Warwick Merry | Warwick Merry CSP CVP

Who’s Looking After You?

We had a fabulous weekend away at this old butcher shop that has been converted into a B&B with a very French feel. It was lovely and relaxing.

By the way, when I say “We”, I mean four of our friends and myself. My gorgeous wife had to stay at home.

I would have loved for her to join us but she was very unwell and I couldn’t afford to get sick as I am off to Singapore on Thursday to deliver two different presentations at a conference and I am just getting over an ear infection.

We talked about it and decided that she would probably just stay in bed for the weekend so I stocked up the fridge with yummy foods and then cleared out of there before the dreaded diseases got me.

It was a tough call. I wanted to be comfort to my gorgeous wife but I also got it was very important to look after myself and my own health. If I am not prepared to make tough decisions about my own health, who will?

So who’s looking after you?

Want to Achieve It?

As I write this we are in Mid May. The year is almost half over.

Are you almost half way to reaching your goals?

I was fortunate to be published in the highly regarded Leading the Way magazine on what it takes to REALLY achieve your goals and I thought others would appreciated it as well.

You can check out the article here.

What Do You See?

Is it just me or is there more and more negativity in the world today?

It seems not a day goes by without something else in my stream about people being killed, tortured or at the very least being treated badly.

It is not only people, it is also the planet and other important elements of life.

That can make it hard to remain positive and see the good in the world.

Abraham Lincoln said, “People are as happy as they make up their mind to be.”

This is also true about how we see the good in the world. For all the negativity and drama (for that’s what sells news services) there are also immeasurable events of goodness and greatness happening.

I choose to focus on the good and great things that happen and look to how I can add to that rather than get swept up in the negativity and trolling of the drama. Not only does this make me feel better but it makes me more fun to be around.

So what do you see?

PS An excellent article in Psychology Today expands on this further about Why We Love Bad News and concludes with the same outcome. We get to choose our influencers and our mood set.

How Good Are You?

Successful people often operate under a cover of feeling “not good enough”.

Many corporate leaders (particularly women) are expecting a knock on the door and their leaders to come in saying, “we know all about you. Who do you think you are to be holding this position?”

Not surprisingly, this never happens. In fact, it is usually the opposite. They usually achieve more and receive praise from their peers and superiors.

STILL they doubt themselves.

The reason they are successful is that they do not let this seed of doubt stop them from taking the action they need to. They also acknowledge their insecurities as well as their success.

It’s ok to feel “not good enough” just don’t let the feeling control you.

So, how good are you?

Got Barriers?

My gorgeous wife and I took some friends out to dinner on Saturday night to celebrate a big success they had. It was one of the nicer places in the area and priced to match – it was a great choice for a celebration.

One of the first impressions all four of us had was that it seemed that every member of the waiting staff had a nose ring, additional piercings and tattoos.

Now there are some great reasons why wait staff should be able to have body art and I am the first to admit it did not prevent them from giving good service. The important question is, are they a barrier for your customers.

Maybe a grungy cafe would be no big deal, but for a high end establishment it seemed out of place.

There are two key elements to consider here:

1) I could just be a grumpy old fart who is incredibly judgemental and old fashioned (that is entirely possible)

2) What simple barriers can you remove in your workplace or life to help make things flow more effortlessly?

Happy Birthday to Me!

It’s happened again!

Another year has passed and I had another birthday on the weekend. It’s my 47th and every year just gets better.

I received a stack of birthday messages including birthday bacon. The birthday bacon below is from my lovely friends The Kemps.

Even though it is my birthday, I want to give YOU the presents. So for this week if you order my Get More Inspiration book, I will give you, in addition to the existing bonuses at www.GetMoreInspiration.com, a copy of the How to Bring Home the Bacon recording from the recent Taking Care of Business show.

Head over to the Get More Inspiration website to order the book package and I will give you this recording worth $39 at no extra charge.

Until next time, it’s Happy Birthday to me and keep on having fun.

What Are You Planning For?

Much to their disgust, kids all over Australia are heading back to school today. You can almost hear the collective sigh of relief from parents everywhere!

It is interesting how much planning people do for their holidays that they DON’T do for the rest of their lives.

As the holidays approach, the planning starts for trips, adventures, play dates and even “just keep them busy” activities. Now that it is over many people revert to “let’s just see what happens”.

Success starts with a plan.

Whether you are planning financial success, lifestyle success or corporate success, success starts with a plan. Once you know what you want, then you need to create a plan of action, which is closely followed by taking that action.

So what are you planning for?
What is it that you want to achieve?
What is it you want your family to achieve?

It takes effort, it takes discipline, it even takes compromise but the results are worth it.

So what are you planning?

Bringing Home the Bacon

Image: SauceOnPurpose.com

This Friday, I am delighted to be filling in for Jacki Mitchell on her award winning show Taking Care of Business.

When I asked my social media contacts what did they want me to talk about, there was a resounding reply of “BACON”.

As many people know, I am a huge fan of bacon (new research shows it keeps you young too!) but I thought that listeners may be more interested in Bringing Home the Bacon.

It is one thing to talk about sales, marketing, strategy, productivity, business plans and so on. What counts is actually earning money.

Don’t get me wrong, I am a firm believer that SUCCESS is measured by far more than just money, but as the late great Kevin Merry (my dad) used to say to me, “it’s not a sin to be poor, just damn inconvenient”.

How good are you at Bringing Home the Bacon?
Do you bring home enough bacon?
What are you doing to provide better value to your employer and customers?

There are always ways to acquire more and better bacon if you need it. What are you doing about your bacon supply?

PS My apologies to any vegetarians for this image and bacon concept

PPS Join me on Friday 10th April 2015 on RPPFM (you can stream it) at 11am to hear about one of my favourite businesses The Farmers Larder (they make real bacon) as well as tips on how to turn Linked In contacts in to high quality bacon.

A Celebration

Wow! What a big weekend.

I was part host, part facilitator and part attendee at the National Speakers Association of Australia annual convention in Canberra.

The most important part of the weekend for me was when I received my Certified Speaking Professional accreditation (as pictured below)

A big thank you to you for being part of my speaking journey and your support in getting me to this stage. Because of this designation and a few other factors, I have been asked to speak in Singapore and Washington DC later this year. I could not have done this without you.

This global certification makes me one of 75 people in Australia and one of about 650 worldwide.

I look forward to continuing sharing observations with you, hosting your events and speaking at your conferences.

Now it’s time to celebrate.

Thanks again for helping make this happen!

To Serve or Delight?

I have had many a discussion with my mentor group on whether we should aim for Customer Service or Customer Delight. Million Dollar Relationships expert Danielle Storey defines Customer Delight as “Providing the customer service experience that was expected, plus a little bit extra.”

Friends and I were delighted on the weekend. We stayed at a great little B&B as part of our B&B Crew weekends (we all kick in $50 a month and head somewhere different every couple of months). This time it was off to Ocean Grove and we found a colourful and funky looking place with four bedrooms called Fairmont.

Now we have stayed at a few B&Bs over time but it was the little bit extras that made a big difference. An early check in, a late check out, chocolates for us, doggy treats for the dogs, quality linen, all the little supplies like slat, pepper, coffee, tea, herbal teas, quality appliances, quality bathroom products, quality toilet paper, … I could go on.

All of these little things that would not have cost a significant amount of money, time or effort, all added up to not just Customer Service but Customer Delight.

So how do you delight your customers?

Freedom (At Last)

Saturday night I had the great joy of hosting a Trade Show and Gala Dinner for one of my fabulous clients.

Like most Gala Dinners, there were awards, formalities and speeches. Once that had happened, it was time to relax and celebrate. This event had a great band that was really suited to the audience. They were called The Chosen Few. Dinner done, formalities over and so the band started.

The dance floor was empty!

Now I know that people are like sheep. No one wants to be the first person on the dance floor, they are waiting for others to go first. As part of what I do for clients, I will typically find someone during the course of the dinner who is happy to dance and then set the example by hitting the dance floor first. On Saturday the lovely Sam from The Cartridge Family joined me on the dance floor.

I know why people don’t want to get on the dance floor. They are scared of what others will think, whether it is their outfit, how they dance or some other thing people are scared of being judged.

Eleanor Roosevelt is quoted as saying, “What other people think of me is none of my business.”

The freedom of letting go of what other people think and just enjoying the moment meant that Sam and I had a great night on the dance floor. There were others sitting around the edge just bursting to get on the dance floor (they were dancing in their chairs almost) but when we invited them to join us, even when there were more people on the dance floor, they declined.

So where are you denying yourself freedom by being constrained by what other people think? What will you do today to give yourself the gift that freedom is?

Are You Really There?

Registration Desk

I had the great joy of working at a client’s three-day conference and trade show last week as Master MC and Exhibition Host.

It was a huge success on so many levels. But still…

It is a personal bugbear of mine that companies pay large money to sponsor an event or exhibit an event and they get the wrong people on the stands.

While this was a great show, so many of the exhibitors were not really there. They were on their phone, on their laptop, chatting to colleagues, doing anything but being present and focussing on the delegates – THEIR TARGET MARKET!

It is really simple, don’t take your phone to the stand. If you need to be near your phone all day you are the wrong person to be there so get someone else. Use the conference as a marketing tool by creating a special out of office message.

Leave a phone message that states; “Hi you have called YOUR NAME. I can’t take your call because I am hosting a stand at the XYZ Conference. Come and see me at stand 123 or leave a detailed message and I will get back to you once the show closes for the day.”

Do what it takes to focus on your target market – the whole reason you are there!

What about you?

Whether it is on a trade show floor, chatting with friends or meeting with colleagues, are you really there?

How to Get The Help You Need

In business and in life, people often lament that nobody offered to help them. No one gave them the assistance that others received.

Today I will share with you the magic secret to get that help you need. It is mysterious, confronting and it can be challenging.

Are you ready?

YOU ASK FOR IT!

My gorgeous wife has been trapped at home on the couch with a broken foot for three weeks and she has another three weeks to go. She is slowly going out of her mind (and that’s just putting up with me) so she needs some entertainment. She has been calling her friends and arranging lunch dates, cup of tea dates and “just get me out of the house” dates and they have willingly answered her call for help.

My mentoring clients have approached me saying, “I want to take my business to the next level” or “I would like to have a social life” or whatever their need is and we are working together to create that.

In my professional association, speakers will often approach other speakers saying, “I want to be able to do some of what you do, can you give me an hour of your time and share the secrets.” They willingly do so to help grow the industry.

So what do you need? Now find the right person and go and ask for it.

Ethics, What Ethics?

One of my gorgeous wife’s friends is looking to buy a house.

After a lot of searching, she found one she liked. Like all good homeowners, she did her research. She had the conveyancer review the contract of sale/section 32 and she also had a property inspection.

For those that don’t know, a property inspection is where a qualified inspector comes and does a detailed inspection of the house and reports back to you important information about it. It is a valuable report that can prevent you from buying a house loaded with potential disasters. As with all transactions, the report is the property of the person who paid for it.

The day before the auction, my friend received a call from the person who did the inspection advising her that the real estate agent had contacted them and asked for a copy of the report so they could display it as part of the auction documentation.

Whaaaaa….

The inspector did the ethical thing and said it was not their call to make and the owner of the report (our friend) was the only one who could make that decision. The agent then advised they would contact my friend – which they never did. I suspect that they knew after paying hundreds of dollars for a report, our friend would not be willing to give it away to her competing bidders.

Here is the outcome of poor business ethics:

A formal complaint can be made against you to your industry body (as will happen in this case)
You will never get work from this potential customer again
Your reputation will be sullied in the market place
Your whole industry will be drawn into disrepute
You won’t sleep well at night

What about you?

How important are ethics to you and your business? How often are they discussed in your team meetings? What can you do to be sure that everyone on your team acts ethically even when no one is watching?

First on the Floor

My gorgeous wife and I went to a family wedding at the Plaza Ballroom on Valentines Day. (A cheap way to have a great night out on Valentines Day!!)

After dinner when the band started the dance music, people hesitated to get on the dance floor. As my wife has broken her foot (that’s another story!) she was definitely not going on the dance floor. So I thought I would ask one of the cousins who was over from the UK.

She adamantly refused to go on the dance floor until many others had. I even tried dragging her on but she would not budge. So I had to try other methods to get people on the dance floor.

My theory, just get on the floor. No one cares. Yes other people will watch you, some may even laugh but who is on the dance floor having fun? Who is on the dance floor enjoying themself rather than sitting there wishing they were?

In business, this is the same. Give things a try. Yes you may fail, yes people may laugh, yes you may stumble and fall but during your early business dance you will learn things that watching will never give you. You will get immense satisfaction from taking action rather than just thinking about it.

So why don’t you be first on the floor!

Image: The Marriner Group

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