Tony Hsieh, CEO of Zappos.

I’m always looking for great ideas to share with you about how to be more successful in your business and personal life. Well, I hit a bonus when I recently visited the headquarters for Zappos, the online sensation selling shoes and many other items. This is a company that is known for its dazzling customer service and the outstanding leadership of its CEO, Tony Hsieh.

It was Gina, my partner, who came up with the idea. I thought it was not bad, but we’d be too busy. Boy, was I wrong! What a great enlightenment we had from the moment Derek, our outstanding driver, picked us up at our hotel. I thought they did this because of my good haircut (!) but I soon learned they do this often to tell the Zappos’ story. This company is known for pursuing excellent customer service.

While there, I picked up five key steps that you can use whether you’re in sales (aren’t we all?), distribution, or any other business.

Make it Fun

Every Zappos’ employee we encountered was cordial, charming and helpful. They have fun. Some will say that fun is not part of business. In today’s information-based world run on brain power, we need to have fun to be competitive. This attitude of fun spills over into customer service and creates a “WOW!” atmosphere. They even have an “Alien Spaceship” outside in the center of the building which is fun and is used for occasional meetings. Zappos stresses fun and emphasizes customer service.

Develop an Esprit De Corps With Employees

There seemed to be an unusually strong bond between employees. It seemed that everyone knew everyone else as they worked towards the common goal to create great customer experiences. They even have what they call the PEC, Personal Emotional Connection. This is where those in the call center are encouraged to send personal notes and gifts to select callers. Rewards are targeted towards those demonstrating outstanding examples of customer service. This radiates around employees and spills over to customers.

Be Maniacs for Customer Service

Our tour guide, Renea, told us about how Zappos’ employees are rewarded for answering customers’ questions and solving problems. Whether it is with Zappos, or their sister company, 6pm.com, all employees are trained to stress customer service over sales. I find it interesting that by following that formula, sales increase even more!

Create “Cultural Collisions”

Don’t you just love that term? Tony Hsieh came up with as he closed all but one entrance to the building. Now every employee increases the chances of random encounters with others from the company. It helps create and foster those important serendipitous meetings which naturally generate employee camaraderie. As they help each other, they are more likely to help customers, which is more likely to build sales. Very good strategy, Tony Hsieh!

Be Profitable

Yes, even with all the fun and less-than-traditional approaches, Zappos continues to impress their bankers and accountants. It is not just a bunch of fun and games. This is serious business.

These principles from the very successful Zappos model can help you and me in our businesses. Yes, we need to make a profit — the more the better! By following the above principles, we can help our people have fun, remain loyal, radiate a great attitude to customers and then focus more on customer service. Focus on helping customers and meeting their needs and the sales and profits flow from that.

What has been your experience in applying these principles? Share this with others so we can continue the message to focus on customer service. Share your thoughts in the comments and send a Tweet through Twitter so the world can benefit.