Ross Shafer here and when I’m alone a my hotel room I think about the successful people the ones I admire and how they got there…so today I want you to meet my friend, John Lloyd. John is one of those people who refuses to fail at anything but he would be the first to tell you, he’s not a guy who focuses on being #1.

in this episode I want to talk about the evolution in the ways Your Customers WANT to be served. Last week, I was lucky enough to spend time with a company called NICE –…NICE has a groundbreaking Cloud-Based software suite called CXONE – that will help you perfect the customer experience…which you need to do because 80% of customers will bail on you after just ONE bad experience…now I have to tell you that I am not being paid to say this.

Hi, I’m Ross Shafer and I thank you for finding the Relevant leaders Club where I’m dedicated to keeping leaders and team members relevant; which means you have to matter to your customers and your co workers or they will just flat out leave you – and in this episode I want to talk about motivating yourself and your workforce with something simple.

Are you about to turn your business over to a son or daughter…and you’re freaking out? I hear this a lot. And as much as you love them, you’re terrified your child will decimate everything you’ve worked so hard to achieve. Wow…you think a lot of yourself don’t you? You think you’re the only one who can run your business? The only one who can sustain your baby?

Are you good at dealing with change? You’re not? I’ll make you feel better. The number one reason companies hire me is to help their teams deal with change…because a merger or acquisition is disruptive. A change in management is disruptive. Too often, team members don’t know what their jobs are anymore…or even if they still have a job.

In this How to start a small business series, I’ve talked about cash flow management, how to find your customers, and today I’ll describe how to KEEP your customers coming back. It’s one thing to do clever marketing to attract customers but you want to sustain your business so you need return customers Here’s the First tip.

You want to start a small business but you don’t want to blow your life savings doing it. Good. I want to talk to those of you who are dying to start your own business…but you’ve heard that 50% of all small businesses fail within five years.

Are you an OK…but not a great negotiator when it comes to making a business deal? I can help you learn How to Negotiate a purchase whether it’s real estate…another business…or better terms on an existing deal…how do you get what you want?

Do you get intimidated when you have to make a pitch to the Big Client? This week I want to talk to you about overcoming the feeling of being intimidated when you’ve finally landed a meeting with that major client. You want a sale but you don’t want to look – or sound stupid. Lets say you’re trying to convince a BIG retail chain or a major distributor to do business with you.

Ah I know what you want. You want Instant credibility with your clients and customers. Today, I want to talk about how you can achieve instant credibility…even in a business where you have no experience or track record. I was at the Natl. Portable Storage conference this week and I met an enterprising woman I’ll call Emily.

I want to talk about people who were on top of the world…but got knocked down hard…and THEN came back stronger than ever. Today, I have a bounce–back story of resilience that will surprise you..and hopefully inspire you. I should tell you I’m doing this story from my room at the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas – where I just interviewed actor and activist Alec Baldwin. We talked for an hour, in front of 2,300 people.

Are you insecure about an area of your life? Are you trying to keep your insecurity a secret? I might have some insight for you. This week I want to talk about your insecurities…and more specifically how to “manage” them. The fact is, you might not fully conquer your fear of not being smart enough, not skinny enough, not wealthy enough, or not talented enough. However, I would argue that regardless of what YOU think are your shortcomings, you can still be an inspiring leader or parent. I can say that because I’ve met a lot of successful people…with low self-esteem.

Does your brand have a strong enough “story” that your product or service sells itself? A strong brand story stirs emotions in people…gives people a compelling reason to buy. And the story has to be simple and powerful enough so that you can’t wait to repeat the story to your friends. If a brand causes you to “feel something” there is a good chance you will become an UNPAID salesperson for the brand.

You know how we’ve been told, “Never Judge a Book by Its cover? Well THAT’s wrong and I’ll tell you why. Sometimes a book or product doesn’t sell because you haven’t communicated the purpose well enough. It’s marketing that I want to talk about today. How do you get people to pay attention to YOU. First, what you sell has to be in high demand…and quickly communicated. I love old newspaper ads that get to the point. Headache? Instant Cure.

Is there a difference between Management? and…Leadership? YES! This week I want to talk about the vast difference between Management and Leadership…because a lot of people think they mean the same thing. They don’t. I was doing Q & A for a large association in Miami this week and I thought leaders would want to spout off about it…but the majority of the discussion came from employees and staff. Non-managers see it this way. We HAVE to do what management says…but we WANT to do what leadership says.

I’ve got a totally fresh approach for teaching customer service. I’ve actually invented a bulletproof way for your entire team – from the entry level on up – to instantly start improving your customer experience. A bold statement, right? Well, I’ve written and produced (14) HR training films on this subject and written books on Customer Empathy and Customer Urgency. And over the years, I’ve seen the formulas for building a “customer centric culture” get more and more complex.

I want to talk about when loyalty happens. It’s the final moment of every transaction. All of our lives we’ve been told to make a good first impression…and that’s certainly important but the most important moment is our final impression. How your customers feel at the end of the transaction influences if they will come back…and more importantly, what they will tell other people about you.

As you know, at the very core of great leadership is being able to make good decisions every day. How can you do that? I suggest that you start preparing your decisions and your actions well in advance. Great leaders premeditate how they will respond to every situation so they are never surprised, they’re never shocked and they know if they already know how they will respond to all kinds of scenarios. They won’t have to make crucial decisions under pressure or in some cases, a crisis.

Hi I’m Ross Shafer and I want to thank you for finding the Relevant Leaders Club where each week I post a video on how to build your business or your career. This week I want to talk to you about how you can be more interesting in an elevator… literally. I’m talking about how to give a better Elevator Pitch. Some people call it an Elevator speech; it’s the story you tell to explain what you do in 30 seconds or less.

I’m frequently asked, “What is the one mistake I should avoid?” Believe it or not, there IS one mistake that can derail you and I’ll bet you’re doing it right. I’m Ross Shafer and I want to thank you for finding the Relevant Leaders Club where each week I post a new video to help you grow your career or your business. Today, I want to talk about the dumbest blunder that we all make. I’ve been guilty of this myself. In fact, I always kick myself when I realize I’m doing it again.

I’m Ross Shafer and I want to thank you for finding the Relevant Leaders Club where each week I post videos to help you grow your business and your career. Today I want you to rethink who you take inspiration from. Too often we look at the rich or famous on TV and think I WANT THAT LIFE but I have no idea how to get there? IT’s not magic. It’s not connections. It’s about drive. Desire. It’s rejection and never giving up. And right about now I know you’re saying BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, I’ve heard this all before, Ross. Well, here’s a story you haven’t heard.

Ok, you’ve just turned 50… and your life didn’t turn out like your thought it would, so what do you do now? Hi I’m Ross Shafer and I want to thank you for finding the Relevant Leaders Club where each week I post a new video to help you grow your career or your business. Today, I want to talk to you about what’s going through your mind as you turn 50 or 60. Or, if you’re in your late 40’s… you’re close enough to get a lot out of this message.

I’m on a rant today and want to warn you about motivational speakers – the ones who are dangerous. This is no joke. Hi everybody I’m Ross Shafer and I want to thank you for finding the Relevant Leaders Club where I post new videos every week to help you grow your business and your career. Today, I want to warn you about dangerous motivational speakers; which pains me because as a business author and speaker, my clients think of ME as one of those guys. But I don’t ask my audiences to physically risk life and limb to prove a point.