154 – Consistency and Reliability mean increased sales: Tom talks More Business Skills That Rock

Episode 154 More Business Skills that Rock.. I should have named this business and personal skills that rock because some of the most powerful things you can do in business have nothing to do with MBA or PhD high level theory. You’ll see that is true in this episode. This is a companion episode to Episode 145 about three weeks ago where I covered Punctuality, Hand Shakes, Eye Contact, Voice Inflection and Smiling and if you think these things are trivial, wait until you see the scientific studies I have to back them up.
Anyway this is one of my Monday trainings. For you new listeners on Mondays I do a more in-depth training on something that has either made me or saved me lots of money and on Wednesday’s and Fridays I interview other great entrepreneurs who also give you lots of great tips.
Episode 153 (Mistake on the recording. I said Ed Rigsbee was the previous episode, but it wasn’t. Dr. Cheryl Lentz was episode 153 where she mixes academia with entrepreneurship and helps all kinds of businesspeople publish and market their book.

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Sponsor
Our sponsor this week is me again and the Tom Antion Internet Marketing Retreat and Joint Venture Program where myself and my staff work with you for a year to either get you started in an Internet business or to use the Internet to take your existing business to the next level. I'll tell you more about that later and details will be at http://www.GreatInternetMarketingTraining.com which will be in the show notes at screwthe commute.com
I turned the Internet marketing training world on its head around the year 2000.
People like me were charging 50-100K upfront to teach what we knew to clueless businesspeople who refused to learn. I'm a small business advocate and I knew many small businesses could never afford that kind of upfront money. So, I made all those gurus mad by charging a relatively small entry fee to my program that also got a percentage of profits that was capped so you're not stuck with me forever. So, for me to get my big money you have to make way bigger money. Plus, you know I'm not going to disappear on you because I won't get any more money.
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Main Event
In this episode I’m covering even more business skills that rock. And again, don’t poo poo episode 145 and how important the skills are that I covered in that episode. The first one I want to cover is Consistency. I’m asked frequently when I’m a guest on other podcasts what I think is the reason for my success. There’s no doubt to me that it’s consistency and persistency. Let’s cover consistency now. And just a reminder as I did in episode 145, I’m going to quote from articles and studies as part of this episode.
Consistency
The reason I believe I’ve been successful in business is that people know what to expect from me. If I put out a product, they know it’s going to be heavy on content that will help them. This podcast for instance is growing because people know that it religiously goes out Monday, Wednesday and Friday with Mondays being training sessions and Wednesdays and Fridays are interviews with other successful entrepreneurs who have inspiring stories and tips on their expertise that help you. 154 episodes have gone out consistently on that pattern with some special editions thrown in along the way.
Harvey Mackay said in an article he wrote for Uexpress.com
“In any business, customers expect the same standards. The last thing people want is to be surprised -- they want predictability. Let's face it -- we live in an unpredictable world. When people get what they want, they are happy and will return.”
He went on to say,
“Managers and leaders must be consistent in their behavior and attitude. This sets a good example for employees and eases concerns. If bosses are inconsistent, it can waste valuable time for both employees and customers. That's why trust is built upon the foundation of consistency.”
https://www.uexpress.com/harvey-mackay/2016/4/25/the-importance-of-consistency
And if you don’t think consistency is important why do you think INC Magazine did an entire feature on it?
They had five points in their article. They said:
• Consistency allows for measurement. How can you measure something if you’re measuring it differently all the time? That’s just crazy.
• Consistency creates accountability
• Consistency establishes your reputation
• Consistency make you relevant, and
• Consistency maintains your reputation.
I highly suggest you read the article where they expand on all those points.
https://www.inc.com/eric-v-holtzclaw/consistency-power-success-rules.html
Just think about this for a second. Would you do business with a company if you never knew what you were going to get. Heck McDonald’s is a great example of this. Order a Big Mac anywhere in the world and you’ll get the exact same sandwich. Even CBS News chimed in. They said,
“The importance of consistency in business seems so basic as to not need discussion. Yet many companies -- especially smaller ones -- operate in a day-by-day, case-by-case fashion that is disorganized, undisciplined and certainly inefficient.”
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-consistency-touches-every-area-of-your-business/
The next business skill is reliability
Reliability
When you say something can people absolutely take it to the bank or are they thinking, what you just said doesn’t really mean anything because they never know if you are going to do it or not? If I tell you something, I do it. If I say I’ll call you Wednesday, you can be darn sure unless there’s a nuclear attack, I’ll be calling you Wednesday. Even if there was a nuclear attack, I’d be texting you that I’m tied up and can’t make the call. LOL I would pretty much bet the farm that if you asked a bunch of people that know me, and I wasn’t around to influence their answer, “Can you trust what Tom says?”, I think you would get 100% of the people saying, “YES”. They may follow up telling you they didn’t like to hear what I said, but I’m certain they would say you can trust it.
Inc Magazine had an article “8 Ways to Become the Most Reliable Person in the Room” where they said,
People inherently value reliability. In fact, every day we value:
• Reliable cars that save time and money on repairs
• Reliable mail that gets delivered on time
• Reliable investments that deliver expected returns
• Reliable cell-phone service to stay connected
• Reliable vendors who show up on time
• Reliable airlines that take off on time
• Reliable restaurants that have quality food and service
• Reliable friends and colleagues who do what they say
That was Inc Magazine
https://www.inc.com/lee-colan/8-ways-to-become-the-most-reliable-person-in-the-room.html
“Entrepreneur Magazine went on to say, “Every day, hundreds of thousands of people choose to do business with a particular person or business because there's an assurance they'll get what they expect, when they expect it, the way they expect it.
And yet thousands of businesses lose at least one customer every day because they did not live up to the reasonable expectations of their clientele in terms of reliability, responsibility or dependability.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/207182
Hey, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to lose any customers per day or per week or ever because they didn’t get what they expected from me. Sure, that’s an impossible goal when you’re doing lots of business, but it’s what I shoot for every day we open our virtual doors.
I’ve linked to another article from “The Newswheel” about how businesses can improve their reputation and reliability of their services.
https://thenewswheel.com/how-businesses-can-improve-their-reputation-and-reliability-of-services/
And one last point I feel compelled to throw in right here is what you do if you do mess up someone’s order or disappoint them with your service in some way. If they aren’t clearly a rip-off I go into “Reliability of Response to Screwups” mode.
After I quickly try to determine what happened I simply ask them what can I do to make this right. Invariably over many years people have asked for less than I was willing to give them. I believe most people are reasonable and honest. That’s more of a customer service tip, but I wanted you to hear it.
Speed
If there’s one thing I’m known for it’s responding with lightning speed whenever possible. This is so very important and can catapult you past your competitors who most likely are slow as molasses in taking care of customers and prospects. It amazes me the attitude about taking care of people. Heck listen to most people’s voice mail. They say, “I’ll get back to you at MY earliest convenience.” Mine says, “I’ll get back to you as soon as humanly possible.” Quite a bit of a different attitude wouldn’t you say?
Another thing that to me is ludicrous. People have on their website or support site, “We’ll get back to you within 48 hours.” Are you kidding me? 48 hours. That’s garbage. That’s a garbage company. I don’t care what their name is or what they provide. That’s a garbage company. That’s a piece of crap company that doesn’t give a damn about you or your needs. 48 hours in this day and age is the pits. I would never do business with a piece of crap company like that.
Inc. Magazine had an article “4 Reasons Speed is Everything in Business”. In that article they said, “If you’re not fast, your competitors will be.” I partially believe that and I think it’s a good point. The reason I only partially believe it is because lots of businesses are too slow and I want you to know that if you make efforts to be faster you absolutely will pass up many of your competitors.
https://www.inc.com/adam-fridman/4-reasons-speed-is-everything-in-business.html
Even the highly regarded Gary Vaynerchuk said this, “Speed is 4 billion times more important than perfection.” He went on to say, “On a day-to-day basis, I’m moving unbelievably fast.”
https://www.garyvaynerchuk.com/importance-speed-business/
An article in “Business Insider” even quoted Napoleon. He said, “The secret to success lies in careful preparation followed by speedy and decisive execution." I couldn’t agree more. I’m not saying to go so fast doing things that you screw everything up. I’m saying start thinking about speed now and when the time comes you need it, you won’t be wondering what to do.
https://www.businessinsider.com/speed-a-key-element-of-business-success-2011-5
Bottom line. If someone needs help from you, if they don’t get it immediately, they WILL go to someone else and they’ll never call you again.
Persistence
Frequently when I do interviews people ask me how I became successful and I always answer the same way, Persistency and consistency which I mentioned earlier. I don’t want to get all sappy but I’d like to read Winston Churchills entire quote about this.
“Never give in--never, never, never, never, in nothing great or small, large or petty, never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
The enemy here is the business world throwing obstacles in your way sometimes it seems at every step. And If you don’t think I’ve been there, then you’re wrong but those are stories for other episodes.
Forbes Magazine had an article called, “From idea to business persistence is critical” The author Alan Hill who also wrote the eBook “The Characteristics of a Successful Entrepreneur” said, “Successful entrepreneurs never give up on their dreams of building a viable business. There is no impediment too great. This unflagging attribute is a key characteristic of triumphant business builders.”
What he’s saying is the same as Churchill and everybody else, you can’t quit too early unless it makes sense. You may not understand what making sense means when you’re in the midst of it. Quitting early is the reason most people fail.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanhall/2012/06/13/from-idea-to-business-persistence-is-critical/#7debf54ff63f
An article in “Entrepreneur Magazine” said, “Building a successful business is a bit like climbing a mountain: it’s an uphill battle most of the way, [I’ll agree with that even with the kind of pinnacles I’ve reached, yes it’s an uphill battle.] but the view from the top is pretty spectacular.” And I’ll also chime in and say I agree with that wholeheartedly. It’s worth it.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/297040
And I finish this section AmercianExpress.com said
“One common belief amongst business owners is that success is often the result of being in the right place at the right time.
But here’s the thing: It’s not that simple. You can’t expect to appear on the scene and step into a big puddle of success. Success isn’t a one-shot deal. In fact, it can take 10 years to become an “overnight success.” Persistence can play a part in becoming successful. You have to show up and keep on showing up until you make it.”
And then I would add keep going after you make it because you don’t want to “rest on your laurels”. Things can change overnight like when I had the nightclub and the drinking age went from 18 – 21 and wiped me out.
https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/is-persistence-the-key-to-business-success/

Copywriting
Hey if you’ve been listening to me any time at all or if you’ve heard me speak you know what I have identified Advertising Copywriting as the number one business skill I’ve ever developed in my 42 and a half year formal business career and even since I was ten years old making up flyers for my various side hustles. You definitely want to check out episode 13 where I go in depth on several copywriting techniques critical to your business.
Entrepreneur Magazine said, “Good copy helps your readers understand your offer--and how to respond.” Even one of my students reminded me that great copy reduces refunds because you have articulated the benefits of your product or service so well people don’t want to get rid of the product even if they haven’t reaped those benefits yet.
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/164812
Forbes Magazine had an article about Secrets to Hiring the best copywriters or I think that was close to the title and I guess that article would be helpful if you are dead set on spending your money hiring this out, but here’s the deal and I explained this in depth on episode 13. I contend you will neither save time or money by hiring copywriters. Plus, unless you are filthy well financed, you couldn’t possibly afford copywriters for all the things you need copy for in your business. And when I say copy it could be written copy, spoken copy as in a presentation or video script, short copy for a Google or Facebook ad. Hey even blog postings and articles are copy of sorts. Once you learn the techniques of copywriting it will subtly invade all your business communications and move way more people to action to do what you want them to do.
I’ve got great and inexpensive or free resources for you to improve this skill. Check out my free webinar “Copywriting 901: The Fast Track to Writing Words that Sell”. That’s going to go deep on 5 critical copywriting techniques to sell more of your stuff. Then I highly suggest you invest in my course. People charge $10,000.00 bucks for courses not half as good as this one. It’s only $297 and we’ll even finance it for you.
https://www.TomAntionWebinars.com
Oh, and one more thing. Besides teaching you how to sell more of your stuff, if you like writing, you can hire yourself out to write copy for others too lazy to learn it for themselves.
Go to https://www.Copywriting901.com
https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2017/03/03/the-secrets-to-hiring-and-developing-the-best-copywriters-for-your-website/#5efb34e78d11
Sponsor
OK. If you want someone to hold your hand through this and all the other things you need to know to be successful on line, check out my mentor program. it's the longest running most successful and most unique in the Internet marketing arena….operating over 19 years continuously and over 1700 students so it’s the perfect place for you to get your hand held and ramp up fast. Everything we do is one-on-one except for the visit to the retreat center and that’s usually only about 5 people for that event. And one thing I didn't tell you. It also includes a scholarship to my licensed Internet marketing school that you can either use yourself or gift to someone else. And guess what. It also includes the copywriting course I just talked about. It’s the most comprehensive and individualized course ever in the Internet marketing field.
Check everything out at the show notes at screwthecommute.com This is episode 154
or go directly to http://www.GreatInternetMarketingTraining.com
Our next episode 155 ….oh my goodness. Mari Smith is here ….”The Queen of Facebook” Even Facebook asks her for advice. You don’t want to miss that episode. She give enormously great tips on what to do as a business to use Facebook effectively. So check that out. She gives us lots of other resources, a free course on her website. Don’t miss that episode 155 coming up in 2 days.
Ok folks. That’s the story. I’d love to see you in my mentor program https://www.GreatInternetMarketingTraining.com and I’ll see you on the next episode.
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