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Most people misunderstand and mis-define the word serious. They view it as stoic, non-smiling, stiff, non-humorous and boring. Hardly.

Serious is the intention, the intensity and the focus that you put into your work ethic and your personal ethics. Serious is a way of life, a way of business, a way of selling and a way of serving.

How serious are you?

When your prospect or customer comes to the realization that you are “serious” about doing business or earning business, it stems from the actions you took to make that feeling possible.

Those serious actions or characteristics include:

• Speed of response.

• Ability to deliver.

• Ability to serve.

• Desire to serve.

• Knowledge about how what you have will help someone.

• Friendliness.

• Personable.

• Perceived value of product or service.

• Truth at all cost.

• Available when THEY call.

• Easy to access anyone.

• Easy to do business with.

• Online access to information and ordering.

If you have all those attributes, you have a CHANCE of being perceived as serious.

What are you serious about?

I always found it pathetically funny when someone told me, “We have all the business we can handle.” This is a sentence often spoken in response to an offer to advertise. I wonder if that same sentence is true today? Maybe if that business owner had been more serious about business building rather than business bragging, he would be in better shape today.

Yes, I’m serious about the economy and our present state of affairs, but I am 1,000 percent MORE serious about my business, my finances and my sales. My focus is on success, not doom and gloom.

In good times or bad, here are a few things we are serious about in my business:

• We are serious about helping our customers. Many are in need and looking for answers.

• We are serious about being friendly. It costs no more to be friendly, and it sets the tone for a positive outcome.

• We are serious about being an online leader. Online is forever, and we are investing in our future.

• We are serious about NOW IS THE TIME. We are not waiting to see what happens; we are taking success actions on the opportunities that exist NOW.

• We are serious about error-free order processing and packing. We focus on delivery, not shipping. And yes, we do make errors. But our recovery is spectacular.

• We are serious about getting every order shipped the day it’s received. Our customers expect “fast” and “perfect,” and we deliver.

• We are serious about doing the right thing and the best thing for our customers.

• We are serious about having fun while doing it. We kibitz, we wisecrack, we engage customers, and we do it with the serious intention of having a great time and being memorable.

• We’re a family, not a team. Maybe that’s why we’re serious about working together, staying together and succeeding together.

I realize that many of my customers need help, and I am serious about giving it to them. Not selling – giving.

The times call for different approaches and different actions. They challenge me to have a different mindset and slower expectations of victory. Not LOWER, slower.

Jeffrey Gitomer can be reached by phone at (704) 333-1112 or by e-mail at salesman@gitomer.com. © 2009 Jeffrey H. Gitomer