issue because you don’t want to clash with someone. I used to hand some of the more difficult situations at Boost to my husband (who thrives on confrontation). Now, I see that confronting these issues can be an amazing and cleansing experience. The key is choosing the right way to fight.

A calm manner gives you the upper hand in any argument — if you show control of yourself, you will be in control of the situation. Keep your voice level, your eyes directed at the person and speak clearly and concisely. It’s very difficult for your opponent to speak or act aggressively towards you in the face of such composure.

Make sure that you have all the facts you need at your fingertips. I will only get into a confrontation if I have right on my side. If that means I need time to prepare, I will avoid having the discussion until I am ready.

And remember, confrontation does not have to be an argument but rather can be a discussion about different points of view — and it can have a positive outcome! Bully tactics may win a particular battle, but they will lose the respect of all those witnessing or involved in the discussion. There are two sides to every argument. Try to understand the other point of view because, believe it or not, you could be the one in the wrong.

Jeff says …

Janine asked me to write about confrontation because I am supposedly good at it. Well, we are all different and if you’re keen to grow in business you have to adapt to your strengths and find points where you can cut through and stand out. I guess a strength of mine has always been to tackle issues head-on — an approach probably exacerbated by the number one mission I was given when I first arrived in Melbourne radio: ‘Go in and kick a few doors down’. This mission was given to me by the radio’s senior management, who were frustrated at the amount of ‘grey’ they were seeing. (‘Grey’ includes ineffectualness and wishy-washy actions and leadership, as well as the inability to make a firm call on anything. Grey allows people to say that they were confused and uncertain about what was required. It is a weak person who lives in grey.)

There really is so much grey in the world and it often seems much more practical to confront a person on an issue and get it sorted then and there. In practice, of course, it very rarely works out that well in the short term, because you catch the person on the hop and he or she goes into massive defensive mode. Very little may get resolved at this point — but don’t be fooled into thinking nothing has happened. The confrontation usually has a massive aftershock.

I once had to confront an executive over a pretty serious matter. During the meeting he was amazingly calm and collected, even ambivalent over some of the issues I was confronting him with. So much so I was almost questioning my facts. However, I then tracked his movements after the meeting — and he went into overdrive, with eight phone calls and six emails on the subject within an hour. So, yes, the point about what needed to be sorted did get across.

The other great thing about confrontation is that it’s often only under pressure that you find out the type of person you are truly dealing or working with. How different people respond to confrontation can be a real eye-opener. Obviously, the best type of people take it on the chin, work out solutions and move on.

While I’m all for tackling something head-on, if you are going to confront a person remembering all of Janine’s rules from this recipe is critical. You must be in a position of power with regards your knowledge of the facts. The initial electric volt that starts the confrontation will give the person a shock but you need to be able to follow up with facts to show you know your detail.

Confrontation should be seen as cleansing for everyone — it shouldn’t be a shouting match but should (hopefully) be a calm (and sometimes awkward) delivery of something that needs to be addressed. Once you’ve addressed the issue, you can all move on.

The reason appropriate confrontation is so effective is because so many people avoid it — so issues are allowed to grow and fester through your business. Good confrontation stops or at least diverts the stream of bad practices you are trying to prevent. So start to think about the things and people you need to confront. Obviously, bringing up issues is much easier if you’re in a position of power, but the truth is if you confront issues for the improvement of the business with people above you on the chain, you’ll likely be looked on with admiration for the courage that you’ve shown.

Confrontation is certainly not for everyone, but if you can learn to enjoy it and use it effectively, you will certainly stand out from the pack. And remember — the quicker you tackle something head-on, the better.

Key ingredients

Here’s how to deal with confrontation:

• Aim to ignite and extinguish an issue in one meeting. Have the confrontation face to face, and keep coming back to the facts to support your point of view.

• Always attack the problem, not the person. If you can avoid injuring egos during the exchange, the relationship will always recover much more quickly.

• Don’t take it personally. I’ve always found this difficult, as I am a passionate person, but I’ve learned to follow this advice. You cannot respond in a calm and intelligent manner if you take things to heart.

Super supplements

And here’s how to take your confrontation skills up a notch:

• Take notes during your business dealings. If a confrontation brews, you can avoid a ‘he said–she said’, mudslinging match by showing supporting evidence that backs your position. Remember — you cannot have enough written support.

• Avoid email fights because they can be misread — and they could come back to bite you later.

Money

‘Loan oft loses both itself and friend’ - William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare knew what he was talking about, and nothing much has changed in 400 years. It’s always easier to lend money to a friend than it is to get it back. Don’t do it! Learn to say no.

If you’re running your own business, also learn to say no to any unnecessary consumption in the short term. For the first three years of running Boost, I didn’t take anything out of the business, not even a salary, and put everything I could back into the business. During those years, we lived very basically.

Key ingredients

Here are some things to keep in mind about money:

• If you build a reputation for never lending money, it will be easier to say no to requests.

• Offer your time and advice to those seeking help; those forms of assistance are much more valuable than cash in the long term.

• If running your own business, try to forgo short-term gratification for the long-term success of your business. Ask yourself whether certain personal purchases really need to be made or whether the money would be better invested in the business. Every cent spent should return double. Ask yourself: is this expenditure really necessary right now and will it return me profit?

Negotiation

A negotiation is not successful unless both sides feel they’ve won.

There are two elements that are vital to a successful negotiation:

• Information: Do not go into a negotiation with only your point of view. Understanding the other party’s needs is equally as important as understanding your own. Ask yourself ‘What do I feel is reasonable?’ or ‘What would I want if I were them?’ This will allow you to counter the opposition’s arguments before they are raised.

• Lack of emotion: The only way to negotiate a great deal is having the ability to walk away. The only way to know if it’s a great deal is to listen, listen and listen. Never let your heart rule your head in negotiations. If you are emotionally attached to something, you will give away too much. This holds true whether you’re buying a house or making a business deal. Try not to take the proceedings personally. It’s difficult, but try to think of yourself as a third party.

Negotiations take an enormous amount of courage and a very clear head. You should always ask for more than you want and then negotiate down. Don’t give away your minimum requirements — you may end up with even less. Also, don’t favour the same weapon over and over; it will become less effective each time you use it. The more options you have, the more power and control you have.

I remember my first major negotiation — we took on a small juice chain in Queensland that had started up with the name Juice Boost. In the end, we paid for them to change their name and we bought their trademark. It was a win–win situation. We had to pay, but it was worth it to retain the purity of our brand. We had right on our side and got the best out of the deal!

Janine says …

I have negotiated all sorts of things — including bills from lawyers who in my opinion have overcharged me (perhaps not surprisingly, this happens a lot), multimillion-dollar master franchise agreements and sales of businesses — and the biggest thing I have found is that no negotiation is the same. The greatest skills you need in any negotiation, however, are emotional intelligence and the ability to be a really (really) good listener. If you listen more than you talk, you will hear what the other party wants. The other great skill in negotiation is putting yourself in the chair of the person you are doing business with. (Remember — the best negotiation is when everyone wins. If you cannot put yourself in the other person’s shoes, you should not be negotiating.)

In 2005 I was in Dubai with Jacinta, negotiating a master franchise agreement with a party we thought would be a great company to open Boost stores in Dubai. We wined and dined with their sheikhs, we listened to their needs and we presented our business with the passion and enthusiasm that we have for the brand. The business spoke for itself — it was a sexy brand, and was in the wellness category from a country that is perceived to ‘love life’. They had the contacts and experience to launch the business in the market and were ready to move into the wellness category. We negotiated the contract while we were there, constantly working on the memorandum of understanding in our hotel room. I remember being with Jacinta in the airport on the way home when it was all over, not quite believing that we had completed an amazing deal to launch Boost in Dubai with a party who had never seen a store.

Key ingredients

Here are the core elements of great negotiation:

• Learn as much as you can about the other party. If you’re negotiating with a public company, you’ll find that everything you need to know is easily available — from information on the shareholders and senior executives to the company’s profit forecasts. Information is your key weapon.

• Try to stay detached during the negotiation. Emotion has no place when you’re making a deal.

• Put yourself in the opposition’s shoes. This will help you to counter their arguments and provide a win–win solution.

• Know what you are prepared to accept, but never give away your minimum. Aim high and negotiate down — never the other way around.

Success

‘I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is to try to please everyone.’ - Bill Cosby

There is a price to be paid for success. No-one achieves their goals and dreams without giving up something. But can you afford not to try?

What have I given up? A hell of a lot of time! Is it worth it? For me, yes. That’s because the results are not just financial success — I also get fun, stimulation and the chance to follow creative pursuits. I’ve given up a lot of time and energy, but I wouldn’t do so if I didn’t want to. Sometimes when I’m torn between work and family, I feel like I’m robbing Peter to pay Paul, but it comes down to what’s worthwhile for you.

If you want to follow your dreams, you need to be prepared to make sacrifices; you must decide what you’re willing to put in. Many people expect luck to deliver them a fortune — well, I’ve got news for them and it’s all bad! Success does not just come about magically — you have to make it happen, and that means giving it everything you’ve got. With any luck, your hard work will pay off. It has for me and I have no regrets. I have a great life and nothing to complain about. Can you ask for more than that?

Janine says …

Success means different things to different people. My sister Lisa is 21 months older than me, and I remember being in the car with her when she was 17 years old. She said then that what she wanted in life was to find love, get married and have a family.

Lisa has never not got a job she went for, and at every job she gets they love her. However, even now her family is her success — I look at her three girls and her husband who she loves and I really see success. Happiness is success, not dollars. I am sure that Lisa has never looked at me and my business success and wanted my life, because she is already happy and successful. I am successful because I have a husband I adore, and kids who are all individual and amazing — because that is what makes me happy and that is my success.

Key ingredients

Here are some things to remember when chasing success:

• Be prepared to give your all to achieve your dreams.

• Something will have to give. Decide now what you can and are willing to give up.

• There are no fairytales — there is just damned hard work!

Credibility

Credibility is easy to talk about, but difficult to come by.

Credibility is vital in today’s business landscape. In this electronic age, with the information and awareness that is out there, you can’t fake it.

What is credibility? It is a general opinion held by others that you ‘do the right thing’. Your credibility should be part of your reputation. How does a young entrepreneur or business attain credibility? Well, there are a few operational basics.

First, you must demonstrate that there is real organisation behind your company. Highlight the expertise you offer and the services you provide. Show potential customers or associates that honest and trustworthy people stand behind your brand. Make sure your company is accessible, transparent and easily contactable. Ensure that your business premises have a professional appearance and your employees a professional manner.

The next step seems simple but is often more difficult: follow through on your pledges. In my position, I get promises every day. Initially, I take people’s word that they will do what they say — and then I wait and see what happens. Do they get back to me on the day they said they would? Do they deliver the expertise they’ve presented to me? If not, their trustworthiness immediately starts to wane. Your business will achieve credibility through actions.

Janine says …

I expect a few young guns are reading this book, so here is the best piece of advice I can give anyone who is under 35: you are just playing at business. You cannot hope to understand all the complexities and issues because many of you will be facing them for the first time.

Don’t get me wrong — the older business heads love your energy and enthusiasm to attack the day with vigour and purpose. But don’t for a second think your smooth-talking, fast-thinking ways have anyone fooled — unless, of course, you have complete credibility.

I have been in many board meetings where hot young executives come in and present their big plan that’s going to change the world. The old heads listen intently, enjoying the show. They nod approvingly and the young execs leave — and then the old heads tell the truth about their impressions of the performance. And trust me — it can be more scathing than the judges on reality talent shows. The success or failure of the young gun will come down to one word: credibility. Was the person and, more importantly, the information and evidence of success presented credible? Remember, to be incredible you must be credible.

Key ingredients

Here are the most important components of building your credibility:

• Credibility grows from honesty. If you start with a measure of integrity and throw in some hard work, delivering on your promises, positive results will begin to flourish.

• Don’t overcommit. When you’re starting out, it is often difficult to say no to work or to clients. Unfortunately, this can mean you take on so much that you can’t deliver the right results to anyone. Your credibility will be shot to pieces before you even begin! Promise only what you can definitely supply — or find a way to make it happen!

• Credibility must emanate from every level of a business. Once again, it comes down to finding the right people for the job. If you believe that an employee is not delivering and is causing holes to appear in your reliability, be rigorous in fixing the problem.

Communicating

Everyone talks about good communication … but how do you go about it?

When we think about ‘communicating’, most people tend to have talking in mind. However, communication comes in many forms, including social media, email and the web. Given that we spend so much time emailing and texting, it can be overwhelming when you’re faced with the prospect of speaking to a group of people. There’s no opportunity to ‘backspace’ or ‘delete’ if you blush, stutter or stumble through a speech.

Good presentation skills offer you the opportunity to leave a positive and lasting impression on others. You don’t want to be remembered for the number of times you flicked your hair or adjusted your tie. If you are, your message is hopelessly lost. Make no mistake — the audience will judge you on your performance.

Do you need some work in this area? Not sure? Try taking a video of yourself in action. Is that the image you want to project or are you cringing at your performance the whole way through? (Don’t worry if you’re a bit embarrassed by the sound of your own voice at first — most of us are.)

Confidence is the key to a good presentation and you can gain the poise you need by practising and refining your skills. There are plenty of courses in public speaking available. They cover all the essentials — dealing with nerves, projecting your voice, cultivating the right image through your appearance, delivering your key message and the secret of the ‘pause’ — as well as other skills you can nurture and adopt.

Most tutors will advise that your natural style should not be changed completely. The best course of action is to refine and improve your inherent ability. If you attempt to adopt a totally foreign persona, you will come across as insincere.

Of course, these days much of our business communication is non-verbal, or at least not face to face. By investing in the latest technology for your office you will speed up the flow of information. Embrace new technology and make it work for you.

Ask your colleagues, associates and contacts how they like to communicate and work within their preferences. Some people like the effortless speed of an email; others favour the more personal touch of a phone call.

Regarding email, be sure to investigate correct etiquette and read your emails thoroughly before clicking the ‘Send’ button. (Be wary of ‘Reply all’!) Be courteous and remember that the ramifications of an email can be with you a long time; email can be subpoenaed in a court of law!

On the subject of phone calls, don’t do anything else while talking to someone on the telephone — it degrades the conversation. The sound of your fingers typing on a keyboard is a sure sign to the person on the other end of the line that you place little importance on the person and the conversation.

Janine says …

What I have learnt about communication and developing your communication style is to be true to yourself. It’s fine to take tips from other people, but still do it in your way.

I have been asked to tell the Boost story a number of times and, in the early days, I could never quite do the story justice — the way I told it just wasn’t quite right and I knew I wasn’t communicating the ideas clearly enough. Then I saw a presentation by Simon Hammond, who had put us in his top 20 list of wonderful brands. He is one of the few people we have come across who truly understands the power of the brand.

We heard he did a great presentation on brands so we asked him to present at our annual conference. His presentation was wow! It was a show, complete with music and interesting snippets from the internet on marketing ideas. He made us laugh and almost cry with the emotion of his presentation. I was so impressed that I asked him afterwards if he could help me formulate my story into a great presentation. We spent weeks (and weeks) pulling it together and getting to the truth of the story, and also the true essence of what I am naturally like as a presenter.

We found my presentation could vary greatly from day to day, depending on the audience. In essence, I was a confidence player if I felt like I had engaged with the audience — if they laughed and nodded, my presentation was pretty good (if I do say so myself). But if I didn’t feel like I had connected with the audience, it was normally a disaster. Simon assisted me with understanding who I am and what my natural style is, with the added help of a few videos and props to ensure my communication is consistent. The main point has always stayed with me — whatever you do, be you.

Key ingredients

Here’s how to polish your communication skills:

• A professional speaking or presentation course is an investment in your business future.

• Be professional in all your business communications, be they typed or spoken.

• Learn to use technology to your advantage.

• Give all your attention to the person to whom you’re speaking, whether it’s face to face or on the phone.

• Treat email communication with care. It may be an instant medium, but the message can come back to haunt you.

• Poor communication is the number one reason for conflict.

Customers

‘Your most unhappy customers are your greatest source of learning.’ - Bill Gates

As Boost has grown, I’ve found that I’ve gotten further away from the ‘on the ground’ customer experience. As the manager of a growing company, you ultimately move on to the next level of development in your business, delegating tasks to others. You become more removed from the day-to-day running of the company — and you can miss the simplest problems. Try not to make this mistake and never be a stranger to the front line. Don’t ignore the very hand that feeds you.

I work hard to counter any movement away from the front line. It’s vital to continue to tap into the root of your business, and for me that means going into a random Boost store and queuing up with the other customers. Or when I’m in the office I might answer a ringing phone — any phone. If it’s a customer wanting to vent frustrations or even give positive feedback, I talk to that person one on one. I ask questions about the company and the level of service received; I ask for people’s opinions. It’s a simple task, but an extremely valuable exercise because it allows me to derail potential problems that may be quietly simmering away.

One tool we use to encourage feedback is our Boost Juice guarantee. Every store displays this guarantee, and you can also find it on our website. If you do not have a good experience, let us know and we’ll fix the problem. And we absolutely do fix it, every time. What’s more, we offer customers a number of easy ways to get in touch with us, and we employ two full-time staff to respond to customer feedback.

Resolving customer complaints immediately and effectively is critical; our policy at Boost is to respond within 24 hours. Customers are usually so grateful (and surprised) to receive a response, their problems are easily resolved. This is a vital and mostly unseen part of our marketing strategy.

Janine says …

There are whole books dedicated to the subject of creating and keeping loyal customers, so all I am going to say is this: love them; truly love them. And if you are the leader of your company, make sure that every day you find out what your customers are thinking and wanting; this knowledge will flow through to influence all your behaviour.

Get angry when your customers aren’t treated well, and fix every customer problem with vigour — they are your life support system. Hire front-line staff who like people. Every Boost store has a multitude of talented people, specifically chosen for the role they need to play in the customer’s experience. We’ve even given each role names. ‘Eva’, who is bright and bubbly, is on the front counter greeting the customer. ‘Ian’, introverted but super-diligent and process-orientated, is making the smoothies. And finally ‘Beth’, a real extrovert, is on the last station — pour up. This person is the last impression customers get of the brand, so (hopefully) she hands over the finished product with a big smile. We don’t always get this process right, but it is indoctrinated into our belief and it is what we strive for.

Make the love of your customer an absolute pillar of your company’s beliefs and you’re on the way to success.

Key ingredients

Here’s how to focus on your customers:

• No matter what your position in a company, never take your customer base for granted. Keep in touch with your market and respond quickly to its needs.

• Small problems can become large if not dealt with quickly. Put systems in place to ensure customers never feel ignored.

• Customer liaison is vital, and should be part of your marketing strategy. Word of mouth is your best friend — and can be your worst enemy if you don’t address issues.

..................Content has been hidden....................

You can't read the all page of ebook, please click here login for view all page.
Reset
3.141.41.187