Extraordinary People

Gordon Ramsay Brings Family to Work

Just over a year ago, I kicked off this blog with an article titled, Are you the next Gordon Ramsay? Would you want to be?  Essentially, we talked about work-life balance and whether or not the balance that comes with celebrity would be the type of balance you would want in your life. 

I addressed some common misconceptions and shared that balance is a moving target, that it’s not 50%-50%, and that what is balance for one person is not balanced for another.  If time at home with family and privacy are important to you, then celebrity likely isn’t your ideal work-life balance.

Employees Don’t Belong Under the Bus

We last talked about how customers are not always right.  A bad habit that many business owners and managers have when they know the customer is wrong is to blame a front-line or lower level employee for the mistake to make the customer feel like they’ve gotten their way.  Wham! The employee was just thrown under the bus.

Throwing employees under the bus is one of the quickest ways to ruin your business – and it will definitely prevent you from having a happy business! 

First, it immediately betrays and damages the trust the employee has in you.  Further, the employee will not be motivated to do their best work for you. 

Second, if it happens more than once, you’ll have a full-blown employee morale problem because everyone will be waiting and expecting it to happen to them. 

Lastly, the bad employee morale will quickly disintegrate into employee retention and turnover problems.  If you’re not able to hold onto quality employees, then your business will never be successful.

So, what should you do instead?

First, clearly communicate and train all of your employees on business standards and expectations so that they can clearly identify when the business is at fault and when the customer is unreasonable.

Second, invest in training your staff in conflict resolution.  Proper training will help prevent your employees from taking customer complaints personally.  Additionally, it will enable them in deflating the situation so that it does not interfere with the business operation or generate negative impressions.

Finally – and most importantly – when an employee makes a judgment call that is within the scope of their authority and within the standards and expectations that have been clearly communicated, then back them up!  Support the decisions your employees make. 

You could still find yourself in the role of mediator between the customer and your employee.  In this situation, you have to find a solution that hopefully pleases the customer but that doesn’t undercut your employee.  If possible, discuss the situation with the employee who made the decision and come to an agreement as to the best solution before presenting it to the customer.  This way, if you have to move backwards from the decision the employee made, then they are part of the decision to do so.

When you support your employees’ decisions, you demonstrate how valuable they are to you.  Further, you empower them to take greater ownership in the business operation and success – which can only help your business grow!

‘Undercover Boss’ Illustrates that Your People are Your Competitive Advantage

A new television show started recently called, “Undercover Boss.”  In this show, CEOs of some of the country’s largest companies go “undercover” in their own organisation for a week working in various entry-level positions.  The CEO picking up rubbish, scrubbing toilets and mopping the floor – don’t we all wish we could see that?  Unfortunately, those that have gotten to see it didn’t know that it was the CEO until after the fact (but at least it was caught on video!).

A recent episode covered the largest convenience store chain in the world, 7-Eleven.  The CEO, Joe DePinto, visited the store that sells the most coffee in the U.S. – an average 2,500 cups a day!  But, that’s not the amazing part.  What was most amazing was that the store manager, Delores, knew all of the customers’ names!  Meanwhile, Joe struggled to make the coffee without it running all over the place.

Now, 7-Eleven may have good coffee, but since other 7-Eleven stores aren’t having duplicate results, I would hazard a guess that people aren’t coming just for the coffee.  They’re coming for Delores’ smile and personal greeting to start their day.  Starbuck’s could be 50 feet away selling Grande Latte’s for £1 and they would probably still go to 7-Eleven.

Delores is their competitive advantage.  You can directly trace a significant portion of that store’s sales to her.  Do you have a Delores?

This example truly epitomises what I have been saying about how valuable an asset your people are and how big a role they play in creating a happy business.  You could feel the positive energy running throughout the store; everyone just wanted to be there.

Jack Lannom developed what is known as the People First^TM philosophy.  “When people are honoured and appreciated for not only what they do but also for who they are, it develops an environment that gives people freedom to be their best and to do their best.”  The important thing to realise, however, is that a People First^TM philosophy is also smart business and profitable.  Just see Delores and her 2,500 cups of coffee a day!

If you have a Delores, consider yourself very fortunate and do everything possible to give her room to continue helping you grow your business.  If you don’t have an obvious Delores, look closely at all of your staff for a “Delores in the rough.”  Chances are you have a loyal, intelligent and ambitious employee who can easily be nurtured into becoming a full-fledged Delores.

Client, Will You Marry Me?

When you ask a prospect to become a client, do you treat it like a marriage proposal?  You should!  The foundation of building a happy business is relationships.  Relationships with your family, staff, suppliers, vendors, AND clients.  Before popping the big question, imagine you and the new client working together a year from now; then 5 years from now; then 10 years from now!  Is that someone you want to still be working with that far in the future?

In the race to build our businesses, we often find ourselves willing to take money from anyone who wants to give it to us without fully sizing up the client and the potential – both good and bad – they have for the future of our business.  This is the #1 way to find yourself with a business full of toxic customers, stuck in lawsuits, and hating the day you had the brilliant idea to start your own company.  We get so focused on the money that we never really look at the person giving it to us.  The problem is that we actually have to work with the person – the money just sits there or is gone before we’ve barely had a chance to look at it.  So, do your due diligence by getting to know the client before asking them to work with you, and make a conscious decision that you want to keep this client for better or worse (‘til death do you part isn’t necessary, but you shouldn’t just cut and run when problems come up; you have to try and work through them first). 

Now that you’re married to your client, you still have a lot of work ahead of you.  Just like any marriage, you have to nurture the relationship.  When you make promises, keep them.  Frequently show your appreciation.  Openly communicate so that the client knows what is happening.  Make sure that every time they interact with you or your company that they walk away smiling and looking forward to your next encounter.

While perfection is our goal, I do recognize that it is rarely found in our reality.  However, the more you strive to do the best work for your client the less likely you are to falter.  The beginning part of the relationship is crucial to the long term success of the business relationship.  Do everything possible to avoid errors and mistakes during the “honeymoon phase.”  This will allow you to build a solid foundation of trust so that when the inevitable slip-up occurs, it will be easier to overcome and the relationship much more likely to hold.

You Don’t Like to Be Sold To, So Why Hard Sell Your Own Clients?

Selling has changed a lot since the days of Willy Loman.  Consumers are much more knowledgeable and sophisticated and they can see a sales pitch coming from a mile away.  And consumers aren’t only the prospects and clients you’re trying to sell to, they’re you too!  You’re a consumer, so you should ask yourself, “How would I feel if someone was making this sales pitch to me?” 

What exactly is the difference between traditional sales and attraction marketing? 

Traditional Sales

• You’re in control.  You decide who you approach, who you pitch, and what you offer.  However, the prospects usually aren’t interested at first so you have to start the sale by building interest before you can try to sell.

• ABC – Always Be Closing.  The goal is to make the sale; get the prospect to say, “Yes.”  Then move on the next sale. 
• You’ll get a lot of “no’s.”  However, numbers are always on your side.  As long as you keep finding prospects – no matter how ideal – and keep asking, you’ll get enough “yes’s” to be successful. You just have to be strong enough to withstand it.

Attraction Marketing

• You can only control the message and materials you send out.  For the most part, prospects will self select themselves and come to you.  The great part is that you know they’re interested before you start.
• Establish yourself as an expert.  When you are seen as the expert in your field, prospects close themselves because they want to work with the best. 
• Relationships are everything and good client service is crucial.  The worst thing that can happen is that clients and prospects openly speak negatively about you.  The damage to your credibility as the expert can be enormous and you may not recover. 

The biggest difference is that one is positive and the other negative.  The approach you choose to take affects how you feel as a person and a business. 

With traditional selling, you deal with “no” every day and you spend your time convincing people to buy something in which they may have not been interested or even needed.  The result is that you’ll get customers with buyer’s remorse who aren’t happy and want refunds.  Will you be happy spending your time in this manner?  At the end of the day, can you easily recover from being beaten down and rejected?

With attraction marketing, you’re working with people who want to work with you.  You’re also improving prospects lives – even if they don’t become clients – by educating them on important topics and issues that can help them.

It’s easier and quicker and you’re much more likely to make money right away using traditional selling techniques.  The question is which is more important to you – making money or being happy?  There’s no right or wrong, and if you’re getting started you may have to utilize some traditional selling to get money coming in.  Just be careful that you don’t damage the long term goal of establishing yourself as that expert.

The Holiday Season Can be a Challenging Time in Keeping a Happy Business

Throughout 2009, I’ve been talking about building a happy business.  It’s included topics like accepting change and turning it into opportunities, creating a courtesy system in your company to develop a happier, more effective staff, changing your marketing methods to attract perfect customers instead of chasing after those less than perfect, and building systems that ensure your clients, suppliers and anyone else affected by your business know and understand how much you appreciate them.

It’s Almost Here...Are You Ready to Make a Change? What Are Your Business New Year’s Resolutions?

No, I’m not talking about Christmas – though it is almost here too.  I’m talking about New Year’s Day.  The time for change!  The time for optimism!  The time when you can wipe away what you’ve been doing wrong and start anew!  Have you made your New Year’s resolutions for your business yet?

It is said, that the concept of the New Year’s resolution has been around for approximately 4,000 years – since the times of the Babylonians.  Of course, New Year’s resolutions are also known for failure because significant change is very difficult for human beings.  Failure of New Year’s resolutions also frequently occurs because we tend to try and change things that we feel we should change, but aren’t 100% committed to.  Further, we also tend to jump in feet first with no major plan and unnaturally high expectations of what we will be able to accomplish in a short period of time.

Evaluating Training Programs – Do You Know Your ROI?

Training and education are critical to the growth of your business.  The more that you and your employees know about your business and the sharper your skills become, the more effective and efficient your business will be.  However, training costs money and – unfortunately – it is often difficult to measure the ultimate results.  So, how much should you be investing in training? 

 

When I talk about training, I mean everything from books and small online seminars to major conferences and classes.  Many small business owners shy away from more expensive training options because they are “big ticket” purchases.  However, they drop $30, $50, and even up to $100 several times throughout the year in an attempt get the same training in cheaper, roundabout ways.  Often, the end result of trying to save money to get needed training is that the business owner spends the same or even more on less effective methods.

The smart business owner carefully evaluates their training programs to make sure they are getting the biggest bang for the buck.  There are also other good reasons for evaluating training. It helps you to:

• track the development of staff knowledge and skills
• find out if the learning is being applied in the workplace
• identify training gaps and future training needs
• establish if the investment was worthwhile
• inform future training plans and strategy
• ensure training continuously improves

Evaluating and measuring training is not easy, but it is the only way to know if you are getting an acceptable return on your investment.  This isn’t to say that only expensive training is worthwhile and cheap training is throwing away money, because it all comes down to what you need to get out of the training.

Therefore, the first step is to clearly understand the true need for the training.  You also need to know the learning capabilities of the person taking the training.  Not everyone learns in the same way.  Handing a book to someone who learns best by hearing is not going to give you great results. 

Lastly, you need to determine how big of a positive impact the successful implementation of the training will have on your business.  For example, training staff on software that manages the entire operation of your business will clearly help the business run more efficiently.

However, this is just the beginning.  As we move forward with our Happiness Equation, we will talk more in depth about the evaluation of staff training.

Happiness Equation: Happy People + Efficient Business Systems = Profit

Over the past several months, I’ve been talking about several themes of small business management; namely building a happy business, the Courtesy System, attracting perfect clients, etc.  After serious reflection, I’ve come to realise that these topics fit into a simple formula that you can use to create a business and a lifestyle that is not only enjoyable, but profitable.  I call this formula the Happiness Equation.


Over the coming months all of the blog posts will comprise at least one part of the equation.  The “Happy People” variable of the equation includes anyone (and everyone) who interacts with the business – customers, suppliers, employees, partners, service providers, and even your family!  The “Efficient Business Systems” variable addresses all of the processes and procedures necessary to make your business run.  The end result – when implemented and applied correctly – is Profit.

Customers = Good; Happy Customers = Better; Perfect Customers = Best!

Let’s be honest, when your business is just getting started, any customer is good.  You can’t  afford to be picky because you have to pay the bills.  As your business strengthens, you create happy and satisfied customers.  They may not be ideal, but as long as they’re happy and satisfied, they aren’t too difficult to work with.  Once your business matures and reaches a comfortable and consistent level of success, a new luxury emerges…the opportunity to turn down customers you do not want to work with.  You can now choose to only work with “perfect” customers!

What exactly is a perfect customer?  It’s different for everybody because it depends on the characteristics and traits that you value and enjoy, and how the operation of your business is structured.  Although your business may not be at the point where you can afford this luxury, it is never too early to define your perfect customer.  If you can’t be picky, why define it now?  Well, we’ve talked about evaluating your customers regularly and grading them.  We’ve also talked about how important it is to track this performance and evaluation data.  If you start your business with these processes in place, when the time comes you’ll be ready to easily recognize the customers you do and do not want to work with.

The easiest way that I can think to show you how to define a perfect customer is share with you my definition of a perfect customer, so here it is!