Look closely at this photo of a Grunder Landscaping Co shirt:

They fixed a button without being asked and for free!

What are you doing for your clients without being asked? What is something small you could do that would totally surprise your clients? Remember, you don’t want to give them a reason to go elsewhere.

By the way, I am not looking for a new dry cleaner and I don’t check their prices. Get it? If you do, you will make more money and lose less clients from this point on!

PS – Now that you know our special featured speaker for GROW! 2012, February 9-11, in Dayton, Ohio, what’s keeping you from signing up? Larry Winget AND Joe Calloway AND Matt Caruso AND Marty Grunder, all at one event! What more could you ask for? Sign up today! The price will go up on December 21st. We would love to see you at GROW! 2012.

For the past few years my daughter Lily has played on a select soccer team. The name of the team is the CUSA Courage; they are coached by Janelle Fritschie.

I have watched my daughter grow up as she has played on this team. This is her last season with this coach and team before she goes on to play in high school and maybe beyond that, if that’s what she wants. Anyway, her coach is a very hard-working, caring person. She has had some challenges dealing with the team, nothing major, just the stuff you deal with as a coach of a competitive team.  One of the things Coach Janelle does is send the girls motivational messages and words of wisdom. And, many of them apply to business. A few weeks ago, she sent this story in and I really liked it. So, read through it and ask yourself if you’re a winner or a whiner and think about how your attitude determines your altitude.

I try really hard to have a good attitude but, like all of us, I stray at times as well. Thanks for the reminder, Coach Janelle, and thanks for all you have done for my daughter.

Here’s a photo of Lily and her coach and her team.

PS – Don’t forget; you can still sign up for GROW! 2012 for $550 but the price will be going up soon. Why don’t you go ahead and register your people today!

This week I want to talk about improvement. One of the ways we get better is by always looking for ways to get better. Here’s an e-mail I received from our Fleet and Facilities Manager, Joe Spatz:

“Sales people, it’s that time of year again; in your mailbox you will find the annual sheets that I pass out every year looking for your input; maybe it’s a problem or a want on the GLC vehicle that you drive, or maybe on the jobsite you noticed something with a truck or piece of equipment that could be improved, or maybe you have seen another company with a piece of equipment that you thought would benefit Grunder by being more efficient, safer, a way to cut labor cost; all input gives us the chance to become better. Thanks for your help.

J. S.”

And here’s the sheet he asks our whole team to fill out.

This is a small thing we do, but it’s thinking like this that helps us improve. And when you can get your people to do this (I had NOTHING to do with this), you are on the right track. Even small details like this make a big difference. What do you need to improve? How can you get your team to think like my Joe does? Those questions and others are things we’ll talk about and you’ll learn about at GROW! 2012.

Sign up now before the price goes up!