Coach Dan Foster

I’m often amazed at how many companies and professionals have not figured out the basics of providing outstanding customer service to their clients. I believe customer service is something that is passed from the top down in any organization. If employees do not experience great customer service from their own company and leader they in turn will struggle to follow guidelines for providing excellent service to your clients and customers.

What has your experience been with sales professionals? Most of us think of words like “pushy”, “impersonal”, “demanding”, or just plain “rude”. Over the last five years, I’ve had the opportunity to coach and lead as many as 60 sales professionals at one time, and from that experience I’ve identified what I believe are the key attributes of a great sales professional. Here they are in no particular order.

To be known is everyone’s deepest desire. Why? Because, when we are known we feel a sense of completion and wholeness that brings inner peace. To be known requires not only a level of transparency on our part but an act of engagement on the part of those we wish to be known by. When we are recognized for whom we are – no masks, no titles, no judgment – we experience a freedom to grow and develop in all areas of our life. Being known gives us the freedom to be all we are destined to be.

Have we become so used to hearing the media and talking heads spin the news of the day that we’ve forgotten the power of speaking the truth? Does what we see on television and hear on the radio begin to influence how we speak to each other at home and in the workplace? If so, we too have become masters of spin

As we go through life we are confronted with challenging and painful seasons that affect many areas of our personal and professional life. This past year has been a painful season for many professionals. In my first coaching sessions of the year, I am hearing people say they are afraid of the future and do not feel confident that their actions will lead to success. While they acknowledge that the new year brings an opportunity for a fresh start; they are reluctant to put themselves “out there” again. They feel paralyzed and unable to begin implementing their business plan.