Interpersonal Business

Vol. LXXVII

Dear Manager,

There’s no question that these lessons greatly assist the survivors as well as those who venture into business in the future. Which of these lessons might apply to our own business experience? Is there a connection, and can we learn and apply these lessons without having to pay our predecessors’ price?

As suggested, in the aftermath there were many lessons learned including the fundamental need for profitability, and never to put one’s cart ahead of one’s horse. Why did some survive while others with much greater funding and clear potential proceed to fail? The single answer that seems to continue to apply to those who survived the test of time suggests the following: Those who found success never deviated from their model of insuring a positive and clearly rewarding customer experience!

The successful companies only followed applications that would allow them to enhance or improve upon current standards of service for their potential customers in the marketplace. Those who survived executed this premise very well. While it didn’t guarantee their success, in retrospect failure to do so certainly negatively impacted their potential or led to their ultimate demise. How can this lesson enhance our own “more low-tech” organizations?

HOW “USER FRIENDLY” IS YOUR ORGANIZATION?

Anyone who’s spent time on the Internet with business-to-business or business-to-consumer websites will understand the frustrations that can occur in conducting business in this forum. By nature, Internet commerce best accommodates those individuals or companies that are fully prepared to complete an immediate transaction. In many cases these sites are ready and willing to finalize the sale, if we could just figure out what information is required to do so! I’ve found the circuitous routes used by some websites to guide me to the “purchase” button make me want to jump in my car and drive to the mall! Aren’t they trying to grease my path to this mutually productive outcome? One would think so, yet many have failed in this most obvious area of conducting business.

From the outside looking in, how user friendly is your company’s sales process system? Have you ever asked someone with no current awareness of your product or service to evaluate their ability to purchase from your company? There are now very successful companies who are doing this for the high tech industry, so why not for the low tech industries as well?

As often as not we are developing client relationships with individuals with little or no understanding of what we do, who we are or what benefits and services we can provide them. Wouldn’t there be significant value in reviewing current marketing materials, product initiatives, and customer support agendas with this thought in mind? Are you effectively communicating and translating “your best sales effort” with regards to your most basic sales initiatives?

POINTS OF HUMAN CONTACT

This is a great place to begin the process. When a new or existing client initiates contact with your company, what will their experience be? Whether with a receptionist, through customer service, or with a professional sales person, will this be a positive and memorable experience? Do these individuals have the current information readily available to assist this person in meeting their immediate needs? Even though not all these individuals may be classified as “sales people,” do they fully understand their personal value in meeting the sales objective?

Since sales is not part of their formal “job description,” these first lines of contact may not fully understand or implement this clear objective. These individuals must learn to consider every potential line of contact as a sales initiative, and be trained to effectively do so. How often have we contacted companies, only to get the run around with regards to gaining basic information about a product, service, or placing an order? It can make a frustrated client wonder, “Do they want me to buy something or not!?” Develop a training system that will allow these individuals to provide at least basic sales procedures. We must also provide instant access to individuals who can meet the needs of more complex customer demands.

This process should not include leaving messages on a voice messaging system. The objective here is to focus on providing an exceedingly satisfactory customer experience. We want to create the “wow factor” by anticipating their needs, having the answers to their questions, and having all members of our staff on the same page in meeting this goal.

It’s easy for organizations to take these fundamentals for granted. Management often assumes that its staff instinctively understands the need to communicate a positive and supportive sales message with each client interaction. I would encourage you not to assume this. Now is the time to (re)establish a company-wide initiative with regards to this clear objective.

A CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE MISSION STATEMENT

Based on the assumption we can’t assume anything, wouldn’t this be an excellent time to develop a document and single agenda relating to this objective? This then becomes the standard by which all members of your staff will be judged. As managers we must first establish the standards, and then be prepared to provide the training to fulfill this objective. Finally, we must also – and very consistently – send a strong message in support of this program. Awards should be established for superior performance, perhaps on a monthly basis. Those who are in a position to benefit, including the sales team, should also recognize individuals who have provided excellent sales support.

IN FACT, ASSUME NOTHING!

One would like to assume that in each and every sales environment, our sales people would understand the value and importance of creating a positive customer experience. While this would be true in many instances with our best sales people, it’s not the case in many instances. Creating these standards of customer experience might seem obvious to management, yet fulfillment is totally dependent on the message takers: your sales people.

An addendum to your mission statement should be targeted directly at the point of sale. This document should not only suggest your mission and its merit, it should also suggest the minimum standards of performance related to your expectations in this area. These standards should clearly state defined timelines relating to customer follow up, problem solving, assistance to one another in the sales arena, and the principles relating as to how to exceed your clients’ expectations.

We are no stronger as a company than the message embraced by each and every member of our staff. Clearly these ideals will feed off one another once a consistent and inspired message is delivered each and every day by your management team. You need to become the exception rather than the rule if you are going to improve your “customers’ experience” with the objective to truly dazzle the marketplace. In fact, this could easily become the title of your mission statement.

ENHANCED CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE AND OUR
ABILITY TO DAZZLE THE MARKETPLACE

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2011. Duplication of this publication is permitted for both personal and business use. Excerpts may only be quoted with acknowledgment of INTERPERSONAL/INTERPERSONALBIZ.ORG as the source. For re-publication rights, please contact the editor at KEENAN@INTERPERSONALBIZ.

Vol. LXXVI

Dear Manager,

Outside of yourself, and perhaps inclusive of yourself, can you think of a single individual more important than the organization as a whole and all of its team members? Too often I’ve seen management side step this perspective, allowing their decisions relating to individuals to impair their vision, putting their entire organization in peril.

PART OF THE PROBLEM OR PART OF THE SOLUTION

Challenging economic times demand of us as managers to insist upon staff members whose single focus is being “part of the solution.” We can try to get away with less when the pipeline is full; we most certainly can’t when the well begins to run dry. By accepting less, we’re now part of the problem. Often management is looked upon to have and/or implement “all of the answers” to solve current challenging economic times. Excuse me, but it’s only the heroic efforts of the full team that holds the greatest potential for solving challenging economic scenarios. Each member is personally accountable, each member holds personal investment and ownership. Part of the problem…Part of the solution!

There are two fundamental and at times conflicting factors that provide significant advantages, while simultaneously creating conflict in our ability to manage our staff on a day-to-day basis.

TENURE VS. MERIT

This is certainly a decades-old, if not centuries-old debate. While most of us might think of systems based tenure and merit in terms of education or civil service, these systems apply to business as well.

First of all, I’d like to assume there are significant advantages inherent in tenured employees. Many of these individuals instill a sense of heritage to ones organization. As managers, we can rely on their experience to assist us in leading our organization in its forward direction. They may understand the rhythms of our organization having survived and excelled in both the good times as well as the more challenging. They may also act as a source of stability for those who have not yet matured within the organization. There is no greater virtue than loyalty in its purest form.

Having said this, I’ve noted instances where tenured employees are no more than dead wood and a full-blown anchor to the organization. It can appear on occasion that these individuals have exaggerated their self-importance far beyond any reasonable perspective. They soon take for granted their full responsibilities to the whole of the organization. They may even take personal advantage through the knowledge and susceptibilities of the organization that they’ve been entrusted to protect. They’ve paid their dues, and are coasting toward retirement. Tenure based solely on a foundation of “entitlement” should not be rewarded through sustained employment by any organization.

I recently came across a word that really caught my attention: meritocracy. When compared to the concept of tenure, I believe its meaning becomes fairly clear. All organizational members from the sweeper to the President hold the fundamental responsibility to bring merit to their profession as well as to the company.

There is no greater pleasure for any manager than to have an individual who excels in their position. Is there any better reward than to see such an individual advance within the company? He or she has worked hard, gained knowledge and experience to strengthen the company as a whole, and has been rewarded on merit. Why else would we choose to do what we do, if not to enjoy the satisfaction in this process? These are the paybacks for the substantial responsibilities that we hold, and they can only be fulfilled with a staff that is focused and absolutely committed to bettering themselves and the roles they play on behalf of the organization.

I would suggest that in debating the value of tenure versus merit there are no black and white conclusions. All members of our staff must be a positive influence regardless of event or circumstances, merit or tenure. Failure to address the dynamics of this issue on a case-by-case basis is only delaying the inevitable, while creating needless additional risk to the organization as a whole.

You might ask how this is possible. Certainly a manager wouldn’t intentionally make a bad decision of this significance, but intentions and reality are two very different action points. Managers want to protect and nurture. What they often fail to account for is the “chain of events factor” in their tenure versus merit calculations.

Each situation has the potential to set off a chain of events that will continue to impact the company over time. Managers must use their “gut” and experience to think in terms of second, third, and fourth generation with regards to the ramifications of the decision at hand. In most cases the decision is not the issue (it’s obvious!). The issue is the ability to take action that will continue to move each individual and the organization as a whole productively and enthusiastically into the future.

This ties into the decisions we make as managers in less stressful times. The greatest difference is that we have much greater control of the timing, the players, and have a much larger window of opportunity. If we’re unwilling to put this level of significance into the thought process and the actions we must make on an ongoing basis, it would suggest we are also fully entitled to the outcome.

To finally address the answer to my earlier challenge: No, there are no individuals more important than the whole of the organization. I believe this would and does include all of us as well. We’re here to create a successful environment not only for today, but also for future generations to improve upon. All members should feel risk in the event that they fail to bring benefit and a positive influence to this institution.While this topic is very fundamental, its premise is all too often ignored in a business climate. Using the academic concept of tenure versus merit, apply this to your organization. Your sales and office staff are the educators of your clients and caretakers of your company’s promise for the future. Are you more likely to succeed with a “teacher” who feels entitled to their job and is simply putting in time, or with one whose enthusiasm, creativity and loyalty, regardless of length of employment, merits them their position? Solve the equation.

It reminds me of a television commercial I recently saw for Lowe’s Home Improvement Centers, and it absolutely applies to this discussion: “This is why logic makes sense!”

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2011. Duplication of this publication is permitted for both personal and business use. Excerpts may only be quoted with acknowledgment of INTERPERSONAL/INTERPERSONALBIZ.ORG as the source. For re-publication rights, please contact the editor at KEENAN@INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM

Vol. LXXV

Dear Manager,

With this issue I’d like to look at this topic and the necessary “equalizing balances” in terms of quality vs. quantity. I can’t think of two more equal, yet by nature more conflicting, aspects of business in today’s marketplace. With the advances of the world economy in full bloom, quality vs. quantity is clearly the dynamic that will determine our future, and the future for generations to come, if the U.S. is to retain its competitive edge.

A number of years ago my daughter left college after her junior year to move to the Silicon Valley and join the “dot.com rush.” While my feelings were mixed, I genuinely supported her decision. Katie is one who will always land on her feet, and I felt this would give her some of those life experiences we all need. Jeez, to be 20, making $60K a year, and with the title of Project Manager to boot … doesn’t get much better than that!

It was an amazing year, twelve-hour days, six or seven-day weeks of intensely focused time with members of what became “a new family.” Exhaustion, poor eating habits I’m sure, with only infrequent visits to the gym to ease some of the stress. I think we’d all agree: a bit too much quantity, too little quality. Just before her one year anniversary, it became obvious that yes, the price had become too high. Katie gave notice. She yearned for her former life and the more simple pleasures found in college. She’s moved back to Seattle to finish up her degree. She truly appreciates so much more what she’d nearly lost: the quality of life she had forsaken. As you may have predicted, weeks later her former company locked its doors.

Ah yes, how the “pendulum do swing” from one extreme to the other, both individually and organizationally, in these times of high drama for American Business. This evolution in the marketplace has certainly affected the gift, stationery, and home furnishing markets. The smoke and mirrors of the collectable industry is in the tank with the influence of the Internet and its “clean air and pricing policies.” The greeting card industry is just now admitting the impact of the virtual greeting card, and for every new and independent retailer opening in this category there are three that will close. Only those who innovate and adapt will survive.

Clearly this is a reflection of our society’s infatuation with the Sam’s Clubs, Targets and Costco’s of the world, making it very, very, very clear that “this is where America shops!” Quantity would seem to rule this contest, though in reality the independent retailer’s lack of innovation has resulted in no current growth. Those who are growing do so at the expense and market share of another. Similarly, in the absence of innovation, manufacturers have no choice but to follow their customers.

The president of a sales agency recently asked me how best to protect his interests in these difficult times. He felt the need to shore up his agency with additional new manufacturers, but realized he’d do so at the expense of available time and capacity for his current manufacturers. When you’re running scared in business, most any path of least resistance can seem incredibly appealing.

Capacity is a very real and ongoing concern for both manufacturers and sales agencies in this and other industries. Productivity has been enhanced, but in this industry many are still writing orders by hand (a slow and mundane process of decades past), instead of using hand held, automated order writing systems. I know of one agency that experienced a forty percent growth in sales once these devices were implemented.

The increase was neither the result of a better-trained sales force, nor of a hot or explosive marketplace. It was simply a reflection of increased capacity. My first response to this agency president would be to run, don’t walk, to the implementation of this form of automation for his agency. While it won’t solve the underlying problem, you can be assured that if or when the gas runs out of the engine, at least you’ll be holding the fuel pump!

My second piece of advice would be that quality over quantity has survived the test of time in American Business. Certainly the dumping of quantity from overseas and domestic markets has taken its toll, but in the end, quality always rules. Think of it in these terms; would you prefer to be known for your quality, or your ability to produce quantity? It would seem to be fairly clear. Even if the pendulum is currently swinging against you, it will swing back. With time, quality always comes back into favor.

In conversations with my sales associates, I would always suggest that while I could find them three additional manufacturers to represent, I couldn’t find them the additional four days each month to support the manufacturers’ rightful needs and expectations. While it was common for many sales agencies to represent thirty or more manufacturers, our agency represented fifteen.

It was clearly important to our agency that we play a significant and visible role with our manufacturers. I wanted to be more than just “another rep agency” in these primary relationships. In good times, I wanted our agency to be acknowledged as a potential leader; in difficult times I wanted our agency to be in a position to receive the benefit of the doubt. Strong and mutually beneficial relationships, ones founded on quality, are becoming less common. I wanted to stand out among the masses, making it that much more difficult to form a negative conclusion relating to our organization.

I also found this policy to be revealing as it related to our internal sales trends. Invariably, even with our limited number of manufacturers, the bottom three consistently represented less than three percent of our total sales! Can you imagine how these ratios would translate to an agency with thirty or more manufacturers? What potential for quality exists for the manufacturers at the bottom of that heap?

One of the greatest challenges for agency presidents, their staff, and sales people, is the sheer amount of administration, follow up and maintenance required to stay on top of so many manufacturers. This was a daunting task for our office and each of its staff members. Forget quality for a moment. How much more capacity, let alone stamina, can I provide a dozen clients compared to thirty? Clearly, this single commitment established a sense of quality, clear lines of communication, and years of security for our organization, in the good times and in the bad.

We as managers must remain vigilant in these highly productive times to not overextend our staff’s capacity. We must maintain the standards of quality consistent with our prior success. In times when quantity vs. quality is in debate, this may be your greatest opportunity to throw all of your resources behind your own position of strength in the marketplace. You will not just be noticed; you will stand head and shoulders above your competitor.

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2011. Duplication of this publication is permitted for both personal and business use. Excerpts may only be quoted with acknowledgment of INTERPERSONAL/INTERPERSONALBIZ.ORG as the source. For re-publication rights, please contact the editor at KEENAN@INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM

Vol. LXXI

Dear Manager,

There is no greater crisis for any manager than his or her own unanticipated termination. Having worked for myself since college, I realize I can’t fully appreciate or understand the feelings associated with this personal crisis. I recently helped a friend and business colleague work through this process, learning a lot about his feelings, anxieties, and the path he chose to a successful and fulfilling resolution. I’d like to share my perspective on a few of the lessons he learned along the way. It’s certainly much easier to read (and write) about this topic than it is to experience it firsthand!

My friend worked for a significant regional company in the Northwest, which had been purchased a number of years ago by a similar company based in another state. At that time, Phil (not his real name) assumed the role of General Manager for his division. It became very clear over a period of years that Phil had the talent and initiative to not only handle, but to excel in this role. It was also evident to most parties that Phil’s division would clearly outperform the division being managed by ownership.

Over a period of years, ownership became uncomfortable with Phil’s division’s position of strength and his exceptional competitive advantage over the company division. O.K., I can’t be objective any longer. Clearly ownership and their inflated egos couldn’t see the forest for the trees. Instead of using Phil’s talents as a resource for their own division, they began to impose greater control in order to dim their shining star! How is it possible that some owners don’t understand a good thing when it’s sitting in their lap? I also realize I was not privy to the day-to-day operations of this company, yet normally common sense prevails.

One had to assume, from a distance, that it was simply a matter of time for this issue to come to a head. After consistently poor performance in their “company-managed” division, ownership came to the conclusion that operating costs needed to be reduced. Phil was notified that his position would be eliminated. No one would have believed this chain of events had they not seen it unfold over a period of years, as I had.

Phase I

Disbelief, anger, bitterness and, at times, devastation; Phil experienced them all. Each few days brought its own set of emotions. I believe we would all first think of family, personal commitments, and responsibilities. The first phase always seems to lead our imagination straight down the path to the poor house. Why do we always seem to think in terms of “worst case scenarios” in our most difficult financial times? I found in early conversations, though, that Phil looked for indications of hope.

This early phase also seemed to be filled with “finding blame.” Phil felt his personal image had taken a shot, as would any of you reading this. In finding blame, it seemed easier to swallow, particularly if you can find someone other than yourself able to assume this role. After a few days, and from my purely non-emotional state, I suggested that Phil shouldn’t take this action quite so personally!

Yes, without question, ownership should have, could have; in a perfect world would have, taken steps to avoid this inevitable conclusion. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, and Phil was a casualty. Ownership eventually took actions to save the financial assets of the corporation, but it was too late for Phil. “Finding blame” serves no purpose other than wasting ones creative potential in finding a solution.

Phase II

In this scenario, I also believe there would be times of loneliness and solitude for most all of us. Society often defines us by our ability to contribute to family and self. We have all “bought in” to this mentality to some degree. I shared with Phil an honest and sincere level of confidence in his abilities and career potential. In fact, I’d often gone to Phil for advice with my own business challenges. I suggested he literally “talk to himself,” creating a sense of self-confidence in his own advice. In other words, what advice would you give to a friend under a similar set of circumstances? The value in this effort is in its ability to take the raw emotion out of the circumstances. I suggested that I would certainly rely on his advice if I found myself in similar circumstances. It was time that he do the same. What would he tell me to do? Listen to your own words then follow “their truth.” Once the personal emotions are put in their proper perspective, we can proceed both objectively and effectively.

Phase III

This phase comes with acceptance of one’s own reality. With acceptance comes the very first stage of rebuilding ones confidence. This is also the stage in which I believe we are most vulnerable. In the search for confidence, it’s easy to accept alternatives that aren’t in our long-term best interests. Similar to personal relationships, we are vulnerable to the potential “rebound.” Some early indications of new opportunities came Phil’s way within the first couple of weeks. One day, Phil would be elated, confident, and relieved at his good fortune. Days later, optimism crumbled to disappointment when the opportunity wasn’t nearly what was understood at first blush. This roller coaster had seemed to take on a life of its own.

We discussed staying on task. Each day’s agenda would be directed toward his efforts to develop fact on which to base future judgments. While there was initial relief in finding potential opportunities, he also had to look well beyond the surface of each of these opportunities. His considerable skills would be in demand, and there would be many who would like to “take away the pain” and acquire his services at well below market value. The relief in finding a “new home” was certainly not nearly worth the price of selling himself short, or compromising his family’s potential.

I suggested this was finally an opportunity for Phil to take the time to chart his future, as compared to allowing fate to simply push him around. It was time to take back control. Rather than jumping at an opportunity, Phil clearly needed to take the time to make perhaps his last and most important professional career judgments. All options, all scenarios; all potential possibilities should now be objectively reviewed. It’s clearly better to make an informed decision from an inventory of ten choices than it is from an inventory of one!

Phase IV

As the opportunities continued to flow in, I found great pleasure in seeing Phil’s excitement and anticipation grow. This stage finally allowed Phil to realize that, in fact, this time of change might have been the proverbial “blessing in disguise.” Phil hadn’t been completely happy with his former set of circumstances, and had actually considered leaving prior to their decision. The key difference was the fact that it occurred on their timetable rather than his.

Phil has actually become grateful for what he calls the “kick in the rear.” He is on an anticipated fast track as he builds his own marketing representative company serving a number of manufacturers in his former industry. This decision seems to be a perfect fit, as it allows him to draw on prior experiences and contacts that will only serve to enhance this decision. These are uncharted waters for Phil, but as an objective observer, I have no doubt that he will succeed.

As I suggested earlier, I fortunately (or perhaps unfortunately) have never personally endured these circumstances first hand. I believe its greatest lesson is in moving beyond the emotions of the moment. In consulting your own inner voice, you might even find a new best friend in the process.

Personal Regards,

Keenan

INTERPERSONAL© is published by INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM, Keenan Longcor, Editor, ©2010. Duplication of this publication is permitted for both personal and business use. Excerpts may only be quoted with acknowledgment of INTERPERSONAL/INTERPERSONALBIZ.ORG as the source. For re-publication rights, please contact the editor at KEENAN@INTERPERSONALBIZ.COM