My hero, Earl Nightingale, often wrote and talked about the importance of attitude. He said that attitude was everything when it comes to success. You may have heard that when it comes to hiring staff, you should hire on attitude rather than skill because skills can always be taught.

The reason the news letter is about attitude this month is because of two observations I have made in the past few days.

I have never watched the TV series ‘The X Factor’ before, but decided that it would make good Saturday tea time family viewing. What struck me – even more than the obvious delusion that some of the performers suffer from - was the differing attitudes of people under pressure.

Some walk in expecting it as their right to progress to the next round, even though they have little original to offer. Some enter the room with a chip on their shoulder so large that it stifles their talents. Yet others walk in with such a great attitude that it is almost impossible for the judges to say no to them. One lady literally lit up the room when she entered, and then sang like an angel. When she heard she was through to the next round she thanked all the judges personally. It wasn’t just her wonderful talent that the judges had enjoyed; it was her outstanding attitude that made her a pleasure to be around.

The other observation I made about attitude came at one of the recent £100,000 marketing seminars that I run every 2 months. At the end of every seminar I have ever run I always ask guests to complete an evaluation form. This way I can look for ways to improve future events. I also use the comments for testimonials on my website.

At this month’s seminar there were the usual mix of start up companies and long established firms from a variety of industries. However, there were 2 people who really stood out at the event for me. Neither said much, but by their actions I could tell a huge amount about what they would get out of the day.

One listened intently, scribbled frantically on his notepad and nodded regularly. He was like a sponge and he wanted to soak up the maximum from every moment: I could almost see the ideas buzzing around his head by the end of the day. He was polite to all the other guests, asking about their companies, he wanted to know what marketing had worked for them and was obviously a warm and interesting person.

After he left the room I commented to my Seminar Manager Marina that he seemed to get a lot out of the day and that he would go far in business. Marina pointed out that he already had. Only in his mid 20’s, he was running a successful recruitment company, was thinking of setting up another company and had arrived at the event in a Porsche. He was, some might say, the sort of person who didn’t really need to come to the seminar because he was already a success. Yet because he had such a wonderful attitude, it is clear to me that he is going to go on to become a millionaire many times over.

Three day after the event he sent me a wonderful testimonial letter saying how much he enjoyed the seminar. It also said that he was looking forward to sending another letter a few years time saying he had become a millionaire on the back of the ideas he had learned that day.

The other person that stood out for me at the seminar sat with his arms and his mind folded up from early on. He didn’t make any notes on the special sectioned paper I provide all delegates with. His only comment was to question the legality of one of my ideas that I had successfully used on many occasions. At the end – although he has never run his own business and, by his own admission, has little marketing experience - his comment was that the seminar was ‘97% predictable’. His was my first bad review! However, I knew that before I opened my mouth he was not going to enjoy the day because of his attitude. He didn’t want to be there and had made up his mind that the day was going to be a waste of time before it began. And of course, for him, it was a waste of time. If his attitude had been ‘which of these ideas can I introduce at my business to generate extra money’ would he have felt the same at the end of the day?

So, forget that it was one of my seminars, here is the contrast that attitude makes. One person leaves feeling cheated, that nothing was of any use. The other spends days afterwards dreaming of the difference the ideas will make to his business, puts the ideas into practice, tells all his friends about the ideas - and starts counting the money.
Both spent the same amount of time in the same room – the difference between them was not their knowledge or skills – it was their attitude.

The point is, which of these two attitudes make the more successful person and who would you rather be friends with, have as a client or have working for your organisation?

If attitude is not everything, it certainly is the single most important factor in the success of any individual.

In this new feature, each month we look at what marketing ideas we can glean from the animal kingdom.

This month – customer care and the elephant.

The elephant, it is said, never forgets. This is true with some, but not all aspects of customer care. A customer will never forget if you let them down. They will remember every bit of bad service or missed promise. They may forgive you, but they will not forget. However, when it comes to the times when you pushed the boat out and did something extraordinary, they are less likely to have such perfect memories. Such actions can soon be forgotten, or if they are remembered, may only be held up as a precedent, with future action judged by your earlier super human effort.

But that is the right of the customer, and as we are all customers, we all accept this. As business owners we must learn to deliver wonderful service that is soon forgotten and avoid causing problems that will be forever remembered.