I Am The Client Blog hd Passion Squared

I’m The Client, Remember?

February 29, 2016Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“A man without a smiling face must not open a shop.” Chinese Proverb

Since when did it become a thing to make a client jump though hoops to engage with your business? I am watching a disturbing trend unfold right before my eyes that astounds me and I while I have blogged on this topic before, here and here, I am inspired to share again. Why? Because I care, and even more because I know many are not even aware they are doing this.

As a business owner, our responsibility is to make the client experience the most awesome possible, online and off. This means several things. But here are just a few…

If you want me to engage with you, make it simple + easy.
And by easy, I mean make it easy for me. Be mindful of my needs and my process. Create a system that works for me, and of course, if it works for me, that means it will work for you. The harder you make it, the more likely I will choose to go elsewhere.

Be mindful of how you speak to me on social platforms. Please.
True leadership comes from having a level of control over our emotions. Just because you had one no show, does not make it OK to blame an entire following. When things begin to unravel, look inward, and look at your systems. There is something broken but guess what? It can be fixed.

I am not to blame for your lack of systems.
If you find yourself overwhelmed by texts, phone calls, and emails, look in the mirror. This is many times the most challenging part of biz ownership. So much of the angst you feel can be alleviated by having awesome systems and processes. But nine times out of ten, its not the people who fail, it’s the system that fails. Take the time to work on creating systems. Your anxiety and angst, and most of all, your clients will thank you.

Some systems + processes you may want to look into are…
Appointment Booking
Confirmations
Cancelled or changed appointments
No shows
Check In
Check Out
Pre Booking
Re-Do’s
Post experience
Lapsed client communications
FAQ’s
Agreements (Policies)
Note on agreements: Be sure these are created with the mindset that a large majority of clients awesome. If you are making a new policy charged with emotion over one repeat offender, that is not a policy, it is actually punishing everyone versus dealing with that one offender directly. Remember, doing biz with you should be simple, easy and client focused and friendly.

Look, I know biz ownership can be overwhelming, but that is what we signed up for. With the technology and choices available to us today, it is simpler than ever to implement systems that make the client experience awesome.

Always be mindful that we have choices. And of all the reasons I will choose you; how you treat me, and my experience with your brand, online and off, are some of the biggest reasons.

The choice is yours.
Love + Awesomeness-
Nina

PS: If you are an owner, our A School for Owners online coaching program may be a good fit for you. Interested? Click here to learn more!

Engagement header

6 Thoughts On Engagement

March 16, 2015Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

The leaders who get the most out of their people are the leaders who care most about their people.  – Simon Sinek

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening.

I got an awesome question from an awesome human on the Passion Squared Facebook page and it inspired this post. Thanks so much Nate for inspiring me to share my thoughts on the topic of engagement.*

In working with my clients, whether it’s my one on one clients or my awesome A School group, this is often a topic of discussion. And as one who has developed and lead teams as well as grown communities on social platforms, I am passionate about this topic as well.

Why? Because I believe many of us have challenges when it comes to engagement of people, teams or even social platforms and we know we can do better.

First, lets define engage:

Engage (verb aka action word)
to get and keep (someone’s attention, interest, etc.)

Now how in the heck do we do that? Get and keep someone’s attention and interest?

Listen
Ahhhhh, the old listening trick, works every time if we actually do it. And I mean really listen. Not with the intent to respond, but to show me, through your actions, that you are really listening and I am really being heard.

Be Honest
Having loving, courageous conversations are tough for many. But without them, we cannot nurture and grow ourselves or expect to nurture, grow and engage others.

Understand Me
As the great Stephen Covey taught us in 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, “Seek first to understand.”

Be Human
Authenticity is the old, new and future black. If you want me to be engaged, than I want you to be real. I can see right through your “status quo” verbiage.

Show Up
Trust is possibly one of the most important elements of an engaged team or community. And trust is bread through promises kept. We must never get so “busy” in the mundane day to day that we forget an important part of leadership: showing up and being fully present.

Care
Like really really care. I know, we all say we care. But humans can tell if that is true or not. From our words, actions, promises kept, all of it. Just like Simon Sinek shares in the opening quote.

Choosing to lead a team, a community or a company is an awesome responsibility that takes a huge, selfless commitment. And it’s not for everybody.

If you are feeling challenged by your team, your community or your social platforms and not feeling they are engaged, take a look at this list, and in the mirror.

Lastly, two of my go to people on leadership are Simon Sinek and Marcus Buckingham. My go to humans on engagement are Brian Solis and Gary Vaynerchuk. All of these awesome, passionate and smart humans have tons of content online from books, to talks to blogs and more. I highly recommend them.

Love + Awesomeness-

Nina

*Edited blog post, originally published 3/16/15

Sticks + Stones

Sticks + Stones

October 20, 2014Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW

“Without knowing the force of words, it is impossible to know more.”

 Confucius

 

Sticks + Stones                                                                            (image via Google)

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening.

Have you ever heard the nursery rhyme “Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me”? OMG. That was actually something we put into children’s minds.

I like to think we have evolved more intellectually and emotionally to know how incredibly damaging that message is. But sadly, that is not always the case.

Words matter… in business and in life.

  • They create an awesome experience. Or create a not so awesome one.

  • They help build confidence. And they can destroy it.

  • They build relationships. And break them.

  • They build trust. Or create doubt.

  • They can excite me. Or they can bore me.

How much time do you spend choosing the words you are using in your business communications, both online and off?

How much care do you use when choosing the words you use when coaching a team member or speaking to a colleague?

How conscious are you of the words you choose when talking to yourself? (and please don’t even tell me you don’t talk to yourself. We all do. Whether we are conscious of it or not.)

Some wander through the social web, through business, and life, using words that have the potential to cause damage. But some choose to use words that empower, enrich the conversation and create awesome experiences.

Your choice. Choose wisely.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)

Mad Love for Larisadoll

Mad Love For @larisadoll

October 13, 2014Nina KovnerENGAGE, GROW, PASSIONISTA PROFILE

“Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hour days.”

 Zig Ziglar

 

Mad Love for Larisadoll

 

Here is the audio version of this post. Thank you so much for listening.

Social listening and healthy stalking does have its privileges. And that is exactly how I discovered and met one of the most passionate and inspirational hairdressers I have ever known, Larisa Love aka @larisadoll on Instagram.

If you read my blog or listened to my Masters Series interview with Winn Claybaugh, then you have heard me speak of this awesomeness creator. I have been watching and listening to her for almost a year now.

One of the most awesome things I get to do at Passion Squared is connect with the best of the best, study them, learn from them, and many times actually meet them offline, then carry that message to my clients and community.

I’m not gonna lie, I am a big fan, and when Larisa and I set our date to meet, I got butterflies in my tummy. Why? Respect. Plain and simple. I knew this girl was special, but I also knew I only knew her online persona. And awesomely enough, she also works in the most beautiful bungalow at Butterfly Loft Salon in Encino. So butterflies were for sure an appropriate emotion.

Larisadoll

So what did I learn about what makes Larisa so awesome?

1. Authenticity
Larisa is the real deal. As beautiful inside as out. This is probably the most important thing to learn about her success. Authenticity is everything in today’s world, and you can be Insta famous, have a gazillion followers, but fall flat offline if you are not truly authentic.

2. Focus + Direction
Larisa has such insane clarity of direction and focus for such a young (in years) human. People often ask me what is one of the most common challenges I see working with small businesses in the beauty and wellness worlds. My answer. Focus and direction.

3. She Knows Her Why
Larisa is crystal clear on her why, promise, purpose and target market as a brand. She is consistent in her work, her brand identity, her boundaries, and how she presents her brand and creates stories that matter on Instagram. She knows her brand why. Remember, as the awesome Simon Sinek says, “People don’t buy what you do, they buy WHY you do it.”

4. Instagram Can Build A Business
Larisa learned very early in her short 4-year career as a hairdresser that Instagram would be the platform to engage, connect, build relationships and ultimately grow a business that has her booked until 2016 with 800 people on her waiting list. She chose one platform, she chose to focus intently on it, and she has never wavered. She spends at minimum 2 hours a day creating content, posting and engaging with her followers. You may think 2 hours is a lot of time. My question back to you is are you happy with your marketing plan and how it’s helping you grow your business?

5. Consistency
This could be Larisa’s middle name. Her beautiful work speaks for itself. But what matters even more is her consistency. In branding, in hair, in engagement, in posting, in content creation, and in voice.

Can every stylist have 40K followers and an 800-person waiting list? I don’t really know. But what I do know, is the above traits and actions are just some of the reasons Larisa has been SO successful, and it also happens to be traits and actions I see in many others creating awesome in their business.

As I have said before and I will always say, there is NO secret or magic pill. Creating awesome takes commitment, courage, consistency and most of all caring. And Larisa is all of those things and so much more.

If you are not already, follow @larisadoll and learn. Then go out and create your own kind of awesome.

A big shout out of gratitude and thanks to Larisa, her beautiful, kind and talented BF @dylankelly and David and Alexis, the awesome owners of Butterfly Loft Salon for such a special evening. I am in awe of all of you and so grateful to know you.

(shared with LOVE from Nina)

(awesome photos courtesy of @larisadoll)