smile and other lessons for business success

8/14/2019 Smile and Other Lessons for Business Success

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Bruce Jones

The small book of big lessons learned

from 25 years of building and running asuccessful business.

Sm il e a n d O

t h e r

Le s s o n s f r o m

2 5 Y e a r s i n

B u s i n e s s

Bruce Jones Design Inc

Small Business Guides



The Short List of Big Lessons

1. Smile

2. Be On Time

3. Personal Relationships Are the Key

4. Do What You Say You Are Going to Do

5. Answer the Phone

6. Be Grateful and Say Thank You

7. Persistence

8. The Smallest Jobs are as Important as the Big Ones

9. Look Behind the Person You Are Dealing With

10. Make Money

11. Be a Resource

12. Remember Your Vendors

13. Put Your Contact Info on Everything

14. No Surprises

15. Have Fun



SmileMy number one lesson is to smile and be nice. People like to dobusiness with those who treat them with respect. Often in theeveryday work world people just aren’t all that nice to each other.As an outside consultant, vendor or just a regular employee, one canreally stand out with a smile and pleasant demeanor. Answer thephone with a cheery tone even if you are having a bad day. Be thehappy person.

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Be On TimeBe on time for appointments. Remember, people are busy. They plan their schedules and presume that you will be punctual. Makesure to arrive fteen minutes early as opposed to a minute late.Be on time with the project. Do whatever is necessary to deliver your promised product or service on time.

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It is All PersonalBusiness activities are personal. We all want to work with peoplewe like and those who treat us well. From the clerk at the coffeeshop to the CEO who is managing large deals, personal relationshipsare one of the most important factors in achieving success.

Cost, Quality and Delivery are all important, to be sure. But onemust build personal relationships with those they serve. One may work with someone once for the sake of the transaction, but not

twice because of the abrasive personality. Keep a long-term focusand be willing to be friendly and pleasant.

3



Answer the PhoneAnswering the phone should almost be the number one lesson of business. Every effort should be made to have a live person answer

the telephone. Personal relationships are built with person-to-person communication. Automated phone systems are customer avoidance mechanisms. While the company will be happy to take arecorded order they cannot be bothered to speak to you.

We can also learn much from talking to our customers. They giveus feedback on the pluses and minuses of the products and servicesoffered. This feedback has measurable value. Customers are livingour product and service research; one needs only to listen to

them. Clients and potential clients want easily accessible and timely assistance. A company can really stand out from the competition by

just picking up the phone.

This rule also applies to our web site and promotional material.Give them easy access to communicate with you and they will.

5



PersistenceMuch of business success is about out lasting the other guy. Woody Allen was famous for saying “99 percent of success is just showingup.” For independent consultants and small businesses, beingavailable is often half the battle. If there isn’t work, do things thatrelate to your business: develop marketing materials; learn new skills;work on the next product; and get in contact with your customers.Remember, when one is in their own business and a one-personshop there are myriad duties. Along with doing the work, there isanswering calls, being the IT department, emptying the trash, guringout how to get more business, and solving any and all problems. Thesecret to success is often just putting one foot in front of the other.

Just keep going. Be persistent.

7



Look Behind the PersonYou Are Dealing With

The person you are dealing with almost always reports to someoneelse. They are often controlled or directed by someone else and theconcepts or projects you deliver are presented or given to another.Make sure that the projects you deliver make your client look good.

It is your job to enhance your client both at their level and to thepeople to whom they report.

9



Make Money The purpose of being in business is to make money. We work for alot of reasons but money is often the measuring stick. If the money stops the projects stop and often the relationships end. Don’t getconfused about why your vendors are so attentive. While the rela-

tionship is personal, it is driven by the opportunity to make money.

The same is happening on the client side of the equation. You havea skill or service that is helping them make money. Keep that factin perspective. Making money for our clients is making money for ourselves.

Additionally, clients who pay are supremely better than those whodon’t and vendors who get paid work a whole lot harder.

10



Be a ResourcePeople just need help sometimes. By being helpful to your clientsyou start to become the “go to guy.” Encourage customers to callyou with questions. Make an earnest effort to solve their problem.One should endeavor to be at the top of the customer’s andpotential-customer’s minds. Another bene t is that being a resourceis a great way to learn present and future client needs. Consider theproblem solving efforts as market research. Answering the phoneand talking to people is all about developing relationships. Being aresource builds positive energy for your company.

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Put Your Contact Info on EverythingPrinted and Electronic

Success in business is about being connected to customers. Make iteasy for them to make contact. Make sure they can nd you fromyour advertising, your brochure, your web site, from what ever mar-keting materials you have.

Put contact information on every web page not just on a contactpage. Customers will call from the point where they got stuck on theweb site if you give them a number. No number, no call; they just gosomewhere else. In addition to the contact, you also get feedback about problems on your site.

Contact information should also be in every e-mail, along with a littleblurb about your business. Add your phone number on your mailinglabels. Very often, when a project is delivered, the only contact info acustomer has about your business is the envelope it came in. Make iteasy for them to get in touch with you.

13



No SurprisesProjects are full of surprises. Often clients are just not focused onall of the steps that are involved. Keep your clients informed of theprogress and any problems that come up. Your job is to get theproject competed on time even if they aren’t paying attention to it.

We know all the steps that are needed and it sometimes takes a lotof pushing and pulling to pull it off. It isn’t up to the client. It is up tous to get it done. Keep the client informed and surprises toa minimum.

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Have FunBeing in business for yourself and being your own boss can be animmensely satisfying way to live. Having control over your day letsyou have some control over your life. Fun can be going to Disney

World but it can also be exploring your interests and trying new things. So pick customers you like and projects that mean something to you and have some fun with it and the world around you.

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1. Smile

2. Be On Time3. Personal Relationships Are the Key

4. Do What You Say You Are Going to Do

5. Answer the Phone

6. Be Grateful and Say Thank You

7. Persistence

8. The Smallest Jobs are as Important asthe Big Ones

9. Look Behind the Person You AreDealing With

10. Make Money

11. Be a Resource

12. Remember Your Vendors13. Put Your Contact Info on Everything

14. No Surprises

15. Have Fun

Sm i l e a n

d O t h e r

L e s s o n s f r o m

2 5 Y e a r s i n

B u s i n e s s

The Short Listof Big Lessons

for CreatingBusiness Success

The small book of big lessons learned from25 years of building and running a successfulbusiness. Guidelines that have created positiveresults and business successes.

Bruce Jones, Bruce Jones Design Inc.661 Washington Street, Norwood, MA 02062781-255-7171 • [email protected]

smile and other lessons for business success

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