I think when you maintain the relationship and stay top of mind, your people will refer you. We have a built-in ambassador program that our clients can join to get affiliate payouts for referrals and exclusive perks. So, we are regularly in front of them reminding them of the opportunity to tell their friends and earn money for doing so.
As part of my series about the five things a business should do to create a Wow! customer experience, I had the pleasure of interviewing Kelly Roach.
Business strategist Kelly Roach transforms overworked entrepreneurs into seven-figure CEOs, by teaching them how to leverage timeless business principles, employed by billion-dollar corporations, with the speed and agility of the most powerful online marketing strategies of today. Prior to starting her own company, Kelly spent years in corporate America, rising through the ranks of a Fortune 500 to become the youngest VP in the company. Kelly is not only a best-selling author but is also an ongoing television business expert.
Thank you so much for joining us Kelly! Our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?
Growing up just above the poverty line, in a family of 5, I decided early on that things would be different for me and my children. I worked hard growing up, scrubbing toilets to pay for dance lessons, and working multiple jobs in college. After graduation, I got an entry level job in sales, for a Fortune 500 company. In eight years, I was promoted seven times to become the youngest VP in the company. I led my team through the recession of 08’-10’, without letting a single person go. In fact, we had record breaking sales that year. As I was climbing the corporate ladder, I realized that I was making millions of dollars, working 60+ hours a week, for OTHER people. When I thought about what I wanted in terms of lifestyle, that was not it. So, I started my business on the side, while continuing to work my corporate job, and built that company for two years before quitting. I relied on lots of hard work, my sales skills, and an unstoppable mindset to help me build what is now a multimillion-dollar business coaching company with over 500 clients, across the globe.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘take aways’ you learned from that?
I am not sure I would call this funny, but it was a true learning experience, for sure!
When you are just getting started in your business, you have this blind optimism and excitement, and you want things to happen overnight. I was still working full-time as a Fortune 500 executive when I started my business. I put so much work into my first big webinar and was so convinced it would go well that I took the next two business days off of work to do all of the consultations and registrations for everyone that I was sure was going to be registering as a result of my webinar. By that time, I had honed my sales skills and was ready to close some deals after the webinar wrapped.
Unfortunately, I did not have the audience or authority built up to where it needed to be at that point. So webinars probably weren’t the best format for me. I got absolutely zero sales from it, despite my extensive experience and success in sales. Clearly did not need those two days off.
The takeaway for me? You can work extremely hard on something and not see results. I put in hours and hours of practicing and running through the webinar — but my confidence and authority and credibility just were not there yet. Those things take time. You have got to be willing to play the long game and not see results right away.
Building a freedom-based multimillion-dollar company has taken us years. But we did it.
None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?
My first mentor in the Fortune 500 world challenged me beyond belief. He was the toughest coach and hardest “boss” you could ever imagine. He saw the potential in me before I saw it in myself and pushed me to be my absolute best. He was the first person to encourage me to think big and begin to chart my own path to greatness. Many others who had the same opportunity to coach with him mistook the high bar he set for them as “unreasonable” and “too tough”, For me, he was a catalyst for achieving my highest potential and for that I will forever be grateful.
Thank you for that. Let’s now pivot to the main focus of our interview. This might be intuitive, but I think it’s helpful to specifically articulate it. In your words, can you share a few reasons why great customer service and a great customer experience is essential for success in business?
When your customer experience is completely dialed in, you’re basically building a marketing team of happy clients for your company. Referrals are far more likely to close than cold leads, so when you have a long list of people obsessed with your brand, they will spread the word about you and do much of the selling for you.
We have all had times either in a store, or online, when we’ve had a very poor experience as a customer or user. If the importance of a good customer experience is so intuitive, and apparent, where is the disconnect? How is it that so many companies do not make this a priority?
I think people get so caught up in the front end marketing and sales side of things that they forget that the most effective way to generate sales and market for your business (and the least expensive way) is through your current buyers. Not to mention the lifetime value of one customer when your customer service is done well. That stuff is not as flashy or exciting, so people often put it on the back burner.
Do you think that more competition helps force companies to improve the customer experience they offer? Are there other external pressures that can force a company to improve the customer experience?
I do think competition can force you to provide more value. In today’s world, if you can truly wow someone with exceptional service, they will feel a sense of loyalty to you and your brand, and they are less likely to go elsewhere. I also think that when you are obsessed with creating a wow experience you start offering things your competitors are not offering and begin to fill a gap for customers. This helps you to truly stand out and truly moves you into a category of one.
Can you share with us a story from your experience about a customer who was “Wowed” by the experience you provided?
We have over 500 clients in our coaching program, and daily have people sharing their “wow” experiences. We have worked hard to create a program that has no equal in the market. People are constantly talking about our accountability coaches and how they go above and beyond, the content in our program and how we consistently create what they need, and the kindness and diligence of my team that goes above and beyond. I honestly cannot pick just one. We have incredible clients!
Did that Wow! experience have any long term ripple effects? Can you share the story?
Over the last year it is caused our program to grow exponentially through referrals. We have seen steady referral growth due entirely to our happy client’s sharing about the program with friends.
Ok, here is the main question of our discussion. Based on your experience and success, what are the five most important things a founder or CEO should know in order to create a Wow! Customer Experience. Please share a story or an example for each.
A. The point at which your clients will get “stuck” or your customers will lose interest.
B. The point at which your people will be a client/customer for life
C. What is lacking in your industry, and where the gaps in service are.
D. What your client’s value most. What would surprise and delight them? This varies from industry to industry and business to business.
E. The lifetime value of a client so you can determine your level of investment while maintaining profitability.
Are there a few things that can be done so that when a customer or client has a Wow! experience, they inspire others to reach out to you as well?
I think when you maintain the relationship and stay top of mind, your people will refer you. We have a built-in ambassador program that our clients can join to get affiliate payouts for referrals and exclusive perks. So, we are regularly in front of them reminding them of the opportunity to tell their friends and earn money for doing so.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂
I would love to see more entrepreneurs leveraging their earnings to give back. Last year I moved my coaching company to a 1:1 giving model. For every new client we add to one of our coaching programs, we donate to the foundation I started, that has three core focuses for philanthropy. I believe that if people are equipped to find financial freedom for themselves, that they can leverage that freedom to make a huge impact on the world. So, as I coach entrepreneurs, my hope is that more of them will adopt this model and leave a legacy that goes far beyond making lots of money.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can connect with me inside my free Facebook group: The Tribe of Unstoppables where my team and I go live with highly valuable weekly trainings on everything from social selling to messaging, to packaging and pricing you online offers. You can also check out my podcast, The Unstoppable Entrepreneur Show, wherever you listen to podcasts! I have got 5 years of weekly episodes available for binging!
You can also follow me on:
Instagram — @kellyroachofficial
TikTok — @kellyroachofficial