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The Enlightened Warrior’s ‘Keys to Success’ Through the Power of Our Thoughts, Words, and Deeds

In the philosophical teachings of the Ninja Warrior’s Mikkyo esoteric mind-science that forms the foundation for the Warrior Concepts Life Mastery Program taught to my students and clients, there are three areas of focus that allow the Ninja Warrior, or anyone who understands these principles, to act with enlightened clarity and always achieve his or her goals. Each of these so-called ‘3-Keys of Success’ can be focused on in and of itself, but the real ‘magic’ results when the three are brought together and aligned with the Ninja’s vision.

The 3 Keys are collectively known in Japanese as the Sanmitsu or ‘3 Secrets.’ Not at all ’secret’ in the conventional sense as being kept away from others or hidden, the sanmitsu are seen as ’secret’ because they have to be ‘discovered’ by the student to have any benefit. The three are the “thoughts,” “speech,” and “actions” of the Ninja practitioner. They are seen as both the necessary elements to bring about success, and the means by which we can change and affect our world. In this article, I’d like to focus on the 3rd Key, the ’secret’ of the power of our actions. And, like a well-maintained vehicle that gets us where we want to go, our actions are the direct manifestation of our thoughts and intention in the outside world around us.

As seen on the Kongo-kai mandala of Universal Enlightenment, our actions are associated with the ‘wind’ realm of All-Accomplishing Wisdom and the concept of skillful means. Our actions have the potential to change our world and our experience of it. Students studying within the upper training modules before advancing into the Black Belt Mastery Stages are constantly reminded of the truth of the power of their actions during their class opening and closing as they recite the Ninja Master’s Admonition of Sh’kin Haramits’ Daikomyo! The lesson of this phrase is that ‘every moment - every action - holds the potential of being just that thing that will produce the happiness, understanding and power that we have been seeking.’ It means that “no-thing doesn’t matter” - everything deserves our attention.

Of course, merely running around ‘doing stuff’ is not at all what we’re talking about here. Most of us can remember a time when we did a lot but accomplished very little. For most of us, we need only think back over the past few days. The key or ’secret’ here is not in the activity itself but in the focus or direction that requires a particular action. The truth is that unfocused, undirected action is nothing but idle ‘wheel-spinning.’ It accomplishes nothing toward the accomplishment of goals and more towards creating even more of the feelings of exhaustion, exasperation and distraction that regularly plague our days.

To harness the power of our deeds and actions, we must first take the time to focus on what it is that we would like to accomplish. We must ask the important questions that will allow us to discipline ourselves to acting with purpose and not impulse. Questions like: “What do we want our life to be like and about?” and “What is important and what needs to be illuminated?” will help to answer the primary question of “why?”

Why are we doing these things? What, if anything, are we working toward, or is this just another distraction or another attempt to avoid the unpleasant? The following is a list of “why” questions that can be used to determine whether an action is worth doing in the scheme of things:

• Why am I doing this?

• Why is that important?

• Why is that important? (This is not a duplication but a clarification of the last answer!)

• Why do I give in to avoid unpleasant responses from others even when I don’t think this is beneficial or productive?

• Why don’t I act when I know it is the right thing to do or is something that must be done to produce the results I need?

• Why do I fill my days with activities that do not contribute to the accomplishment of goals, conditions and results that I say and believe are important?

• Why do I choose inactivity (laziness and procrastination) when there are things that should be done to bring me closer to accomplishing my goals?

This is a partial list and I’m sure that you can, and have thought (and possibly asked yourself) of many others like them. The point here is not to discuss acting out of the mindset that says, “when you’re unsure of what to do, do something.” But, to maintain a constant focus on the purpose for acting. In fact, if you were to refer to your life purpose process and the lists you created to establish the “why” for acting, you will see the difference. Remember, anything done that is in alignment with our life purpose is what the Ninja - the Enlightened Warrior engaging with his or her world - sees as an Enlightened Action. And, anything that does not contribute to our life purpose - to creating the life we want to be living - is a distraction.

Period.

Jeffrey M. Miller is the founder and master instructor of Warrior Concepts International. A senior teacher in the Japanese warrior art of Ninjutsu, he specializes in teaching the ancient ways of self-protection and personal development lessons in a way that is easily understood and put to use by modern Western students and corporate clients. Through their martial arts training, his students and clients learn proven, time-tested lessons designed to help them create the life they’ve always dreamed of living, and the skills necessary for protecting that life from anything that might threaten it. To learn more about this and other subjects related to the martial arts, self-defense, personal development & self-improvement, visit his website at http://www.warrior-concepts-online.com

If you’re planning a wedding or planning on being in one, then the question of wedding speeches is bound to come up.

Who gives the speeches

Well, this is really up to the couple that’s getting married, but there seems to be a normal list of people that are expected to say something.

The wedding party usually has the most members talking about the bride or the groom. The Best Man and Matron or Maid of Honor are the ones that will be giving short speeches before dinner in most cases. Other members of the party can also speak if the couple chooses.

The father of the bride usually gives a speech to the guests, thanking them for coming as well as saying a word or two to the groom. The couple themselves may also want to talk to the guests, giving them thanks and their love.

Of course, the reception isn’t the only place for speeches. Many times, the wedding rehearsal has one or two of the couple’s parents speaking as well.

As many people as the couple wants can speak, but what if you’re the one that’s asked?

Before you stand up

If you’re asked to give a speech, no doubt you’re nervous and at a loss for what to say. The best advice is to keep your speech short and simple, so that your nerves don’t have time to take over and so that your creativity isn’t sapped.

Make a list of all of the things that you admire and love about the couple or half of the couple. If you’ve been friends for a while, you may want to include a joke or a story. The best advice is to keep the story clean thoughtheir parents may not want to know what they’ve done.

Talk about the person and then end with some sort of revelation or note of congratulation. Raise your glass and toast the couple. It’s really as easy as that.

If you’re afraid that you’ll become nervous, make sure that you rehearse the speech often, writing it well in advance. Or you can just focus on your friend as you give the speech and avoid making eye contact out into the reception crowd.

Speeches are a wonderful way to give thanks to the guest and to members of the new couple. Use your heart as a guide, and you’re sure to get it right.

Amy Spade is an expert on planning weddings, and she has written an amazing totally free minicourse on how to make sure that you have the day of your dreams, and avoid wedding day disaster!

Get the free course “Your Special Day from Start to Finish” now at at http://www.weddingdata.com

Bunion is one of the most common problems faced by many people. It is more common than you can imagine. The medical term for this condition is known as Hallux Valgus. The problem arises when a bump starts developing on the inside of your big toe. This comes along with severe pain and swelling. The swelling is caused due to a bone which protrudes towards the inside of your foot. The big toe joint gets bigger which pressurizes other toes. These pressured toes cause severe pain mainly while walking. It can also occur to the joint of your little toe which is known as bunionette.

One of the common reasons to suffer from this condition is by wearing tight shoes. Cramping your feet in a small pair of shoes can cause such problems. Bunion also arises due to certain foot injury as well as stress. Women are affected by this condition mainly due to high-heeled, pointy-toed shoes which cramp the air causing problems to your feet. Bunions are also formed to a flatfeet person. It runs in the family as it is a hereditary problem. Older people and many young people suffer from arthritis problem which is also a good reason for development of bunion.

Some of the most common symptom for bunion is severe pain. The area becomes red and tender causing inflammation. There is also a burning sensation and sometimes numbness. You can develop other problems like in-growth of toe nail and well as sores between the toes. If these symptoms do not satisfy your doubts, you can check it with your local doctor by taking an x-ray. Bunion can be rectified only through surgery, but you can use some home remedies to prevent such problem and also get some relief.

Home Remedies

First thing first, you have to buy a good pair of shoes. Other than looks it should be useful for your feet. Always wear shoes which have wider toe space. It should be comfortable and should also provide the maximum protection.

You can use padding over the bunion area which would minimize the pain.

Apply ice pack several times a day to reduce inflammation.

You can also buy bunion shields, bunion bandages and bunion night splints which are a small way to provide some relief to your feet.

Try easing the pain by massaging your foot in a perpendicular motion.

Compression of heating pads on regular intervals provides great help to your feet.

Soaking your feet in hot water is by far one of the best remedies for bunion.

Warning: The reader of this article should exercise all precautionary measures while following instructions on the home remedies from this article. Avoid using any of these products if you are allergic to it. The responsibility lies with the reader and not with the site or the writer.

Sharon Hopkins has been managing a number of natural home remedies websites which gives information on Home Remedies For Bunion. Want to learn more about Bunion condition you can read it.

Link up the two of men’s dominant pursuits and what you will unearth is a mania we customarily term a sportsbook gambling website. Truly, what could be more resourceful. If you envision a set of sports maniacs cheering a favored sports club, and almost always stakes will be computed parallel to the clamor. Because they want to get a bit of the pleasure, spectators will typically venture to divine who will prevail the forthcoming struggle. In the end, this all eventually evolves into a chummy little struggle named sportsbook gambling website.

It is bound to seem to be addicting but on the contrary - sportsbook wagering is really only an amusing entertainment and of teaming up with fellow sports enthusiasts. You can wager a a harmless sum of cash and nevertheless enjoy an incredible time. Furthermore, here are some basics to help you get started sportsbook wagering.

In order to place that wager, you’ll probably want to surf to a sportsbook gambling website, i.e. a place which takes sportsbook gambling website. In America, you will find no less than four states to do sportsbook wagering lawfully, but informally you may go for it everywhere assuming you can find a bookie AND you’re a legal adult. On the list of sporting contests you can choose to bet on are professional including college basketball and football, professional hockey, professional hockey, including betting on. You might choose to risk money on the global combined score of a competition or game, at which point any given opponent will be knocked out, and even whether a tossed coin in a competition or game comes out heads or tails.

The odds makers rely on statistical mathematics to assist you venture a guess which sports club you feel will prevail. First thing you’ll find the spread, or points leverage tallied to the inferior lineup that is anticipated to be defeated by a set number points. We’ll find plenty of plenty of different genres of lays– straight bets, teaser antes &c., the straight bets being the most prevalent in sportsbook wagering.

Well, why not give it a runover and have a lot of fun at one fell swoop. Simply ensure that you won’t get overpowered and squander your total retirement fund on a whim… If not, you’re going to catch yourself distressful all life long… What are you waiting for? Learn all the top online sports book wagering games here!

If you have a sales manager or someone above you in sales are you using their special powers? Your boss probably has insight you don’t know about that will break open sales for you. When you learn how to use this, everyone wins in sales. Most managers would love to be taken advantage of in this manner. I can’t think of one sales manager who wouldn’t want to be used like this.

Understanding Management Perception and Insight
Some business owners or sales managers don’t realize that they have special insight when it comes to outside sales. Whenever they join a sales call with a salesperson, everything changes. The dynamics are different because there is a level of respect for their position, which affects the sales call. Sales managers can generate a similar effect on appointments. The advantage they have is their position and perception. When they join an appointment with a salesperson their title raises the bar for discussing subjects the customer wouldn’t normally consider. The business owner can ask tough questions the salesperson can’t ask and get the same response. Salespeople can’t accomplish this alone.

Would you believe a salesperson? I wouldn’t believe most of the salespeople I meet. We know that in many cases your title doesn’t say salesperson. You know prospects look upon us with this stigma and this won’t change anytime soon. The only way we can make the transition from a salesperson is to become a trusted consultant or strategic partner. Even if we make this transition, it will go a lot easier if we bring along a business owner or sales manager who caries the weight of a higher position.

Management Thinking is Different
Do you realize that business owners think differently than the typical salesperson? They do! There are really only two factors that an owner will base a business decision on. Those two factors are what drives them and keeps them in business. They also like to do business with individuals who understand and share the same values they do. It is the reason that P’s (Presidents) and VP’s (Vice Presidents) like to do business with one another. Since we aren’t P’s we either have to act like one or bring one to appointments.

Value Proposition One
The business owner thinks about how this investment will make money every time they make a decision about something. If our service doesn’t meet this number one criterion, we are wasting the high-level contacts time. However, because our boss thinks this way too, they are in the perfect position to relay the profit opportunities with our important clients. They can get away with tough questions and they can challenge a tough prospect with reasons that a salesperson just can’t get away with.

Value Proposition Two
The second reason is will this product or services save me time or money? The business owner thinks about this every time they make a purchase decision. If our service doesn’t meet this number two criterion, we are wasting the high-level contacts time. Fortunately the boss thinks this way too. They can relate cost saving opportunities with clients and can get away with hard-hitting questions. They can dispute an issue with reasons a salesperson just can’t get away with.

Why P’s like to Communicate With P’s
Bring management along on your c-level account presentations and closing appointments. Your boss has the secret powers to ask the tough questions that a salesperson can’t ask. Bringing them along will also raise the level of importance to the account that your contact will appreciate. Remember, P’s like to talk with P’s. If your management representative gets nervous, just remind them that they are a natural for this task and ask them to relate as a peer, on how your solution will save the prospect money or reduce costs. Just be sure you have your facts straight when you turn your boss loose with their secret powers. If not, ask your boss to confirm your assessments before the meeting.

Steve Martinez teaches business how to out smart and out wit the competition by automating and customizing ACT and Outlook with the best practices of sales. http://www.sellingmagic.com

I am not about to start asking people how the price of gas and the job and wage crunch is effecting their daily lives. It isn’t too hard to figure what it is doing for our hobbies, either. Face it when times are rough and money is scarce, it really puts a damper on wandering around the countryside.

As depressing as the situation is, I thought it was about time to point out that something
very good is going on for rockhounds around the world. That something good is the
Internet.
It used to take much time, effort, and money to do anything related to our hobbies. It took
tons of gas other than that used just to get to a site. Finding information could sometimes
be a major effort.

Meeting people who were not local to share information with to save gas and time on
trips was practically impossible even if you contacted local clubs elsewhere. If your
travel schedule didn’t coincide with theirs, you were still pretty much on your own.
Finding equipment could sometimes be a total nightmare, as could trying to get a
specimen identified. Clubs had to do some major advertising just to let people know that
they had something interesting going on and had to spend on mailing newsletters, too.
The list is endless.

But here we are in 2005 and we have the Internet. Now you can find rockhounds
anywhere in the world to communicate with. No more guess work on trips. There are
online merchants. No more days of hunting down your needed equipment. You can find
pictures to help you learn about what things look like, and put up pictures to have others
help identify your finds. You can have information of anything going on at your local
clubs with the click of a button. Local clubs can post activities and email newsletters. This list, too, is endless.

So, you can see that while times are tough, they could be one heck of a lot tougher than
they are. I am not sure exactly how thrilled we can be about the ridiculous greed that is
causing us the financial hardships we are experiencing, but we can feel a bit better about
not being as cut off from our hobbies and recreations as we could be.

©2005 Sally Taylor: Sal is an avid gem and treasure hunter, explorer, writer, and is the owner of http://www.rockhoundstation1.com

That’s right are you making enough mistakes in your business? Some of you are probably annoyed at my question; others are thinking “Geez, Rose! If I made any more mistakes I’d have to run screaming back to a day job!”

If you went to school in the public school system in America, you were culturally trained to avoid and hide mistakes, after all; your teachers and professors didn’t give you a great grade for your efforts unless those efforts produced great results. So, too, if you were an employee in corporate America you were rewarded for chasing perfection and penalized for making mistakes.

But now you’re self-employed.

And it’s a necessity that you rethink the whole issue of mistakes. One of the most important mental shifts we all need to make as self-employed business owners is from hiding and avoiding our mistakes to embracing them! And to making lots of little ones frequently! (It’s those big mistakes that happen “once in a while” that will kill your business not the little mistakes you make daily.)

Here’s an example of one of those business-killing mistakes:

Sam had been doing subcontracting work for Fred off and on over the past 5 years. Initially, Sam had a full workload for his business between the work he got directly from clients himself and the work that Fred hired him to do. Sam had a non-compete agreement with Fred. Essentially Sam agreed not to solicit work directly from any of Fred’s clients for at least a year after having worked for Fred, but things are tough out here in the real world this year.

Sam knew, from Fred, that Fred was actively marketing his business to a new department in a very large local corporation for whom Fred had worked for many years. In fact, Fred had brought Sam onto several past projects for this client. However, when Sam was approached by a local job-shopping temporary employment agency about the same gig, Sam agreed to allow the agency to submit him for the job.

Sam didn’t tell Fred that he was violating their non-compete agreement. Sam interviewed for the job and got it. Then he told Fred.

This was a big mistake (to say nothing of the violation of several of my Client-Savvy Proficiencies for Successful Solopreneurs!) You can bet that Sam has just eliminated any further work coming into his business via Fred.

Here are some examples of embraceable, little mistakes:

• Emailed my first status report to my client and assumed she received it. She hadn’t received it, which I discovered in the next on-site project meeting. After that I both emailed and faxed her my weekly status reports.
• Bought an indicia from the Postal Office with the intent to save money in my direct mail campaigns through reduced postage costs. Didn’t check it out enough to learn that the PO won’t return undeliverable items when they are stamped with an indicia. Sent out several mailings to a bad mailing list that I couldn’t update because I didn’t know how many of the addresses were defunct. When I learned how this really worked, I switched to using first-class postage for my mailings. Now my mailing lists are cleaned and updated after each mailing…saving me more money than I saved with the indicia.
• Started a new health program than included walking a couple of times each day. I checked my schedule, phone messages, and email messages before I went out for each walk, and carried my cell phone with me during the walk. But I hadn’t started the habit of checking my phone for messages upon re-entry to my office. I missed a call from a lovely prospective client and didn’t return it for 3 hours. Not a great way to begin a relationship in business. Now I forward my office phone to my cell phone during my walks.

As a self-employed professional, you grow and mature by making, and then, correcting mistakes. The key is not only to make the right type of mistakes, but also to correct them yourself and, hence, turn them into a non-repeating event.

Your processes, systems, and expertise develop one mistake at a time. This is an on-going process, not a one-time thing. So you need to be doing this each and every day as a normal and consistent part of how you operate your businesses. You won’t stay in business long if you hide your mistakes or blame them on your systems, processes, or others.

Try being more aware of how you respond to your mistakes, and to what type of mistakes you are making in your business. Then set a goal to make your mistakes lower-risk (i.e., little) and more frequent. Let me know what you learn!

Copyright 2004, Rose Hill, Inc

Rose Hill, Founder and Owner,of Biz Whiz Expert (http://www.SoloBizVille.com) and Team Member of Solo-E.Com (http://www.Solo-E.Com) has been self-employed since 1990. Knowing how to run corporate departments and how to market corporate entities, products, and services did nothing to prepare her for successfully running and marketing a one-person business. That is why Rose created the SoloBizVille and SoloBizU community to specifically to help solo entrepreneurs jumpstart their business success without all the trial-and-error learning.

Find more articles like this at http://www.Solo-E.com, the lifestyle-inspired online learning and connection community. Visit now to receive a free copy of our special report, The Four Secrets of Solo Entrepreneur Success, plus a complimentary 30-day membership.

Pokers Nation, the newest poker site on the net, is currently offering a Thanksgiving Day cash prize giveaway. This contest will run until November 24, 2005. To be eligible for the contest you simply need to go to http://www.pokersnation.com and register for their featured site. All prizes will be paid out on or about December 15, 2005. There will be multiple winners of this contest. The contest is divided into groups of ten and there will be three winners in each group of entrants, with a payout of $300 per group of ten. Winners will be notified by email and are offered many types of payment methods for prize delivery.

Many website owners offer incentives to entice players to hit the tables online. These incentives vary from sign up bonuses to free poker supplies to contests. One of the best incentives on the net today is Pokers Nation’s Thanksgiving Day Giveaway.

Pokers Nation has also stated that 10% of the money generated from this contest will go to the Red Cross to help Hurricane Katrina victims. The more players that sign up for the contest means more money for the families that have been devastated by Katrina. While the contest will not bring millions of dollars for the relief effort, every penny counts in the eyes of Pokers Nation.

Online Poker has been the fastest growing epidemic that the world has ever seen. Recent figures indicate that there are over 200 online card rooms operating which are generating a staggering $2 billion a year in collective revenue. The number of players has nearly tripled over the last 12 months. Playing online has become very popular since Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker after gaining entry from playing in a satellite at an online Poker site.

Pokers Nation will continue to offer incentives to players on a monthly basis. This is sure to be one of the best contests for online poker this year. Don’t delay get signed up today for your chance to win.

While there are many poker websites on the internet for people to choose from, Pokers Nation strives to be your best source for online poker bonus codes, contest, and customer satisfaction.

Complete details on Pokers Nation’s Thanksgiving Day giveaway can be found at http://pokersnation.com/My_Homepage_Files/Page10.html

A businessperson looking for a professional web hosting company and is a novice in web technology will need to choose a web hosting service provider with certain standard services that keep the website up and running. The first thing to look for is whether they provide you with your own chosen domain name. A business website on a subdomain will only take clients away to other professionally maintained websites of your competitors. And if you are expecting regular traffic on your website, go for a company that provides you with a server on your own.

The type of internet connection offered by the company is also equally important. T1 lines or T3 lines are ideal for websites. It is not advisable to go for dial-up connections as they are slow. There are companies that handle your domain registration process and that you have full control over any content on your website. Your website is your window to the world. You cannot afford to have it unavailable to your clients even for a short period of time. Make sure the web hosting service provides you with technical support round the clock and guarantees 99% uptime. You just cannot afford to have your website down.

Email services are provided by most web hosts and are an essential feature of any business website. You need to give free email ids to your employees and services. Most web hosts also set up your site for free and charge only for the upkeep. But you need to go in for a host that will provide you with PHP, CGI/Perl, MS Frontpage and MySql. It is important to have an autoresponder as well.

Go for web programming services and web administration services if you don’t think you can manage it yourself. And choose design templates in tune with your business processes. And choose a server software that is best suited to your needs. Choose a host who gives you Telnet and FTP access for uploading files and for CGI script editing.

If you choose a web host with some of these basic services, you will be able to keep a site that gives your client maximum information about your company.

Professional Web Hosting provides detailed information on Professional Web Hosting, Professional Web Site Hosting, Professional Web Hosting Designs, Professional Web Site Hosting Services and more. Professional Web Hosting is affiliated with Web Hosting Solutions.

“Is my vehicle ready, yet?” may seem like pretty innocuous words. However, these are the five
little words that could hurt your dealership’s bottom-line. Anytime your customer initiates a call
AFTER the promised delivery time, you have damaged your image in your customer’s heart and
mind. Granted, if our answer is “Yes, Mr. Jones, I was just about to give you a call. We have
completed all the work on your vehicle. You can come and pick it up at your convenience,” it
may stem the bleeding. But if we say, “Oh, let me check. No, we haven’t gotten to your car. Boy,
have we been swamped today,” you are adding insult to injury.

Think about it from your customers’ perspective. They are busy people who are already
inconvenienced by the loss of their vehicle. If they call you, you have compounded that
inconvenience. They are worried about when they can get their vehicle back, AND they had to
take time from their day to find out whether you have completed the work. One of the reasons
customers take their vehicles to an independent service center, instead of a dealership service
department, is that they can be in control of when their vehicle will be ready. For example driving
up to a quick lube center (”in and out in 10 minutes”), the customer feels in control. If there are
too many cars in line, they can choose to drive away. But if the place is empty, they know that
they can drive in and out in a few minutes. Time is an important factor for most clients.
Remember, in most of our customers’ minds…time IS money. So, you are COSTING your
customers. Your lack of consideration has just added more cost to the bill. You probably know
that for customers to continue doing business with you, value has to exceed price. By respecting
your customers’ expectations regarding time, you are taking a step toward building value for
them in doing business with your dealership.

Examine how much consideration you demonstrate for your customers’ time and convenience.
Scheduling and communication are two factors that can display your respect in your efforts to
keep customers coming back time and again.

Step one: Make sure that you spend enough time with customers when they drop off their
vehicle. This added time will enable you to not only correctly identify the vehicle problems, but
with the use of a few probing questions, you may be able to up-sell other needed services. When
you spend more time with customers, you will also be better able to write a more complete and
accurate RO. More complete and accurate ROs often mean that your technicians can simply
repair the problems instead of spending their time determining where the problems are. This in
turn will allow for a more accurate completion time estimate.

Step two: Call the customer BEFORE they call you. Your promise time is just that…a PROMISE.
In your customers’ minds, you have broken that promise when you haven’t called them. If you
can’t meet your promise time make the call first. Give the customer an honest reason for the delay
and make sure that you give him/her a more accurate completion time. Remember the phrase
“Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” Do NOT make the customer feel
foolish for choosing you to do their repair work.
Step three: If you have to break your promise time because, “Boy, are we swamped today”, you
imply that your problem is more important than the customer’s. Does the customer really care
about your problems? In a wordNO! So, make sure you are empowered to offer something in
the way of service recovery.

1. Apologize with empathy.
It isn’t enough to say, “Gosh, sorry that your vehicle isn’t ready.” You need to add
empathy in order to start to win your customer back. “I am so sorry, Mr. Jones. Your
vehicle isn’t going to be ready when we promised. I realize that this is an inconvenience
for you.”

2. Immediately correct the problem.
“But, be assured that we are doing everything we can so that we can to finish it
by _____.”

If you haven’t completed the repair because of poor scheduling, or any other dealership problem,
two additional steps may be necessary.

3. Offer symbolic atonement.
Make sure that you are empowered to offer the customer something to compensate them
for their time and trouble. This can often go a long way in starting to repair the damage.
Something as simple as a “perk”, a discount coupon for an oil change or free drop-in car
wash will ensure that there is a next time. It will help your customer believe that you are
truly sorry. This shows your customer that you are willing to “walk the walk”, not just
“talk the talk!”

4. Follow up.
Call the customer within 48 hours to make sure that everything is fine with the repair.
This added step reinforces in your customers mind, that you are genuinely concerned
about their needs. On the other hand, if the customer says that there is a problem, take
responsibility for the issue yourself. Have the customer bring in their vehicle at their
earliest convenience so that YOU can resolve the issue.
You, the service consultant, are the face of the dealership. After the sale it’s with you with whom
customers will primarily interact. Let your customers see that they are not just $ signs or numbers.
They are real people with whom you want and need to have strong positive relationships. Simply by
communicating and keeping your promises, you will boost your dealership’s odds of keeping them
coming back time and again. Loyal customers make your business.

Laurie Brown is an international speaker, trainer and consultant who works to help people improve their sales, service and presentation skills. She has worked with dealership personnel both in the states and abroad She is the author of The Teleprompter Manual, for Executives, Politicians, Broadcasters and Speakers. Laurie can be contacted through http://www.thedifference.net, or 1-877.999.3433, or at lauriebrown@thedifference.net.