Food for Thought

I went to a Cuban restaurant the other night for dinner. It was a good restaurant. It had great food, but I left dissatisfied. Does that ever happen in your business?

Let me explain.

I enjoy Cuban food because of the taste and blend of flavors. One of the things I like is Cuban bread. Naturally, with dinner I ordered bread, expecting my favorite, but was surprised when we received rolls.

Now, there was nothing wrong with these rolls. In fact, they were pretty good rolls, and if I had been eating at Cracker Barrel, I probably would have enjoyed them. Unfortunately, I was thinking Cuban food, and I wanted Cuban bread. Since I’m not particularly shy, I called the waitress over and asked her if she would get me some.

“We save the Cuban bread for the Cuban sandwiches,” she replied in a friendly manner.

“But I’ll be happy to pay extra,” I offered, figuring it was likely just a cost factor.

“Sorry, sir, we only have Cuban bread for sandwiches,” the waitress replied, and I let her go with a smile. What I wanted to do was order a sandwich and tell her to hold the meat, but Linda (my wife) was already kicking me under the table, and I knew I was through before I got started.

You and I know that I could have insisted, and I would have ultimately gotten the bread. Unfortunately, to get there would have required the effort no customer should go through.

We pay a great deal of money to get a customer in our door, whether we are selling Cuban food or widgets. Making sure these prized clients get what they want should be our number-one concern because if it’s not, your competition will make it theirs. We would likely be amazed if we knew the number of times a small indulgence extended to a customer is the difference in keeping them or losing them.

What can you do to keep yours?

• Train your employees to understand the importance of a customer and how they need to go the extra mile. When they do, back them up.
• Get a reputation for always saying, “Yes” to customers’ requests.
• Treat your customers as individuals. Some say to-mâ-to, some say to-mä-to, and some like Cuban bread with their meal. If you don’t have what your customer wants, that’s one thing, but if you do, try to be reasonably accommodating.

The competition is tough here in 2009. If you want to stay in the game, you’ve got to learn to be flexible and helpful. The customer may not always be right, but if you want to keep them coming back, you better make them feel like they are.

JW Dicks, Esq. is an attorney, best selling author, entrepreneur and business strategist. He has spent his entire 35-year career building successful businesses for himself and his clients bringing his golden touch to the marketing and sales of over $500 million of products and services. His professional versatility affords him a unique insight into the opportunities available for today’s business owners along with the knowledge of how to structure and position a business to take advantage of them.

He is the senior partner of Dicks & Nanton P.A.: The Business Growth Lawyers™, representing clients in the growth of their business using franchises, area exclusive licensing, coaching, idea licensing, info-marketing, joint ventures, syndications and explosion marketing to accomplish their goals. Jack has worked with a diverse set of clients ranging from an Inc. 500 fastest growing company with sales over $250 Million, public companies, down to a small start up that made fishing lures. He loves the challenge and excitement of them all.

In addition to coaching and consulting with clients nationwide, Jack is also a successful entrepreneur. He has built his own businesses, with annual sales over $35 Million, developed real estate in excess of $200 Million and both created, and sold intellectual property rights for as much as $1.8 Million.

Jack has led national conferences and conventions and has spoken to over 150,000 business leaders on venture capital formation, syndication, investing, and business growth strategies. He is the best-selling author of numerous legal and financial books including the 50 Volume set, How to Start a Corporation and Operate in Any State, Moonlight Investing, The Florida Investor, Mutual Fund Investing Strategies, The Small Business Legal Kit, The 100 best Investments For Your Retirement, Financial CPR, Operation Financial Freedom, and How to Buy and Sell Real Estate .

In addition to his Juris Doctorate degree, Jack holds securities licenses, 22, 7, 65, and 24. He is also a registered securities principal, registered investment advisor, and real estate broker. Although technically proficient in several professions, his clients consider his greatest attributes to be his innate creativity, visionary focus and ability to design and implement multi-layered profit centers for companies and individuals seeking long-term financial growth and protection.

Jack is a graduate of the University of Florida and George Mason College of Law. He is a member of the American Bar Association, NASD, National Association of Realtors, the Florida Bar and the Virginia Bar.

Jack’s business address is Orlando and his play address is at his beach house where he spends as much time as he can with his wife, Linda, of 32 years, two daughters, two son-in-laws, and two Yorkies. His major hobby is fishing although the fish are rumored to be safe.

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