THE A-TEAM: Amazing Women Professionals & Friends

I hold great admiration for General Colin Powell, his accomplishments and his style as a statesman. In fact, for years I’ve had a saying posted at my office on his thoughts regarding leadership. I’ve also always enjoyed his thoughts on the issue of striving for excellence. He said: “If you are going to achieve excellence in big things, you develop the habit in little matters. Excellence is not an exception, it is a prevailing attitude.” Excellence is precisely the word I am using to introduce my dear friend and colleague, Lisa Chao.

I have yet to meet another professional who completely devotes herself to the success, happiness and positive growth of her business and family. Although most working women/moms/wives/community volunteers/do-it-all-gals provide 100% of themselves already to their daily endeavors (although it often feels like 150%) – Lisa gives more than that. The only reason I know this is possible? I’ve seen her in action.

Lisa is my own daily reminder that human kindness still exists, that there are “partners” in life and in business who have a heart and want to see you, not solely themselves, succeed. This quality, this commitment to personal excellence every waking minute of the day (she proves it is possible) is precisely why Lisa is on my A-team.

P.S. Yes, she’s also a blast to spend time with. (Bonus) For the record, specialty photos, like the one pictured bottom right, come at a cost of $10 per piece as they are in high demand nowadays.

LISA CHAO
Owner/Founder
Me Promos

Q: How did you “arrive” where you are in life today?
A: Hard work followed closely by a little risk and a whole lot of consideration for my family and how my decisions impact them. I am where I am in life because of the support of my husband, Paul. He’s a good man.

Q: Tell me about your business? Where does your passion for marketing originate from?
A: I truly do thrive on my clients and their success. I love nothing more than when a client runs a great promotion and is the rock star they know they are and can be. Recently I had a client tell me that her competition thinks she’s a genius based off of a product solution that I gave to her. I have been in this business for 13 years yet still very much find the joy in what success my clients derive from my efforts in helping them. Helping people never gets old.

Q: As a business person, what are you most challenged with day-to-day?
A: Always working toward being the best “me” I can be is challenging – whether it’s to be the “best” creative consultant to clients, mother, wife, boss, volunteer, fan of my kids sports, etc. Living a balanced life takes considerable work. I strive daily to be more and more focused and purposeful so that I can be as productive as possible at work and at home with my family.

Q: What is more important, talent or drive?
A: Drive. Even if you don’t have all the talent in the world, you will still figure out how to achieve what you want provided you have the drive to accomplish it. Drive will prove where there is a will, there is a way.

Q: What one trait has helped you most in business?
A: My ability to find the “good” in everyone and every situation. I’ve always found that most people have good intentions, but from time-to-time they have bad days (like we all do). Empathy for others is key to success as well as personal happiness. I always ask myself: What am I supposed to learn from this situation?

Q: What is the hardest lesson you've learned and how did you learn it?
A: To trust people, but not to a fault. Just like most entrepreneurs I’ve been in those situations where personal contacts had good intentions, I provided the service yet never was paid for the services I provided. It happens. You just learn to moderate yourself a bit better after being burned a time or two.

Q: What is the one piece of advice you would offer other women in business?
A: When it comes to work-life balance, most women struggle. We all need to understand the life happens in waves – some days (or weeks) are more focused on work, others more on family – you just need to ensure that the tide continues to shift and everyone stands to gain equal time from you.

Five easy-to-use tips to help you keep clients

I know a thing or two about marketing and sales, despite how entertainment media may portray marketing professionals, especially females. My career is a bit more complex than an event planner screaming at subordinates, as E!’s “The Spin Crowd” and the character Shauna Roberts from “Entourage” love to do. It’s scripted for television and the more tension the more it sells.

In the real world, I approach marketing in a holistic way, with attention to detail. My clients expect it as do I. In fact, I consider it my duty to ensure I constantly provide them with big picture marketing insight and action while never forgetting about the details that matter.

Speaking of details, below are a handful of tactics business owners/executives can easily use to enhance their current client relationships while staying sensitive to our current economic budget crunch. And, as we all know, it takes less energy and money to keep and grow a client than it does to find new ones.

Thank your clients for their business – Mail a simple letter to your clients to thank them for their continued business at least once per year. Meanwhile, make certain you periodically thank them via email if you correspond regularly. For instance, write your email as you normally would and simply add: “Thank you for your business.” It’s easy. It’s simple. It makes an impact on your clients. Every time I send letters to clients, they make it a point to tell me how nice it was to receive it and that they’re happy with my services.

Introduce your clients to your contacts – If you’re in the professional services sector, this can be especially helpful to you. One great big happy family is the idea on this one. Clients appreciate feeling valuable, want to meet other people who are valuable and will see you (and your ability to serve as the “go to” connection guy/gal) in an entirely new light. Clients can seek the services you offer elsewhere, but they cannot replace the relationships you help them build with others.

Deliver your clients a treat – A fruit bouquet, a dozen doughnuts, two movie tickets …all are affordable options that will help remind your clients that you are thinking about them and appreciate their business. (I’ve even gifted boxes of Cheez-Its crackers, cupcakes to flower adorned children’s hair clips to clients – whom I consider more as friends over the years.) It doesn’t matter the price tag associated with the gift. Instead, think of it like a typical dating ritual… it’s the thought that counts.

Instead of an expensive client gala, organize small meet-and-greets – Don’t get me wrong. High-end galas have their place with some folks in the B2B industry, but for most, small meet-and-greets can accomplish just as much with less money and time. I have a small group I organize every other month and a 20-person private wine making group I’m a part of that meets six times per year as well. Six months ago my “A-team” coffee group were all strangers, now we invite one another to birthday parties, holiday BBQs and more. Did I mention they all do business together now too?

Share a cause with your clients – Invite your clients to participate in a walk-a-thon or another cause you believe in. I have a coworker that shaves his head every year to raise money in the name of childhood cancer research. (Clients LOVE it.) People naturally want to help and want to be involved – so long as it does not cut into their family and “down” time. Involving them in this way allows them to see a personal side of you, your business and gives them an easy way to participate and build a relationship with you.

No matter your business, we’re all in the business of sales

I don’t know about you, but I have a love-hate relationship with professionals whose sole purpose is to sell me something – television, print and radio advertising representatives, online digital video sales people, photographers telling me I need to use their services, trade organizations saying I need to “belong.”

No matter the source, we’re all selling one another something. I spend a great deal of my time wading through sales opportunities as the “gatekeeper” for my clients. It’s an undertaking all its own, but it’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly and the due diligence my clients expect of me and our firm.

Have you ever noticed that good sales people often aren’t thought of as sales people at all? Instead, they’re “friends.” Being a trusted “friend” can be key in successful sales. And, in today’s tough environment, more sales people should become “friends” with prospective clients.

More often than not, I come into contact with some of the most unlikeable sales characters. What makes them un-“friendly” sales people? I’ll let you be the judge.

(All actual incidents took place just this last month.)

Placing an initial sales call on any given Friday afternoon. Unless it’s necessary, I do my best NOT to contact clients on Fridays. No matter how nice of a person I think I may be, I’m likely the last person (i.e. their vendor) my clients want to speak with as they’re wrapping up their week and business at hand.

Placing a sales call to their cell phone, when they’re not immediately available on their office line. I realize our world is more mobile than ever before. However, there is still a professional code of conduct that exists; you must respect the privacy of someone’s cell phone number until you get the “okay” to regularly call it.

Not doing ANY homework. I always try to do homework so I can better recommend to my clients why they should do “this” or “that.” Just like my clients, I’m not receptive to people who call and ask me for money without telling me, specifically, how I (or my clients) may stand to benefit from the investment.

Tardiness. I don’t mind waiting an extra 10-15 minutes for a phone call or for a sales person to arrive at my office – if I know you. It’s an entirely different situation if you called me and are soliciting me for thousands of dollars, and then either no call, no show or stop by 30 minutes later than our scheduled meeting time.

Randomly showing up at the office – and staying for 30 minutes. I get it. Face time is good. I periodically stop by our clients’ offices as well, but a good sales person knows how to strike that delicate balance between quality “face time” and interfering with day-to-day business operations.

Responding to specific questions with rhetoric. All businesses have a specific, strategic message – key phrases and statistics – they want to communicate with clients, vendors and the community. As a marketing professional, I understand that. But if I ask you a specific question about your product or service, please answer it directly. My day-to-day business endeavors are based largely on trust, and if I don’t feel you’re going to give it to me straight, I’ll look for someone who will.

Regardless of my rant, there are still a number of sales “rock stars” out there. People I have thoroughly enjoyed doing business with for more than a decade, although I don’t think of them as sales people at all. Instead, they’re my “friends.” They’re there to lend a helping hand, provide insight when sought after, and keep me in the loop when it concerns their business and industry.

They’re resources I use time and again, and as a result, do business with. They’re “friends” – the best kind of business people who also happen to be great sales people.

*Blog originally posted at: Imagine Marketing: Creative Solutions for the New Economy.