Let’s talk about consistency. But let me reverse back into it. You’ve likely heard me say that successful people do the little things that most people think don’t matter. Yet that is why they are successful. Because they understand the importance of doing what others class as not necessary. Consistency is one of those things.
It is a huge key to success and achieving your goals, yet it is overlooked and undervalued by the majority of people. It is also extremely simple. Here’s some simple advice: “just be consistent with the actions that will move you closer to your goals.” Easy to say. Hard to do. That’s why we all need to work so hard at being consistent and pick ourselves up and renew our efforts every time we fall off the wagon of consistency. That’s why ongoing motivation and inspiration is so important. We need it to give us a boost and get us going again whenever we falter and start to ‘not feel like it’.
Motivation gets you going. Consistency is what keeps you going. It’s a lifelong work in progress but if you value consistency highly enough (and you should), it is worth the struggle and the journey. At the end of the day, your life is just the result of all your habits. To change your life you change your habits. Habits are consistency brought to life.
The many OSA members that have been here for 3, 4, 5 or 8 years all understand this. They stay here not just for the new strategies, but mainly because the frequent motivation and inspiration is what keeps them going on their journey with ever increasing implementation and consistency. It’s the same reason I have been with my personal business coach for over eight years and why I subscribe to 7 monthly newsletters that I’ve been reading for over 5 years, a couple for over 10 years.
There is an old customer service adage that says to wow clients you need to under promise and overdeliver. It’s not entirely accurate. The truth is to create raving fans for your business, don’t drive promises down. Drive delivery up. And regardless of what you promise, it is consistency that’s important. Customers only allow themselves to be a true raving fan for your practice when they know they can count on you time and time again.
Exceeding expectations is important but it’s even more important to consistently meet expectations. Meet first. Exceed second. The worst thing you can do is meet expectations one time, fall short another, and exceed them every now and then. You will disappoint and frustrate and ultimately lose clients.
To be consistent you have to have systems. Ken Blanchard, author of Raving Fans says “At the core of every great customer service business is a package of systems and a training program to inculcate those systems into the soul of that company. That’s what guarantees consistency.”
Delivering your products and service properly time after time without fail is the foundation of Raving Fan customer service. Systems are what allows you to guarantee delivery.
But remember, all the systems in the world aren’t worth a pinch of salt if everyone isn’t trained to follow them.
**The Staff Training Workshop is the place where we train your staff for you in the implementation of OSA systems annually. We’re in the process of selecting a date for the 2024 staff training workshop. To get on the wait list email info@opticalsuccessacademy.com