Let me tell you a story about someone who loves his customers.
Last week, my #customerlove co-conspirator, David Crandall, and Srini Rao of BlogCastFM released an audio mini-product called, “How To Grow Your Blog Through Interviews.” It didn’t cost much and I’ve been wanting to do more interviews, so I bought it. It was a real eye-opener for me, explaining all the ways interviews can help a blog, well — grow.
But that’s not the story.
The story is what happened the next day. I got an email from Srini, apologizing for a glitch that I had barely noticed in the audio, and offering not only a replacement but a free hour of consulting to make up for it. That’s going above and beyond, if you ask me. True #customerlove.
In our session, Srini had so many fabulous, money-making ideas for me that I asked if I could share them with you, and he generously agreed! This is longer than my usual interviews, but I think you’ll agree that the information is worth the extra time. Some of what he advises relates to my voice coaching services, but could be easily adapted to pretty much anything.
Right-click to download MP3. 27:51
p.s. Srini LOVES surfing. And yes, that’s him in the shot above.
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Okay, well this was absolutely brilliant LaVonne!
I don’t think I have ever sat for that length of time and listened with such intent to a audio ‘post’. I’m a ‘visual’ not an auditory learner; however the two of you were just excellent!!
As you yourself said . . . sooo much information and ideas!! And what’s more . . . brilliant ideas!! I was sorry when the interview ended!
IMHO ~ I think there were definitely lots of suggestions for you to develop further, not just in your Voice Coaching but also the #customerlove challenge!!
Well that should take care of the next couple of months for you in planning, prep and implementation!!
BTW . . . loved the reference to (only) reading and not implementing!! Great advice!!
Okay a ‘too long’ comment once again, however great idea LaVonne to do this post ~
Thank you again!!
Thanks for your kind words. I guess I’m a master at giving people months of work to do in just an hour :). AS I mentioned above efficiency is really important to me and I think companies don’t manage time very well. I think people who work ridiculously long hours are not smart or hardworking, they just suck at managing time. While some people might not want to hear that, at the end of the day it’s results that matter, and if you can get results in less time than it makes no sense to work more.
Thanks so much for the session and letting me post it, Srini – I am a fan!
Yeah, Srini is awesome, isn’t he? And you can get lots more ideas from his podcasts. I’ve just started wading through them, and every one of them is jam-packed with great info. Srini is a master at drawing good stuff out of people.
Thanks for sharing your consulting session with us. I am always a bit nervous about doing those things. Nervous because I don’t know if I’m ready for a consult, or feeling that I’m too low on the totem pole to even merit such a session. Stupid I know. I should have taken advantage of it. Perhaps I still can!
Here’s a question: When do you know if you are ready for a consult? Perhaps that’s a good idea for a blog post from the customer love squad. How do you prepare for a consult?
Should I be offering consults to my customers? Perhaps that’s the real question here!
Hi Marlene,
I’d be glad to answer that question. In many ways it depends. If you put up your blog two days ago, then maybe not. What I would say is this. Identify what your problems and challenges are. I interview 100’s of people for BlogcastFM and I try to think about the challenges that all bloggers have so I can treat the interview as a consult. Low on the totem pole is just a mind set, so don’t sweat that. There are bloggers who started after me who are growing faster and probably making more money. I’m a huge believer in mentors for growing your blog. I’m a byproduct of Yaro’s program and I think many other people have great programs too. Jonathan Mead’s paid to exist program is fantastic. So I guess the real answer is hire a consultant when you feel you’re not growing at all. I started 5 failed blogs before this that I’ve never talked about (off to write a blog post about it now). As far as offering customer consults, DO IT. Then write a case study on the success they had using your strategies.
If you bought the Interview product and you’re talking about taking advantage of Srini’s offer, I’m sure it’s still open. I know I’m ready for a consult when I keep struggling with the same issue over and over. I haven’t thought about preparing for a consult — I just have that one or maybe two issues, and the coach takes it from there.
Yes, absolutely offer consults to your customers! You know your subject, you know their problems — I think it’s a great idea!
Great interview, guys, thank you. And wow, I love the blog series idea – that’s killer. I was too burnt-out & busy to do Customer Love this time around but I’d love to take part if you do another one.
Thanks Kirsty, and don’t worry – we will definitely do another one soon!
~LaVonne
This is a really great interview. Thanks, LaVonne.
Thanks, Sarah – and thanks for commenting. 🙂
~LaVonne