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Category: Personal Development

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Best Practices Growth Health and Wellness Human Resources Management

Retain Talent: Pay Attention to Employees

Think back through your career and recall the best boss you’ve ever had. What made them so special and unique?

Chances are better than not, they gave you authentic, frequent and personalized attention. Whether it was support for a project you were working or inquiries into your goals and aspirations, your best boss invested attention in you. They knew to retain your talent, they needed to uplift, support and invest in you.

Good leaders know their service to employees is key to retaining top talent and developing a staff of engaged, happy employees. Here’s the secret:

Recognize Hard Work.  It’s not enough to reward employees when they knock a project out of the park. Hard work, even on daily, mundane tasks is essential. It’s the tedious daily grind that can wear down a person’s mental well-being. As a leader, ensure you’re recognizing their effort.

Engage Often. Don’t just wait until the scheduled one-on-one to inquire about an employee’s work or their well-being. Stop by and check in periodically. Be careful not to appear as a micromanager. Instead, encourage the employee to use you to help meet their deadlines and objectives.

Watch and observe. Pay attention to the amount of time an employee spends behind the computer. Acknowledge if a team member is seeming particularly frazzled, stressed or overwhelmed and volunteer to help them if possible. Encourage employees to get rest and recover, even if it means stepping away from the computer and getting fresh air.

Get to know them. Understand their priorities. Does their family rank top of mind to them? Consider encouraging them to plan a vacation or take time off. Refrain from messaging them after hours and ask questions to show interest. Perhaps it’s a promotion they are working toward. Set up a mentor for them, a coach or development planning path. Be an accountability partner helping them reach their goals. Whatever they consider being most important to their life, understand it and see how you can help them achieve it.

Be genuine. Most everyone can detect someone’s sincerity in their interest. Don’t praise for the sake of praising. Instead, be sincere in your compliments and comments. When giving feedback, acknowledge your genuine desire for their success. Be meaningful in your questions and give everyone your undivided attention in every interaction.

Surprise elements. Jot down little notes about your employees to help you remember their favorite food, dessert, coffee or flower. Keep note of their anniversaries, birthdays and special celebratory events. Surprise them on special dates, or just for the heck of it. Either way, your attention to detail will not go unnoticed.

Employees are your greatest asset. If you want to drive accountability, boost productivity and create an engaged team of people, pay attention to what matters most to them.

Categories
Growth Personal Development

The 4 Phases of Business Development Need Different Strategies for Brand Growth and Survival

As your CPG brand grows and develops, it will move through 4 different stages. It’s essential to your brand’s survival to recognize the stage you’re in, and what each one requires before you get there and hit a brick wall.

Understanding what to do and what to look for in each stage well in advance can provide the tools you’ll need to get through the imminent challenges ahead. To ease these challenges, you must take steps now!

To begin, understand that CPG brand-building, unlike personal and digital product brand-building, depends on sales of your physical branded product. It must be available for sale on a constant basis. If your product is out of stock, your brand-building efforts will be damaged. This could ruin your reputation for reliability, and not to mention destroy your brand image.

You might say you’ll sell your product online and never run out of stock. But most CPG brands want to be in brick-and-mortar retailers. According to the Department of Commerce, 90% of all retail sales still come from physical stores!

Your goal should be to get into multiple chain stores. Each store pays you with one big check for one big purchase to get your brand in several stores, in front of many customers at once. Quantity purchases are the quickest way your product will get discovered, and it’s how profit will grow most efficiently. All of this requires vigilant distribution management.

Let’s take a look at each stage and discuss the challenges to your brand, and how to overcome them.

1. You’re about to launch your company or you’ve just recently launched. You’re running on your investors’ money, or your own savings.

  • The Risk: Sales don’t happen fast enough. You run out of money before achieving a positive cash flow.
  • Overcome: Even before launch, understand what everyone in the retail and distribution process needs from your logo, brand, label, and package design. Understand how you will gain market access—where is the low-hanging fruit sales-wise?

2. You launched! You have now secured a handful of good customers who are paying your bills.

  • The Risk: All your eggs are in one basket. Any interruption now could mean the death of your brand.
  • Overcome: Get more customers—quick! Even if they’re small, the combined sales could offset a sudden interruption by a larger customer. Resist any temptation to create your product for a store’s generic brand—they’ll play you off against a producer that charges a few cents less.

3. Now that you have a positive cash flow, you’re expanding into new markets. You’re gaining new customers.

  • The Risk: At this point, most businesses fail. It’s easy to spread yourself too thin here. You might’ve drastically underestimated the cost of sales, and the cost of customer retention.
  • Overcome: Start slow. Make small, manageable mistakes. Learn the real cost of services and sales before expansion. Develop one market at a time, and carefully. One market may cost you more than another—leave those for later. Learn only what’s needed.

4. You’ve expanded! You’re making larger sales—regularly! You’re starting to become a major player. You negotiate supply costs due to scale efficiencies.

  • The Risk: Your company now has strict labor divisions with areas that specialize in many types of work. This seems more efficient, but your people are now less engaged. Sales are taken for granted. Your people become isolated and unaffected by sales. Your branded product becomes less and less relevant to the market—you’re in danger of getting knocked off by the competition, who has a more relevant product.
  • Overcome: Boost customer service and sales to the very top of your business. Recognize and appreciate the crucial role they play in your brand’s success. Develop official lines of communication directly from sales to marketing and production, so they can stay ahead of any market changes, your competition, and consumer feedback.

It’s quite the rocket you’re riding! Realize and understand what each stage means to your success—be prepared in advance!

Happy Sales in 2018!

For more, read on: http://c-suitenetworkadvisors.com/advisor/michael-houlihan-and-bonnie-harvey/

Categories
Culture Growth Leadership Personal Development

Managing Bias with Behavior

A great deal of time, effort and money is being invested to reduce or eliminate bias in our society.  It seems we are now hyper sensitive to any kind of bias that we may see it even when it might not exist.  Starbucks is now on the front line of this investment.  How do we manage this hypersensitivity and maintain our trusting relationships?  Please notice I asked how to manage bias and not reduce or eliminate.  Managing bias is all we can do. The purpose of this blog to explain why and how.

Two African American men were arrested at a Starbucks in Philadelphia in early May 2018.  Their arrest spurred accusations of racial bias.  They asked to use the restroom.  The manager explained, “Only paying customers can use the restroom.”  The men sat without purchasing anything.  Soon after the manger asked them to leave.  Her justification was the policy at this Starbucks i.e. “only paying customers can occupy a table.”  The men objected to leaving the store claiming to be waiting for a colleague for a business meeting.

To make up for his incident, Starbucks funded a $200,000 inner city grant program.  The two African American men agreed to facilitate training for inner city entrepreneurs with the money.  Starbucks corporate also decided to close all 8,000 corporate owned stores on May 29th for an all-day training program to help its employees to avoid racial bias. (Jason Hanna, 2018)

Was there bias?  Did the manager act inappropriately?  Did the African American men behave inappropriately?  Why were the police called?  Was it because of racial bias?  According to two decades of research we now know all have unconscious biases which can influence our behaviors and/or our decisions. (Mahzarin R. Banaji, 2003)

We cannot control our bias.  It is often unconscious because this is how our brains work.  We associate people with the probability of certain actions based on our experiences. These associations are helpful.  They can also be harmful because they can create biases.

Here is the good news.  It is more useful to accept the fact that we have biases and to behave accordingly.  It is better to accept our biases than to think we can remove them through an all-day training because the research shows removal of bias is impossible.  I could make the case the African American men in Starbucks acted inappropriately because they behaved contrary to the store policies.  I can also make the argument the Starbucks manager behaved inappropriately by calling the police without optimum communication and without seeing any provocation from the men.

If we have bias and cannot remove it with training, what are we to do?  The key is to follow specific behaviors to assure we are always respectful.  Furthermore, it’s useful to have policies which always serve customers.  The African American men may not have been customers that moment because they did not buy anything at that moment.  They were certainly potential customers.  Their behaviors may not have matched the exact store policy, but they were not being disrespectful.  If they had behaved disrespectfully, the manger would have been justified to call the police if they refused to stop.

Our “unconscious” bias is one of the reasons why the typical performance management process often backfires.  A typical performance discussion will have two people with unconscious biases.  Rarely does the performance management process provide an opportunity for the two participants (manager and employee) to acknowledge their bias.  This will create a barrier to trust and communication.

How do you manage bias?  You always behave with respect, you articulate your bias, you optimally communicate what you need to do, and you avoid tolerating those who behave disrespectfully.  Policies should not be treated as inflexible law.  They are guidelines for which there are always exceptions.  The key is to always behave with respect, to consider how to serve customers, and to act respectfully even when those customers are being disrespectful.

Starbucks is investing a great deal of time and money in an all-day training that will not accomplish its purpose.  Perhaps they should just acknowledge bias and conduct respectful behavior training instead.

Check out the interview on C-Suite Best Seller TV to learn more about how to stop leadership malpractice and replace the typical performance review: https://www.c-suitetv.com/video/best-seller-tv-wally-hauck-stop-the-leadership-malpractice/

Wally Hauck, PhD has a cure for the “deadly disease” known as the typical performance appraisal.  Wally holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Warren National University, a Master of Business Administration in finance from Iona College, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.   Wally is a Certified Speaking Professional or CSP.  Wally has a passion for helping leaders let go of the old and embrace new thinking to improve leadership skills, employee engagement, and performance.

Bibliography

Jason Hanna, K. S. (2018, May 3). The men arrested at Starbucks are paying it forward big time. Retrieved from cnn.com: https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/03/us/starbucks-arrest-agreements/index.html

Mahzarin R. Banaji, M. H. (2003). How (Un)ethical Are You? Harvard Business Review.

For more, read on: https://c-suitenetwork.com/advisors/advisor/wally-hauck/

Categories
Culture Management Marketing Negotiations

Commit to Clients and Customers

Consider the amount of money that goes into acquiring a new customer. Paying sales professionals, product development, marketing, advertising, media, the list is endless. Many of our business costs are associated to attract new customers for the sake of our business growth.

Imagine if companies were to spend as much attention on retaining a customer than they do try to earn a new one. When we show our clients, customers, patients, members and shoppers that we pay attention to their needs, we are not only likely to retain them, we will most certainly create advocates in them as well.

A brilliant book on elevating the customer experience is Never Lose a Customer Again by Joey Coleman, I loved this line in his book ‘it’s time to stop thinking B2B or B2C the future of business is H2H’ (human to human)

Follow these 5 strategies to give professional attention to your clients and show them the love they deserve.

1. Reach out. When was the last time you reached out and personally thanked your clients for being customers? Do you make it habit to routinely remind them of your joy in doing business with them? Consider deepening your relationship with frequent reach-outs. Find out how their business is doing and what you can do to make it better.

2. Examine the experience. Take the time to walk through the same business experience your current customers do. Call your phone number and listen to how you are addressed. Enter your workplace, office or shop as a customer and truly examine the impression being given. Evaluate your website and order your own products. Experience what your customers do when they are doing business with you. You may be surprised what you learn.

3. Know your numbers. Many companies measure their success through profitability, sales and growth. Perhaps consider adding a few extra numbers to the mix. Understand how many new sales come from repeat customers. Recognize your referral rates and most importantly know the churn your company suffers. Set meaningful goals – short and long-term – to retain more customers and improve your new sales from return clients.

4. Motivating Factors. Do you know what motivates your customer to buy from you? Maybe they buy because of price or convenience. Maybe it’s because of location or experience. Do your homework by asking your customers these questions. Know what motivates them to do business with you the first time, and continued business in the future will help you prioritize the areas of opportunity within your business.

5. Be a Partner. When was the last time your bank called you to ask how they can help you better invest your money to plan for a better future? Has your physician ever called to see how you were doing and offered you free literature on the topic you last discussed? This higher level of attention brings a personalized touch to any customer relationship. More so, it creates a partnership with you and your client that benefits their success and well-being as much as it does yours. It’s a win-win anyway you look at it. Partnering with your customer will create mutual trust and respect in the relationship.

Are you ready to pay more attention to your customers? Are you ready to heighten your professional relationships and invest more in their success? Pick up a copy of Joey Coleman’s “How Not to Lose a Customer” and read his strategies for investing time and energy in cultivating long-lasting client relationships.

Want to take your attention a step further? Pick up a copy of  Attention Pays. Learn how attention to employees will benefit your clients and ultimately your bottom line. Understand how evaluating your day-to-day activities can help you carve out time to focus on those who matter most – your customers.

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Management Marketing Negotiations Sales Skills Women In Business

How To Uncover Hidden Secrets In Negotiations

“Secrets are cloaked in darkness until they’re exposed by light. When suspension falls on hidden secrets, let the light shine brightly.” –Greg Williams, The Master Negotiator & Body Language Expert

“Don’t let what you know cause you to miss what you don’t know!” Those were the words of one negotiation partner to another, after they’d concluded a negotiation that appeared to be clouded by the doubt that there may have been hidden secrets burrowed in the words of their negotiation counterpart.

Upon reflection, the speaker of those words realized that there had been signals that he’d misperceived. He wondered about those signals as he pondered to what degree they might have covered hidden secrets.

In your negotiations, how much do you miss, due to what you think you already know? There are encoded messages within the words we use to communicate. Some contain hidden messages that carry hidden thoughts.

Note the following to gain more insight into the hidden secrets in the messages sent and received in your negotiations.

1. Take note when the real meaning of a word doesn’t carry the intent of the meaning you think it’s attempting to convey. That’s to say, note when you suspect that there may be an unspoken meaning of the word(s). You’ll experience a sensation of intuition when that occurs; take heed of this phenomenon when it happens. It will be your alert signal beckoning your attention.

  • They’ll be times when you sense there’s an implied meaning that’s not conveyed in the delivery of the words spoken. When you have such a sensation, be attentive to what you sensed that drew your attention to the feeling of suspect that you have. Uncovering that hidden meaning will allow you to uncover hidden secrets that the other negotiator may be attempting to conceal.

2. When people speak of themselves in the third person, become more attentive. They’re distancing themselves from their words.

  • When negotiating, you should always be attentive to everything that’s occurring in your environment. When it comes to someone speaking in the third person, you should become more attentive. Psychologically, he’s placing distance between himself and his words. He may be doing so due to his nervousness, his desire to protect something that you’ve gotten close to uncovering, or from sensing that he may have disclosed something about his statement that’s untrue. Regardless, his action was more than likely brought on by some action the two of you were engaged in. If you sense such is the case, pursue the line of interaction that put him in his third person state of mind. There’ll be something of interest there that may benefit you in the negotiation.

3. Compare your assumptions of what you thought would occur prior to the negotiation, to what actually occurred in the negotiation.

  • Engaging in a mental reflection process at the conclusion of a negotiation will allow you greater insights, per the way you were thinking prior to the negotiation. Your post insights will allow you to sharpen your perception about the perspective occurrences of future negotiations. That, in turn, will allow you to uncover hidden thoughts about the way you think. Knowing that, should allow you to become more circumspective as you engage in future negotiation.

There will always be some form of secrecy in any negotiation. If you possess a heightened sense of awareness when perceiving suspected hidden meanings, your reward will be in the uncovering of those secrets. That will be an insight that you can use to benefit your negotiation position … and everything will be right with the world.

Remember, you’re always negotiating! 

After reading this article, what are you thinking? I’d really like to know. Reach me at Greg@TheMasterNegotiator.com

To receive Greg’s free 5-minute video on reading body language or to sign up for the “Negotiation Tip of the Week” and the “Sunday Negotiation Insight” click here http://www.themasternegotiator.com/greg-williams/

#uncoversecrets #hiddensecrets #Negotiation #Personal Development #HandlingObjections #Negotiator #HowToNegotiateBetter #CSuite #TheMasterNegotiator #psychology

Categories
Growth Leadership Operations Personal Development

You No Longer Have to Keep Up with Your Competition

I’ve got good news and bad news for you. The good news is that you no longer have to keep up with your competition; the bad news is that now you have to keep up with your customer – meaning your customer’s expectation of the service that makes you competitive.

Perhaps you just heard that your competitor is working hard to take away business from you – maybe they’re announcing a new product; maybe they’re advertising a major sale; maybe they’re opening a new location. Will any of these decisions cause your customers to leave you to do business with them?

Perhaps. After all, that is their goal. But what if you heard that your competition wasn’t competing with you on product, price, or location? What if you hear that they’re implementing a new customer service initiative? Their goal, you heard, is to have the best customer service in the industry.

Here’s my take: good for them. Let them go head-to-head with customer service and experience expectations based on the existing industry standards. I have a better idea: don’t let them set your bar. Let the best of the best, regardless of industry standards, set your bar.

What company do you think has the very best customer service? Is it Nordstrom, Apple, or Zappos? Is it the restaurant down the street that knows you by name and makes you feel like a guest in their home? Is it the inside sales rep from one of your suppliers who somehow always accommodates your deadlines and special requests, and always does so with an amazing attitude?

None of these companies or people may be in your industry, but they can be your benchmark for amazing customer service – service that is not based on customer expectations for your industry, but expectations from the best people and companies they’ve ever encountered.

Let me give you this message in a short, 11-word sentence:

The best customer service sets the bar for all customer service.

Customers know what good service is and their expectations today are formed by whoever gives them their best service experience, whether in or out of your industry.

So, back to the questions … What company do you think delivers the best service? Is it one of the iconic brands previously mentioned, or that local company? What is it that this business or person does to make you think they are the best? And, here is the more important question:

What do they do that you don’t do that you can do?

That’s where you start. Maybe it’s something you can copy although my suggestion is not to copy but to adopt and adapt. Adopt the strategy, but change or tweak it to make it uniquely yours. If you’re open to the best customer service practices from every industry, then you will spot trends and strategies before your competition. At that point, keeping up with your customers will be nothing but good news for your bottom line.

Shep Hyken is a customer service and experience expert, award-winning keynote speaker, and New York Times bestselling business author. For information, contact 314-692-2200 or www.hyken.com. For information on The Customer Focus™ customer service training programs, go to www.thecustomerfocus.com. Follow on Twitter: @Hyken

Categories
Culture Growth Management Personal Development

What is “Influence Influenza” and What is the Cure?

Influenza is a series infection. It causes fever, aching, and is often debilitating and even deadly if the immune system is weak.  Managers suffer from “influence influenza” because they are often debilitated by the need to have difficult performance conversations.  There is an epidemic of an unwillingness and/or inability to influence employees to change their inappropriate behaviors and/or poor performance.  What are the root causes of this epidemic and what is the cure?

It is managers who suffer from this affliction because leaders understand how to give feedback.  Leaders understand the difference between control and influence and leaders know how to create followers.  Leaders know how to influence.

Root Causes

We are taught control techniques. We use performance appraisals and pay for performance carrots and stick to create change in behaviors.  Control means people are forced to do certain behaviors.  Influence means they want to do those behaviors. At a recent training conference for a major automobile manufacturer, my colleagues and I learned that the owners of dealerships were threatened with a fine if they didn’t attend the training. This is a perfect example of carrots and sticks control. This type of control technique damages motivation, engagement and cooperation.  It can even create anger.

Wells Fargo was fined millions for issuing fake credit card accounts and overcharging customers to lock them into new deals. (Prentice, 2016)  They not only provided monetary incentives for the employees to “sell” these deals, they also threatened employees with loss of employment if they failed to meet the goals.  This is an example of the standard form of control techniques.  Employees had to behave in a certain way. Customers were manipulated.

Managers are fearful to use influence because it requires effort, courage, and critical thinking. The carrot and stick approach is so much easier.  It is easy for a manager to set up an incentive program and/or make threats to get the behavior they want and then, if it doesn’t work, the manager can always blame and punish the employees.  This is exactly what Wells Fargo did. (Egan, 2016)  5,300 employees were fired.

A lack of trust prevents communication.  When trust is low, a manager is often off balance.  The lack of balance can create a lack of confidence, hesitation and/or procrastination.  According to the International Association of Business Communicators, trust can be created by treating others with integrity, respect, accomplishing tasks and agreeing on shared objectives.[1] When one or more of these elements are missing, a manager is off balance.  These elements can be managed if the manager is willing to make the effort and if they have the skills.

The Cure

Influence requires a deep appreciation of why behaviors must change. Instead of using carrots and sticks, people need and want a “Big Why” to change.  Managers who want to become leaders and who want to use influence must begin to communicate and reinforce the “Big Why” for employees.  They must be able to articulate the benefits the change will create and the consequences if it fails.

Finally, managers can learn to use the Socratic Method.  Asking powerful and useful questions is the best way to influence others.  This sounds simple and it is not easy. It requires critical thinking skills, patience, and an appreciation that employees might have habits that need to be changed.  A change in habit is difficult.  Managers who learn to ask great questions, with the proper tone, and with the helpful (even loving) intentions will begin to become a leader who knows how to influence others.

Managers who hesitate to address poor or unhelpful behaviors of employees likely have “influence influenza”.  It’s time for a cure. If we want our organizations to be optimally successful we must become leaders who influence and stop just being managers to try to control.

 

Check out the interview on C-Suite Best Seller TV to learn more about how to stop leadership malpractice and replace the typical performance review: https://www.c-suitetv.com/video/best-seller-tv-wally-hauck-stop-the-leadership-malpractice/

Wally Hauck, PhD has a cure for the “deadly disease” known as the typical performance appraisal.  Wally holds a doctorate in organizational leadership from Warren National University, a Master of Business Administration in finance from Iona College, and a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the University of Pennsylvania.   Wally is a Certified Speaking Professional or CSP.  Wally has a passion for helping leaders let go of the old and embrace new thinking to improve leadership skills, employee engagement, and performance.

For more, read on: https://c-suitenetwork.com/advisors/advisor/wally-hauck/

Bibliography:

Egan, M. (2016, September 9). 5,300 Wells Fargo Employees Fired Over 2 Million Phony Accounts. Retrieved from cnn.com: http://money.cnn.com/2016/09/08/investing/wells-fargo-created-phony-accounts-bank-fees/index.html

Prentice, R. (2016, September 19). Wells Fargo Goes Far to Cheat Customers, and It Was Predictable. Retrieved from utexas.edu: https://news.utexas.edu/2016/09/19/it-was-predictable-that-wells-fargo-cheated-customers

[1] The International Association of Business Communicators definition of trust

Categories
Best Practices Growth Personal Development

Writing Tips for the C-Suite

Executives who write well easily convey their ideas and increase their influence. Poor writing makes you stand out – in an unpleasant way. Here are some tips for smoother writing.

Easily Confused Words: Insure, Ensure, Assure

Insure relates to insurance policies and limiting financial liability.

Assure is something you say or do to make another person comfortable.

Ensure is what you do to guarantee a result.

Here are examples:

I purchased a homeowner’s policy to insure my house.

I can assure you your clients will come away with actionable items.

This program will ensure your employees will improve their customer service.

I insured my car so I could ensure I could fix it and assure my parents.

Who versus That

Present yourself as a polished writer by correct use of “who” and “that”. Who is used with people and that is used with things. I find a lot of people get confused on this point.

Examples

“The client who is ready to buy will need an order form.”

“The plane that was supposed to take me to New York was cancelled.”

 What word goes here?

“It includes firsthand perspectives of people ____are familiar with bullies.”

“Who” belongs in the sentence. Who is used with people.

“This is a sudden crisis ____needs to be addressed.”

“That“ is the right choice.

Correct use of semicolons

These often-overlooked punctuation marks make your writing more professional.

A semicolon joins two sentences when there is no conjunction such as “and” or “but” in between.

The HR department completed an assessment; it showed the need for training.

The VP for Sales completed a sound check the morning of the event; she was horrified by the room’s acoustics.

A semicolon separates items in a sentence that has commas.

The corporation has offices in Philadelphia, PA; Chicago, IL; and San Francisco, CA.

Be Brief

Make your writing smoother with a minimal amount of words.

Don’t

Your clients will find our services delightful, will be amazed and come away inspired by our services.

Do

Your clients will be delighted, amazed and inspired by our services.

Be Consistent

Repeat the same grammatical form to make it easy for your reader to assimilate your ideas.

Don’t

The audience cheered, were getting on their feet, and clapped at the end of the speech.

Do

The audience cheered, clapped, and stood at the end of the speech.

Pat Iyer is an accomplished editor and ghostwriter. She has edited or authored more than 800 books, articles, case studies, chapters, or online courses and thousands of blog posts. Pat is a C Suite Network Advisor. Reach her through her website EditingMyBook.com

Categories
Best Practices Leadership Personal Development Sales

Still Surprises Me

Recently I had storm damage to my roof. My insurance company reviewed the damage and they are willing to pay to replace, not repair my roof. Now some of may be thinking that was what surprised me. Well, it did somewhat, because the service I received from the insurance company was outstanding. But what surprised me came when I was getting bids from contractors.

I did some research and my decision was to replace my old shingle roof with a metal roof. I was committed to getting a metal roof. So, I got bids from two contractors specializing in metal roofs and two who did shingle roofs. Actually I made 8 phone calls and only four contractors even called me back. Two metal roof salespeople came to my house. They were trained in “kitchen table” selling. They wanted my wife to be with me during the presentation. They wanted to know the color we wanted – assumptive selling – before we agreed to price. They both did their presentations on laptops and both BASHED their competition. I guess both salespeople were trying to do a one call close. Well, that one call was not enough for us to sign any deal. First issue was that although I was convinced I wanted a metal roof and I told both reps I WANTED a metal roof, that the cost of metal over shingles was $9,000. That’s a lot of money. Here come the surprises.

Neither metal roof guy during the presentation said or did anything to convince me metal roof was better, that the additional investment would be a wise choice, etc. BIGGEST surprise – I DID NOT HEAR BACK FROM EITHER METAL GUY! This was a $20,000 job. I assume the commission would have been significant. Most likely, with follow up at all, answering some of my questions would have made me happy enough to sign a contract for a new metal roof. The contractor installing my new SHINGLE roof will be here next week.

It still surprises me. One follow up phone call to a customer who told you they WANTED your product and you can close a $20,000 deal. I suppose someone has answers to this situation, however I simply don’t get it.

I may change my occupation form being an executive coach to selling metal roofs – I’ll probably be the #1 rep in the USA.

Categories
Best Practices Entrepreneurship Management Personal Development Women In Business

Are You Ready to Grow to the Next Level? If So, Grow in a Sane Way!

Leaders talk about growing revenue in almost every Team meeting. Pressure is often high for the sales manager and his or her team to perform and always be closing to bring home the bacon. Are they focusing on the right conversation?

Here’s a secret you may have wished somebody told you – if you grow too fast, without having the cash resources, you’re going to need money from someone or somewhere. You’ll spend your time as a leader chasing funding rather than focusing on running your business, building your infrastructure, executing on your strategy and most importantly aligning your Team.

Growth for growth’s sake can be a death knoll for some companies. What is your profitability? Why waste time and energy seeking big numbers to have a miniscule profit margin? Make the right decisions – review your business model, look at your cash conversion cycle and stay on top of your metrics. Too many CEOs think that a financial report is the way to appease their banker. No! It’s the way to manage your company. The numbers reveal your cash flow story.

So what’s the alternative to pursuing revenue? Create a killer strategy and trigger points to know what action to take at those inflection points. These actions might focus on adding “A” level talent to your executive or management team or buying new equipment. This is deliberate, and intentional. There is no need to fly by the seat of your pants. Focus on making the right decisions at the right time.