I once called a local outlet of a national home center chain, and I was on hold for 30 minutes! I stayed on as long as I could, just to see actually how many minutes it took for someone to answer. It was so long, I could hum their jingle in my sleep! And they never answered. Now, I go strictly to their competition. Alarmingly, it's to point where mediocre service is so noticeably different, it gets applauded. Keeping your employees trained and caring starts at top. So if this hasn't been a priority for you, make it one, and you'll see your referrals go up.

This leads into my next point - becoming Preferred Employer. In marketing triangle, there are three elements: Business, Customers, and Employees. With Business at apex of triangle, it cannot exist without other two. You're not just marketing to customers. You are marketing to your employees too, because they are investing their time to work for you.

When you create an excellent work atmosphere and employees find working for you rewarding, you get great performance from them AND you attract top talent. Those are two things that are priceless and almost insure success. Conversely, when you don't care about your employees, their training, or make work an unpleasant experience, count on poor to mediocre help without much care or effort. I cannot think of a faster way to drive good help and customers away.

Being Preferred Employer doesn't mean doesn't mean there are no rules in place or you pay obscenely high wages for comparable work. It simply means your employees are respected, taught to do their job well, given proper feedback when needed, and are made to feel valued.

Take a good objective look around your business. Get honest feedback from your customers AND your employees. Great businesses become that way because they are constantly searching for ways to become better. Those two groups should be your most important and most depended-on allies in that never- ending search. ~

Big comes with many faces. The public loves actions that take courage--or a lot of money. What impresses me isn't money, but adventuresome spirit. Adventure filmmaker Scott Lindgren, who is considered one of extreme sport's most prominent heroes, kayaked down Tsango River in Tibet. Navigating down it was likened to *snowboarding down Everest.* Lindgren is devoted to doing treks in wild and challenging rivers in circumstances that haven't been done before. He's after a *pure* experience, and eschews publicity and moneymaking. The irony is that he gets both.

Ultimately, no matter how much publicity you want, it's letting go of need for it that will take you to places that perhaps Trump or even Lindgren have not gone.

Download fr.ee teleclass *How to Become a 60 Second Soundbite Genius* to learn how to create soundbites that reporters and audiences love, avoid committing 3 deal- breakers that automatically eliminate most guests from getting on national TV shows, tell captivating stories to attract media and inspire audiences to buy.at: http://tinyurl.com/6j4qq

Copyright (c) 2004 Susan Harrow, All Rights Reserved.