Want a CD or Transcript of this interview? Click Here!

Do you have a difficult customer who demands more than you’re willing to give, requires more skill to manage, and who pushes all your buttons?  (Me too.)

Do you sometimes wish they would go away (but, then you’re telling revenue to go away), or would you rather find a way to turn them into a wonderful, loyal customer who refers you to all their friends (this is the way to go, baby!).

This week’s guest, Marilyn Suttle, is the author of “Who’s Your Gladys? How to Turn Even the Most Difficult Customer into Your Biggest Fan”.  She will share how you can not only effectively manage your difficult customers, but will describe the things you can do to convert them.

Marilyn learned that the basic skills that great parents use with their kids can work with customers, too.  She then started a jamming career helping organizations to improve their customer service.  

So, who is Gladys?  If you’re perspective is right, Gladys is your friend.  She’s good news.  And she’s a complainer who is in your face.  Why is that good?  Because what she’s bothering to tell you about is probably on other customers’ minds, too – they just don’t care enough to speak up (and they may go away without you knowing about it).

Welcoming your customers as guests into your world helps to provide great customer service, too.  When the phone rings with a complaint, it’s not a problem – it’s a person to connect with.

Marilyn shares proactive examples of great customer service design, too.  I like the story of how Singapore Airlines designed a space on their planes with the input of some core customers.  These are 20-hr flights, so customer comfort is important!

Toward the end of our interview, Marilyn does share that there may be some instances that the right move might be to let a customer go.  Make sure you know the difference!  If they compromise your values or act unethically, then give them the boot (or refer them to your competitor!).

Want a CD or Transcript of this interview? Click Here!

Do you wonder what separates average from great results?  Our inner cheerleader – our Positive Mental Attitude – has proven to be part of the answer to this question over and over, yet many people struggle to maintain a Positive Mental Attitude day in and day out.

Maryanne Ross is a living example of how any of us can thrive once we’ve learned how to harness the power of our Positive Mental Attitude.  She shares her story – from fork truck driver, to middle management, to entrepreneur and small business owner.  The edge she had all through her career was her Positive Mental Attitude.

Maryanne does a wonderful job describing the difference between a Positive Mental Attitude and the opposite – a negative attitude.  I think you’ll find that even the most positive of us slip and have a negative thought now and then.  She shared a statistic that 80% of the thoughts we think are negative – imagine if you should change this percentage even slightly in your favor the advantage you’d enjoy.

One of many other principles for maintaining positive attitudes and great results is gratitude.  Another is having great mentors.  She demonstrated both during this interview.  Maryanne graciously credits the mentors she’s had during her life for guiding her on the path that led to her many great successes.  My challenge to you is to be sure that you have mentors in your life, too – people who have been through the challenges you’re likely to face, and can help you come out on top.

One thing that is important to remember – we can choose the attitude we “wear”.  Maryanne describes this as Mental Apparel.  Too often, we spend more time deciding what clothes to wear than what attitudes to wear.  Choose to wear a positive attitude.

As you listen to this interview, consider the times when you were faced with a challenge and chose to have a great attitude through the experience.  Were you satisfied with the result?  What about when you chose to have a negative or critical attitude through the challenging experience – how did that work out for you?  I hope you find that choosing to hold a positive outlook no matter what will shape your experience to be more enjoyable and satisfying for you.

Small business owner Mark Miller shares his philosophies to achieve more fun, freedom and fulfillment.

Want a CD or Transcript of this interview? Click Here!

Are you tentative in life – take a conservative approach and act cautiously? Do you wish you had a little more courage to drive toward your dreams more aggressively?

This week’s guest, Mark Miller, will inspire you to get the most out of life, starting right now. Mark’s philosophy is to “Life Life Wide Open”.  But what exactly does that mean?

Just like we see with peoples personal definitions of success changing over time, the same is true for Mark’s definition quote unquote “Live Life Wide Open”.  Whereas this once meant “how fast can we go…?” It now has more to do with being wide open to possibilities.

One lesson that translates from the idea of living life wide open meaning “living fast” is from an example that Mark shared.  Imagine riding your Harley or snowmobile through the woods and you come upon an obstacle in the trail.  If you focus on the obstacle you will hit it; if you focus on the way out you’ll be safe.

The same is true in business where entrepreneurs and small business owners encounter problems and challenges on a daily basis. If you focus on the way out, the way through, on the positive and on the results you want then you’ll achieve your goals.

Mark shared some more great advice for entrepreneurs and small business owners that he learned from Michael Gerber include “work on your business not in your business”.  Mark also recognized the need to work on himself with extensive reading, training and mentorship to really have lasting impact that translates to business and life success.

Mark has amazing life experiences to share that will help you achieve your goals.  He’s been guided by some of the best mentors, and his life and results are fantastic and motivating.  I know you’ll enjoy this interview.

Be sure to leave a comment below to let us know what your thoughts are!

Have you ever felt awkward or uncomfortable networking or following-up with people you’ve recently met?   Would you like the tools, strategies and motivation to do it with confidence and gusto?

Want a CD or Transcript of this interview? Click Here!

Kathy McAfee joins us as a special guest to talk about the role of professional networking for success and goal achievement.  Kathy gives you a new perspective on networking and shows you how it can help you realize more fun, freedom and fulfillment in your career, business and life.

Now more than ever your best investment is in building your professional network.  Listen to this stimulating conversation about how you can create a robust professional and personal network that works for you.

Kathy describes that the real purpose of Networking is Relationship Building – a purposeful exercise to build mutually beneficial relationships.  That’s an interesting perspective given all the 1-way “transactional” conversations you might hear when you go to a networking event.  Or, think of all the requests on Twitter or Facebook to click here to buy now – without the relationship first.  (This is one of the biggest mistakes people make.)

Kathy lays out the basics of networking for us, and points out that many of us are happy to help others but few have the courage to ask for help.

Here are two exercises to consider doing now that will help you determine the power of your network.

1)    How many people do you know? List them all out – break this up by category if it helps you, such as work, family, college, neighbors, etc.  (Note: this is not the number of friends on Facebook or Twitter, but real people you know by name.)  Did you come up with more than 250?  If yes, you’re doing pretty well.

2)    Who are your top 50 people – the influential people in your network who are motivated to help you out?

Catch the details of this interview and discover how easy it is to become a powerful networker!

Be sure to leave a comment below to let us know what your thoughts are!

Want a CD or Transcript of this interview? Click Here!

Thankfully, there is another way.  In this week’s interview, we’ll hear our guest, Shayla Roberts, talk about how to “Play” in your “Optimal Operating State” and discover how easy it can be to get the results you want.

Shayla Roberts is professional innovator, creating programs, products, and services to facilitate human development.  She has written a number of books, including “Bold Moves: JUMP to Outstanding Self-Managed Action” with co-author (and former i-saga guest) Allan Milham.

(She is also a musician and recording artist – a rather successful one at that.  I have some of her music and absolutely LOVE the relaxing atmosphere it creates.  You can find out more at www.ShamanHeart.com )

Our discussion follows the format in Bold Moves, and the “P” in JUMP is rather important, as it describes where we all want to ultimately end up.

What if you were to ask yourself, “In this moment, what would I like to do next?”  What answers show up for you?  Shayla can lead you though the potential answers to this and many other questions that might come up for you.  Does the answer reflect your Optimal Operating State?

It does if you find that your are truly happy, that your life is effortless, and you’re in a place of mastery.  This is where real creativity comes from – a genuine capacity to solve problems.

Remember, you have the ability to decide how you want to live your life.  Shayla guides you in this interview toward a life of abundance and possibility.

Click Here for more information about Bold Moves.

Be sure to leave a comment below to let us know what your thoughts are!

Want a CD or Transcript of this interview? Click Here!

This week’s guest, Cindy Hadfield, has started a number of businesses that she will tell us about, and also helps people get their businesses started. Listen to what she has done herself and how she works with her clients to jump-start their business ideas.

Cindy has done a masterful job building from one business idea to the next. As an accountant, she went from teaching accounting principles, to printing checks to support accounting software, to creating a software solution to the check printers. All from observing the problems that this industry needed to solve – she stepped in and solved them.

Listen to your potential customers questions – they hold the key to a business idea.

Find yourself in a tough situation? Ponder – “There’s got to be a better way”, let the answer show up, and create another business idea.

Cindy walks us through some of the pitfalls and success principles, so if you have started a business or are interested in starting one soon, then listen to Cindy’s advice!

You’ll discover that starting a business really is easy!

Be sure to leave a comment below to let us know what your thoughts are!

This is your opportunity to hear about the Young Entrepreneur’s Society and The YES Movie now, just as it is being released. Learn the secrets in this interview before the rest of the world has access to the movie. Join us on www.i-saga.net!

Click here to view a preview of the YES Movie

If you don’t see the player below you may need to update your browser’s plugins.

To download the mp3 right click and either “Save Target As” or “Save Link As” and save it to your computer.

Tiffany Wright is a walking encyclopedia about raising capital for your small business (or, large business – the principles are the same).  Tiffany is the author of Solving the Capital Equation: Financing Solutions for Small Businesses.  This book came from answering her clients’ questions over the past few years, so you know it is full of info that you want to know.

If you’re a small business owner or entrepreneur then this interview is a must!  Have you ever wondered if you had enough working capital to cover your expenses for the next few months?  What about how you will fund that really great project that will certainly bring you loads of revenue?  Is there financing out there for you?  What are your options?  Can you easily get it?

Listen to the replay of this interview if you need to know these answers! 
[audio:http://www.i-saga.net/audio/tiffanywright9556646761147-001.mp3]

Download Audio Here

To download the audio to your computer, simply right click on the link and either “save target as” or “save link as,” and save the file to a folder on your computer.