Why Talking To Your Customers Is Losing You Money (and how to fix this MASSIVE attentionsuck) 🗣➡️👥➡️❌ Ep 83

Alex, broadcasting from a suburb of Austin named BC, delves into the counterintuitive notion that engaging directly with customers can be a detriment to business growth. He shares his personal struggle with the habit of reaching out to customers, which he identifies as a significant distraction and productivity killer. Alex advises entrepreneurs to focus on scaling and systemizing customer service, rather than getting caught in unproductive communication loops. He offers practical solutions like appointing a fake assistant until a real one is hired, uninstalling social media apps to reduce distractions, and ultimately, disconnecting from direct communication to concentrate on the business. Alex emphasizes the importance of structured customer service and the pitfalls of seeking instant gratification through customer interactions. He concludes by urging listeners to share the podcast to assist more entrepreneurs, highlighting the collective benefit of spreading valuable insights.

• Speaker is currently in a suburb of Austin called BC.
• They have not been producing as much content due to being occupied with significant behind-the-scenes activities.
• They believe in only communicating when they have something valuable to share.

"I'm coming to you from downtown Austin. Actually, not downtown. We're actually, like, in a suburb of Austin called BC." "I have not been making as much content recently, and that's because we have a lot of huge things that are going on behind the scenes."

The speaker is explaining their current location and the reason for a recent decrease in content creation, attributing it to other significant tasks that are taking up their time.

• The speaker struggles with the habit of reaching out to customers instead of focusing on their to-do list.
• They express a desire to check in on people in their group or community.
• The speaker identifies with gym owners and enjoys interacting with them.
• They recognize this behavior as a major distraction and productivity killer.

"And this is the hardest thing in the entire world, is that whenever I have a huge to do list, I look at my to do list and part of me just wants to reach out to people who are in our group and just say, like, hey, how's everything going? Just checking in." "I love talking to gym owners. Like, I am a gym owner and you all are my people."

The speaker is discussing the challenge of resisting the urge to communicate with customers, which they find particularly difficult due to their affinity with gym owners and their community.

• The speaker questions the productivity of reaching out to customers, challenging the notion that it provides world-class service.
• They suggest that true care for customers would involve scaling oneself to be more productive and helpful on a larger scale.
• The habit of talking to customers is critiqued as seeking a dopamine hit from positive feedback, which is not financially beneficial.

"And the thing is, we tell ourselves, we're like, yeah, this is super productive. I'm checking in. I'm providing world class service." "It is literally the hardest thing that I've had to break, because when I have a huge list of stuff to do, I'd so much rather just message Josh Pont and be like, hey, man, how's life?"

The speaker is reflecting on the false perception of productivity when engaging with customers, noting that it feels good but may not contribute to actual business growth or customer service improvement.

• The speaker admits to only talking to favorite customers, who are likely to give positive feedback.
• They acknowledge this as a biased approach, which does not address the needs of less satisfied customers.
• The speaker realizes that this selective interaction does not increase revenue or help more gyms.

"You only talk to our favorite customers because we know it's going to be good, right? You don't reach out to the crappy customers."

The speaker is admitting to a tendency to communicate only with customers who are expected to provide positive feedback, recognizing that this is not an inclusive or necessarily productive business practice.

• The speaker identifies their habit of talking to customers as self-sabotage.
• They mention that they have implemented strategies to protect against this habit.
• The speaker suggests that this behavior is detrimental even if trainers in their business do it, unless it is specifically part of their job.

"So here's some of the things that I have done to actively try and protect myself against this habit that is totally self sabotaged."

The speaker is introducing the concept of self-sabotage through unnecessary customer interaction and hints at strategies they have used to combat this habit, emphasizing the need for self-discipline to avoid such pitfalls.

• Having excellent customer service is essential for business success.
• Structuring customer service and communication is crucial for scalability and manageability.
• Random, unstructured communication can lead to inefficiency and customer reliance on inappropriate contact points.
• Setting boundaries and proper channels for communication prevents confusion and maintains professionalism.

And so I want to be clear here. Having amazing customer service is incredibly important. But having structure around that service and having structure around those communication cycles is what will make it scalable, systemizable, trackable, and actually make it a business.

This quote emphasizes the importance of not only having great customer service but also implementing a structured system around it to ensure the business can grow and be managed effectively.

• Use an assistant to manage social accounts and direct inquiries to the appropriate department or person.
• Before having a real assistant, it's possible to pretend to have one to manage communications.
• This strategy helps in focusing on business-critical tasks and avoiding time-consuming interactions.

First thing is that before I had an assistant, I told my head trainer, I would say, hey, listen, when people message me, I'm going to say that you're on my Facebook and we, you know, it's Alex. Alex actually doesn't check his stuff anymore because he decided it was like a really big time suck for him so he could focus on the business more.

The speaker shares a tactic of using a fictional assistant to manage messages, which allowed them to concentrate on more significant business activities and set the stage for having a real assistant in the future.

• Implementing processes for handling leads and inquiries ensures they are addressed by the right team members.
• Engaging personally with every potential customer is not sustainable for business owners.
• Discipline and process adherence prevent time wastage and financial loss.

We have an eight person sales team. You can talk to them, because if I hopped on the phone for every person interested, then we wouldn't have a business.

This quote highlights the need for a systematic approach to dealing with potential customers by directing them to a dedicated sales team, thus preserving the business owner's time and the company's resources.

• The podcast does not run ads or sell products.
• The hosts request support through ratings, reviews, and sharing the podcast.
• Audience engagement is vital for reaching more entrepreneurs and making an impact.

Real quick, guys, you guys already know that I don't run any ads on this, and I don't sell anything. And so the only ask that I can ever have of you guys is that you help me spread the word so we can help more entrepreneurs make more money, feed their families, make better products, and have better experiences for their employees and customers.

The quote is a call to action for listeners to support the podcast by spreading the word, which in turn helps the broader entrepreneurial community.

And the only way we do that is if you can rate and review.

This quote is a specific request for listeners to leave ratings and reviews as a form of support for the podcast.

It'll take you 10 seconds or one type of the thumb. It means the absolute world to me. And more importantly, it may change the world for someone else.

The speaker conveys the ease and significance of leaving a review, highlighting its potential impact on others.

• Utilize a "fake admin" persona to provide world-class customer service.
• Having an admin, even a fake one, can impress customers with the level of attention and service.
• Delegating tasks to an admin can free up time to focus on other business aspects.

So you can be like, absolutely. What else can I take care of for you today? You can just have amazing people. Like, wow, lisette is amazing. Right? So use that. It will really help you.

This quote emphasizes the importance of creating a positive customer service experience, potentially through the use of a fake admin persona, to make customers feel valued and taken care of.

• Remove the Facebook app from your phone to reduce addiction.
• Access Facebook through a browser to limit engagement due to a less user-friendly experience.
• This strategy leverages the inefficiency and lack of dopamine triggers of the browser version to control usage.
• The main hack for Facebook is to avoid the newsfeed and only check notifications.

I don't have the Facebook app on my phone. [...] If you go to Facebook through the Internet app, it sucks. [...] You can use the fact that it's not as efficient, because what it does is it doesn't have all these dopamine triggers that the app does.

This quote discusses the speaker's personal strategy for reducing time spent on Facebook by using a browser instead of the app, highlighting the decreased efficiency and lack of addictive features when not using the native application.

• Avoid reaching out to customers for casual conversations to save time for more critical business tasks.
• Engaging in unnecessary communication can be a disservice to the customer and the business.
• It's important to build the business rather than getting caught up in tasks that can be delegated.

Don't reach out to your customers to just talk to them because you have other stuff that you need to be doing, because you want to feel like you're giving world class service because you are not doing that. You are disservicing them by not building the business that you should be doing with that time.

This quote advises against spending time on non-essential communication with customers, suggesting that it can be a distraction from more important business-building activities.

• Recognize that direct communication with the business owner should be limited to appropriate matters.
• Ensure that customer inquiries are directed to the correct department or staff member.
• Hiring the first admin is a significant step in business growth, allowing the owner to focus on high-level tasks.

And then they start going straight to the owner for things that really should be handled by your trainer or by your coaches or by retention manager, by front desk or billing or whatever, right?

This quote highlights the importance of having a structured communication process where customers are directed to the appropriate point of contact within the business, rather than defaulting to the owner for all inquiries.

• Delegating phone responsibilities can significantly enhance focus and productivity.
• Setting boundaries is necessary to progress in business and personal efficiency.
• It is important to communicate changes to those affected in a truthful yet considerate manner.

I gave them my phone. I literally gave it to them. I was like, you are now working for me. I was like, this is my phone.

This quote illustrates the act of physically handing over the phone to a delegate to emphasize the commitment to disconnection and delegation for increased productivity.

The reality is that shit's changed. You have a business now, or at least if you want a business, they can't all have your cell phone number, and so that needs to get passed on to someone.

This quote highlights the need for professional boundaries as a business grows, implying that personal contact information should be restricted to maintain these boundaries.

Unfortunately, Alex realized he was doing everyone a disservice because all he was doing all day was texting people from morning until evening, and he actually wasn't getting the real things that you guys need done.

The speaker provides a rationale for the delegation, explaining that constant communication was counterproductive and not in the best interest of the business or its customers.

• Direct communication with customers can be gratifying but is not always the best use of an entrepreneur's time.
• It is crucial to find a balance between customer engagement and other business responsibilities.
• Entrepreneurs should consider the opportunity cost of their time when interacting with customers.

Don't just talk to your customers. It is a huge waste of your time, and you're just doing it because it feels good. So stop doing that.

This quote advises against excessive customer interaction, suggesting that it can be a significant time-waster and should be minimized.

Uninstall Facebook on your phone, and then if you can, give this to your admin and then get a new phone.

The speaker recommends removing distractions such as social media apps and further delegating communication responsibilities to an admin to reclaim time for more critical tasks.

• Personal boundaries are just as important as professional ones and can be harder to enforce with family.
• Clear communication about availability and expectations is necessary to set these boundaries.
• It is essential to be firm yet understanding when conveying limitations to family members.

It literally took maybe nine months for me to give my mother my phone number.

The speaker shares a personal anecdote to illustrate the extent to which they enforced boundaries, even with close family members, to maintain focus and productivity.

You can't abuse it. And it took a really long time for her to get that, and she recently understood it, and that is why she has my cell phone number there, and she understands that she can't abuse that.

This quote emphasizes the importance of consistency and patience when establishing boundaries with family, as well as the eventual understanding and respect that can be achieved.

• Sharing strategies for productivity can help others in similar situations.
• It is important to support peers by normalizing the practice of setting boundaries.
• Encouraging a community of understanding can help reduce the stigma of not being constantly available.

I hope that the things that I gave you will help make you some more dollars. And if you have trainers who fall into the same trap, tag them in it.

The speaker encourages sharing the advice given with others who may benefit, indicating a desire to help peers improve their productivity and business success.

Shoot a like so that other gym owners will see that you're not a bad person if you don't actively Facebook message everyone back within 5 seconds because they shouldn't be messaging you.

This quote advocates for changing the perception that immediate response to messages is necessary, suggesting that it is okay to take time to respond and that instant communication should not be expected.

• The speaker shares their personal struggles and solutions, hoping to assist others.
• There is an emphasis on the importance of finding what works for an individual's productivity.
• The speaker offers a final expression of goodwill and anticipates future interactions.

It is the number one thing in the world that I have struggled with.

The quote reflects on the speaker's personal challenges with time management and communication, highlighting the significance of the issue in their life.

Lots of love, have an awesome hump day, and I'll catch you guys soon. Bye.

The closing statement provides a warm and positive send-off, reinforcing the speaker's supportive stance and intention to remain engaged with the audience.