However, when we have come of of those difficult times, it somehow does not feel too bad anymore. What is so important is that there is
so much to be learnt during times of trouble and what we have learnt from our own challenges. For one it makes us stronger, wiser, more resilient and it makes us better people (if you do not let a sense of bitterness rule that is). Call it character building if you wish.

So don't let your challenges overcome you. Take charge of your reaction to the problems and learn from it.

There is no education like adversity.
Benjamin Disraeli

Ask anyone you know who has been in sales or customer service and they will usually have a couple of stories to tell of having dealt with a variety of difficult customers:

• The ones who find fault with everything
• The ones who know everything
• The ones who complain about everything

The list goes on.

The most difficult customer would probably the one who is angry enough to shout. That is when you will have to help your “when I get angry, the flies won’t fly” type of customer.

If your customer is complaining, they probably feel that they have been wronged and would like something to be done about it. If they care enough to complain, they are actually giving you a chance to do a service recovery – a chance to turn the unpleasant experience into a more pleasant one.

Some customers never bother to complain. They tell their grouses to the people they know and simply take their business elsewhere which is actually worse.

It is never easy to deal with a difficult customer but you will find yourself wiser and more adept at handling them after you have had a few learning experiences.

Some tips to dealing with difficult customers

1)      LISTEN and Show empathy– Look at the situation from your customer’s point of view and try to understand the cause of his anger. Listen and understand what is causing his frustration. This will show him that you care about him and the situation he is facing. Eventually, he will realize that you would like to help him and will calm down.

2)      Identify the problem– eg. “Let me see if I have got this fact right – You bought 20 chairs but only received 18 upon delivery out of which 2 are also damaged and you need them urgently for an office function coming up in a few days. Is that correct?” That is when your customer will step in to say it is correct or to fill you in with the correct facts if it is not.

3)      Apologize – Say that you are sorry this has happened and say you would like to fix it and make it right.

4)      Avoid the Blame Game – Acknowledge and apologize for your mistake and make every effort to help your customer solve his problem.

5)      Look to Resolve the problem –It may take a bit of time to resolve certain problems but you would need to assure your customer that you are looking into it and give him a time frame of when you will get back to him.

Make sure you do make the necessary calls, arrangements etc to help your customer and call him back within the promised time. If you are unable to resolve the matter completely, tell him what you have done and what you will be doing next, to get the matter fixed.

Even when dealing with a difficult customer at his worst moment, do not let your professionalism and courtesy slip up because it is easy to lose control of your emotions and in turn lose the customer. Remember that their anger is not directed at you personally.

If you can help turn angry customers into satisfied ones, dealing with difficult customers will not be an impossible task!

Love your business! I can’t stress this enough. Over the years, I have met some people who were passionate about what they were doing. Passionate about their business.

They did everything they could for their business. From staying up late at night to get work done and burning up weekends for the same, to pumping in cash into the business.  These are but just a few of the sacrifices they have made in an overall sense.

Their answer when I asked them why they would sacrifice so much? “Because we love what we do and we want to see the business grow as we believe in it.”

I admired them for their drive and for loving their business with a passion. One can learn so much from these entrepreneurs. Their drive, their passion and their never say die attitude

Those I know who loved their business enough to give it their all, did very well. They were not nominated for entrepreneurship awards nor were they given any media coverage but what I do know is that they have quite a stable base of customers who keep coming back and new ones who are referred to them and they are growing steadily.

Looking back at these inspirational people, I have come to realize that in order to get your business on the road to success, it starts by loving what you have started. From conceptualizing that business idea, to writing a detailed business plan, to writing or presenting to potential investors or to pumping in your own capital to start up and to keeping late hours – it’s only successful if you love what you do.

Love your business. You started it. If you don’t love it or believe in it, who else will?

Communication skills are extremely important in business. I cannot stress enough on the importance of clear communication with your customers.

I have seen many instances where the poor communication skills of a business owner have ruined relationships with customers. Things were never stated clearly which lead to misunderstandings between the company and the customer.

Not being very clear with your customers can have quite horrendous results:

1. Customers will be very cross with you because you seemed to have failed to deliver what they expected.
2. Your business will come across as being unreliable and untrustworthy.
3. You could lose the customer and future potential customers!

So, what can you do to ensure that you communicate clearly with your customers?\

• Make sure all written and verbal communication with customers comes across as clear and to the point with no ambiguity.
• If you feel that a customer has difficulty understanding what is going on, take the time to explain things and make them clear to him. That little investment of time on your part could potentially save you thousands of dollars and give you a happy customer.

Business Nugget of the week!

A day of business activities is often chaotic so it is important to keep a CLEAR head at all times!

Two weeks ago, my family and I drove from Sydney to Melbourne. Those who have done this before will attest that it is a very long drive. People say it takes about ten to twelve hours to drive from Sydney to Melbourne depending on the number of stops one takes in between.

We were going to Melbourne to meet up with the whole family to celebrate my mother-in-law’s birthday and everyone was feeling very excited including our children ages,7, 4 and 3.

My wife and I, having only done road trips of about a maximum of five hours in a day were apprehensive about this long drive. How could we drive twelve hours in a day? Even more challenging would be how to keep three children occupied during the long drive.

We looked at alternatives and planned the route beforehand. We thought about driving up to the maximum of six hours and then stopping overnight at a certain location of our choice. In fact, we were almost set on that plan until we spoke to a two people at church who had done a drive from Sydney to Melbourne.

They told us to get up early and to leave the house by 5am and by 9 am, quite a bit of the route would have been covered. They told us that it was possible to drive from Sydney to Melbourne but to be mindful of driver fatigue.

We started another discussion about our driving plans and finally decided that what we really wanted to do was to reach Melbourne earlier so that we would have an extra night there. We were not interested in any other place – well, not during this holiday anyway.

So, with the final destination of Melbourne in mind, we set off at 4.30am. Armed with lots of food, ample supply of water, DVDs and things for each one to do in the car, we kept our spirits up, knowing that we were going to be with family very soon.

The children slept for more than three hours soon after we started which helped. We had enough food to keep them happy and with several stops in between for a snack and a short play at different playgrounds at fast food restaurants.

It worked. We chatted, listened to music and felt positive all the way, strongly encouraged by the number of kilometers covered and the expectation from the estimated time of arrival.

Every road sign, showing where we were was also a great form of encouragement. Finally, we arrived in Melbourne at our hotel at 4pm, almost twelve hours later. We would have arrived earlier if it wasn’t for the heavy traffic but that was not an issue at all.

We were just really glad we had achieved our goal with the children in tow and everyone was fine. What we have taken away with us from this experience is that if you set your mind to something and work on it, you can achieve it.

It may seem very difficult or almost impossible at first but if you spend a little time to see the little steps that you have taken towards that goal, you will feel more inspired towards achieving it.

Also, in trying to achieve your goals, do try to minimize your risks and take care not to achieve those goals at the expense of yourself or others.

Be determined in what you have set out to do!

~William E. Channing~

When we are going through challenges, it will feel like we are in hell or at least close to it. There is a sense of despair, hopelessness and an unlimited air of sadness surrounds us.

We feel this way until we find a solution to the problem. While we are going through a series of challenges at every corner, we feel extremely discouraged and often ask ourselves “what went wrong?”

It’s good to ask but it is important to get to the crux of the problem and think of solutions to the problem.

Today, I am not asking you not to cry if you are going through some difficulties. Cry if you must – it’s good to let it all out. It would be even better if you could confide in someone you can trust who can offer you advice at best, or a shoulder to cry on at worst!

Usually after the difficulties have passed, you will probably look back in amazement at how you survived it. Then you find yourself stronger emotionally and more able to handle whatever you get.

Remember that while you are going through your own path of challenges, others are going through their own paths too.

Difficulties are never meant to discourage you, they are meant to encourage you to rise above them and become stronger.When you have overcome your personal struggles, don’t forget to share your experiences with others – your ability to handle challenges might just help someone else in the same boat.

As these people are unable to find anything positive, any positive thoughts we may have may be overruled by negative ones. It's time to surround yourself with the people who bring out the best in you:

• The people who bring out the better side of your character.
• The people people who encourage you often.
• The people who want the best for you.
• The people who bring out your confidence.
• The people who notice those little things you do for them.
• The people who pick you up when you are down.
• The people who offer you a shoulder to cry on.
• The people who pat you on the back for a job well done.

Don't let negative remarks lack of encouragement from others let you down. While you can't always cut them off, you can certainly cut down the time you spend with them. Surround yourself with the people who believe in you today no matter how few there are. These are the people who will allow you to shine.

Possess great attitude. We

Are bold enough to stand by what they believe in.

Are candid people.

Are very determined to make their ideas work.

Are enterprising.

Stay focused on what is important and needs to be done.

Are always innovative.

Are usually full of inspiration.

Can handle many things effectively.

Make great mentors to others with their experiences.

Never give up after a failure.

Are optimistic people.

Are realistic about solving problems and tackling important issues.

Are often bursting with ideas and strategies.

Seize good opportunities along the way.

Are passionate about what they do.

Are you one of them? Then embrace entrepreneurship with a passion. Don’t give up easily and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Being teachable is also a gift. If you are one of those, you would find yourself learning quickly and adapting to things more easily. Even when you face difficulties while learning, the teachable heart within you will persevere, simply because you desire to learn.

Nothing beats the willingness to learn on your part. That willingness cannot be taught – it comes from within you.

Remember:

Experience teaches only theteachable. – Vernon Law

Indeed if we would just unblock our ears, let our thoughts flow smoothly and recount just what happened today, we would find something we have learnt.

Perhaps you have figured out how to use that new remote control correctly or how to do school- drop off’s in a more time efficient manner. Or you have had the chance to speak to someone and in the course of conversation found out something you never knew before.

Learning could be obvious like how you would actually take the time to read and learn something new. Yet there are many instances when you would actually be learning in the process of doing something whether you are aware of it or not.

Learning is something that never ends – it is for life. Whether you learn from books, formal lessons or from lessons in your personal life, learning will shape you as a person.

So take the time every evening to wind down after a hard day’s work. Let your mind relax and go through the days events. Think of what happened, what you did and what you have learnt from it.

Take a pen and a notebook and write down what you have learnt.

You’d be surprised that other than having learnt quite a bit in just a day, you would have so much to be thankful for!

Be wiser today than you were yesterday and aspire for the wisdom of tomorrow.