"The Starbucks Experience," and Other Great Books for Mortgage Professionals

by Dave Savage, CEO, Mortgage Coach

Over a holiday break in 2006, I reviewed and skimmed several books, including “Tough Choices: A Memoir”, by Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard (Portfolio Cover, 2006), “The Starbucks Experience”, by Joseph Michelli (McGraw Hill, 2006), “Now Discover Your Strengths”, by Marcus Buckingham (Free Press, 2001), and “Winning the Answers” by Jack & Suzy Welch (Collins 2006).

I found value in each of them; however, the Starbucks book was one that I just couldn’t put down and couldn’t stop taking notes on and thinking about. I found it really relevant (and still relevant) to helping mortgage planners achieve higher levels of success and significance.

Below are a few takeaways I will be studying regularly again to kick off the New Year.

The Starbucks Experience is built on 5 core principles for turning the “ordinary” into the “extraordinary”. Here is a brief explanation of each one.

PRINCIPLE 1: Make it your own.
Leaders at Starbucks encourage their employees to fully embrace their work to give customers a truly inspiring and memorable experience. They call it the five ways of being:

• Be welcoming;
• Be genuine;
• Be considerate;
• Be knowledgeable; and
• Be involved.

They also present a series of questions/thoughts that help employees uncover whether they are doing all they can to improve a customer’s experience:

• What are you doing to encourage the discovery of the unique needs of those whom you and your colleagues serve?
• What can you do to invest more of yourself and to get others to invest more of themselves in the process of interpersonal connection and discovery?
• Are you taking action and following through on those discoveries?
• To be genuine means to connect, discover and respond;
• Listening is just one part of creating a connection with customers. Businesses also need to discover each customer’s needs and unique situation and then find ways to meet those needs.

Relevant quote: “This is the true joy of life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clot of ailments and grievance, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” by George Bernard Shaw.

PRINCIPLE 2: Everything matters.
In a blog post “A Business Plan 2007 Round-Up”, I mentioned something called the “the mint test”, a simple experiment in kindness Dr. Robert Cialdini conducted that generated a 25% increase in tips by giving everyone at a table a mint along with their bill. The second Starbucks principle is a similar concept. It emphasizes that a simple act of kindness goes a long way, and that providing customers with an extraordinary experience is in the details. Michelli also reminds us that missed details produce dissatisfied customers who go elsewhere. He encourages us to:

• Ask customers what details they notice about your business;
• Acknowledge others, celebrate often and make work fun; and
• Remember that details affect the emotional connection others have with you.

Relevant quote: “Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around.” By Lea Buscaglia.

PRINCIPLE 3: Surprise and delight.
This principle encourages us not to underestimate our own abilities to surprise and delight others. The author reminds us that our efforts can be a contagious force. He also says:

• Customer delight comes from surprise as well as predictability;
• When breakdowns occur, businesses can still delight customers by making things right; and
• Delight is the result of an unwavering commitment to creating a comfortable and trusted relationship.

Relevant quote: “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.” by Rabindranath Tagore

PRINCIPLE 4: Embrace resistance.
To work with resistance effectively, Michelli says we must distinguish between people who want their concerns to be resolved and those who simply like to complain. When people’s concerns are resolved to their satisfaction, it has been proven that they can often become your most loyal customers and advocates.

My favorite relevant quote: “Don’t mind criticism. If it is untrue, disregard it; if unfair, keep from irritation; if it is ignorant, smile; if it is justified, it is not criticism – learn from it.” Author Unknown.

PRINCIPLE 5: Leave your mark.
The value of a business’ brand is linked 100% to the trust people place in the company to do what it says it will do. Employee morale is three times higher in companies where community involvement is an integral part of the business model. People also want to do business with, work for and invest in socially conscious companies.

Based on these principles, here are some action items I recommend loan officers start following immediately:

• Distill your company’s “experience” into a single sentence and discuss ways it has led to your current levels of success.
• Attention to detail is a key factor in Starbucks’ success. How well is your company handling even the smallest details on a daily basis?
• Nearly all companies claim to pride themselves on quality service, but the Starbucks mandate, to “surprise and delight”, goes a step further. Rather than seeking to meet your customers’ needs, are there ways your service can go the next step by providing a uniquely positive experience that will create stronger loyalty?
• Every mortgage practice is nothing more than the sum total of the actions its loan officers and team members take.

Relevant quote: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” by Anne Frank

Now, look at your business through the lens of Starbucks’ 5 core principles:

• Make it your own;
• Everything matters;
• Surprise and delight;
• Embrace resistance; and
• Leave your mark.

While still looking through this lens, consider your clients’ perception of your company and your brand identity. Which actions that you have taken have most strongly shaped them? And, what future actions can continue to shape them in positive ways?

I highly recommend “The Starbucks Experience” book for every mortgage professional in every department. Yes, even processors and underwriters should read this book. In fact, they should be REQUIRED to read this book.

Do you have a favorite book that you feel all loan officers can benefit from? If so, please email us about it.

©2009 Mortgage Coach. Reprinted with permission.

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