Always Be Delighting

Everyone wants to be delighted.

It doesn’t matter what your business does or who you built it for. The only difference is what delights different people.

no one wants to feel like they’re being sold to.

No one wants to feel like they're being convinced or manipulated or pushed. They want to be helped. They want to be informed. They want to be delighted.

So. Remember this guy? This guy is out.

Don't be closing all the time.

In fact, don't be closing ever.

Be delighting. Always Be Delighting. 

That's right, my friend. No more ABCs. They've been replaced. By the ABDs of business! {See what I did there? OK, take the wordplay or leave it. Just get cracking on delighting people.}

Meet your new mantra.

What happens when you don't delight?

Maybe you're all...but I am running a business and I do not have time to be chatting up every client for an hour or mailing them birthday cards and flowers and candy for goodness’ sake. I don’t have time to be delightful.

Or maybe you're all...people don't care. They don't care about how it feels to do business with me. They just want to buy the thing or sign the contract or whatever. Get what they need. Solve the problem. Get in, get out, move on.

The truth is that to Always Be Delighting doesn't take any time. You're already doing things. Do them in a way that delights the people you're doing those things for.

Plus, perhaps more importantly, you can't afford not to be thinking about this. 

You can either be helpful + delightful, and therefore build relationships that win business. Or, you can be not delightful + all business, and therefore lose relationships and eventually have to close your business..

So how are you going to Always Be Delighting your clients?

It starts with intention. The right intention leads to the right action.  

Set the intention. Commit to yourself that you're going to Always Be Delighting people.

With that intention in mind, focus on the people, not the things you must do for those people. They are your very favorite people. You enjoy them. {If this isn't the case for you, if you don't like your ideal customer, you might wanna rethink that business model.}

You care about your clients and you want to make things better for them. So of course you will be helpful, honest, kind, and creative. Of course you will go above and beyond what they need or expect. That's where intention translates into action: 

You'll do the things that delight people, and you'll do them for real.

Your intention will come through in every action you take, every interaction people have with you and your brand -- from reading your blog to talking with you live to getting that final product. They will feel it. 

Intention is the difference between this...

and this...

Email is the first line of delight

You can be sure that your email -- any email -- will find your recipient at a very busy moment. So everything about your email, starting with the subject line, must delight. Don't just focus on getting it done. People feel that. 

Focus on just checking a task off of your to-do list, and you will fail to delight people. Fail to delight people, and your business will fail to thrive.

When you're focused on the thing, you're not focused on the the person. And they can feel that. And when you only see the chore, you kind of make yourself feel like a chore, too. And no one needs one more chore. People want to hire you or buy from you because you make something better and you make it easy or fun {or even both!} to make that something better. That's delightful.

Being delightful does not mean being fake.

You're going to be purposeful. You're going to set your intention and follow through. But you are not going to try to be something you’re not. You cannot just 'fake it til you make it.'

People can smell fake a mile away. At the moment, people don’t trust big brands. And there’s a growing backlash against internet entrepreneurs who come across like purveyors of proverbial snake oil. Basically, people don't trust...just about anything.

So don’t be super slick about it. Don't be an automaton. Don't do things that aren't natural to you or your business. And don't go overboard.

Delighting people doesn't mean you throw every client a party or send them flowers and heart-shaped chocolates. Be real about it. Be you. Like this...

...write your emails with a focus on what's in it for them and why that's so great {bonus points if you do it with a smile on your face. it works}

...before you get on a call with a client, ask yourself what you'd want to hear if you were in their shoes; anticipate the questions they'd ask and get there first

...notice what's great about what your clients do, or how they do it, or why, or whatever, and tell them {here's a little something I learned about that}

...ask how you could make what you do easier or more valuable or more fun for your clients

Here's an amazing example that landed in my inbox. Imagine you're a spa. And your phones are down. Literally, there's no phone service in your whole neighborhood. What do you do? Well if you're these folks, you send this out:

What happens when you don't delight?

Maybe you're all...but I am running a business and I do not have time to be chatting up every client for an hour or mailing them birthday cards and flowers and candy for goodness’ sake. I don’t have time to be delightful.

Or maybe you're all...people don't care. They don't care about how it feels to do business with me. They just want to buy the thing or sign the contract or whatever. Get what they need. Solve the problem. Get in, get out, move on.

The truth is that to Always Be Delighting doesn't take any time. You're already doing things. Do them in a way that delights the people you're doing those things for.

Plus, perhaps more importantly, you can't afford not to be thinking about this. 

You can either be helpful + delightful, and therefore build relationships that win business. Or, you can be not delightful + all business, and therefore lose relationships and eventually have to close your business..

So how are you going to Always Be Delighting your clients?

It starts with intention. The right intention leads to the right action.  

Set the intention. Commit to yourself that you're going to Always Be Delighting people.

With that intention in mind, focus on the people, not the things you must do for those people. They are your very favorite people. You enjoy them. {If this isn't the case for you, if you don't like your ideal customer, you might wanna rethink that business model.}

You care about your clients and you want to make things better for them. So of course you will be helpful, honest, kind, and creative. Of course you will go above and beyond what they need or expect. That's where intention translates into action: 

You'll do the things that delight people, and you'll do them for real.

Your intention will come through in every action you take, every interaction people have with you and your brand -- from reading your blog to talking with you live to getting that final product. They will feel it. 

Intention is the difference between this...

and this...

Email is the first line of delight

You can be sure that your email -- any email -- will find your recipient at a very busy moment. So everything about your email, starting with the subject line, must delight. Don't just focus on getting it done. People feel that. 

Focus on just checking a task off of your to-do list, and you will fail to delight people. Fail to delight people, and your business will fail to thrive.

When you're focused on the thing, you're not focused on the the person. And they can feel that. And when you only see the chore, you kind of make yourself feel like a chore, too. And no one needs one more chore. People want to hire you or buy from you because you make something better and you make it easy or fun {or even both!} to make that something better. That's delightful.

Being delightful does not mean being fake.

You're going to be purposeful. You're going to set your intention and follow through. But you are not going to try to be something you’re not. You cannot just 'fake it til you make it.'

People can smell fake a mile away. At the moment, people don’t trust big brands. And there’s a growing backlash against internet entrepreneurs who come across like purveyors of proverbial snake oil. Basically, people don't trust...just about anything.

So don’t be super slick about it. Don't be an automaton. Don't do things that aren't natural to you or your business. And don't go overboard.

Delighting people doesn't mean you throw every client a party or send them flowers and heart-shaped chocolates. Be real about it. Be you. Like this...

...write your emails with a focus on what's in it for them and why that's so great {bonus points if you do it with a smile on your face. it works}

...before you get on a call with a client, ask yourself what you'd want to hear if you were in their shoes; anticipate the questions they'd ask and get there first

...notice what's great about what your clients do, or how they do it, or why, or whatever, and tell them {here's a little something I learned about that}

...ask how you could make what you do easier or more valuable or more fun for your clients

Here's an amazing example that landed in my inbox. Imagine you're a spa. And your phones are down. Literally, there's no phone service in your whole neighborhood. What do you do? Well if you're these folks, you send this out:

That's how you turn a disaster into delight...

How you'll know it's working...

When you delight people, you inspire them to do way more than just open your emails. You inspire them to...

...Trust what you have to say

...Look forward to working with you

...Be happier with the outcome of having worked with you

...Recommend you to their friends and family and colleagues

...Keep working with you

You leave people feeling like this:

Not this...

{or any other person in office space. seriously not delightful.}

Your business will thrive. And that'll have you feeling all...YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!

How you'll know it's working...

When you delight people, you inspire them to do way more than just open your emails. You inspire them to...

...Trust what you have to say

...Look forward to working with you

...Be happier with the outcome of having worked with you

...Recommend you to their friends and family and colleagues

...Keep working with you

You leave people feeling like this:

Not this...

{or any other person in office space. seriously not delightful.}

Your business will thrive. And that'll have you feeling all...YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!