WDTalk

Let’s face it – most people believe they work hard, but I suspect very few of us accomplish as much as we believe we can, and this can leave you feeling unfulfilled. How many of you actually prepare a plan for each day? I dated a postal worker supervisor years ago who prepared a daily list of projects to complete. At the time, I thought she was overly regimented, but thinking back, it doesn’t seem so out of whack anymore.

Turning ineffectiveness into effectiveness

Obliviously, the first thing that needs to change is your thinking. You have to define where you’re going – by preparing a written personal mission statement. You have to outline your priorities, spell out the results you’re looking for, then live each day with purpose.

Setting realistic goals is fundamentaly important
Try to achieve a balance between your personal and business life, setting realistic daily, weekly, monthly or yearly goals for each. Setting goals is an investment in yourself. You need to clarify your expectations and then think win-win. Begin with the end in mind, then map out how you plan to evolve from where you are to where you want to be.

You can earn a Doctorate in Conflict Analysis and Resolution, but I think most of us have earned some credits for coping with conflict on the street level, and certainly in the hosting industry.

Managing Conflict

The key is learning how to manage conflict rather than have it manage you. I avoid disputes when possible, but realize they’re inevitable – so instead of reacting on an emotional level, my solution is to manage them proactively. Part of that is being solution focused versus problem focused. It’s all about communications – understanding what your personal triggers are, then mapping out the opposing positions, finding common ground, and then proposing win-win solutions.

Conflict Awareness
First, you have to understand your own conflict patterns, then develop and practice methods to listen more effectively, map out the conflicts, and learn to differentiate difficult people from difficult behavior. We all know the type. Some clients and prospects just instinctively know what hot buttons to press.

Moving Beyond Conflict
What we’re really talking about here is developing professional skill sets to increase the success of your business operations. Customer support is very much about resolving customer conflicts or problems. While the solution could be purely technical, the perception of value rests with your client. How well you communicate relates directly to customer churn. Bad communication skills = high customer churn. Great communication skills = raving fans and a loyal customer base. The key, I think, is to actively listen, showing genuine interest and concern. Clarify the problem; ask questions, then listen – separating emotions from issues. Sometimes, you just have to say NO, it won’t work. And after conflicts are managed, it’s important to solicit feedback.

How Important is Feedback
Feedback is so important that you should reach out to your clients randomly to ascertain their comfort level with your products or services. Perhaps your perception that they’re satisfied clients is completely off tract, and they’re actively searching for a new provider. How would you know until they sent in their cancellation request? At that point, you become reactive instead of proactive.  Again, it’s all about effective communications and productive interactions.

Web hosting forums are a frequented by thousands of members and guests every day, on a global scale, searching for and discussing solutions for everything from SEO optimization to hardware configurations. We believe the web hosting industry is unique in its willingness to help others succeed, and recognize membership on these forums as a benefit to the community, both for their knowledgebase and culture. Web hosting professionals from around the world sign on as members, including our own Steve Bloemer.

One of the better forums is Hosting Discussion. With over 16 thousand threads and 97 thousand plus posts, Hosting Discussion is recognized as one of the premier forums on the Web. Each month, Hosting Discussion selects a Most Valuable Member for that month, based on the merits of member’s threads and posts. This August 28th – Hostirian’s Steve Bloemer was selected, for the fourth month in a row, as their Most Valuable Member – for June 2009.

Excerpt from Hosting Discussion:

“I was happy to see a lot of newcomers in the month’s Top 10. But in the month of June, they unfortunately didn’t have the muscle to overthrown our forum’s hotshot Steve-Hostirian, who has completely dominated the forum with his assistance and valuable input. For this reason, Steve once again earns the Most Valuable Members of the Month award. Congrats, Steve!!”