The Ten Commandments of Customer Satisfaction: How to Win and Keep a Customer!

           The cost of gaining a new customer is up to 6 times greater than the cost of keeping an existing one—that’s why customer satisfaction should be a primary goal of every organization!  Customer satisfaction is really a bridge to customer loyalty—and it's a bridge no business can afford to ignore. How do your customers perceive your product and how satisfied are they with your service? How can you monitor customer satisfaction most effectively, and how can you best deal with customer dissatisfaction? If you don't listen to your customers, count on the fact that your competition will! 

          Cutting-edge consumer research shows that measuring customer satisfaction is becoming the core of developing and maintaining long-term profitable relationships with customers.  Studies show that only 4% of unsatisfied customers ever complain to a manager or employee, but they tell a great many people about their bad experience!  Unless you take steps to find out who they are and address their concerns promptly, they'll take their business straight to your competitors! Achieving total customer satisfaction must be the goal of everyone in an organization—from the most senior managers to the front-desk employees.  Learn about small and large companies alike that attained new heights of success by creating and implementing customer satisfaction programs—and how you can make one work for your business!  Even more important at times of shrinking budgets, the Ten Commandments of Customer Satisfaction are ten principles that must be at the core of what makes your organization thrive!

Persuasion Power: The Psychology of Influence and Winning People Over!

       At the very mention of “influence” some people think of manipulation and sinister motives.  Yet influence is something we all exercise in our daily life; we influence our friends, family, co-workers and customers, sometimes without even thinking, and using rules of thumb we've developed along the way.  Influence is a powerful tool, and it can be used for making positive change in individuals and organizations!

        Understanding persuasion and influence and being able to apply them both ethically and strategically can help improve teamwork, sales, customer service, employee satisfaction, fundraising, and a multitude of areas that are critical to organizational effectiveness!  Just as importantly, it sheds light on how others try to influence us, and makes us more conscious of their tactics.  This seminar looks at how persuasion occurs and how to present ideas in an influential, effective way to achieve a broad array of strategic goals that both companies and non-profit organizations strive for!

Research for Decision Makers: How to Make Better Data-Driven Strategic Decisions!

             The more decisive and results-oriented you are, the more important it is for you to take action based on specific, dependable information rather than guesswork.  Yet what makes data-driven decisions more challenging is that getting the right data that can be overwhelming and very expensive.  If you want to make better strategic decisions based on information you can count on, this seminar is your roadmap for focusing on precisely the type of research that's relevant to your business (and avoiding the kind you shouldn't even spend a dime on).  It's a toolkit for how to spot bad data before you buy it or use it for making decisions, and how to prioritize your research needs.  Don't look for theory; this is all about practical information you can start using today!

         If you think your business can survive without making data-driven decisions you may well be right--but there's a world of difference between achieving survival and maximizing success, especially in the face of growing competition.  This seminar is a crash course on how to create (or buy) better surveys, the many ways you can capture the voice of your customer, use research to grow your business and attract top-notch talent, and discover what your competitors don't want you to know.  You don't need any research background at all; this is a hands-on guide for decision makers that's easy to understand and ready to apply!

The Art of Creative Thinking: Learning How to Be Extraordinary!

          The myth that creativity is a talent that people are born with and simply can't be developed is all but dead—and businesses are taking a closer look at the prospect of fostering creativity in their people, from the highest levels of management to the hourly wage employees.  Why?  Quite simply, it's an investment that pays off handsomely! What is divergent thinking and how can it be acquired?  What are the traits of creative personalities, and how can one identify creativity in current and prospective employees?  Can creativity be measured in personalities and in employee performance—and how?  When does creative also mean more effective?  These are only some of the questions explored during this exciting seminar!

          Creativity makes the difference between being good and being extraordinary and it is inextricably linked to disruptive innovation.  It’s at the heart of transformational ideas, products and services that go far beyond the ordinary and commonplace.  As our understanding of creative behavior has increased thanks to leaps in creativity-focused research, we have become better able to instill or further enhance the creativity of decision makers and the quality of their decisions.  Problem solvers, leaders, managers, and members of highly effective work teams can all benefit from making strides on mastering creative thinking!  This seminar will take you from asking more creative questions to seeking more creative answers as you strive for continuous organizational improvement!

The Ten Commandments of Self-Presentation: Image Management as the Cornerstone of Success!

          Whether they know it or not, everyone in your organization is a salesperson. They create, package, distribute, and promote ideas; they interact with internal and external customers; they sell themselves and your company each and every day! Being aware of the fundamentals of self-presentation, winning the battle of first impressions, making an original, uncanned presentation to wow your boss, co-workers and customers, and handling objections in a confident, effective manner is something that everyone in an organization should be able to do at the drop of a hat!

           Your people are ambassadors; they represent you and your company to everyone they come in contact with. Don't leave others' perceptions and expectations to chance; shape and manage them effectively because they'll make a difference in all your personal and professional pursuits!  The Ten Commandments of Self-Presentation will help you dare to be different in the way you present yourself in verbal and written communications, and show you how self-presentation become the cornerstone of productivity, fulfillment, and success in every aspect of your life!

360-Degree Branding: How to Build, Revamp, Measure, and Add Value to Your Brand!

           Your brand is the public face of your strategy. Brands are not just about logos and business cards; they have value; they need to be built, protected against contingencies and competitors, managed, and measured effectively: But what does it take to build a great brand, and when is it time to revamp it?  How can you assess your brand in a specific, measurable way?  How can you communicate your brand effectively not only to your clients, but other important constituents as well?  What is the link between branding and customer satisfaction? These are just a few of the questions that this exciting seminar will provide answers to!

           Whether you're part of a large corporation or a small company, a business, non-profit organization or professional association, learning how to add value to your brand is essential.  Join us and find out how you can turn your brand into a source of competitive advantage!

Finding a Mentor, Being a Mentor, and the Incredible Power of Relationships!      

           There are people who spend a lifetime without ever having a mentor, and people who never even think about being one.  Yet mentoring is tremendously powerful, and can be a catalyst for both personal and organizational change!  If finding a mentor is hard enough, finding the right mentor can be even more of a challenge!   Choosing the right person to mentor is at least as important as choosing a mentor of your own—and this is too important to leave anything to chance.  How can you plant the seeds of mentoring, how do mentoring relationships evolve over time, and how can you make the mentoring experience more meaningful and effective?  How can you create a formal mentoring program within your organization?  Join us as we address these challenging questions!

            If you’ve wondered why some people are more successful mentors than others, and why some people have trouble finding the right mentor, this seminar is a good starting point towards building enduring, transformative mentoring relationships.  Whether you’re starting your career or you’re at the top of your game, mentoring can enrich your life, strengthen your organization, and make you an agent for sweeping positive change both at work and beyond!

Customer Service Excellence: Reinventing World-Class Service!

              Poor customer service has been identified as the #1 cause of customer defection for decades now, and is inextricably tied to customer satisfaction.  Why do so many companies drop the ball on customer service?  How can you put an end to customer service nightmares and make service excellence the source of a sustainable competitive advantage?  This is a chance to assess the cost of bad customer service and offer practical solutions that businesses and nonprofits of any size can effectively implement!

         Great customer service isn't easy to attain, but it's certainly worthwhile: Making sure it's consistently delivered to everyone in the organization--including internal and external customers--can be the key to building stronger, long-lasting relationships and establishing a competitive advantage!  This seminar will offer practical tips for reinventing world-class service and wowing your customers!

Inside the Consumer’s Mind: What Makes Your Customers Tick and How to Win Them Over!

           Why is it that people remember some things and forget others?  Why does an ad manage to catch your attention, while another passes unnoticed?  Just as importantly, why do some things keep your attention and others fail to do so?  If you ever wondered how you can change your customers’ attitudes, why sometimes consumers say one thing but do another, how consumers make decisions and how you can affect the process, this is one guided tour of the consumer’s mind you won’t want to miss!  After all, isn’t understanding your customers the first step towards serving them better? 

            The way consumers behave is neither random nor unpredictable; your customers’ preferences, choices, and actions are a close reflection of how the human mind works—biases, shortcuts, impulses and all!  What makes customers tick is important for every business to know, just like understanding what makes volunteers, donors, and other constituents tick matters a great deal to non-profit organizations!  This seminar on Consumer Psychology is not abstract or theoretical; it’s full of practical tips on how to get inside your customers’ minds and how to win them over!

Being Decisive, Managing Risk, and Improving Decision Making Under Uncertainty!

            People hate uncertainty and are allergic to ambiguity.  Having to complete an important task without the most detailed instructions feels like navigating a minefield, and making a decision based on incomplete information can be a highly stressful experience.  And yet that’s what real life is like; decision-making involves both ambiguity and uncertainty—and strong leaders need to make decisions that are not only smart, but also inspire confidence in others.

            Those who understand how to estimate and manage risk can overcome the fear of uncertainty and make competent, confident decisions.  It’s impossible to always be right, of course, but it’s entirely possible to make thoughtful decisions while taking calculated risks and without being intimidated by the challenge.  Understanding how to make better, more deliberate, more assertive decisions is an essential skill that everyone on your team needs, and this seminar can help both individuals and organizations improve decision making!

The Formidable Leader: Mastering the Secrets of Building and Boosting Confidence!

            When it comes to the recipe for success, there’s no ingredient more important—and more elusive—than confidence!  Confidence is naturally appealing as a trait, and its lack can be the cause of paralyzing stress on a both personal and professional level.  Where does confidence stem from, and how can one build it over time?  How can confidence be used to endure times of crisis and take full advantage of budding opportunities?            

          Without question confidence is an essential part of effective leadership; it inspires, it motivates, it facilitates taking calculated risks, it creates positive organizational change, and it’s a source of strength, perseverance, and transformational achievement.  Learning how to master the art of building, maintaining, and boosting confidence is an essential skill, and this seminar will offer both surprising facts and practical tools about fostering and sustaining confidence!

The Next Great Communicator: Your Path to Stronger, More Effective Communication Skills! 

             Great communication skills matter; they’ll make you more effective as a friend, parent, partner, professional, and leader.  We live in a Communication Age, where the ability to communicate effectively is widely recognized as an essential trait of strong leaders who create transformational change and inspire others.  Yet far too often people admit (not without some embarrassment) their inability to communicate in a clear, concise, specific, confident, persuasive manner, especially in public settings.  It’s time to stop lamenting and start improving!

            Make no mistake; building strong communication skills won’t happen overnight—but it can and will happen!  This seminar will provide resources for improving both written and oral communication skills, articulate the critical importance of both verbal and nonverbal interpersonal communication, and set you on the path to becoming a more effective communicator!

Beyond Employee Retention: Preserving and Developing Your Most Valuable Resource!

            It’s often said that “people are our most valuable resource,” but just as often companies and non-profit organizations don’t quite live up to the implicit promise that this statement encompasses—the commitment to preserve and develop that precious resource!  This can end up being an expensive mistake that affects not only short-term sales performance, but also service, research and development, and results in unnecessary increases in personnel recruitment and training costs.  Employee retention is just a stepping stone to genuine employee loyalty, and building the same kinds of strong, long-term relationships with employees that organizations strive to create with their very best customers!  Why has job hunting become almost a sport, and how can you prevent having an expensive, disruptive turnover rate?  Which employees should a company try to keep at all cost?  What does it take to keep your best people loyal to your company in the long run?

           It’s time to put an end to turnover and the loss of long-time customers, revenues, and precious expertise it entails.  It’s time to celebrate your successes, to attract, keep, and develop top-notch, enthusiastic talent, and to make your organization a “best place to work”!  If happy employees make for happy customers, this seminar will give you practical solutions for how to get a head start over the competition on employee retention, excellence, and beyond!

The Strategic Planning Advantage: Making Your Organization’s Vision Come Alive!

          At times of great competitive threats and new business opportunities alike, one of the single most important elements of success is a sound, well-organized, well-executed strategic planning process!  As vital as a map and compass to a navigator, strategic planning allows companies to chart their course in a way that circumvents obstacles and sails towards exciting new challenges.  Focused on the long-term without ignoring short-term considerations, strategic planning is a process that is complicated yet nothing short of essential for organizations that strive to remain competitive well into the future.

           Amazingly, many organizations suffer from poor strategic planning—or even a complete lack thereof— which leaves them exposed to a multitude of competitive threats and limits their ability to fully utilize their unexploited potential!  This seminar looks at the different stages of the strategic planning process, from its inception to its post-implementation evaluation, in a way that allows managers to explore its many benefits while at the same time being aware of its potential pitfalls!

The Business of Integrity: Resolving Ethical Dilemmas and Building Stronger Organizations!

           Even before the high profile ethics scandals that made headlines in recent years, surveys showed that consumers had very little faith in the integrity of business executives.  Right or wrong, that perception has implications for your business!  How can you make sure you hire people you can trust to do the right thing when it matters most?  How can you build a culture of ethical leadership? 

         Right is right even when nobody's doing it, and wrong is wrong even when everybody's doing it: Your customers know the difference—and it matters to them!  If integrity and trust are the foundation of a lasting business relationship with suppliers, clients and colleagues alike, it's important to have a clear-cut idea of how to prevent ethical lapses, and how to deal with ethical dilemmas when they arise!  This seminar explores common and extraordinary ethical dilemmas and what they mean to your organization!

 Additional Seminar Topics

We will gladly develop customized sessions on topics that are of special interest to your organization: In the past, we’ve developed seminars, interactive workshops and keynotes on Dealing With Difficult People, Integrating Millennials in the Workforce, Diversity and Inclusion, Building High Performing Teams, Principles of Marketing, Networking and Relationship Building, Lessons from the Greek Financial Crisis, Finding Meaning in Life and Work, and many more on the request of our clients.  If you have a specific topic in mind, or a specific event that you’d like to generate ideas for, please contact us!