A career-changing moment or experience
Right Place, Right Time
In 1978, Lisa Ford,
CPAE, CSP, began
her career at a
small consulting
firm that specialized in customer
service training for utility companies. After five
years, she was ready for
opportunities to make it
on her own, and then she
met a woman who was
conducting public seminars. With the promise of
being paid for providing
two days of training per
month, Lisa took the leap
to self employment. This
move also required her
to find her own clients to
fill her calendar and boost
her income.
A year later, Lisa
crossed paths with Career Track while
attending a national association meeting. Career Track was one of the most
popular public seminar companies at
the time. For the next two years, Lisa’s
work with Career Track put her in a
whole different field of public seminars,
particularly with her successful back-of-the-room sales.
Then, two major events catapulted
Lisa’s career. Career Track produced her
customer service video series, which
Video Marketing News tracked as the No.
1 selling business video series after sales
hit a remarkable 120,000 units. A couple
of years later, Career Track entered into
an agreement with Tom Peters, author
of the best-selling book, In Search of
Excellence, and Lisa was approved as
one of the trainers to teach his renowned
program of the same name.
By 1995, Lisa was
ready to devote her time
solely to speaking, and
she became fully independent by 1999. In fact, she
was able to sell her own
product that had previously been produced by
CareerTrack.
There’s no doubt in
Lisa’s mind that she owes
Dick O’Neill, a now
retired vice president of
one of her former utility company clients, for
having an impact on her
growth. Through Dick’s
contacts, Lisa was able
to land national speaking
opportunities.
Looking back at her
thriving career, Lisa
believes that although
she may not have recognized pivotal
moments while she was amid them,
she knows that her best decision was
to commit to what she knows best.
Whether it’s “Why Customer Service is
Not Enough,” how to “Create a Focused
Team,” or “Everyday Excellence,” it’s all
about providing great customer service.
And, in Lisa’s case, when preparation
and opportunity meet, success happens.
Doing day-long presentations, often in front
of as many as 400 people, Lisa realized she
was speaking more than training.
Doing day-long presentations, often
in front of as many as 400 people, Lisa
realized she was speaking more than
training. All this was happening around
the time that she was getting more
involved with NSA. The idea of “
selling” keynotes and transitioning away
from training seminars required Lisa to
exert more effort in finding more clients to fill her own calendar.
Lisa Ford, CSP, CPAE, helps companies create customer service strategies that
keep their customers loyal. She is best known for her video, How to Give
Exceptional Customer Service, the leading seller in the United States for five
years, and her latest book, Exceptional Customer Service. For more information, visit www.lisaford.com.
Stephanie Angelo, SPHR, who interviewed Lisa Ford, works with companies to
address domestic violence’s hidden costs to employers. She is a past board
member of NSA-AZ and serves on the Speaker magazine editorial advisory
board. For more information, contact Stephanie at Stephanie@hressential.com.
