Customer Service and Your Authentic Self

We often hear people say that to truly enjoy being a business owner we need to be authentic. We also hear that customers and clients will flock to us when we are authentic. Well, just what does authentic mean?  The Webster dictionary defines authentic as being reliable and genuine.

We all want to provide reliable service and our customers and clients expect us to be reliable. However, do they expect us to be genuine? I think the answer is yes and no.

If your business thrives on you providing advice and your customers see you as the expert then you will probably get away with being blunt and saying what needs to be said even though it may not be what the person wants to hear. I think the key is using tact and being respectful. Do not shame the client. Nevertheless, the client is paying you to be the expert and be honest with him or her.

However, if you are in a business that requires you to adopt the “client is always right” mentality you may not always be able to be authentic. The key is to appear authentic when you truly do not want to be. People can see through the B.S. and fluff and all you will do is make them annoyed and skeptical of your intentions.  When attempting to appear authentic you will need to make sure your body language matches your verbal language.  Do not say something positive while displaying negative body language.

Business relationships are based upon the “know, like, and trust” factor. You must establish rapport with your customers and clients. You must take time to get to know their likes and dislikes. None of us like being around a person who thinks they know us and are overly friendly; it makes us cautious and leery of their intentions. Taking time to establish rapport is key. When you know the person and you like the person you will be able to employ tact to guide the conversation in the right direction. When trust has been established, the customer or client will see you as the expert and trust your opinion. Only when the “know, like, and trust” is established will you be able to be your authentic self.

When you are authentic, you will have less stress in your life because you do not have to pretend to be someone that you are not. You will be at inner peace and know that you provided excellent customer service.

 

Coach Jaynine turns Dreams into Reality. She teaches business owners how to develop their presence in the community by having the necessary systems in place so they are seen as the EXPERT. Jaynine has over 20 years experience as a United States Marine, psychotherapist, and business owner. If you are ready to be the expert, increase your revenue and take your business to the next level contact Jaynine today at www.coachjaynine.com or 910-539-2810. You can sign up for a free membership at http://www.coachjaynine.com

 

Time to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

Coach Jaynine

Do you know what your comfort zone is? Do you recognize the physiological and psychological symptoms of when you are pushed by events or people to get out of your comfort zone? Your comfort zone is often the place where you are able to operate on automatic pilot and produce stellar results. So why would want to get out of your comfort zone? The list is endless. Maybe you want to pursue a new dream or goal. Maybe you want to grow personally or professionally. Maybe you are bored and really do not like being in your comfort zone. We all have stayed employed at jobs where we did not like the people or the work yet we stayed because it was comfortable. We made up excuses on why we could not job hunt or do something different.

Today is the day to take action to get out of your comfort zone. I want you to implement my five tips below so you can turn your dreams into reality.

1. Dare to dream. Find a quiet spot and take time to reminisce on things you wanted to accomplish in this lifetime. How many do you still want to accomplish? Write them in a journal or on a piece of paper.

2. MAP. Start designing your master action plan on how you will accomplish each goal or dream. It is ok to take baby steps. Assign goal completion dates beside each task so you know the date you want to have each goal completed.

3. Reward. How are you going to reward yourself for completing each goal? You may have small rewards for baby steps and larger rewards for the bigger goals.

4. Tell the World. Announce to your friends and family your new goals. Solicit their help in pushing you out of your comfort zone and completing your goals.

5. Examine Your Environment. You will need to take time to examine your environment so you can pinpoint people, places, and things that are sabotaging your efforts to move forward and escape your comfort zone. You will need to recognize people that are jealous that you are moving forward and you will want to recognize places and things that keep you from moving forward i.e. fear, time, lack of knowledge, etc. Do not let people, places, and things keep you from turning your dreams into reality.

As long as you are in your comfort zone, you are not growing personally or professionally. I want you to embrace the butterflies in your tummy feeling. I want you acknowledge that sweaty palms are a sign of growth. Now is the time to take a deep breath, enter a room full of strangers at a networking event, and say hello first. When you implement my five tips above you will be able to propel yourself to take action and get yourself out of your comfort zone. I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone and start turning your dreams into reality.

 

Coach Jaynine turns Dreams into Reality. She teaches business owners how to develop their presence in the community by having the necessary systems in place so they are seen as the EXPERT. Jaynine has over 20 years experience as a United States Marine, psychotherapist, and business owner. If you are ready to be the expert, increase your revenue and take your business to the next level contact Jaynine today at www.coachjaynine.com or 910-539-2810. You can sign up for a free membership at www.coachjaynine.com

Failure is OK During a Recession or Anytime: Failure is the welcomed opportunity to grow personally and professionally

Failure is ok. The media is bombarding us with stories of failure. There are layoffs, economic failure, and other gloom and doom stories. I am here to tell that failure is ok. You do not need to play the victim. I am not sure how the word failure became such a dirty word. But listen…failure is ok. Failing at something is just a sign that you need to learn more about that particular area of your life. Here is what I want you to do next time you think you “failed”.

1.  Self Reflect:  Find a quiet space and claim it all to yourself. Turn off the cell phone and get out your pen and paper. Think real hard back to what went wrong. Write it down. Think about what went right? Write it down too. Think about your coulda, woulda, shoulda’s. Write them down. Self reflection will show you that you didn’t fail.

 

2.  Dream: Dare to dream new dreams or continue with your current dream. Your dream should be somewhat realistic and attainable only you know how committed you are to making them reality. Make a list of things you would like to accomplish this week, this month, and this year. Make another list of things you would like to accomplish with the next 2, 3, 5 years and so on. Remember this is your list not someone else’s and not a list of things you should do. It is your list. You own it.

 

3.  Design a MAP: Now you need to design a Master Action Plan. This will be your roadmap on how you are going to get yourself from where you are today to where you want to be by the end of the week, month and year. You will also design a roadmap for the upcoming years also. Designing your MAP will take time but it is time well spent or how else are you going to know you are headed in the right direction?

 

4.  Take Action: Now you need to put action behind those dreams so they are transformed into reality. Taking action is probably the hardest step. Often you do not know how to get moving. But remember you have your MAP. Pull it out and read the first step. Use your Map to get you moving in the direction of completing your first dream by the end of the week. Rome was not built in a day. Your dreams will not come true overnight. You must take baby steps and sometimes big steps to get you moving so you can turn your dreams into reality. But at least get up, get moving forward so you can succeed.

 

5.   Reward Yourself: As you accomplish your goals and dreams reward yourself. You may want to predetermine a reward prior to beginning to work on your MAP. This way you have a carrot dangling over you that you want; it will motivate you to work hard. The reward can be as simple as buying a new bottle of nail polish, going to the library to check out new books, or splurging on your favorite coffee. You can also have larger rewards for when you have accomplished several smaller goals. This could be something such as a facial, massage, or mini weekend vacation. Rewarding your self is not being selfish. It is rewarding yourself for a job well done it is taking care of you. Women often fail to reward themselves, others often take them for granted, and fail even say thank you. NOW IS THE TIME TO INVEST IN YOU!

 

6.  Journaling: Record your progress or lack of progress daily in a journal. This will allow you to see what you have done with your time. After a period of time of using a journal or my productivity tracker you will begin to see where you are wasting time or someone else is sabotaging your time and efforts.

 

As you learn to focus on you and work toward your dreams, you will see that failure is the welcomed opportunity to grow personally and professionally. You will have renewed confidence in yourself and your abilities because you will see that you are taking action because you have plan; you have focus, clarity, and purpose. Remember get up at a set time each day. Get dressed with a purpose. Keep your chin up and eyes pointed forward so you can see where you are going! Have a great transformation journey.

 

Jaynine Howard, PhD (ABD) has over 25 years of experience helping others win. She coaches dynamic business owners on how to increase their visibility and credibility in the community so they are positioned as the EXPERT by employing proven systems and strategies that will increase revenue. Are you ready to turn your dreams into reality? Sign up for her teleclass series Are You Playing to Win or Are You Playing to Lose www.dreamcatcher.camp8.org

 

 

Taming Your Fear During a Recession: Part III

When you are feeling anxiety or fear regarding MONEY or your Business Success, employ my 5 Steps to Success below:

1. Confront the fear. Fear is different than anxiety. Fear is associated with a specific object. When you become paralyzed and cannot function due to an upcoming event, you are experiencing fear. You must be able to pinpoint the source of your fear in order to confront it. You can identify your fear by journaling. When you keep a journal you will be able to go back and identify times you experience anxiety and fear and use coping skills to manage the fear and anxiety.

2. Reexamine your business systems and strategies.  When the news or current events are making you feel fearful it is time to examine your business and personal systems and strategies. Now is the time to review your business plan, marketing plan, lead attraction and networking systems, and your crisis plan.

3. Look at your budget and ensure you are financially sound or take action to ensure you get back on track.  Remember, a budget is not a straight jacket to curtail all spending. A budget is a plan on how you are going to spend your money. Embrace the word budget and make the necessary adjustments for your personal and business survival. Do not forget to use the leverage power of Web2.0.

4. Examine your niche. If your niche can no longer afford your products or services it is time to tailor your product funnel so that there is something they can afford. Since many consumers are tightening their belts it is time to ensure that you have products or services that they can afford. You may want to bundle services to provide more value or offer individual products and services at a lower cost or for free. If you do not have a referral program or loyal customer rewards program now is the time to start one.

5. Call or email your Coach. Your coach can help you brainstorm the necessary systems and strategies needed so you can continue to grow your business and tame your fear.  Your coach will propel you to take action and hold you accountable. Coaching is an investment in you and your business. Isn’t now the time to invest in you and your business? Today is the someday you have been waiting for…take action now.

 

This is the third of a three part series on Taming Your Fear. Jaynine Howard, PhD (ABD) has over 25 years of experience. She coaches dynamic business owners on how to increase their visibility and credibility in the community so they are positioned as the EXPERT by employing proven systems and strategies that will increase revenue. Are you ready to turn your dreams into reality? Download your free productivity tracker at www.coachjaynine.com and don’t forget to join me on Friday, Feb 27th at 2pm EST for a free teleclass on Taming Your Fear.

Taming Your Fear During a Recession: Part II

Taming your Fear during a recession requires the use of Coping Skills.  Coping Skills will help you reduce anxiety and fear. The most commonly used are:

1.  Visualization. When you can pinpoint the source of your anxiety or fear you will be able to sit back and relax as you visualize a positive outcome. As you visualize the various scenarios you will be able to be in control of the outcome of the situation.

2. Positive self talk. Negative Nellie’s and Debbie Downers are bad for your psyche. Learn to use positive self talk to chase away anxiety and fear. Try to see the positive in all situations. Learn to employ the Laws of Attraction.

3.  Relaxation exercises/meditate/yoga. Now is the time to learn to be greedy and take time for YOU. Scheduling even just 15 minutes a day to engage in relaxation exercises, meditation, or yoga will reduce the stress, anxiety and fear you may be experiencing.  

4. Educate yourself. When you know the source of your anxiety and fear is the unknown take time to invest in educating yourself. If you do not understand your finances, or how to run a particular aspect of your business now is the time to learn. Educating yourself does not have to cost a lot of money. The internet and local library are valuable sources of credible information. You can also take part in free Teleclasses and webinars hosted by various agencies and coaches.

5. Exercise. Exercise will increase the production of your feel good endorphins and help chase the blues away. It is also a great way to stimulate the creative juices and brain storm. I always solve the world problems while out walking my dog or going for a run.

6. Vent and mastermind. We all know that keeping things bottled up inside is not good. Find someone that you can confide in and share you troubles and joys. If you do not belong to a mastermind group start one of your own. We all need people that we can trust and share our worries; plus they need us too for the very same reason.  

7.  Journaling.  Journaling and behavior charting are a great way to record the date, time, and situation that invokes feelings of fear and anxiety. After journaling or charting for a period of time you will be able to review if there are certain people or situations that always invoke the butterflies in your stomach to flutter.

8. Invest  in a Coach. Now is the time to invest in coaching.

Remember: Most situations that cause us to experience anxiety and fear are opportunities to grow.  Using my 8 coping skills listed above you will be able to tame your fear during a recession or anytime.

This is the second of a three part series on Taming Your Fear. Jaynine Howard, PhD (ABD) has over 25 years of experience. She coaches dynamic business owners on how to increase their visibility and credibility in the community so they are positioned as the EXPERT by employing proven systems and strategies that will increase revenue. Are you ready to turn your dreams into reality? Download your free productivity tracker at www.coachjaynine.com  Join me on Friday, February 27, 2009 @ 2pm EST for a free teleclass on Taming Your Fear. For more information visit www.coachjaynine.com

Taming Your Fear During a Recession: Part I

Does listening to the news or reading the newspaper make you feel scared? Does walking to the mailbox invoke feelings of gloom and doom? Do you walk around the majority of the day feeling anxious and afraid as if waiting for the other shoe to drop? The current state of the economy is the topic of discussion today and every day.  It invokes negative feelings in most people.

Taming your feelings of anxiety and fear is mandatory so you can move forward and have a happy and productive life. First, we must define anxiety and fear since most people misuse the words anxiety and fear. ANXIETY is defined as the vague unpleasant emotional feeling that makes us feel apprehensive, dread, distress, and an uneasiness. Anxiety is not focused on a specific object. Anxiety is manifested cognitively, behaviorally, and physiologically. FEAR is similar to anxiety but it is focused on a specific object such as public speaking, cold calling, or failure. People who experience fear can lose the ability to think, act, and perform.

There are three main perspectives associated with anxiety and fear. The Biological Perspective states that the  GABA system is responsible motivating fear and anxiety. People often go to their doctor and ask for medication to control or aid in reducing anxiety. Benzodiapines are anti-anxiety drugs that can be prescribed to regulate the GABA neural transmissions.

The Cognitive Perspective states that there are three motivators for anxiety and fear:  1. Loss of Control  2. Inability to use coping skills  3. State anxiety verses Trait Anxiety.

The Learning Perspective states that anxiety and fear are learned responses to situations. Your body develops its own coping skills to deal with the routine situations. Therefore, when things push us out of our comfort zone we experience anxiety. When you hide from your anxiety and fear your body becomes conditioned to the object that invokes those feelings. When you confront your fear and anxiety, your body learns to not experience fear and anxiety i.e. being afraid of dogs. You can either confront the fear (fight) and be calm when seeing a dog or you can hide from your feelings and always experience the flight tendency. When you feel the flight or fight response, take a minute to acknowledge it for what it is.

You can identify anxiety and fear by identifying the Physiological Symptoms of Anxiety or Fear. These are commonly manifested by someone complaining of having a stomachache, head ache, shortness of breath, butterflies or a pit in your stomach feeling, nausea, diarrhea, sleeplessness, high blood pressure, hunger or no appetite. This is just a short list you can make your own list of physiological symptoms.

Now is the time to change your mindset from negative to positive. Most situations that cause us to experience anxiety are experiences of growth.  Do you notice when you get butterflies in your stomach? Do you run from situations that make you feel the butterflies? When you pinpoint the source of anxiety and fear, you can confront the fear. Then you can design coping skills or a plan of action. Self certain people are aware and acknowledge their strengths and weaknesses. When you do not know or acknowledge your weaknesses, you are ill equipped to develop coping skills to conquer them.

The use of Coping Skills will help you reduce anxiety and fear. The most commonly used coping skills are visualization, positive self-talk, relaxation exercises/meditate/yoga, educate you, exercise, vent and mastermind, journaling and investing in a Coach.

When you are feeling anxiety or fear regarding MONEY or your Business Success employ the 5 Steps below in order to TAME YOUR FEAR:

1. Confront the fear.

2. Reexamine your business systems and strategies

3. Look at your budget and ensure you are financially sound or take action to ensure you get back on track

4. Examine your niche. If your niche can no longer can afford your products or services tailor your product funnel so that there is something they can afford.

5. Call or email your Coach.

You must take the necessary steps to tame your fear so that you can move forward and grow your business, grow personally and professionally, and be a pleasure to be around.

 

This is the first of a three part series on Taming Your Fear. Jaynine Howard, PhD (ABD) has over 25 years of experience. She coaches dynamic business owners on how to increase their visibility and credibility in the community so they are positioned as the EXPERT by employing proven systems and strategies that will increase revenue. Are you ready to turn your dreams into reality? Download your free productivity tracker at www.coachjaynine.com

Don’t forget to join me on Friday, February 27 at 2pm EST for a free teleclass on Taming Your Fear. For more information visit www.coachjaynine.com