In one of my consulting roles, I teach leaders–hotel sales managers about the tourist sites in Fairfax County, Virginia (www.fxva.com), not far from Washington, DC. When hotel staff educate their customers about our great sites and attractions, they provide a customer service and hopefully, see more returning customers or referrals. I try to create an experience for my students…one of tastes, smells, sights, and sounds to help them build memories, so they can do that for their customers. When we create experiences for our customers, we build connections to each other and to the learning. Making learning last. These leaders learn how to take the extra step to connect with the individual and their emotions.

Frank Joseph, CenterPoint and I co-facilitate a leadership webinar entitled “Leverage the Leader in YOU.” During the webinar we talk about the value of asking for feedback. Shackleton wasn’t afraid to ask his men for their ideas and suggestions. The discussions helped them connect with each other.

Another way that leaders learn is by leveraging their personal or volunteer experiences. I use my skiing experience to focus and push myself in my work. Work isn’t always easy!

Some of you take journeys similar to Shackleton’s just for the fun, or thrill of it. The next time you do that, think about the ways you expressed yourself as a leader and use what you learned from that experience back on the job. Before you go to Antartica, read this insightful article!

In my mind, it’s someone who cares about people and is committed to providing an exceptional service such as “a diplomatic agent of the highest rank…” or a “goodwill ambassador.” Or, an evangelist defined as “enthusiastic advocate.”

Sales people, as authorized representatives, could be considered ambassadors. Happy customers, recipients of great service and quality products, are unofficial representatives acting as enthusiastic advocates who “sell”, too! I’ve met both recently and learned from each about different aspects of customer service focused leadership.

SALES ambassadors…Great sales people connect, listen and then solve your problem. They share testimonials to help build trust, show their value and quality. They are patient and follow through. They give you something for FREE! Ian Altman, http://www.GrowMyRevenue.com shared his ideas of successful selling recently at the Vienna Tysons Chamber of Commerce conference. And, just today, he gave “me” a free e-book. He “told” me to share it with you, too!

Don’t have a recently published e-book to share? Share a white paper or tips on your blog. What will this get you? More Tweets and Likes. More sales and referrals! Referrals from SERVICE ambassadors.

SERVICE ambassadors…“sell” the good name of your company or another’s company or in my case, the County.

I’m an Ambassador for Visit Fairfax. Actually, I teach Ambassador classes to hotel sales managers and front line staff, as well as Washington Dulles taxi drivers. Ambassadors “sell” Fairfax County, Virginia’s great sites and attractions…the National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center (Discovery’s new home beginning late April 2012), Mt. Vernon, Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts, Claude Moore Colonial Farm, Civil War sites and much more!

I like to shout out how great our County is! I get it. I’m an ambassador for most things that inspire me.

At the gym this morning, I stepped on a new machine next to an older man who showed me how to use the machine. We both took the time to chat a little. Melvin is retired. Works out 5 to 6 days a week…alone, with a trainer and some days with a small team. Something I said made him realize he should introduce me to Michael, one of his workout teammates. They want me to join the team. I worry about the intensity! Before I knew it he introduced me to Beverly, a trainer, who asked me to try her Friday workout for free. More FREE stuff!

Melvin was an ambassador, some call it evangelist. He didn’t have to take the time to talk to me or to introduce me to other employees at the gym. But he did. My life is richer for the interesting conversation we had this morning. Maybe he enjoyed the chat, too. And, the gym had someone other than their own sales people do the selling for them! Melvin must be a happy customer.

Take time to connect, shout out the good, listen and share your stuff. Sounds simple, but takes time and practice. Develop your customer service focused leadership and the Ambassador in you!

Not getting anything out of training? The next time you attend class make sure you “have a need to know”…why am I here, what’s in this for me…or you might just leave training the same as you went in!

Faces of Learning www.facesoflearning.net

That’s what many Northern Virginians experienced on May 23, 1861, but this didn’t stop everyone. Most people who voted at Lydecker’s, now the Freeman House in Vienna, actually wanted to remain a part of the Union. What I find shocking is that neighbors found themselves on opposite sides. Even family members were split in their decision to either stay with the Union or seceed.

How do you connect to our history?

Take a few extra minutes to tour the Freeman House the next time you bike through Vienna on the W&OD path or wander through the Church Street farmers’ market to buy farm fresh yogurt. Ron Baumgarten’s blog post below is filled with details about the vote and other interesting local Civil War history.  The Visit Fairfax website www.fxva.com is a great source for local Civil War sites and other fabulous places to visit in Fairfax County.

150 Years Ago: The Voters of Fairfax Approve the Ordinance of Secession

Ron says….As I wrote a few months ago, in February 1861 Virginians elected delegates to a state convention called to consider the issue of secession. They also approved a voter reference clause under which any decision in favor of secession would be submitted to a popular referendum. In Fairfax County, the reference clause passed by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent. Following two months of debate, the Convention finally adopted an Ordinance of Secession on April 17 and voted to send the Ordinance to a statewide referendum.

Pending the Ordinance, David Hunter Strother (courtesy of Library of Virginia)

On May 23, 1861, Virginians across the state headed to the polls to vote on secession. (Of course, it goes without saying that in 1860s America, blacks and women were disenfranchised, so the vote was really in the hands of white males.) In many ways, the outcome was a foregone conclusion, or at least the state government treated it that way. Virginia began to mobilize immediately after the Convention’s decision. Within a few days, state troops had seized key federal installations at Harpers Ferry and the Gosport Navy Yard. Virginia also offered to join the Confederate States of Ame

via All Not So Quiet Along the Potomac: 150 Years Ago: The Voters of Fairfax Approve the Ordinance of Secession.

Stones clean up so nicely...

I slipped on my frayed jeans and grubby gardening gloves last Sunday and walked out the front door with my Springer, Lana, to look at an overgrown planting bed. My goal was to weed in preparation for adding some color to my shady garden protected by 100 foot trees. Along comes the riding lawn mower man, my husband.

Me, “The stones decorating our drainage have sunk into the dirt from all the downpours and aren’t doing anything to make this bed look nice. I think I’ll go buy new ones.” Then, he says “remember, I cleaned all those stones last year?!” He slipped his headphones on and went back to grass cutting. Hmph. A hint, maybe?

Before I knew it, I bent down and began digging up two buckets full of dirty, wormy stones. Why? Wouldn’t it be easier to buy new ones? I could be weeding and planting. What a pain! I continued to talk to myself out loud. Then, I had an “aha” moment.

Cleaning and reusing old stones, why not? It’s just like developing people to perform more effectively in the workplace. HARD WORK. We have high expectations of our staff and think they know what to do on the job. We occasionally send them to training and assume they’ll come back changed. The training and the trainer are just two important parts of the equation. Managers play a significant role in the success of the training. Barbara Gordon has written books on this and has some helpful ideas at www.MakeTrainingStick.com

What can managers do to reinforce training? Set expectations before they attend training. Talk about what they learned in training and some specific ways they can use it on the job. You’ll probably learn something new, too. Encourage them to use what they learned and share it with coworkers in a staff meeting. Let them see you do it.  You know what they say about modeling? How do you reinforce training?

No need to throw them out and get new ones. The stones clean up so nicely if only given some time and care.

Chip recommends writing a short and to-the-point mantra that is easy for employees to connect to so they stay focused on the mission. He periodically gives his employees a free stay in one of his unique hotels. They get to see what it is like to receive great customer service and feel like royalty. He feels that companies should focus more energy on informal recognition and not just formal recognition. One way to do this is to call 2 people a week and thank them for something specific that they have contributed to the organization. The small contributions may be more important than the big ones. He believes that happy, inspired employees will serve the customer better and bring about more than satisfied investors! These are just a few of the steps toward creating long-term relationships with  customers and investors.

What is your mantra? How do you create meaning in your organization?

See Chip Conley talk about Measuring What Makes Life Worthwhile at www.Ted.com

It’s so simple, but so hard! I’ve become ready and available over the last 12 months and found this to ring true as I reach out to new people (strangers) with like interests, and drag myself out the door to network. What I’ve discovered are opportunities, and much richer work and life experiences!

Here’s another interpretation of the Principle…”there are open doors that you cannot see until you walk down the corridor…they aren’t visible from your starting point. Just taking the first step in the direction of your goals puts your further ahead than where you started.” Matthew Markee http://getsmallbusiness.blogspot.com

How have you applied the Corridor Principle?

A year ago during an internet search, I found Shep Hyken’s short video about his suprisingly great customer service experience with a Dallas, TX, cab driver. I loved his enthusiasm and wanted to use the video during a training session with Washington Dulles cab drivers.

He immediately responded to my email requesting the use of his video and said sure it’s yours to use and you can download it using a YouTube downloader. I was thrilled that he responded at all and responded so quickly. Plus, he was totally fine with my using the video. I had to email him AGAIN to ask for some help on downloading, and his assistant called to help just a short time later!

What they did was really just a common (actually uncommon) courtesy, but little did we both know then, that I was being turned into one of his evangelists because of their extraordinary commitment to customer service!!!! Actually, I wasn’t even a customer (yet). How amazing that he  practices what he preaches! Now, I tell everyone I meet about Shep!

What have you done for your customers lately?

Shep travels the world teaching businesses about customer service and has written about Moments of Magic in his books. Look for his new one, The Amazement Revolution at www.Hyken.com