In trying to come up with a way to encourage “John” that he’s on target and he’s doing the right thing, I found Mark Twain said it best over 100 years ago…

Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.

Kind of says it all…make it a great Tuesday everybody!

Yesterday I had one of the worst calls trying to reach a friend at a manufacturer I’ve know for years.  His operator disconnected me twice.  Then when I got a little irritable and sarcastic, she attacked me for calling at lunch time, when they’re ”short on staff”.   Honestly, do any of us care about the workload when we’re trying to contact somebody?

Well, that set me off on a quest through Cyberspace and I found a great site with a ton of information to help you with a refresher course on your phone skills.   Check out the Phone Pro.  I found so many outstanding tips and especially loved the article on auto attendants.

“If you could hear the sounds customers make when attempting to navigate through your company’s IVR, would it sound like a haunted house filled with agonizing, blood curdling screeches, moans and groans? …that could be scaring away both your new and loyal customers.”

A few weeks ago I called one of my best friends in the industry and got his auto-attendant.  I hit all the prompts, but he never called me back.  I called the alternative number in the voicemail message and it was no longer in service.  I went back to dialing again and went into the prompt to register for one of his seminars, thinking I’d at least get a live body - NOT – I couldn’t leave a message because the mailbox was full.

Good old personal customer service is going to win out every time.  Check out the previous post by Gene Ho if you missed it a couple of weeks ago.   In the mean time, check out the Phone Pro and let me know what you think.  There are a lot of great short articles all designed to help you communicate better.  

Sorry, got to run, the phone’s been ringing for ten minutes – wonder why voicemail isn’t picking up?

Happy Saturday!

I’m a huge fan of WalkTheTalk.com and a number of the different books they publish on customer service, leadership, communication etc.  It’s ironic that this morning as I was trying to think of a topic I ran across the TWO-PERSON-RULE from their 1999 publication, 180 Ways to Walk the Customer Service Talk.

“Adopt the TWO-PERSON-RULE.  Never make a customer talk to more than two people in order to resolve a problem.  If you’re the second person to deal with the customer, you “own” them.  Either solve the problem immediately, or get a phone number and a convenient time to call back.”

I realize most photographers are on their own and rarely have the luxury of more than one other person to help solve customer problems, so let’s modify the TWO-PERSON-RULE.  If you’re a solo operator, make it a point to solve customer problems with the second phone call.  Don’t go back and forth over the customer’s issues.  Listen to their concern, empathize and if you can’t solve the problem right there, call them back within 24 hours with a solution.

Also quoted from Walk The Talk…

“Complainers are GREAT!  They give you the opportunity to fix their problems and keep them as customers – instead of saying nothing and taking their business elsewhere.”

Think about those people who have been instrumental in helping you focus – and yes, I’m using the play on words intentionally.  More important than learning how to focus your camera is how you’ve focused your career.  There’s no skill set required to focus your camera, whether on auto focus or manual.  The image is either sharp or it isn’t!   The skill is in what you’re focusing on, your composition, how much depth of field, etc.

Our careers are no different than looking through the viewfinder…are you going for a narrow depth of field and focusing on a particular skill set or dimension of photography or are you shooting with a wide depth of field and working on anything and everything?  Who are the people in your life who have helped you be more selective in your focus, given you the confidence and been there to watch your back?

It’s the perfect time this morning to just take ten minutes and think about those few people who helped you the most – not with financial support, equipment or advice, but in developing your confidence.  Now use the advice in my other blog this past week and pick up the phone to call them and say thanks.  And, if they’re somebody who’s sadly passed away and are no longer here, you can still make that “call” – they’ll hear you!

Everything changed the day he figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in his life.

Think about that statement for just a second and now think about everything you’re trying to accomplish this week.  I woke up at 4:30 this morning thinking about everything I want to do today and was already worrying about whether or not I had enough time to get it all done!  Time isn’t our enemy, we are.   We spend so much time worrying about things we need to get done that we lose sight of the fun of the process.

We live in a world of deadlines.  The clock is always ticking – and I actually have an old analog clock in my office and I hear it ticking all day long, reminding me that I’m running out of time in the race to the finish line!  Finish line of what? My self-imposed pressure cooker to get everything done – but I’m the one creating the challenges.

The truth is, like many of you, I have a lot to do today.  The truth also is, there’s time to get it all done and whatever I don’t get done is still going to be there tomorrow.  My good buddy Julieanne Kost at Adobe has a great line when somebody asks her to take on a project.  If her plate’s full the response is simply, “Sorry, I’m out of bandwidth!”

So, it’s “First Tuesday” and I’m going to focus on the most important things first.  Then I’m moving to the things I just love doing.   We all know how to focus our cameras, but why’s it so hard to focus on projects and our own lives!  Time to go read that illustration one more time…

Everything changed the day he figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in his life.

One of the things that may get in the way of people being lifelong learners is that they’re not in touch with their passion. If you’re passionate about what it is you do, then you’re going to be looking for everything you can to get better at it.     Jack Canfield

No need to add anything to a quote like this one!  Have a great Saturday everybody and remember to turn your clocks forward!

It’s just a quick thought for a Saturday morning, but for a weekend blog, it just makes so much sense to ponder a little  and think about how you can explore, dream and discover.  Many of you are headed to WPPI and some of you are there already.  WPPI is an incredible arena for stimulating creativity and new ideas.

And, if you’re not there, it doesn’t matter – everyone has the same opportunity in the race to explore new ways to photograph, dream about exciting accomplishments to add to your “bucket list” and discover better ways to stay in touch with friends and family while still pursuing your passions in photography.

Just my two cents on a Saturday morning – sweet dreams!

Quality is still number one!  It’s the one common denominator on every site of every photographer or even company we consider iconic.  I know it’s not a revolutionary concept, but we’ve all gotten so caught up in social media, blogging and the buzz in our industry that too many of us seem to forget, a well-exposed, composed and presented image is still King!

All the marketing genius in the world isn’t going to substitute the quality of your photographs.  And while lots of hype and discounting might seem to get more business in the door initially, it won’t get you a second time buyer.  People won’t come back to you if your work and service was “underwhelming”.

So, the next time you put images up on your website, think quality.  Think about if what you’re about to post is really your very best work.  Is it representative of a philosophy that suggests you never compromise the final image?  Does it really show the skill set you want to present?

I found two quotes that seem appropriate to the topic:

“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives. ” William A Foster

“When you’re out of quality you’re out of business.” Anonymous

A couple of days ago there was a great blog written by Jim Collins, CEO of Pictage.  Here’s the fun thing about Jim, first, throw out the title.  The guy couldn’t be more approachable.  Second, when Jim says he’s there to help, he really means it, but don’t expect anything to be sugar coated!  

Jim put it best when he wrote:

“This week we’re going to get personal. For some of you, this will definitely be a “Big Boy Pants” conversation, at least if you’re taking it seriously. (those who’ve read my stuff for a while know that when I’m going to say something I know will hurt, I always preface it by asking you to put on your Big Boy Pants. This is not a sexist comment…)”

He tells it like it is and while some of what he talks about might be pretty hard to hear – you couldn’t ask for a member of the industry with more optimism or willingness to be involved!   Take the time to read his blog .  If you fit the profile and need an attitude adjustment, consider all the things in your power to change and then pay careful attention to Jim’s last paragraph:

“Tomorrow is a new day. If you’re serious about success then get serious about reinvigorating your business. Make your next client meeting your best ever. Perseverance is the key to success in any small business. Even for those who have “made it” the marketplace changes so quickly that they must continue to grow and change or they will quickly be irrelevant. There is no judgement for falling behind. There is only judgement for staying there.  That judgement is rendered when the market leaves you behind and your business fails.  

For the rest of you, Onward! If you’re willing to do the work you can achieve your reward. I’m here to help. Literally. It’s my job.”

I’ve been out of town for the better part of the last week and as I’m rushing to write this morning’s blog, I’m haunted by the monkey on my back – all the things I want to do today.  A few are procrastination projects that I should have done days ago and the rest are simply in the queue and need to get done.  But, we’re all just one person and we can only do so much before we implode.

So, this morning’s blog is more for my personal therapy than for my readers, but I’m hoping that you’ll get something from the process I put in place yesterday.  I’ve got a list for today – just a good old fashioned hand-written piece of paper with the things I want to get done.  Yes, I’m going to make it that simple – just knock ‘em off one at a time and celebrate when I’m done or for that matter, even if I’m not.

There’s a great piece of advice thousands of us claim to have been told by a mentor along the way in reference to paperwork, “Touch each piece of paper that comes across your desk only once – make the decisions it requires you to do and then move on.”  Well, none of us deal in paper anymore, but it applies to every email, Tweet, facebook friend, etc.  Read them once, decide on the course of action, respond and move on!

And for those of you, like me, who often feel overwhelmed about not having enough time to get the things done you want:

“You can’t change the past, but you can ruin the present by worrying about the future!”

listed as being from Anonymous on www.thinkexist.com