How Are You Treating Your Customers ... in Life?

Dramatically improve the quality of your relationships by making those closest to you feel special.

Table of Contents:

1. Baby Steps
2. Feature Article: HOW ARE YOU TREATING
YOUR CUSTOMERS...IN LIFE?
3. Quotes
4. Recommended Resources: Strengthening Relationships
5. Self-Care
6. Final Thoughts: The Star Thrower

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1. Baby Steps

In business, we talk a lot about the importance of how we treat our
customers and clients. But what about our customers in life? By
applying a few simple tips, you will notice dramatic improvements
in the quality of your relationships.

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2. Feature Article: HOW ARE YOU TREATING
YOUR CUSTOMERS...IN LIFE?

In business, we talk a lot about the importance of how we treat our
customers and clients. Statistics such as "It's five time more
expensive to generate new customers than to keep existing ones"
help to remind us of the economic benefit to treating our customers
well. We know that it makes good business sense to go out of our
way to treat customers well.

But what about our customers in life? How are we treating those
who are important to us in other areas of our life-our family and
friends, for example. These people are certainly more important to
us personally than our customers. Yet, who do we treat better, our
best customers, or the most important people in our personal lives?

As in business, building lasting relationships in your personal life
is one of the most beneficial things you can ever do. The difference
is, people on their deathbed don't often complain about not having
spent enough time with the customers in their business.

Here are some ways that we can make those closest to us-our
family and friends-feel special. By the way, these tips work for
our customers in business, too!

1. Acknowledge your appreciation for them. By acknowledging
people, we make them feel recognized and special. For our children,
this might come in the form of praise. For our spouse, it might mean
sending him or her flowers. We can provide this for our business
customers by calling them, or sending them an article in which they
may be interested. We can also acknowledge people's importance in
our lives by writing a note, or sending a holiday, birthday or special
event card.

2. Discover what's most important to them, and let that thing guide
you. In our family, I find that time together is most important. Each
of our children has activities that they enjoy doing with me. So I
make sure that I play basketball with my son, and sit down to play
cards or other games with my daughter. A business client might
enjoy a particular sport. If this is the case, then take that customer to
a couple games per season. By investing in these relationships, you
are demonstrating that what they value is important to you.

3. Communicate with them. It has been said that "the quality of our
relationships is determined by the quality of our communication."
One of our greatest needs is to be understood. By truly listening to
those who are important to us, we are communicating that we care.
And that goes a long way, both in business and in our personal lives.

4. Be intentional. If we are not intentional about making this a priority,
a natural consequence is that we take relationships for granted. This
can happen in business, with our longstanding, reliable customers,
as well as with our friends and family. More sales are lost through
neglect than for any other reason, and neglect is a contributing factor
in the demise of personal relationships, as well. We simply must be
intentional about making sure that we devote time and attention to
the important people in our lives.

Little things make all the difference in relationships, especially
when they are performed consistently over time. As you apply the
tips described above, you will notice dramatic improvements in the
quality of your relationships.

If you have been successful in applying these techniques, please
share your story with us! And if there are other tips that you think
should have been included, please email me. I'd love to hear from you!
brian@lifeexcellence.com.

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3. Quotes

Things which matter most must never be at the mercy of things
which matter least.
Goethe

Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Others stay awhile,
make footprints on our hearts and we are never, never the same.

The most important things in life aren't things.

You can get everything in life you want if you help enough other
people get what they want.
Zig Ziglar

It seems essential, in relationships and all tasks, that we concentrate
only on what is most significant and important.
Soren Kierkegaard

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4. Recommended Resources: Strengthening Relationships

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
by Stephen R. Covey

With penetrating insights and pointed anecdotes, Covey reveals a
step-by-step pathway for living with fairness, integrity, honesty
and human dignity-principles that give us the security to adapt to
change, and the wisdom and power to take advantage of the
opportunities that change creates.
To order book, click here

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families
by Stephen R. Covey

With the same profound insight, simplicity, and practical wisdom
that have already reached tens of millions of readers, Stephen R.
Covey demonstrates how the principles he introduced in The 7 Habits
of Highly Effective People can be used to build the kind of strong,
loving family that lasts for generations.
To order book, click here

Light Her Fire
by Ellen Kreidman

This is the ultimate "how-to" guide for bringing lasting
romance and passion into relationships. Warning: Be prepared
for the "fire" that ensues when you implement these strategies!
To order tape set, click here
To order book, click here

Light His Fire
by Ellen Kreidman

Yes, there's one for women, too. This guide shows you how
to have a love affair with the man of your choice for the rest
of your life.
To order tape set, click here
To order book, click here

7 Things Kids Never Forget: And How to Make the Most of Them
by Ron Rose

The key to your long-term influence as a parent lies in the memories
you make with your children today. While those memories may
include great vacations, this book is about making the most of routine,
everyday moments that kids always remember. Every parent should
read this book, and apply its techniques, in order to make a lasting
and positive impression on your children.
To order book, click here

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5. Self-Care

Looking for a healthy snack alternative to chips and candy? Try
nuts. Nuts of all sorts are rich in the antioxidant vitamin E, which
helps lower the risk of heart disease. And, because they are rich in
unsaturated fats, nuts can also help lower cholesterol. Nuts are so
full of nutrients that your hunger will typically be satisfied on fewer
calories than some of the more popular snack-food alternatives.
Finally, nuts are convenient, as you can take a small bag of them
anywhere, and eat them as a snack. Give yourself the gift of this
healthy snack-your body will thank you!

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6. Final Thoughts: The Star Thrower
(Based on the story by Loren Eisley)

I awoke early, as I often did, just before sunrise to walk by the
ocean's edge and greet the new day. As I moved through the misty
dawn, I focused on a faint, far away motion. I saw a youth, bending
and reaching and flailing arms, dancing on the beach, no doubt in
celebration of the perfect day soon to begin.

As I approached, I sadly realized that the youth was not dancing to
the bay, but rather bending to sift through the debris left by the
night's tide, stopping now and then to pick up a starfish and then
standing, to heave it back into the sea. I asked the youth the purpose
of the effort. "The tide has washed the starfish onto the beach and
they cannot return to the sea by themselves," the youth replied.
"When the sun rises, they will die, unless I throw them back to the sea."

As the youth explained, I surveyed the vast expanse of beach,
stretching in both directions beyond my sight. Starfish littered the
shore in numbers beyond calculation. The hopelessness of the youth's
plan became clear to me and I countered, "But there are more starfish
on this beach than you can ever save before the sun is up. Surely you
cannot expect to make a difference."

The youth paused briefly to consider my words, bent to pick up a
starfish and threw it as far as possible. Turning to me he simply said,
"I made a difference to that one."

I left the boy and went home, deep in thought of what the boy had
said. I returned to the beach and spent the rest of the day helping the
boy throw starfish in to the sea.

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Thank you for reading the LifeExcellence Newsletter.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE this week!
- Brian Bartes

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