Four Effective Business Practices – #2

Not long ago, a colleague of mine, Ellen, told me a fascinating story. Ellen lives in a big city and like thousands of others her daily commute to and from work is strewn with traffic and tollbooths, off ramps and road rage, and enough stress to turn even the proverbial sweet old lady into the incredible Hulk.

Each evening following a long day of work the first thing Ellen encounters in her eagerness to get home is a one dollar tollbooth. The price seems petty and the wait unreasonably long.

Until…

Until the day Mary got hired. Mary looked like any other poorly paid, overworked tollbooth operator, except for one thing. For each exhausted commuter, she always had a personalized kind word and a genuine smile. In fact, her smile was so contagious that each evening as Ellen waited for change she could feel her shoulders begin to relax and her lips lift a smile in return.

It wasn’t long before Ellen began scanning each tollbooth before she approached her nightly barrier so that she could spot the one manned by Mary. In what became a regular ritual, Ellen began to look forward to capping off her day with the sweet affirmation received each evening.

Ellen felt special.

And she wasn’t the only one.

Several nights ago, Ellen approached the tollbooths and looked for Mary. Strangely, she noticed that three of the tollbooths had absolutely no line but one of them, Mary’s, had FIVE cars waiting to pay. Ellen’s car made it six.

In a fit of frustration, another nearby toll operator got out of his booth and began to vigorously wave the backed up drivers towards one of the open lanes. Not a single car moved. Not one. They would all rather sit and wait so they could enjoy 15 seconds of Mary’s smile then speed home after their long day.

Wow.

The Power of One Life Lived Well

Mary didn’t have a position of status, prominence, or worldwide influence, but she radiated the love and grace of God, and that changed everything.

That’s why the second essential business practice is “Be God-Centered.”

• I want my business to do more than pay the bills. I want it to be a blessing.
• I want to help limping people leap from where they are to where they want to be.
• I want to help people go the distance and make a difference.
• I want people to turn their passion into action.
• I want to be so Christ-saturated that my faith is irresistibly attractive.
• I want to get to heaven and hear the words, “Well done.”

You do, too.

That’s why I have designed my upcoming Marketing Momentum Program based on the core business values God has given me.

• Biblical business practices (Prov. 3:5-6)
• Exquisite customer service (I Cor. 10:31)
• Abundance minded (II Cor. 9:7)
• Affordable pricing (Matt. 6:19-21)
• Under promise and over deliver (Luke 6:35,38)
• Excellence in everything (Col. 3:23)
• Saturated with Christ (Col 3:11)

Whether you are called to serve non-believers or believers, if these Biblical values are important to you, and if you long to make an impact in Christ’s name, I invite you to consider my Marketing Momentum Program.

Perhaps God is calling us to work together, to partner with Him and change the world.

I hope so. I would love that ☺.

Kim Avery