The Secret To Motivation: Recognition!

Recognition and appreciation are not "once and done" events. Learn tips to create a recognition culture both at work and at home. You'll be surprised at the positive results!

By Marsha Egan

If you’d like to have energized and motivated employees or members, people who love what they are doing, and a thriving organization, then ask yourself how much of a recognition culture you have in your organization.

Recognition and appreciation are not “once and done” events. To build a recognition culture in your organization, you need to do it regularly and often. And not only you. If you have a recognition culture in your organization, people at all levels of the organization regularly thank and appreciate others for notable deeds.

And the difference between culture and procedure is huge. It is a procedure to have a performance bonus program; it is a culture to have people regularly high fiving each other, sending emails, and appreciating people publicly in meetings over even the smallest accomplishments.

Most people in business or volunteer organizations agree that they would benefit from a recognition culture. Recognition is one of the easiest, least expensive ways to motivate and energize volunteers and employees. Actually, it is mostly free! Why then, can so few boast this attribute? It might be because showing recognition is an “important but not urgent” action—the crises of the day can get in the way of someone taking a moment to appreciate an accomplishment. It might be because the people in charge believe that their employees are well paid, and that is all the motivation they need. It might be just because they forget.

I like to challenge my executive coaching clients to make recognition a habit. The more you do it, the more comfortable you will feel doing it. And the more recognition you infuse into the organization, the more positive motivation and energy you can generate within the organization. It ultimately circles back, and can actually energize YOU!

Here are some ideas you can use:

- Set a brief time each day to reflect on who accomplished a noteworthy deed. By doing this, you can “force yourself” to get in the habit of recognizing people. I like to do this at the end of my day.

- Send an email or leave a handwritten note for the person who deserves the “attagal” or “attaguy.” - Start your meetings with sincere appreciation for even the smallest accomplishments.

- Compliment people mentioning specific results in front of others.

- Publish a “hats off” column in your newsletter; encourage everyone in the organization to contribute

- Tell a person’s boss what a great job he or she did. Compliment your superior for a task well done. - Celebrate the completion of big projects.

Oh, and this works at home, too. When was the last time you thanked or appreciated your spouse or children for doing a difficult task?

If you remind yourself regularly to actively appreciate the behavior you want to see repeated, you’ll change your habits and embrace recognition and appreciation in your daily routine. And it IS contagious. The more you recognize and appreciate behavior you want to see repeated, the greater chance that it will be repeated. Recognition cultures are energized, proactive cultures. In this day and age, we need to move forward quickly. And recognition can supply the energy for that effort. It all goes to the bottom line, doesn’t it?

Marsha Egan, CPCU, PCC is CEO of The Egan Group, Inc., a Reading, PA based professional coaching firm. She is a certified executive coach and professional speaker, specializing in leadership development and can be reached at marsha@marshaegan.com or visit http://www.marshaegan.com .

10 Ways Showing Gratitude Now Can Increase Your Future Income

As busy businessowners, sometimes we forget to show our appreciation for our clients and customers. There are some simple ways to do this that will increase their loyalty and add to your bottom line at the same time.

By Alicia Forest

As we head into the season of giving, now is a great time to show appreciation to your clients and customers. Taking the time to give thanks to your clients will set you apart, increase loyalty, improve retention, inspire more sales, and deepen relationships that last long after the initial sale.

Here are 10 easy ways you can say thank you to your clients:

1. Greeting Cards
My husband often teases me that I should own stock in Hallmark for the amount of money I spend a year on cards. I love to send cards, for a specific reason or for no reason at all.
For business, you’ve probably heard of SendOutCards (and no, I’m not an affiliate or a distributor). I get a lot of cards this way, from colleagues, and it definitely deepens the relationship for me. And it is a super-easy way for you to do that with your customers too.

2. Personal Notes
I love to send personal notes too. I have specially designed notecards that I send when I just want to connect with someone after a particularly powerful coaching call, when someone makes an investment in Platinum, when I’ve made a special connection with someone in person, or when a client just needs a little cheer.

3. Invitations
One of the things you can do for your top clients is to invite them to a special event just for them. It can be a lunch or dinner at an event you’ll all be at, or carve out a portion of your own live event to spend time just with them.
You can also invite them to special teleseminar or webinar where you offer them free content just for being your top clients.

4. Small Gifts
Flowers, books, a mug, or something more specific are all thoughtful gifts for clients. They can be sent for certain occasions or just because (that’s actually my favorite way to send a gift).

5. Gift Cards
These days you can get gift cards for almost any product or service. Some companies, like Starbucks, offer having your logo or business name imprinted on them. Other ideas besides coffee include restaurants, movies, bookstores, office supplies and online vendors like Amazon.

6. Referral and Affiliate Rewards
Even if your referral or affiliate programs offer a commission on each referral, sending a personalized note along with it will go further in encouraging your network to continue to promote your offers into the future.

7. Reverse Referrals
Whenever appropriate, refer your clients and customers to others whom they will benefit from. Making this a part of the way you run your business will come back to you ten-fold as it shows the Universe your belief in abundance.

8. Customer Appreciation Days
Pick one day a year to designate as a Customer Appreciation Day to celebrate your clients. Make a special offer only to them and make a lasting impression.

9. Host Events
Host a gathering at the next event where your clients and customers are likely to gather. A Tweetup is a popular way to connect with both current and prospective clients and they are super-simple to set up and cost you nothing but a bit of time. You can also hold a virtual event anytime you want to bring your clients and customers together.

10. Life Events
Weddings, baby showers, major moves, book contracts, big speaking gigs, TV spots, or any other major event warrants an acknowledgment. A nice card or personal note, or even a quick phone call, will make you memorable for sure.

Alicia M Forest, MBA, 6-Figure Business Breakthrough Mentor, teaches self-employed professionals how to attract more clients, create profit-making products and services, make more sales, and ultimately live the life they desire and deserve. For FREE tips on how to create wild abundance in your business, visit http://www.ClientAbundance.com