Q. How do you listen to
customers and stay close to
them?
It’s building the relationships
and spending time with them.
You have to be with them face
to face, you have to travel to
their locations, you have to get
out of your office so it’s not
always on the phone or it’s not
always on e-mail … either playing golf with them or having
lunch or dinner with them, but
being physically with them,
building that relationship.
That’s how you better understand what that customers’
needs and wants are and,
more importantly, how you
can help provide some solutions for them. And that, in
turn, builds better relations.
When I hear something that’s
great news, I will send a quick
e-mail or a quick note to them,
congratulating them, and I
always try to put a personal
touch to it — but do it sincerely. The worst thing somebody
can do is to be disingenuous
when they’re trying to congratulate a client.
Q. How do you foster a spirit
of trust with employees?
You have to let people know
what your intentions are, that
you want to get better every
day, that I am smart enough to
know that I don’t know it all,
and you give them permission
to be candid and open and
honest.
Leaders don’t always have
to do it themselves. One of
the things I’ve learned is that
I don’t have to be the
smartest man in the room,
but I need to be able to ask
questions and keep my ego in
the trunk of the car and know
that there are people who
know a lot more than I do,
and I can trust them to help
make my company and
myself get better.
The trickle-down effect of
that allows their associates to
feel like they can come with
new innovative ideas or suggestions that will be listened
to but not always implemented. It’s an environment where
people can come in and talk
about the good, the bad and
the indifferent.
Trying to go through and
being a successful leader, you’ve
got to make sure you foster this
trust environment at all levels
within the organization.
HOW TO REACH: Expesite LLC, (614) 917-1100 or www.expesite.com
