Tonight I downloaded an EP called You, the Night and Candlelight from a guy called Dave Barnes.

I’ve heard a couple of his songs before, been following him on Twitter for a while (hey, he’s also very funny) and tonight I jumped onto iTunes and bought his EP.  I was listening to my two favourite tracks, Until You and Home and I did something I haven’t done for a while – I stopped what I was doing, turned the volume up and just listened.

You see, music has become a good thing to listen to while I’m doing something else, but tonight I stopped the ‘something else’ to listen.

I reminded me of when I was a kid and I’d save up for weeks to buy a new album (on vinyl) and I’d play it repeatedly in my room.  I’d devote my whole attention to it, reading every word on the cover and memorising all the lyrics.

Tonight, Dave Barnes got my attention.  My full attention.  How did he do it?  He produced something worth listening to. 

When I listen to his songs, I hear his passion.  He doesn’t just sing words, he lives the song.  I’m sure when he recorded this record he was determined to do the best he could.

I got so excited about this music, I had to share it with the world.  I jumped on Twitter and wrote about what I was listening to.  This is what fans do these days – they use Twitter, My Space, Facebook, whatever to get the message out.  The smart musos are leveraging this and becoming more accessible through social media.

So how does this relate to business?

I’m challenged about the power of positive word of mouth.  How can I get my clients so excited about what I do for them that they can’t contain themselves and have to tell their friends?

What I’ve learned from Dave Barnes is that spending time (years) refining my message is a good place to start.  Gladwell would suggest 10,000 hours is required.  The other thing I’ve learnt is to become passionate about what I do.  I need to be so excited about my message that people are drawn to the message.

What can you learn from this?

We need to have some electrical work done around our house and my wife related a conversation she had with the electrician. 

When he was last out to do some work, he noticed that we have a light switch inside our bathroom, right next to the bathtub.  He mentioned that this was actually illegal as light switches should be on the outside of the door that leads to the room with the bath.  He said that we should look to get it moved and that if we ever wanted him to do work in the bathroom, he’d be obliged to move the switch.

Well, we need to have some work done and he reminded us of the need to move the switch.

It’s interesting what he’s done here – he’s created more work (and income) for himself without us getting resentful about it.  The switch needs to be moved – there’s a very good reason (safety) for the move.  We trust him based on the previous jobs he’s done for us – he always turns up on time, does what he promises, doesn’t leave a mess etc.  Over the years we’ve built up a good relationship with him and trust him.  When we need to get electrical work done we don’t get any other quotes – we just call him.

How can you become like our electrician – trusted and indespensible?

How do you build trust with your clients and demonstrate your capabililties? 

I’m always challenged when I see the need to suggest something extra to a client – a bit like the need to move the switch.  I sometimes feel worried they won’t see the need for it but when you think about this example, if they trust you, they won’t doubt that you’ve got their best interests in mind.

Finally, how do you become indespensible to your clients?  How can you get to the point that they no longer consider using your competitors?