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There are
a lot of people in this world who feel very confident in their
performance and their skills. If you are one of those, we congratulate
you. But we also need to say that feeling confident and secure can lead
to falling behind as those around you improve.
It
doesn't mean you are lazy and it doesn't mean that you are no longer
good at what you do and do not perform at a high level. What is does
mean is that if your skills stay the same while the people around you
are improving, you will find yourself being left behind. It's like being
in the lead in the middle of a race and keeping at the same pace while
everyone else starts running faster. You might be in good shape now, but
sooner or later, people will pass you and leave you behind.
The great
thing about being in your position right now is that it is a heck of a
lot easier to remain in the lead than it is to catch up. Being a top
performer gives you extra time to improve your skills so that you remain
at the top. One of the worst things is to suddenly find that others
around you are outperforming you and then finding yourself having to
work harder AND improve skills at the same time. Sometimes that can be
very daunting and difficult.
Another
possibility is that although you feel confident, maybe, just maybe, you
shouldn't be. There can be a fine line between confidence and
overconfidence. Thinking you are doing well because you USED to do well
can be a very dangerous thing. Many of us think that because we were a
top performer at one time that we still are and always will be. that is
certainly not true and many an individual has fallen into that trap.
Today's #1 Employer
Question.......
Face it,
the business world and marketplace have changed. People are no longer
compensated on what they did last year or 4 or 5 years ago. What
employers are asking their workers now is: "What are you doing for
us TODAY and what will you give us tomorrow!" If you lead the
company in performance or sales 3 years ago and now are dead last, you
are soon to find yourself a candidate for replacement or layoffs. There
is only so much people get for potential. Either perform, and perform at
a high level, or you are expendable.
That may
seem harsh and we do not want to offend or scare you but it is the hard
truth today. Only the top performers have job security. Only the top
performers get the better jobs and the higher salaries. And only the top
performers get one of the few jobs available out there. As we said, the
marketplace has changed and the rules have changed along with it.
How To Protect Yourself &
Advance Your Career
Go to any
job fair or speak to any Human Resource person, and you will hear the
same thing every time. One of the keys to success is continually
improving your skill sets. That means getting new skills as they as they
become available and updating existing skills BEFORE that is needed.
(Hint: The key is doing that before it is needed!)
When you
mom or dad got their first job, the skills they needed were much
different. Heck, they probably didn't need to know what a computer was
and now computer skills are a must both in life and at work. Today
people need to know about electronic spreadsheets, inventory systems,
and other things. New environment, new skills needed. It's as simple as
that.
But other
skills are just as important and sometimes more so. Customer Service
Training skills are skills that are far more valuable today than ever
before. As we said before, Human Resource personnel look for these
skills when they are looking to fill ANY kind of position. From the
highest paying job down to entry level positions customer service skills
are a critical skill set for anyone to possess.
Are You Ready for More
Competition?
If we
haven't got you to start thinking yet, maybe this will help: There is
far more competition for every available job today than ever before.
Plus, there is more competition for every customer and every sale, than
ever before. Do you have the skills and performance to remain at the top
of this larger group?
Think
about this for a moment: 20 years ago, a job posting went into the
newspaper, or a group of papers, and to a few employment headhunters.
You had a limited pool of applicants from your general area. Today, a
job is posted on Monster.com or one of those websites and people all
over the country, even the world, see it and can apply for it. So, while
there might have been 25-50 people applying for that job 20 years ago,
you might have 2-3 THOUSAND applicants for that same job today. More
applicants means employers can set higher qualifications and pick
stronger candidates. Do you have what it takes to succeed in today's
arena?
The same
goes for competing for customers. That same 20 years ago people shopped
in their hometown or maybe drove to the next town to get what they
wanted. Some people used mail order and shopped from catalogs but most
of the business stayed local.
Fast
forward to today and people can now log on to the internet, do a product
search, and come up with thousands of potential sources for that
product. some of them local and some throughout the country. You don't
even have to drive from store to store to get prices anymore. Just sit
at your desk and click from website to website. All of this extra
competition is great for the consumer but much harder on businesses. to
survive, every business, and every employee of that business, must know
how to provide the very best experience to each and every customer. Fail
to do that, and the customer will leave for your competition.
One last
thing, and this is very important. Most mistake made with customers and
co-workers are not made intentionally or by incompetent or bad people.
They are not "major" mistakes either. It could be something as
using the wrong word, the wrong approach, or failing to listen and
communicate properly. Again, these mistakes are usually made by people
with the best of intentions. They just made the wrong choice of actions
or words.
Getting These Skills Is Easy
& Even Fun!
We have
done our best to be honest with you and hope we did not frighten or
offend anyone in the process. It is just that things have changed so
much and people without the necessary skills just don't stand a chance
these days. But the best news is that customer service training and the
skills that it teaches are among the easiest skills to master and apply!
There are
no complicated manuals to read or difficult tests to pass. Our manuals
are written so that anyone can read and understand them and the concepts
and techniques are presented in such a way that anyone can achieve
success with them in a very short period of time.
One thing
I hate in stores on sales pages is hype. You won't find it on this page
or anywhere else on our website. But our materials do get results fast.
We have known people who have started training in the morning and have
made meaningful and lasting changes that same afternoon! Again, this is
not hype but the honest truth.
I am not
saying that once you get our customer service training manuals your
sales will increase a zillion percent overnight. But they will increase!
I won't tell you that your worth to your current or prospective employer
will increase immediately but you will become more valuable. And I
certainly am not going to tell you that your marriage will become
perfect and your other relationships become fairy tales. But they will
all become much better.
The best
thing you can do for yourself, and for those around you, is to
constantly strive to improve your skills and abilities. Never sit back
and think you've done enough because someone else will always do more.
Learning new things keeps you mind strong and healthy. So whatever you
choose to learn or improve, start now.
In
closing, let me say this: I have lived by one important rule all my life
and have taught my children the same thing. that rule is: Always do your
very best and prepare to the best of your ability. If you do that and
something bad should happen, you can move forward knowing that you were
not to blame and you did nothing to cause that to happen. In other
words, you can just move on. But if you should be lazy, or fail to do
what is right and something bad should happen, you will live with the
guilt and bad feeling for a long time if you were partially responsible.
It's a
simple rule and a simple premise. But I find it very effective, very
practical, and very much relevant in today's marketplace.
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