Lori Richardson over at Allbusiness.com has a great post on "toleration." 

How many times a day do you tolerate something under your control?  5, 10, 20, constantly?  By tolerating things you can change - such as your incomplete records, the way you interact with vendors and customers, and even the way you collect money in your business - you could be fighting against a low-grade hum of aggravation that keeps you from doing your best work in other areas.

Lori's post got me to think about a couple of things in my business that aggravate me every time they happen, but I never do anything about it.  Until it happens again, of course, and then I get peeved all over again.

So today I'm going to make a couple of changes, starting with my phone habits.  There is plenty of aggravation out there, so there is no reason to add to it with things you don't have to tolerate.

What are you tolerating that you don't have to?

"You get what you tolerate."

~ John C. Agno

A system is nothing more than a recipe.  You decide what you want to prepare and follow instructions to get a predictable (and delicious!) result.  Too many times I've talked to clients about setting up systems in their business - everything from answering email to providing a service - and they resist it. 

• "I'm the only one who can do that."  Do you have a business or do you have a job?  If you have a business, you must be able to teach others or you will always have a job.  A very expensive, time-consuming job.
• "My business is too small for systems."  How will you grow if you always plan to do everything yourself?
• "It takes too long to document what I do."  How much longer will it take you to train an employee without documentation?  Or try different methods to improve service or save money?  If you can't track it, you simply won't know.

Since hearing Michael Gerber speak about systems a few days ago, I've been trying to figure out a better way to introduce the idea of systems to my clients. 

World's Best MomI'm visiting my parents this week in New Mexico, and that always involves a batch of Mom's famous chocolate-chip cookies.  As she started making them, I had a brainstorm.  Her cookie recipe is a system, perfected over time, that always turns out delicious, perfectly baked cookies. 

1. 
   The basic recipeShe starts with a proven recipe for a successful cookie, the basic Nestle Tollhouse recipe.
2. Through trial and error, she has determined that butter-flavored Crisco is a better option than butter because it leaves the cookie with a better consistency.  So she altered the original recipe based on her results.
3. My dad loves pecans, and my parents are quite famous locally for their abundant pecan trees.  Mom doesn't have to worry about the price of pecans at the grocery store since she
   Modifying the recipe to improve itgets hundreds of pounds every year, so she generously adds pecans to the recipe.  Another change to the recipe to satisfy her "customers."
4. To keep her cookies from sticking to the pan and to make reloading the pan easier between batches, she uses parchment paper.  This is also a change from the original recipe that makes cleanup much easier.
5. Time has shown that in her oven and at her altitude, the cookies bake perfectly at 11 minutes per batch.  She knows how long it should take.  When the timer goes off, they are perfect.
   Production to Storage
6. She cools the cookies on an elevated cooling rack so the bottom of the cookies are firm.  This keeps them from sticking to each other and getting mushy.  She is just as concerned with storage as she is with production.
7. If she can keep Dad away long enough, they cool and are then placed on a plate to enjoy with a glass of milk.  She knows how to deliver her product for maximum impact.

That's it.  Perfect success every single time.  A system is really no more complicated than a chocolate-chip cookie recipe. 

You can cook up your own recipes for almost every task in your business:

• Marketing
• Lead conversion
• Customer fulfillment
• Lead generation
• Production
• Accounts receivable/payable

If a system is no more than a recipe, than an operations manual is no more than a cookbook.  You can literally start with a recipe box.  Jot your notes down on a recipe card as you perform the necessary tasks to your business.  Evaluate what you are doing, what should stay in the system and what should change, and then make it so. 

As you write your business "cookbook" you will be amazed at what you know and how much more focused your business will become.

Now get that apron on and start cooking!

"This recipe is certainly silly.  It says to separate the eggs, but it doesn't say how far to separate them."

~ Gracie Allen

What is the ideal environment for your customer to buy your product or service? 

This past week eWomen Network had their annual conference in Dallas.  One of the events was a night of shopping at Nordstrom's after hours, complete with music, food, and cocktails.  As well all walked in, the staff was lined up clapping and handing out pink feather boas.  Music was playing, and chocolate treats were on tables in the aisles.  Women and men in black coats were transforming women with the trendiest makeup in the skincare department.

Nordstrom's provided an energetic, luxurious shopping experience for their customers.

Just about every one of the thousand women who attended the event walked out with a gray shopping bag.  Nordstrom made a lot of money that night because they catered to their clients and created an environment ideal for shopping:

• Lively music to keep the energy up so late at night
• Cocktails to create a happy hour vibe
• Chocolate for decadence
• A well-dressed and attentive sales team
• And a thousand women from the same organization to make it a "girlfriend" shopping experience

It was a terrific time, even for someone like me who has a Nordstrom's in her own town and doesn't really shop much.  Nordstrom's knows their ideal customer, both in what they want and how they want to get it.

Think about your customers for a moment.  What is the best possible environment for them to buy your products and services?  Now create that for them.

"Shopping is better than sex. If you're not satisfied after shopping you can make an exchange for something you really like."

~ Carrie Bradshaw from Sex and the City

Think about all the small ways your business touches a potential or existing customer every day without your direct involvement:

• Outgoing phone message
  
• Email autoresponders
• Online checkout/website navigation

Do the small details of your business reinforce the message you want to send?

For example, I recently signed up for an e-zine and was directed to a page that said "thank you for subscribing."  That was it. 

There isn't anything wrong with a simple thank you, but it is an often-overlooked way to add value for your customers.  Why not give them a little bit more when they sign up for something as valuable as allowing you in their mailbox a few times a month? 

• How about a free special report download link in and automated thank-you email with some warm words of thanks from you? 
  
• Go the extra step and redirect them to your website instead of leaving them hanging at the sign-in page.  Almost every email marketing service has this option.
• Give your e-zine customers a chance to tell you what interests them.  Your email marketing program should allow you to set up lists to better market your products and services.
• Ask for names and use them when possible.  Who doesn't want to get personalized email, even if it is just an e-zine?
• How about a few individual calls/emails each week to people who have signed up for your newsletter.  Let them know it isn't an impersonal machine churning out emails but a real person who monitors the list and is interested in who signs up.

These are just a few of the ways in one area of your business you can add value.  A one-time setup in your email marketing program will take care of 4 of the 5 tips above and add tremendous value to your customers.

Think about these extra steps in all your customer contact points.  Go ahead, test them out yourself and see what your customers sees.  Then make it better.

While you're at it, go ahead and sign up for my newsletter, okay?  You'll get a free Blogging QuickStart Guide as a thank you.

"It is in the treatment of trifles that a person shows what they are."

~ Arthur Schopenhauer 

In honor of Earth Day on April 22, we will talk about ways you can make your office more green and by doing so save yourself a little bit of money or time. 

We'll take it for granted that you are already recycling and most likely decreasing your travel time when possible due to the high cost of gas these days.  And that you are incredibly good-looking and talented, because all readers of this blog are naturally.  :)

10 Ways to Go Green and Save Some Green at Work: 

• Get a tote bag or two for shopping instead of using plastic.  I can fit all my office supplies in one cavas bag each trip.  Not only that, it keeps me from overybuying.  Who needs 2 years' worth of staples, anyway?  Free up your space and your cash flow. (and here is a fun tutorial on what to do with all your leftover plastic bags)
  
• Stop sending paper newsletters to your customers.  You have no idea whether they are reading them or not, and it is difficult for them to easily send the information to a friend.  Switch to email marketing so you can better track your marketing efforts and make it easy for your customers to share your excellent information.  Free 60-day trial of email marketing at Constant Contact, and only $15/month after that.  Much cheaper than the Post Office.
• BONUS:  You get to call your customers to let them know you are switching to email newsletters to help the environment.  While you are getting their email address and permission to send, you can rekindle your customer relationship!
• If you do need to use paper, set your printer up to print on both sides if the copy is only for your use.  You will be surprised how much paper this saves.  My setting is called "Duplex" printing.
  
• If it takes less than 5 minutes, go ahead and complete the task right away.  Don't print the email or add it to your to-do list, just do it.
• If you never take paper out of your office you will be drowning in it in a few years.  Make it a practice to regularly recycle paper in your office. You know the stuff I'm talking about:
• Directions to an appointment you had 3 weeks ago
• Your leftover grocery list (with items crossed off!)
  
• Flyers from meetings or seminars you have no intention of pursuing
• Do you get a lot of packages?  Bring your extra styrofoam peanuts to your local UPS store to be re-used. They will gladly take it.
• Are you overloaded with catalogs?  Stop the ones you no longer want with Catalog Choice.
• Save energy by using Energy-star rated bulbs or turning off the lights when you don't need them.  Even in cloudy Seattle I normally don't use electric lights due to my office skylight.
• Provide your brochures, product/service information, and manuals in electronic format instead of printing them.  Better yet, make them easily accessible on your website so your customers can get them whenever they want.
  
• Turn off your computer every night.  For many of you this is the hardest thing to do, but it will save power and (even more important) will save you from constantly checking email when you should be relaxing.  Your family and pets will thank you.

Be intentional about the products you use and ask others to use on your behalf.  By taking a minute to think about it, you can save a little bit of money and a little bit of earth every day, and over the long run make yourself richer all around.

"There are no passengers on Spaceship Earth.  We are all crew."

~ Marshall McLuhan