Turbocharge Your Retail Business. How to outmaneuver and outperform the big guys. Roy Prevost

Transcription

1 1 Turbocharge Your Retai Business How to outmaneuver and outperform the big guys Roy Prevost

2 Copyright 2009 by Roy Prevost and Oakray Marketing Vancouver, British Coumbia, Canada A Rights Reserved, incuding the right of reproduction in whoe or part form This book is the proprietary work of Roy Prevost and Oakray Marketing. Any unauthorized use of this copyrighted materia or the tites, diagrams and detais contained in this book in reation to goods and/or services (incuding seminars, workshops, training programs, etc) is prohibited without the express written permission of the owner. Pubished and Printed in Canada Canadian Cataoguing in Pubication Date Prevost, Roy Turbocharge Your Retai Business 1. Business 2. Sef-improvement Layout. design and typography by Lee Johnson Edited by Lee Johnson, Literary Consutant Jacket design by Lee Johnson 2

3 Turbocharge Your Retai Business How to outmaneuver and outperform the big guys Roy Prevost 3

4 Dedication This book is dedicated: To the two oves of my ife my wife Sarah, and my daughter Tamarah. They have been a source of inspiration and support. To Lee Johnson my editor and dear friend, whose patience and genius has made this book possibe. To a the business associates and supporters you are too numerous to mention. To a other business writers who may have contributed without their knowedge. Thank you, one and a, for heping me achieve my dream. 4

5 Introduction As the tite impies, this book is about energy, passion, and injecting enthusiasm into your ife and your independent retai business. In the midst of a compex word, the time tested strategies and tactics in this book wi hep you outmaneuver and outperform competition, no matter the size. But fortunatey, a is not ost. There are ways to fight back very effectivey, and thrive. (Yes, you CAN compete with Big Box Stores!). This book is a compiation of a the essons in business and customer service experiences that I have earned in the 40+ years of my working ife. Batting Big Box stores isn t easy. You need to use a your knowedge and experience and skis pus a powerfu secret weapon I ca Turbocharged Connection. To demonstrate how you can incorporate this secret weapon into every facet of your business ife, I have divided the book into four major parts: 1. How to Turbocharge your Attitude 2. How to Turbocharge your Empoyees 3. How to Turbocharge your Customers 4. How to Turbocharge your Business 5

6 In my opinion, they are presented in an hierarchy of importance. For exampe, if you fai to Turbocharge and nurture your attitude, the other three areas reay won t matter. Each section aso has a series of sub-headings that give more detai to the concept. The ast one, Turbocharging Your Business, is the ongest and most detaied. It woud be a mistake, however, to dismiss any component of the other three sections, since they are inextricaby inked and interwoven. Enjoy, and I woud greaty appreciate any feedback you might have on this book. Pease send your comments to me at roy@royprevost.com. Roy Prevost Vancouver, Canada June

7 Foreword I was near the end of my rope. I just didn t know where ese to turn. Since purchasing an existing women s retai boutique six years before, I had run into probems. Why? Because not ony had I never owned my own business before; I had aso never had any retai experience of any kind in my working career. Sounds crazy, doesn t it? Nevertheess, I have to say that my first three years were incredibe. But I was so passionate about seing wonderfu outfits, that I was obivious to probems arising from owning my own business. Then, doubt and fear began to coud my perception. I needed hep! To acceerate my earning over the years, I had been to many different marketing seminars offered in our area. They a sounded ike they were going to give me some sound advice... but when I actuay attended the seminars, there was nothing concrete to take back to my business and put into action. They were a about feeing good with no rea substance! My friend Dennis Gerein who was the manager of BK Radio in Castegar, B.C. at the time, had purchased tickets for his staff to attend a marketing seminar that was going to be hed in Trai, B.C. He had purchased extra tickets for his cients and had stopped off at my boutique to give me one. It so happened that the week eading up to this seminar had been a grind. Saes were suggish and I was not in a very positive state. When it came time for the seminar at 7pm, I thought about not attending. I was 7

8 so tired, bothered and negative. It s funny where ife wi take you if you et it. I remember distincty feeing a strange kind of pu as I approached the street to turn into the Terra Nova Best Western Hote. I was going to attend the seminar whether I iked it or not so my body tod me! Roy Prevost was the soe speaker at his seminar entited, How to Survive in the Big Box Retai Word. Roy was simpy amazing. He hed me spebound for three wonderfu hours. Who does that? Certainy nobody I ever knew! This man was speaking my anguage. There were cear and concise soutions for every type of business probem you coud imagine. But that s not where it ended. Roy aso had invauabe handouts that I continue to use to this day. In addition, discussions and roepaying were an integra part of his presentation. And the best part was aready forming in my mind. I had a pan, and I knew what had to be done! There were 57 peope seated in the seminar room that evening. After the presentation was over, Roy made each and every one of us an offer. He was fying to Toronto the next day to give another presentation and woudn t be back for a few days, but and this was amazing he gave his ce number to a of us. He said that he woud give each of us one free hour of business coaching after he returned from Toronto. A we had to do was eave a message for him to ca. Now, there s history in the making. My ife and business changed forever when I met Roy. And just so you know, I was the ony one in that room who caed him. I never forget that hour on the phone, during which I received a great dea of invauabe information specific to my business needs. It was one of the most important cas I have ever made in my ife. 8

9 I am so thried that Roy has written this book. Everything you need to know about running a business is right here. This is my bibe and it wi be yours too. It s so fortunate for the word of sma retaiers to have a of this invauabe knowedge bound together in one copy. Congratuations, Roy! What a great achievement! Karen LeMoe Bourbon Street Boutique Castegar, Canada June

10 Index Page Part 1: Turbocharge Your Attitude 17 Sef Tak and Your Attitude 22 Your Words determine your Reaity 25 Your Words determine what you Think about 30 Your Thoughts determine the Quaity of your Life and your Business 30 Part 2: Turbocharge Your Empoyees 33 How do you know if a Key Empoyee is happy / ooking for a new Opportunity? 34 Are you Managing or attempting to Manage peope? 35 Why do we ose Empoyees? 36 Start with a Pan 36 Are you creating the right Environment? 38 Communicate Your Vision 38 Focus on deveoping Happy Empoyees 40 Be wiing to Change 43 Buiding the Bench 43 Wecome to the Facebook Generation! 45 Buiding Morae 46 Stress 50 Provide Training and a Wecome party 51 Express your Appreciation 53 If you can t Fire, don t Hire 53 Deveop a sense of Fun and Community 54 The Times, they are a-changing. 56 Keep on the Learning Curve 56 Creating the idea Work Environment 57 Tuning in to your Empoyees 59 Sooner or ater, you wi have to Reprimand someone Improving Empoyee Morae 61 Back Up Operation Manua 63 Create a Group Brainstorming Session 64 10

11 Part 3: Turbocharge Your Customers 67 The 20/80 Rue is Aive and We in the 21st Century 74 Add on the Benefits 77 Transaction versus Reationship-Based Business 78 Your Business 82 A Compaint is a Gift and an Opportunity 84 What is the True Vaue of your Best Customers? 85 Part 4: Turbocharge Your Business 89 It s a about Carity, Carity, Carity! 90 Thriving in a Big Box Retai Word 91 It s Showtime, foks!!! 92 Networking, a Key strategy for Sma Business 93 Nurturing your Network 98 The Loney Business Cards 100 There are Three reasons to have Business cards 101 Business card Design 103 The Choreography of Handing Out Your Business Card 104 The importance of a Dynamic tagine or Mantra 105 The Networking Two-Step (Trave in Pairs) 108 Sma Hinges Swing Big Doors 112 Your Unique Seing Proposition 115 Differentiate or Die!! 117 Ways to Differentiate 118 Sove a Probem 119 Message of Vaue 120 Off The Wa 121 Guarantee 121 Extraordinary Customer Service 122 Against the Competition 123 Uncovering the Difference 123 Communicate the Difference 124 Page 11

12 Page The Hoy Grai of Marketing 125 Are you Twittering? 128 Are you Grabbing your Readers? 128 Other ways to use your List 129 Postcard Marketing 130 Process is the key to Profitabiity 131 The Customer Experience 134 Whatever happened to Common Sense? 138 Comparing Appes to Appes 152 More on Process 155 Product knowedge 157 Specia Evening Events 159 Customer Appreciation Events 162 After Saes Service Ca 163 Become a Concierge Marketer 165 Wecome Wagon 169 Free Popcorn for Incoming Customers 173 The Not-so-subte Message 174 You get what you Pay for 175 Persona Letters to Best Customers 178 Know your Customer by Name 180 Become an Expert 181 Wa of Fame 182 The Roaming Photographer and the Internet 184 What brings Customers to your Business? 185 The Baby Boomer Phenomenon 189 Triions of Doars wi be Passed Down to Baby Boomers 190 Boomers are becoming Minimaists & intuitivey expect a Reationship 191 The Rue as it pertains to your Customers 193 The Next Rue 194 Conversey: the Rue 195 Why Do Businesses Lose Customers? 196 Nothing is For Free 198 The Next Economy: what s the Future ook ike? 199 Some Fina Thoughts

13 Part 1: Turbocharge Your Attitude When I meet business owners at my workshops, I can usuay determine their eve of success or mediocrity within the first five minutes of meeting them. The most successfu are usuay happy, upbeat, positive and enthusiastic about their ives and about their businesses. They ove their work and they have a cear picture of where they are and where they are going. They understand my Rue of 5 i.e. they have a written 5 year pan for their ives. This pan covers everything incuding their heath, famiy, eisure, finances, and business. 1) Heath I have intentionay put heath first since without it, everything ese becomes unimportant. So what are you doing about your heath? 13

14 Are you safeguarding it? Are you taking the time to have at a minimum of 20 minutes of exercise per day? Now, I am very much aware of time constraints since I spend a great dea of time in airports, in strange cities, often times in mediocre hotes, but when I put my mind to it, I can aways take minutes to do stretches or situps or pushups. Even simpe exercises every day contributes to being in shape which of course affects my attitude. There are very few excuses. Are you attempting to eat heathy foods? Again, from my own exampe, even whie traveing, I can aways find a grocery store and pick up some fruit or heathy trai mix that I can snack on during the day. I have earned the hard way that eating unheathy foods contributes to ack of energy, which usuay affects my attitude in a negative way. 2) Famiy This is the next important priority. Studies have shown that oving famiies have an immediate positive impact on the emotiona webeing of each famiy member, which in turn transates into a more upbeat positive attitude. Yes, I know, as a sma business owner, you are aready spending hour days trying to keep your business going, however, with a itte ingenuity, you can sti make time for famiy activities. Whether it is insisting that your chid shows up at your pace of work after schoo and sits off in a corner and does his/her homework, or whether you make sure you get to the ba park or skating rink and watch your chid for 15 minutes (even if you can t watch the entire game) makes a big difference. 14

15 I m not trying to be fippant here, and I understand that every situation is different however, chidren are often more adaptabe and understanding than we give them credit for. Our abiity to engage and nurture our famiy contributes enormousy to our attitude. 3) Leisure This is the area that you, as the overworked sma business owner, wi often overook mosty because of time constraints. I mean, who can take the time to reax when you are running a sma business? You barey have time to get your work done, et aone think about taking a hoiday. Again, with a itte ingenuity, you can make sure that you take eisure time away from your business and it is critica that you do so. A proonged period at work without eisure can be disastrous to your attitude as we as your heath. There is a condition caed burnout and it is not ony reserved for the corporate word, it can happen to you. Therefore it is critica that you be aware of the symptoms and dea with this insidious condition immediatey if you fee you are a candidate. At this point, I woud ike to dispe a few myths about eisure. Myth #1 I cannot eave my business because I am the ony one who knows everything. This is one of the biggest chaenges for sma business owners. Sma business owners tend to micro-manage everything in their affairs. As Michae Gerber Author of the E Myth book series says, You are working in your business, and not on your business. At some point, for your sanity, you wi have to come to the 15

16 reaization that an empoyee wi probaby never do as good a job as you, and to be at peace with that concusion. Myth #2 I don t have the time to get away from my business, there is just too much work to do. No, you simpy have faied to pan for eisure time. Again, this requires ingenuity and a specific mindset. For instance, I am sure you did not intend to be a save to your business when you decided to become an entrepreneur so it is critica to identify what eisure means to you, and pan for it! Myth #3 In order for me to have sufficient vaue for my eisure time, I woud need a week off and that is impossibe for me, as a business owner. Again, hogwash! Just a few minutes away from your business (daiy); a day off (weeky); and a ong weekend (quartery), wi do wonders for your attitude and psyche. You can easiy get away for an hour during the day, even if it means that you hang a shinge in the door saying, Either a 30 minute break or sit my wrists, back at xxxx. (Yes, customers have a sense of humor and wi probaby rib you about it ater!). But just make sure you are back at the designated time. Spend the time going for a brisk wak, joining a friend for coffee, spending some time aone in a nearby park. BUT IT MUST BE PLANNED, otherwise minutes fa into hours, hours fa into days you know the dri. As I heard word-renowned business phiosopher Brian Tracy say, Too many sma business owners ive on the isand of Someday, I 16

17 4) Finances Someday, I get out of here for a wak. Someday, I take the kids to the beach. Someday, I pan that vacation And they never eave Someday I. Get off Someday I. and pan your ife! Probaby no area has been negected more by entrepreneurs than finances. It is understandabe. Most entrepreneurs are by nature big picture peope. They tend to dream big, and have the big picture in mind. Franky, finances are boring to them. Bessed with an over-optimistic spirit, we tend to beieve in the mantra. Work hard and the $$$ s wi take care of themseves. Wrong! Many businesses have gone out of business as a resut of this siy thinking. As boring as it might be, eaving the finances to a bookkeeper and not being cear about your finances can be deady. I cannot stress enough the need to have carity in your business affairs. If by nature you are not detai-oriented, then seek out a part time person who has the necessary expertise, and instruct them to keep you on side and aware of weeky financia updates on a aspects of your business. 5) Business We, this book is a about your business. Your eve of enthusiasm and passion about your business wi be directy proportiona 17

18 to your ove of peope i.e. your customers, your suppiers, and your empoyees. The word is fied with business owners who do not ove what they do, not to mention those who reay do not enjoy peope in genera. As a resut, their ives and their businesses refect that very cuture, resuting in mediocrity and disaster. From time to time, you encounter the true peope person to whom customer service comes naturay, and who thrives in that word and, not surprisingy, the word beats a path to their door. We have a experienced working with, or being served by, these incredibe peope. They bring sunshine on coudy days! If you are one, congratuations. This book wi remind you of how great you are. But if you are in the other camp, then perhaps this book might hep catayze a ife-changing epiphany. The key is to have an open mind and the right attitude. As Henry Ford once said, Whether you think you can or you can t you are right. Read this book from the perspective of being serious about making it the very best it can be, and wonderfu things wi happen. Your attitude wi change and your customers wi ove you more. Sef Tak and Your Attitude This is as good a time as any to get into what I consider to be one of the most important tasks as a business owner and a human being, and yet it is often overooked, or dismissed. As I write this book today, we are going through the worst financia metdown since the great depression of the 1930 s. The chaenge during these times is to remain cam and not panic. 18

19 At the same time, the voracious negative media have painted the word in goom and doom and have created a sense of she shock among consumers and businesses aike. One way to avoid this trap is to TURN OFF THE TV. And ive by the wise words, It is never as good as it ooks, and never as bad. Pus, you can take some action ater in this book, I wi discuss the concept of Controing Your Controabes. Strange though it may sound, taking action is a great way to turbocharge your attitude. As Lee Johnson says in his best-seing book How to Escape Your Comfort Zones, It s easier to act your way into a better mode of thinking, than to think your way into a better mode of acting. There was a time in my not-too-distant past where I had made some disastrous business decisions and ost enormous sums of money. Aong with that happening, I fet my ife spiraing downward. It seemed the harder I worked, the more everything seem to turn out bady. Soon my working days stretched into 12 to 16 hour marathons, with minima successes to keep me going. I was very frustrated and angry, and definitey not a happy camper. Not surprisingy, my friends and famiy kept their distance which certainy did not hep my situation. In the midst of that chaos, I needed some hep. Fortunatey, I have a mentor (from whom I continue to seek advice) and over unch, I unoaded my tae of woe on him. He patienty istened, and after I had camed down, he offered some very wise advice which I continue to heed to this day. Then he genty asked, Why do you think this is happening to you? I found it to be a strange question, however, I answered, I have no idea. He said, You are focusing on the negative! 19

20 I fet ike saying, You have an incredibe grasp of the obvious! However, I restrained mysef, and meeky asked, What do you mean? He said, You are focusing on everything that is wrong, rather than what you have in abundance. Obviousy he did not understand my probems, so I said, We, at the moment, I don t have any abundance, in fact, that is what I am ooking for. He said, You misunderstand my comment, you have amazing abundance. You are heathy; you have a wife and famiy who ove you. You enjoy three meas a day and have a roof over your head. You ive in one of the best countries in the word..., and on and on and on he went. He continued, I want you to begin each day for the next three weeks by writing a gratitude journa. Even if you repeat items day after day, keep writing. As you get comfortabe with the process, you wi begin to see subte things during the day and you wi consciousy take a menta note to incude it in your journa. Write three sentences or three pages, it matters not. More significanty, I want you to take two to three minutes every day to ponder your abundance. During the day, you may be tempted to dwe on your chaenges, at that time, I woud ike you to mentay say, Stop it!!, and bring to memory your abundance. Remember, whatever you focus on, and give emotion to, expands. He went on: Why do you think there is poverty in this country? Because peope focus on their ack, and are emotionay connected to it. This exercise wi aow you to break the menta and emotiona attachment you have to your pight, and your ife wi turn around, I promise. And sure enough, over time, it did. It reay heped to turbocharge my attitude. I sti write in my journa, and I swear by it. 20

21 Your Words determine your Reaity Do you constanty describe your word in negative terms? Can you catch yoursef in the midde of a negative conversation and turn it around? We are constanty bombarded by the media, and fed a diet of caamities from a around the word... and it is quite easy to fa into a state of hopeessness. It is a constant strugge to keep positive in our hectic word in genera; however, it is a strugge you must win. And one way to do this, is to create positive sef tak and be aware of the negative words that eave your ips. Equay importanty: you shoud scrupuousy avoid peope who are negative. Make no mistake, our thoughts and attitudes have immense energy, and others around us can aso intuitivey pick up on it. Let me give an exampe. Mrs. Brown comes into your store and becomes a reguar customer. Every time she waks in, you enthusiasticay greet her; however, she tends to spend a good dea of time wandering about, and inevitaby waks out with nothing, or something very sma. After the tenth time, you say to yoursef, Yup, here she comes again for her tiny purchase... (And remember, it s even more toxic if you share that information with an empoyee!) Do you think she doesn t fee that energy when she waks in the door? You had better beieve it!! 21

22 There is no doubt that other peope intuitivey pick up on our nonverba communication. And that incudes customers. So, eventuay Mrs. Brown stops coming. You have fufied your own wishes, and created your own reaity. You probaby won t notice the sma drop in revenue this creates, but what about her friends and coeagues and famiy? Don t you think she woud have shared her feeings with them? Let me te you a story that iustrates the exact opposite that is, exceent attitude, positive anguage, and great customer service. Near our home, we are fortunate to have a sma grocery store (which is referenced often in this book) that aso has a sma coffee bar. Often, I wi meet potentia cients or friends there during the day, and no matter the circumstances, I aways get a cheerfu Heo! and a genuine comment such as: How are you doing? How is Sarah? Haven t seen you for a whie! When is your next trip? Where are you traveing to this time? How ong wi you be gone? Isn t that great? Woudn t it make you want to visit the store as often as you coud? 22

23 And so I keep going back again and again, even though I coud easiy get our products cheaper esewhere. Why? We, one reason is I fee this owner genuiney cares about me, and I intuitivey want that connection. Aso, he has aways greeted me in a positive way that resonates with me. It s cear that his attitude is fuy turbocharged. Let me share another story to further iustrate how anguage can have an impact on our perception of events: Some time ago I was presenting one of my workshops in a sma community, and during a break one of the participants a restaurant owner came up and said, I have a probem with my business, and woud ike to tak with you after the workshop if I coud. Knowing that she had a very successfu business, I was intrigued by her request. At the end of the workshop, she came forward and reated her story. I have a very successfu restaurant, but I aso have a serious chaenge, she said. I have this group of cheap od codgers who show up every day for either a coffee or a snack, and they eave no more than a nicke or a dime as a tip. My girs are ticked off, to the point that they don t want to serve them, and there are days when I fee ike running after them when they eave, to give them back their ousy tips. What can I do to make them understand the rues of tipping? I need hep. As she reated her story, she was charged with emotion. This was ceary a major probem for her. 23

24 This must be very frustrating for you, I said. However, I can give you a strategy that you can impement right away. Firsty, it s important that you immediatey stop this anguage, particuary in front of your empoyees. It is my beief that the moment you verbaize a negative comment in the presence of empoyees, you give these empoyees permission to share and reinforce these comments throughout your business. Make it a non-negotiabe rue that no one is to speak negativey of any customer, whether on the foor, or during a break. If anything, reframe every comment in a positive tone. This activity wi focus everyone away from the probem and create a pace for change. By changing the anguage, you often change the outcome. Secondy, change your perspective. Put yoursef in the customers shoes. Perhaps these fok have very itte money, and what may seem a sma tip to you is in fact a generous gesture from them. Thirdy, they may genuiney be unaware of the tipping custom and to them it is of itte vaue. Be creative and have some fun with this customer chaenge. Make them augh and see what happens. Fourthy, you might want to brainstorm ideas on how to create a humorous education contest around tipping for these wonderfu customers, and try to have some fun with them. Finay, how about showering these od foks with some genuine caring and affection? Do you think these woud be good ways of turbocharging her attitude? You bet! 24

25 On a recent trip to Eastern Canada, I happened upon a coffee shop in a sma community and spent some time there over a weekend writing this book, and observing the ocas as they came and went. This restaurant was packed with customers. At one point I noticed an oder genteman sitting by himsef, having a coffee, and ooking out the window at the ocean. In a very subte way, a waitress came up beside him, gave him a hug, and said, This, too, sha pass!, and waked away. A short time ater this same waitress came to my tabe, and I commented that I had observed her simpe kind act. I asked her: I don t want to be nosy, but I m researching a book, and woud you mind sharing with me what that was a about? She smied and said, He is one of our reguars, and his wife just passed away, so I thought I woud comfort him. Do you think she made a difference? Do you think other customers might have noticed her simpe gesture? Do you think she oves her customers? Do you think she has a turbocharged attitude? Do you think she is contributing to the success of the business? Coud you, under the right circumstances, offer a simiar gesture? Do you think it woud hep differentiate your business from a Big Box Store? Do you think it woud create huge word of mouth advertising for your business? 25

26 Your Words determine what you Think about The more you reinforce your negative view of the word, the more the universe wi gady fufi your dream or nightmare. Gangsta rap music perfecty iustrates this. Many of them have taken it upon themseves to protest the status quo (which I beieve can be heathy), but they do it in a anguage that sometimes deivers a vie, misogynistic message to teens who are the most impressionabe and want desperatey to be hip. Negative and destructive words and images or positive, constructive thoughts and anguage? What do you choose in your ife? Isn t it time you made a decision and did something about turbocharging your attitude? Your Thoughts determine the Quaity of your Life and your Business This statement is universa wisdom, and the way to change your thoughts, is to become aware of your daiy thoughts. When a negative or angry or destructive thought arises, say Stop it!, and instead, make a positive affirmation about the situation. Let me give you an exampe: I wi never finish this book! is a thought that kept coming up for 26

27 me whie I was writing, strugging to get my thoughts and experiences on paper. When this happened, I earnt to immediatey say: Stop it!! I am progressing day by day and competing this book in good time. As I grow oder, and hopefuy wiser, I am becoming more aware of the power of words, and the impact they have on my daiy ife. I remember a few years ago, reading a book by Anthony Robbins, and he had written, Aways ask yoursef open-ended empowering questions... as an exampe, instead of saying I can t do that!! say, What woud happen if I coud do that? or te yoursef: I am a professiona, and I am the best at what I do!! Or, as Brian Tracy said, the word in the Engish anguage most utiized by successfu peope is, How : How wi we sove this chaenge? How can we hug our customers better? How can I be a better person? How can I turbocharge my attitude, and keep it that way? 27

28 Action Steps Consider what negative anguage you use on a daiy basis that is detrimenta to your persona and business we-being How coud you remind yoursef when you are engaging in negative anguage? How can you reframe each negative comment with a present-moment positive affirmation? Begin a gratitude journa today 28

29 Part 2: Turbocharge Your Empoyees Since I began writing this book in 2007 (yes, I procrastinate!), things have changed dramaticay in the word of business. But even in the current adverse cimate, have you noticed that there are sti Hep Wanted signs out there, and that most companies are desperatey ooking for good empoyees? Why? The Baby Boomers are eaving the workforce, and the X and Y generation coming up behind the boomers are not sufficient in numbers to fi the positions eft by the retirees. In fact, I wi make a bod prediction at this point. Within the next few years, if you ose a quaity empoyee to a competitor, your chances of repacing that empoyee with a simiary quaified person wi be sim to none. Wecome to the 21st century new reaity! 29

30 However, as in ife, this situation creates an opportunity. It wi aow you to become a better peope manager, and compete more effectivey against big box business. And that means YOU can attract and retain the quaity empoyees, and be envied by your competitors. It may surprise you if I tod you that right now, your key peope are probaby being head-hunted by your competitors. It s becoming a war out there to recruit quaity peope, and every company is fair game. So, how do you keep ahead of the curve and make sure your key peope stay with you over the ong term? Simpe. You need to turbocharge your empoyees. To be fair, no matter what you do, you wi ose some peope for a number of reasons and you may as we prepare for that eventuaity. However, I beieve in being proactive and creating a eve paying fied, so here are a few strategies that wi serve you we when communicating with your key peope. How do you know if a Key Empoyee is Happy, or ooking for a new Opportunity? You ASK!! That s right, you ask them. You ca your key peope into your office one on one, you ask them to sit down and you say, Mary, you are one of my key peope here, and I know you wi probaby be approached by the competition to go work for them. I want to ask you, are you happy here? 30

31 Then, just isten intenty. Don t be defensive (especiay if she criticizes any aspect of your business or management stye); just nod sincerey. Other questions you might ask are, If, at any time, shoud you be tempted to move to a competitor, woud you pease et me know in advance so that I can, at the very east, make you a counter offer for your services? or, If you are unhappy, coud you share with me how we coud make your experience here at our company more appeaing to you? And you take the conversation from there. Your goa is to communicate your message as quicky as possibe. As I mentioned esewhere in this book, Don t wait unti you are thirsty before digging your we. Now I understand that retaining and motivating empoyees is more compex than this simpe strategy, but it is a good starting point and the sooner you do it, the better. Are you Managing or attempting to Manage peope? We think that we can manage peope; but in reaity we cannot! It is difficut enough to manage ourseves, so you can imagine how hard it is to manage other peope. What you can manage, and shoud manage, is the cuture and environment in which they work. You can infuence and raise their eve of invovement by being a better eader and a roe mode that they wi want to foow, but you cannot manage the person. 31

32 Why do we ose Empoyees? We ve spent some time examining why there are more Hep Wanted signs out there, and why companies are desperatey ooking for empoyees. But instead of ooking for the answer to a question of Why? you d be wiser to ask What? and How? For exampe, what is causing this ack of motivation, performance and dedication in empoyees? You might be surprised to earn that research shows 80% of the time peope do not perform at their peak because of their manager. So, what exacty can you do if you are faced with these kinds of chaenges? In other words, how can you increase empoyee performance? Start with a Pan When stepping up to the chaenge of addressing poor empoyee performance, you need a pan of action. But in order to create an action pan, you must first answer some tough questions. You need to find out precisey what you are dissatisfied with. First, ask yoursef, Is my business as successfu as I woud ike it to be? Compare your business with those of your competition. How much business did they gain or ose? Are you keeping pace or beating them? How much business did you gain in the ast year? What are you doing to keep your customers coming back? 32

33 Next, ask yoursef, What kind of manager am I? In order to deveop highy motivated empoyees, you first need to create a successfu organization and become an empowered and progressive eader. This means continuay questioning your own actions and behavior. It is ony by doing this that we can understand how we perform, work and ive, and ay the foundation for how we can improve. And so, ask yoursef a few more questions. As I mentioned in the previous chapter, it is important to create carity around your business and where you are headed. Here are some sampe questions to ask yoursef: What am I reay trying to achieve personay and wi this be reevant five years from today? What are my company objectives three years from today? Are they consistent with my 5-year pan? Simpy stated, where do I see the company going within a year? Is this the first part of my three- and five-year pan? Can I picture this as a journey? How wi I know when I arrive at my goa? Do I actuay have this goa written out with carity? Do I have a roadmap to hep achieve this goa? Actuay, this end destination your goa is aso your starting point. With your new vision in mind, you begin by communicating to your empoyees exacty what resuts you are working toward. 33

34 Then, working backwards from your goa, determine what you and your empoyees need to do right now and on a daiy basis in order to achieve it. Suggestion: how about having a goa book that you consut daiy? Are you creating the Right Environment? Here s another insight: your dissatisfaction about the gap between your peope s performance and potentia may arise from the fact that you are not creating an environment conducive to that behavior. The main roe mode they have to ook toward is you their manager/ business owner. If you give them no direction, no communication, no feedback, then most peope woud naturay become dissatisfied, azy and uninterested. Here are some soutions to chaenges that can hep you progress in creating an environment that wi assist in your own growth, and that of your empoyees. Communicate Your Vision This is one of the most chaenging tasks for a sma business owner. Too often, eaders have a vision and they know where they are headed... but they beieve their peope can read their minds. I chaenge 34

35 you to refect for a moment on how often you communicate your ideas and expectations expicity to your staff. It coud be as simpe as saying to your key empoyees, I want to have the best XYZ store here in Mayberry, where no one wi be abe to outdo us on service and knowedge. And then ask for their input on how they see the business achieving that goa. (I have a section ater on how to create a brainstorming session) Don t you think your empoyees woud be more incined to become more impassioned, if you did? Often I hear owners say something ike, But it is so difficut to keep up that passionate enthusiasm day after day... Reay! Have you ever tried it? When was the ast time you spoke to your empoyees about your passions? How often have you discussed what is happening in your community, your city, your state or province, your country, even the word and the effect that these events and circumstances might have on your business? When you re feeing dissatisfied with resuts, have you ever caed a staff meeting and discussed the reasons or given an expanation for your dissatisfaction? Try it. It s a great way to hep turbocharge your empoyees. 35

36 Focus On Deveoping Happy Empoyees Empoyees cannot be bamed if your business is not nurturing them, or if there is itte or no camaraderie amongst the staff. It s up to you to create the environment, circumstances and mechanisms to make this happen. I have had the priviege of working with some major companies who are very successfu and often eaders in their fied, and have witnessed the extraordinary measures they take to promote these things amongst their empoyees. Some time ago, I was engaged to deiver a workshop in Grande Prairie Aberta. The tite was, How to retain and motivate empoyees. At the time, Aberta was facing huge chaenges in that area, particuary, when it came to retai. The oi industry was hiring young kids for, often time, menia jobs and paying them $25 to $35 an hour. For that reason, I was desperate to find one company in town who went against the grain and had created an idea working environment with happy productive empoyees. Luckiy for me, I found that idea company caed Hi Tech Business Systems. They were a retai computer company with a unique set of vaues that created a vibrant, fun, engaging cuture. They had ong term empoyees who enjoyed their work, fet appreciated by the owners and were motivated to work there every day. The owner, Kevin Szakacs stated, We have some very simpe ideas which are definitey not anything new. However, they reay do work and are very fufiing to anyone who might chose to beieve in them. Here are our secrets to business Success: 36

37 Take it persona, because it is. Your success, your famiy and those around you depend on it. By taking it persona I mean: Treat your empoyees and customers with the same care as you woud a friend that you woud do anything for. Put others needs in front of your own and teach your peope and friends to do the same. The od adage you must first give in order to receive is something to ive by. Get invoved in your peopes ives. In many cases, we spend more time with peope that we work with than we do our own famiies. We need to be abe to work, trust and pay with peope around us. Don t hire peope based soey on their skis. Hire them because they fit with your phiosophy and your peope. They need to understand and beieve that we work together as a team. Go out of your way to hep your peope. Think outside the box. These peope are pouring their ives into your business. Think of ways to continuay show your appreciation for their hep and their oyaty. Lead your peope, don t try to herd them. Those that understand your eadership and phiosophy wi foow or better yet hep you ead when you need a hand. Those that don t won t which wi aow them to move on to a different career or job that they suit best. This is okay as not everyone can fee the same about business or ife for that matter. Pay your peope we. Treat them as a partner for if you don t you wi see how a poor attitude can poison a customer s experience with your company as we as de -motivate the rest of your peope. Partner with as many key peope as you can. We have offered opportunities for our staff to partner in various business ventures. An exampe woud be the purchasing of an office buiding in which we sod shares in the buiding and pay dividends back to our empoyees every 6 months. Our company guarantees the rent and return on investment. The 37

38 goa is to show your staff that you vaue them as empoyees, as friends and as business partners. You are aso heping ensure a future for their famiy. Over the years we have partnered with many of our staff to hep them grow in various opportunities. I have aways offered our partners the abiity to se their shares back to the group if they fee that they need out due to other commitments or they are moving on to another part of their ife. Give back to the community. Show that you care by supporting oca organizations. Dea ocay and teach a of your peope to buy from those that do business with us. It s pretty hard to convince peope to do business with you if you do not support these businesses back. Aways remember that you are not aone and that you are stronger together. Learn to depend on your peope and trust their judgement. You wi be amazed how they begin to take ownership of their careers. Share the profits. Most of our staff work on a profit sharing basis. The more they produce, the more they earn. Most importanty, keep it fair for everyone. Teach your staff to understand that they do not work for an houry wage but that they earn a profit by providing a service and to focus on deveoping ideas that increase their vaue, which in turn wi increase profit. After a the ony way a business can afford to pay a wage is to earn a profit. We beieve that everyone is a profit centre and that each person deserves a share in the profit that they produce. Our motto is simpe. We provide an organization and support mechanism that wi aow peope to earn the income that they wish to earn. A they need to do is earn it, meaning that they need to utiize their time and their skis to provide a service that earns a profit in which they share. Our business goas and strategies are deveoped by a core group within our organization. These peope are eaders with in each department. 38

39 Our business is operated and managed by this core group. I have one vote within this group, as does each member. The best part about this is that we have to share and agree on our pans, which ensures buy-in and enthusiasm, which is then easier to move out to the rest of our staff. Wow! Is it any wonder that Kevin has a very successfu business, despite the current economic chaenges. Be Wiing to Change Another area to examine in yoursef, is how wiing you are to embrace new ideas and change od traditiona ways of doing things. Despite the poitics that are prevaent in a ot of sma businesses, many probems arise simpy because peope are not wiing to break out of their comfort zones. In order to change your word, you have to be wiing to change. And even once you ve changed yoursef, how can you communicate this effectivey to your empoyees? How can you hep them embrace your new perspective without causing a defensive reaction? By patienty coaching them to change their mindset and behavior; that s how. Once you earn to become the coach, you can hep your empoyees reaize that they are the ony ones responsibe for their actions and choices. Buiding the Bench There is an od expression in the coaching profession caed Buiding the Bench. This quite simpy means to consistenty have a backup position to 39

40 your best payers, shoud one of them get hurt or disabed. As a resut you are constanty scouting for good payers and keeping them cose at hand for emergencies. It just makes good sense. Simiary, in your own sma business, you shoud constanty be on the ookout for those customer service naturas. As you go about your daiy traves, eating in restaurants, running errands, wherever you interact with suppiers and other service organizations keep an eye out for the friendy, hepfu, upbeat person who just oves peope, and wants to serve the word. When you meet this person, you simpy ca them aside, introduce yoursef, repeat your best eevator speech, drop them a card, and say, I have been noticing how you dea with your customers and I must say I am very impressed. I own XYZ business, and I am aways ooking for great peope ike you. Here is my card, and if ever you are ooking to make a change or need a new chaenge, I woud ove to chat with you. And you et it go. You might want to get their phone number and keep it on fie. It is simpe and effective, pus you have avoided what I ca the Waiting unti you are thirsty, before you dig your we syndrome. You can sowy Buid a Bench and never be caught short of quaity peope. Yet, the crucia step to fiing a position is finding the right taent for your sma business someone that has the skis for the job, easiy bends with the cuture, interacts we with you and other empoyees, and beieves in your vision. In his best seer, Good to Great, Jim Coins writes, In the good-togreat transformation, peope are not your most important asset. The right peope are. Remember: you hire attitude, and you teach ski. You may want empoyees but do they want you? 40

41 Wecome to the Facebook Generation! As I mentioned, even in the short time since I began writing this book, circumstances have changed in the workpace. For instance, you may want to take into consideration the new attitude that characterizes the Y generation and how they view the workpace. First, they are very savvy; they are hyper-connected through a of their various socia networks; and in the current business cimate they know they are in demand, and they know they have us where they want us. With the critica shortage of good workers out there, you may want to consider this. When they show up for the interview, they wi be interviewing you, not the other way around. Amongst other things, members of this younger generation are aso ooking for meaning. They are ooking for a job that brings them a sense that they are making a difference in the word. Sure, money is important but if you can find a way through your business to offer them a way to give back to the community, aow them to vounteer in projects outside your business that make a contribution either ocay or gobay, a grander vision, then you might get their attention. They are not interested in the same od same od of their parents generation. They have a sense that they can change the word and in some cases, they are doing it. They are team orientated and they wi wak on fire for you if you can communicate your vision to them based on your phianthropy, no matter how meager that might be. They are attracted to an inspirationa boss or 41

42 a project, so remember that you are on stage when they wak through the door for an interview! Trotting out your mission statement to them (if you have one) means nothing to them. This is so passè for this generation. Rather, deveop a catchy sogan, positioning phrase, or mantra of three or four key words. For instance, Appe computers mantra is Be different, Googe s mantra is Do no evi. Now I reaize that you are not Googe or Appe, but if you owned a sma boutique or business, it coud be as simpe as, We create happy customers. Contrary to pubic beief, most of this generation are hard working, caring, we connected, and they have a razor-sharp B.S. detector. Treat them with respect, mean what you say, and you wi be we positioned to have these dynamic workers in your business. And keep them in your business! Buiding Morae How many times have you ever wanted to te an empoyee who was compaining about his/her job, to Get A Life! Wrong! Is that a way to turbocharge your empoyees? The key to buiding or maintaining morae in your sma business is to kick up the communication skis a coupe of notches from you as the owner/manager to the front ine empoyees and I beieve that a starts with the word expectation. 42

43 1. Job expectation: Do your empoyees reay understand what is expected of them with regard to their day-to-day job? Have you expained the typica and not-sotypica situations that they may have to hande on a daiy basis? Be fair and upfront with your empoyees as to what the job requires them to do. 2. Accountabiity expectation: Do your empoyees know exacty how they wi be hed accountabe if they don t do what is expected of them? As mentioned earier, how do you hande giving the feedback that is necessary for them to change their behavior? Do you manage by reward or by punishment? Which do you think is a better morae booster? 3. Communication expectation: Empoyees need to know that they can go to you or your trusted assistant, and that someone wi sincerey isten. If not, their concerns wi be voiced to their peers and anyone ese who wi isten, which just might be the customer. And the ast person you want your business s dirty aundry to be shared with, is your customer. 4. Vaue expectation: That brings us to empoyee contributions and suggestions. It is my experience that as an insightfu manager, the more you encourage suggestions from empoyees, the more they wi fee heard and vaued, 43

44 and the more they wi fee that they own the soution. When you express your appreciation for an empoyee s ideas and suggestions, and take some kind of action, (even if you te them their ideas are too costy or not possibe to impement), the empoyee wi sti have experienced being heard and vaued. At this stage, it is aso important to inform your empoyee of the outcome. You may want to respond in the foowing manner. Mary, I just want to foow up on the exceent suggestion you brought forward at our ast meeting. Unfortunatey, we cannot move forward with this suggestion at this time, but I just wanted to touch base with you, and acknowedge your contribution. I reay appreciate it when you come forward with these ideas. Better sti, you shoud aways give egitimate reasons why the suggestion cannot be impemented and be as specific as possibe. This can impact an individua in positive ways. And if the idea is actuay acted upon, the empoyee wi fee that he or she has achieved a goa and made an important contribution. Any achievement is a major source of motivation, and motivation eads to productivity. Productivity then eads to more initiative from the empoyee. You isten and earn. The empoyee expresses him/hersef. Both gain something. Morae improves as a resut, and everyone wins. What s not to ike? 5. Reward Expectation: The make-beieve radio station that constanty pays in most peope s heads is WII-FM. What is in it for me? Most peope are thinking as they interview for a job: 44

45 I wonder what the dress code wi be? (Or if you are hiring a miennia: Wi I be asked to remove my eyebrow ring or hide my tattoos? ) I wonder if this business owner wi be a kind individua? I wonder if empoyees get a discount? I wonder if I can ask for specia days off if I need them? I wonder if they give reguar raises? Wi this owner/manager recognize me if I do great work? Wi this owner/manager take a persona interest in my outside activities? Wi the owner/manager have compassion if I have sickness or a death in my famiy? How wi my feow workers treat me? Wi we ceebrate specia occasions at work? Does this business give back to the community? Does this business respect the environment? Do they wak their tak? You may want to be pro-active and dea with these questions up front, so the prospective empoyee wi have put their mind at ease, and can more fuy concentrate on the task at hand. 45

46 As Maya Angeou, the revered American poet wrote, I ve earned that peope wi forget what you said, peope wi forget what you did, but peope wi never forget how you made them fee. You wi see me refer to this quote often in this book. Rewards in this case, are not aways about money. These rewards are based on soft skis or better yet, peope skis which many owner/managers have a hard time grasping. This can be in the form of a symboic hug. Stress According to Kenneth Peetier, PhD, author of Mind as Heaer, Mind as Sayer (Stanford University Press, 2002), between 80 and 90 percent of a inesses are inked to stress, and 75 to 90 percent of a visits to the doctor are for stress and anxiety-reated concerns. OUCH!!!! And if that means most business owners and their empoyees are constanty stressed out, no wonder customers get treated so poory. So, when it comes to your business, make sure peope understand the roe they pay in controing their own stress. Remind them that we don t have contro over circumstances; but we do have tota contro over how we perceive and hande those circumstances. In a stressfu situation, a good suggestion woud be to take a deep breath, count to ten, wak away (physicay or mentay), and ca a Timeout. As a business owner, it s important that you earn good stress management skis and teach them to your coeagues and empoyees. Reinforce them. Bob, I noticed how we you reacted with that angry 46

47 customer yesterday... I was gad to see you take a deep breath and not react defensivey. Good job! I m proud to have you on the team. I beieve that peope can hande just about anything as ong as they are informed as to what they are to expect. Often times, a business owner wi goss over some of the more unpeasant parts of the job description so as not to ose the exceent candidate sitting in front of them. This coud come back to haunt them ater. It is better to ay a your cards on the tabe to avoid an unexpected chaenge. Provide Training and a Wecome party Why do many companies have eaborate going away or retirement parties for exiting empoyees, but no wecome for new empoyees coming to work for them? What woud happen if you aways had a ceebration for the New Kid On The Bock? Do you remember your first job? Do you remember the anxious feeing you had before your first day? Do you remember panning your wardrobe for the first day of work? Do you remember the tightness in your stomach on the first day? Now imagine that you arrive at work and they have organized a Wecome You party. A the empoyees are assembed, and they give 47

48 you a huge wecome compete with cake, coffee, handshakes, and a the excitement to aunch you on your new career. How woud that make you fee? A worker s first day and first weeks on the job are critica to retention. An orientation and introduction to the firm and co-workers that first day goes far in putting the new empoyee at ease. Whether you have a staff of 2 or 2,000, this simpe gesture can work wonders for the new person as we as a the other empoyees. Something to think about, hmmmm? Do you think that might hep turbocharge your empoyees? Perhaps you might even try making every day ike the first day on the job for you and your empoyees. Another important component of wecoming a new empoyee is to provide appropriate job training. No matter how simpe the job may seem, training is essentia. Better sti, a written job description with specific and detaied procedures goes a ong way towards removing the anxiety of a new job. But it doesn t stop there. If at a possibe, career deveopment opportunities and education shoud continue to be provided, since most peope need to fee there is an opportunity for earning and advancement. So, when you hire that new empoyee, don t ever forget that the more important, accepted and secure new peope fee, the greater the chance they wi be with you for the ong hau. 48

49 Express your Appreciation During your new empoyee orientation, make sure you send a wecome gift or etter to the famiy of the new empoyee wecoming them to the company. You might want to assign the new empoyee a mentor to hep them adjust to their new environment and make them fee part of the team. After their first 30 days on the job, you coud have a new empoyee ceebration and invite his or her famiy to attend. Wi that empoyee be impressed? I beieve so. If you can t Fire, don t Hire This is one of those gems of wisdom I geaned from years of experience and pain. As a sensitive person and one who generay wants to hep, I had a habit of hiring either cose friends, friends of friends, or even trickier, famiy members. During the first week after empoying these foks, I woud be amost giddy with excitement, and truy experienced the sense that a was we with the word. Suddeny, I was a hero to my friends and famiy. The honeymoon was on and I was reveing in it. But occasionay, after a few weeks I woud begin to see that the person I hired was unsuited for the job and the person was a iabiity. Now, I was stuck!! What to do? 49

50 I can honesty say that I put undue strain on friendships and famiy ties when I had to terminate such a person. So, a word to the wise: Whenever you get the urge to hire from this group, stop, take a deep breath and ask yoursef the question, Coud I fire this person if I had to? If you can say a resounding Yes, then go ahead and hire. However, if you have some ingering doubts, I strongy suggest that you reconsider. It wi save you ots of pain and suffering ater. You wi thank me! But, if you reay want to hire someone cose, of if they reay are the best person for the job, consider this: When hiring this person, be up front immediatey, by stating in a non threatening tone, Just to et you know, I have great reservations about hiring famiy or friends, so I just to be cear: if for any reason we determine that this reationship does not work, I want to know that we can part company with no hard feeings. Does that make sense to you? In that way, you are prepared for any surprises. Deveop a sense of Fun and Community Lighten up! Recenty, I was presenting a workshop and asked the question, How many of you dressed up for Haoween in your workpace this year? Out of over 150 attendees, ony five peope raised their hands. 50

51 Another missed opportunity to create some fun and have empoyees bow off some steam! Next Haoween, try making a specia fun event of it and creating a contest among your staff for the best costume. Perhaps you might try to do something specific to your industry. For instance, I am aware of a oca bank which keeps a database on customers birthdays, and when that person shows up on that day, the staff are ready. They create a chorus ine and present the cient with a muffin from the unch room with a singe cande, and gather round to sing Happy Birthday. How do you think a customer woud fee if they visited your business on their birthday and were unexpectedy serenaded? Woud they be shocked? Absoutey! Woud they be angry? I doubt it. Woud they remember it? You can be assured they woud never forget it... and furthermore, they woud te everyone in their neighborhood about it. What woud that do for your business? You cannot even begin to measure its vaue. Restaurants often use this ritua of getting the staff to sing Happy Birthday to specia guests. It is a win-win for everyone, incuding creating a itte fun for the empoyees and boosting their morae, making the guest fee ike they own the word, and aso enhancing the whoe experience for a the other customers. So, come up with your own events and have some fun. It s ater than you think. 51

52 The Times, they are a-changing Traditiona fu-time jobs are amost a wistfu memory. These days, a baance and fexibiity between work and famiy ife is sought by most empoyees. If at a possibe, you shoud consider offering your staff options such as aternative work schedues, fex time, and teecommute arrangements. Aso consider the use of an empoyee satisfaction survey to pinpoint where your business s strengths and weaknesses ie. Keep on the Learning Curve When you run a business, knowedge truy is power. Start with your favorite daiy newspaper and try to scan it cover to back each and every day, (and make it a point to avoid a the goom and doom). You d be surprised at what nuggets of hepfu news and information you wi find buried within. And whatever business you re in, be sure to read or subscribe to industry pubications such as newsetters, professiona/trade journas, and magazines. Pus, don t forget the most important step: to share those pubications with your staff, and to communicate your insights to your empoyees, and invite discussion on how events might impact your business, and what each person can do about it. 52

53 Creating the idea Work Environment Have a ook at your work environment. Does it refect a warm and incusive pace to work, or is it tired and worn out? Coud a few cosmetic changes make it perk up and give everyone working there a boost of energy? Take your pick which type of pace woud you want to work at: One that is cod and gives you a sense that no one cares about you, or one that makes you fee good and appreciated? It s a rhetorica question, yet one that many business owners fai to ask. Money and benefits are important, but studies show that in the ong run the work environment and the feeing peope get when they come to work is vitay important in retaining and motivating peope. Peope ike a friendy pace to work. The friendy-factor often does not even require a arge investment or expense, but it does require time and thoughtfu consideration. In many industries in North America today even despite the high rates of unempoyment in some areas jobs are going unfied. Why? The answer is cear: if you cannot attract and keep your workforce, then you must change what you are doing... or face extinction. For instance, where possibe, you might want to consider aowing empoyees to participate in a profit sharing pan. As a sma business owner that might be a stretch, however, it is often doabe, even if it means aocating ony a modest amount at year end. The rewards often greaty outweigh the investment: empoyees fee they are egitimatey part of the company, and take ownership of their roes instead of just showing up each day and doing the minimum. 53

54 Other friendy-factor ideas: Every year you coud encourage your empoyees to ceebrate their work anniversary with a cake. You coud give the empoyees chidren a specia gift when the chid brings in their a A s report card. To minimize the we-they syndrome, once a month you coud have your empoyees rotate jobs or at east do job-shadowing. As an exampe, the person in the Accounting Department gets to work with customers on the foor, and vice versa. This buids a stronger team and improves communication within your business. It aso gives empoyees the opportunity to find out how the other haf ives, in other words, so often empoyees on the front ine think that accounting foks have it easy because they have no idea what it s ike to have to dea with deinquent payers, tax issues, or other probems. Become invoved in the important events of your empoyees ives. You shoud respond when there is a birth, iness, death, graduation, birthday, or wedding. These are the important events where you have a goden opportunity to buid a bond between the individua and your business. You may wish to photograph each empoyee who has worked at the company over five years. Then, put the photos on a wa for a to see. This sma act buids a bond and shows the other empoyees the pride that you as their empoyer have in them. Whie working in a sma community atey, I opened the oca newspaper to find a haf page ad from a oca fower shop. It said Mary s Fower Shop now decares its Assets, and beow this caption was an individua photo of each smiing empoyee. 54

55 What do you think happens when every town resident sees this? What happens when each empoyee sees himsef or hersef in the oca newspaper? Do you think they fee great about working with Mary? Do you think the town fok fee a ot coser to Mary? Yes, on a counts, and guess what? You can do this too! Sooner or ater, you wi have to Reprimand someone... At some time you wi be in the deicate position of having to reprimand an empoyee for some reason or another. Your abiity to carefuy and constructivey hande this process wi often determine the ong term morae of the empoyee as we as your business. Here are some suggested steps for conducting an effective performance improvement conversation: 1. Start the conversation stating something the empoyee does we. This wi set a positive tone to the meeting and create a more open and receptive environment. 2. Describe the probem (performance issue) ceary, specificay, and in a non-threatening way. Tak about the specific behavior and refrain from discussing personaity traits. Stick to facts, and avoid opinions. Discuss what the person did, and not who the person is. Aways remain positive, expaining that you wi be an active partner in correcting the situation. 55

56 3. Ask for the empoyee s hep in soving the probem. Mutuay discuss aternative soutions and mutuay agree on specific actions to be taken to sove the probem. Listen carefuy to the empoyee s suggestions, and try to use the empoyee s soution where possibe. When the empoyee s ideas are part of the soution, he/she wi be more receptive and co-operative. 4. Provide resources to hep. In some instances, there s an easy remedy to the situation. Possiby a better process/procedure is needed to hep the empoyee become more efficient. Aternativey, the empoyee may need some additiona training or a cass to deveop a certain ski. 5. Set a specific action pan with foow up dates. Ask questions to make sure the empoyee understands what is expected. Then deveop an action pan that specifies performance expectations and the date for competion. (E.g. the first draft of the PowerPoint presentation shoud be competed in one week.) You shoud ensure that there are checkpoints aong the way so that there s an opportunity for changing course if necessary. 6. End on a positive note. It is important to communicate to the empoyee that you are confident he/she can sove this probem and make a positive contribution to the organization. 7. Foow up and recognize improvement. Remember to hod the foow up meeting on the day and at the time 56

57 you initiay specified. Recognize any improvement (and be generous with your praise!), and continue to coach the person in sustaining this improvement. If no rea improvement has occurred, then move on to the discipinary process. Athough these steps do not aways ensure improved performance, they are a good start to the process. Improving empoyee performance can be a win-win for everyone. The empoyee wins by earning what is needed to enhance performance, thereby changing behavior and becoming a more productive member of the organization. The owner/manager wins by counseing a person to achieve desired behavior, thereby resuting in a more productive and satisfied empoyee. Lasty, your business wins by retaining motivated empoyees who understand their roe and the roes of others in contributing to the goas and cuture of the organization. Improving Empoyee Morae For centuries, business peope have known that recognition is a key factor in keeping peope motivated. How many peope do we know that work on the front ine for very itte money simpy because of the amount of recognition that they get? There are many ways of showing somebody recognition, and I think quite often we overook some of the simpe ways of recognizing peope who are working with us. I beong to a oca church and often work as a 57

58 vounteer. I find that vounteers wi work harder and onger hours if they are recognized on a reguar basis for their efforts. Imagine if you did this for saaried empoyees. Scan the foowing ist to see if you can appy any of the motivationa ideas to hep turbocharge your empoyees: Provide awards for things ike: Most creative ideas Most hepfu to others Attendance Product knowedge. Set up opportunities for job deveopment. Set up opportunities for vounteering in the community. Invite your team into the decision-making process on issues that affect their job. Give a raise before they ask. Ask for and use their opinions and ideas on a reguar basis when possibe, and thank them for their input. Give them recognition for the quaity of work that they do, or saes achievements that they accompish. Reguary keep them up to date on the company s goas and pans that have been reached. Don t keep them in the dark. If the empoyees are kept in the dark, they don t fee ike they re part of the team. They don t fee recognized. Pass on compiments that are made by customers about them in fact, encourage the customer to write a etter to the company and faunt it for a the word to see. 58

59 This ast point is worth expanding upon. In addition to the suggestions aready made, I recommend that you pace a Customer Ha of Fame board prominenty in your store. On that board, you post any hand-written notes from customers thanking an empoyee for specia attention received. Why shoud you do this? Again, it is visua proof for a the word to see, and it paces you, your empoyees and your business in a very favorabe ight. I woud aso recommend that you deveop a strategy to ask for those hand-written notes. Perhaps have a specia notepad ready and waiting, and ask the customer to quicky write something. Back Up Operation Manua One shoud not overstate the vaue of backing up a aspects of your business with a mini operation manua. This is a critica too for every sma business. (After a, it s done in virtuay every arge business!) Here s how you do it: Have each empoyee ist their daiy functions from start to finish, and write down in fair detai how they do it. Ask them to keep it in simpe anguage and in point form. Then, if the empoyee is absent or gets dismissed, someone ese can take on that position and at east make an attempt at performing the function in a reasonabe manner. Even peope who have been crosstrained usuay forget what they ve earned, and need the prompter book. This manua can aso be hepfu for managers making decisions on hiring, saary increases, and changing of duties and responsibiities. 59

60 Create a Group Brainstorming Session Your empoyees represent a god mine of ideas, but often we don t recognize it or, we don t know how to mine that god! In Group Brainstorming, a sma group of empoyees, management and others who are present contribute ideas and suggestions reated to the brainstorm topic. They suggest as many ideas as possibe in a given time period, without stopping to evauate the ideas put forward. It s important to instruct participants to express their ideas freey and spontaneousy. Let them know that there s no such thing as a bad idea or suggestion. The process aows brainstorm members to trigger on each other s ideas, resuting in new ideas. (By the way, this method can aso be used for probem soving or confict resoution). As mentioned previousy, if empoyees are part of the soutions or new ideas, they are usuay more incined to impement them. They wi in effect be turbocharged! It s aso important to make sure that a facets of your business are represented, to ensure that no stone is eft unturned. For instance, the front ine peope in most businesses often have a more reaistic view of customers wants and needs, and their input is critica. I suggest the foowing process: 1 Invite a group of team members and outsiders (if appropriate) to join you in a Brainstorming Session. It s amazing how great ideas can 60

61 often come from the most humbe or unexpected sources. 2 Decide upon a time and give the participants a simpe guide to pre-read on what Brainstorming is, and what topic you d ike to Brainstorm. Ask them to jot down a few ideas in advance of the meeting. 3 At the beginning of the session, review the rues of brainstorming and carify the objective. Ask for questions and ook for some input to reax the group. Emphasize the importance of spontaneity and no evauation of their individua ideas during the free fow, and assure everyone there wi be time aotted to evauate a ideas afterwards. 4 Utiize a fip chart and use a vounteer as the officia recorder. It s aso a good idea to have a third person tape each page to the wa once the sheets are compete. Or, you might tape bank sheets to the wa in advance. 5 Make sure you prominenty dispay the carefuy worded objective or question on which the group wi be focusing. 6 Begin the free fow process and encourage the group members to contribute their questions quicky without evauating their own or others ideas. Aim for quantity and you soon see quaity surface during the process. If the free fow sows down, hand out paper and have each person write down an idea or two that they don t see on the sheets. Suggest that they focus on the idea aready posted on the wa, and add to it. Afterwards, each group member can read the ideas out oud to the recorder. Again, this process wi hep empoyees fee more engaged and invoved in the decision making process within the company. 61

62 Action Steps Pan a wecome party for new empoyees Create your Backup Operations Manua Make a daiy goa to find at east one empoyee doing something right, and recognizing them for it Keep on the Learning Curve Have monthy brainstorming sessions 62

63 Part 3: Turbocharge Your Customers I woud ike to begin this chapter by teing a story of extraordinary customer service. In fact, it is the singuar event in my ife that awoke me to the power and potentia of sma business and how simpe acts can make a huge impact on customers About six years ago I was doing a series of workshops, and I had an eary morning internationa fight at 7:15. The airport is a ong way from downtown, so I caed the hote front desk and asked for a cab to pick me up at 5:15 am. As you can imagine, at that hour of the morning, I seepiy strugged down to the obby, not expecting many peope to be stirring, but sure enough the cab was waiting. I cimbed into the back, and the driver greeted me in a warm, friendy way and asked, Woud you ike a cup of coffee? I said Sure! (I thought he was kidding!) He then said, Woud you 63

64 ike cream and sugar? Now he got my attention!! I said, Sure! As we were eaving the parking ot, he said, There is a reading ight behind you, sir, and I have your choice of three newspapers, the Journa, the Sun, and the Gobe and Mai. Which woud you ike? Now fuy astounded, I said, Give me the Gobe and Mai. And he did. A itte further into our trip, he asked again: I have three kinds of music here, Sir everyday, country, or cassica. Which woud ike to hear? I thought to mysef, Let me see, it s 5:15 am, I have my coffee, and the Gobe and Mai... and I said to the driver, How about some cassica music? And he gady obiged. By this time, I was competey awed by this turn of events, and since I am a customer service activist, you can imagine the impact this had on me. Then he said, Sir, I wi te you anything you woud ike to know about this city, but I wi not discuss poitics or reigion. What woud you ike to know? These were my exact words: Forgive me, but do you mind if I ask you a question? 64

65 He repied, Not at a, what woud you ike to know? Are you for rea? I asked, quite sincerey. I have traveed the word in imousines, cabs, and buses, and I have never had this kind of service!! What inspired you to bring your business to this eve? He aughed, and tod me he had read the book Raving Fans by Ken Banchard, and decided to foow the cab exampe in that book. (Hint: I recommend that book for a of you ooking for ways to deiver outstanding customer service.) From that day on he CHOSE to have the best cab in town, but when he announced this to his coeagues, they a aughed at him. He went on: However, I persisted, and it took three months for my business to turn around. You are ucky to get me at 5:15 am; I am fiing in for a friend of mine. I usuay work five days a week from 8am to 4:30 pm. I take a month off in the summer, and I am one of the highest paid cab drivers in town and most of my income is from tips, Sir. By the way, most of my business comes from referras. Here is my card, with my ce number. Pease ca when you come back to this fair city and I wi be happy to serve you by picking you up at the departure area. This amazing cab driver gave me some interesting insights on our drive to the airport. He first did a mini customer survey. How? He began asking customers what they wanted. 65

66 What a concept!! He aso understood the Law of Averages. He didn t finch when his yeow cab coeagues said, Are you nuts? Don t you know who you are? You re just a yeow cab! The customers wi stea your newspapers, they wi drink your coffee and they won t eave you any tip. Instead, he aughed. Yes, of course I get peope who take my newspaper and drink my coffee, and don t eave a tip. But I don t care. I ive the aw of averages and I understand the 80/20 rue. For the few who don t eave tips, there is the huge percentage who do. The story doesn t end there. In 2005, there was huge ruckus in Vancouver, Canada about a proposed Wamart within the city imits, and the oca radio station had me on a tak show as a neutra authority on Big Box Retai. During the show, he asked me how independent business coud differentiate themseves from Big Box stores. I tod him that Customer Service was one critica requirement. He then asked for an exampe. I tod the cab driver story, and immediatey the switchboard it up with cas. Each one of them wanted to know the phone number for the cab. Did they care about Wamart? No! They were intrigued by this customer service phenomenon, and wanted to experience it. So much for the Wamart ruckus! Now, et s face it foks, a cab is four whees and a piece of tin, nothing more. 66

67 What did this cab driver do to create such interest? He took a simpe cab ride and turned it into a unique customer experience. He added vaue to the offering, and customers are genuiney shocked and deighted by the eve of customer service. Based on that experience, his passengers virtuay throw money at him. I gave this cabbie a huge tip, and I have never tipped a cab that amount before or since. Why? Because when I ask a typica cab driver how things are going, I usuay get: Business is ousy! Nobody takes cabs anymore. Customers in this town are cheap! Too many cabs in this town! It rains too much. Too much sun!! And on and on. In one particuar cab ride, after a furry of negative comments, I asked the cab driver how ong he had been driving a cab. He spat out, 21 years!! 67

68 I remember thinking, Yikes! What kind of ife is this? Compare his attitude and a the negative comments to those of my hero Cabbie who reay understood the necessity of bocking out negative sef-tak. His favorite mantras are: I am the best cab driver in this city! My customers are the friendiest, most generous peope in the word! They eave me big tips for the extra vaue I deiver! He beieved that his words create his reaity. Unike many cabbies, he refused to entertain negative thoughts. Why? Because he understood that what we verbaize and dwe on, with emotion, is what we attract into our ife. So if you think and verbaize that your customers are rude and cheap, that is exacty what you wi attract into your business. As incredibe as it may sound, many independent business owners are so busy getting their ship in order by putting systems in pace, that they drop the ba when it comes to caring for one of the most important inks to their successfu business the customer! I don t beieve this is intentiona. I beieve that it is so obvious that it is often overooked. But, what coud be more important than turbocharging your customers? 68

69 Let me share another story with you. Recenty, I worked with some independent pharmacies in a workshop and we were brainstorming ideas on how to estabish better reationships with their best cients. Suddeny, one business owner began reating the foowing story: I ive in a sma town with severa competitors, and yet I have become something of a egend in my town. I have a simpe strategy that any retai business can do. Whenever a parent and young (five years or younger) chid enter the store, I approach them, and with the parent s approva, I crouch down beside the chid and ask in a very gente way: Hi, my name is Bi... what s your name? The chid, shy or not, wi say his or her name. (For the purposes of this story, et s say it s Stephanie ) I then say, Stephanie, do you know what day it is today? Stephanie wi then usuay shyy say, I don t know! Then I wi say, This is your Specia Day! Come with me... Then I take the chid by the hand and wak them over to a candy dispay that I specificay put together for that purpose, and hand the chid a mini pack of Smarties. Then I say, This is for you because it s your Specia Day. And remember, my name is Mister Smartie! He then tod of an incident that happened. One day he was cosing the store at 6pm and he was waking to his car. At the furthest point of 69

70 the parking ot, a mother and chid were getting into their car. The chid spotted him, ran across the parking ot, grabbed him by the eg, and said, I ove you, Mr. Smartie!! Does his method work? Are you kidding me! You shoud pray to have that happen to you in your business. He has indeed become a egend. Has he turbocharged his customers? Can you do the same for your customers? What coud be your Mister Smartie experience for your customers? What coud you do to become a egend in your community? Coud it be a compimentary coffee, a comfortabe chair, a symboic hug? Yes, a hug!! It can be as simpe as an extra smie, or an enquiry regarding their famiy or their heath. The 20/80 Rue is Aive and We in the 21st Century It is my opinion that 80% of a consumers visit Big Box Stores on a reguar or semi-reguar basis. I do not have specific evidence to support this theory, athough I subscribe fuy to Pareto s principe. If you haven t heard of it, here s Wikipedia s definition: 70

71 The Pareto principe (aso known as the rue, the aw of the vita few and the principe of factor sparsity) states that, for many events, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Business management thinker Joseph M. Juran suggested the principe and named it after Itaian economist Vifredo Pareto, who observed that 80% of income in Itay went to 20% of the popuation. It is a common rue of thumb in business; e.g., 80% of your saes come from 20% of your cients. So, et s get back to my beief that 80% of a consumers visit Big Box Stores on a reguar or semi-reguar basis. Why does this happen? The reasons are varied, and can range from Convenience for those who are time-starved ike I am, to famiies with young chidren who are on a modest income and to whom price is a determining factor, to peope who simpy beieve in the cuture of that organization, and/or foow the advice of friends. This is a very sobering statistic if you own a sma business. However, not a is ost. Let s not forget about the 20% of consumers who wi happiy support sma business, who have a strong commitment to communitybased businesses, and wi be quite prepared to pay a fair price for their purchases IF and ony IF: They fee we served, and recognized when they enter the estabishment They receive a differentiated service that the Big Box retaiers wi not, or cannot deiver. In fact, I know some consumers who wi never visit a Big Box Store for cutura reasons. Therein ies the chaenge. 71

72 I am often shocked and dismayed at the way so many sma businesses treat even their best customers. It is amost confrontationa, amost a case of us against them. When I see this, I eave the estabishment saying to mysef, What were they thinking? We have a had these experiences, and I m sure that ike me, you fee ike grabbing the business owners by the shouders, and shaking some sense into them. Now, before we get a giddy about this reveation, there is another component to this theory. That 20% I referred to earier, aso support other sma businesses in your area who, coincidentay, are probaby your direct competitors. So the race is on as to who can best show these customers how important they are to their businesses. Make no mistake, if your attitude has been something ike, If it wasn t for a these customers, I woud get so much work done around here!!, you are probaby suffering... and can t understand why business is sow, or worse, in a decine. And in the current economic cimate, this is especiay important. I recommend the foowing: Beginning immediatey, every time one of your best customers comes into your business, or cas you to make a purchase, simpy STOP everything and say to that person: (Name of customer), I just want to take a moment, and te you personay how much I appreciate your business, and aso to et you know that you hep me to survive and prosper in this competitive word. And then WAIT. It wi eave him/her speechess. Why? Because not one in a hundred business owners ever does this!! And I cannot fathom why!! Is it because they are shy? Or do they think they are demeaning themseves? 72

73 You are in business, foks, and these consumers have a mutitude of options avaiabe to them for your kind of product or service, so PLEASE understand their vaue in your business. They are ike GOLD, and shoud be treated as such. So, beginning tomorrow morning, reach out, and teach your empoyees to do the same, and you wi see immediate resuts! Add on the Benefits Customers usuay buy something to save time or to save money. Offer them an opportunity to do both, and you wi boost your saes. But offer them mutipe opportunities to do both, and you wi cause your saes to soar dramaticay. Consistenty throughout the book, you wi be reading my message that we ive in an age of time-starved consumers. Sove the probem, and you wi reap the profits. For exampe, structure your saes message to emphasize both the time saving and money saving benefits of your product or service as it reates to your customer s needs. Then incude a discount price offer if they buy before a certain deadine (more money saved). Finay, figure out how you can immediatey deiver a or some of what they are buying (more time saved). 73

74 Transaction versus Reationship- Based Business Herein ies the profound difference between the sma business owner and the Big Box retaiers: Big Box retaiers se commodities, at the owest possibe price, often as oss eaders, in order to get consumers into their stores. This is their modus operandi. It is a transaction-based business. The first determination in a sma retai business is to ceary understand the differentiation between your business and the Big Box stores. First and foremost, you are not in competition with these guys, and if you think you are, you have aready ost the batte. These guys have simpy too many resources, namey money, massive seection, strategic ocation, and corporate might, for you even to consider them in your bapark. So where does that eave you? We, you can decide that the best way to survive and prosper is to outperform them in areas where they seem to be weak or have no interest i.e. in the area of deveoping persona connections and reationships with your best customers. But I am getting ahead of mysef. In the tabe on the next page, you wi note the two different coumns under Transaction and Reationship. I wi dea with these points individuay and expain their significance in your business. 74

75 Transaction Price Commodity Minimum contact Win/Lose Reationship Vaue Service Maximum contact Win/Win No connection Ongoing No oyaty Trust & respect 75

76 Let us begin with the Transaction side of the edger. This is the area where, for the most part, the Big Box Retaiers operate with rare exceptions. Price: As you can see from the first point in the Transaction coumn, the Big Box Retaier s word is price-driven, and this is very attractive to consumers in genera. The ogic is simpe. Most peope do not earn enough to buy whatever they want, whatever the price. Pus, we are overtaxed, and therefore have ess disposabe income. For most peope, therefore, shopping for the best dea is not ony prudent, but in most cases, it s essentia. As I trave the country doing my workshops, however, I amost aways po the audience and pose the foowing question: How many of you in this room buy a product from a sma business, knowing fu we you can get it ess expensivey from a Big Box, but you buy it from the sma business because you have a reationship with somebody there, and aso because they have treated you we, and perhaps because they contribute to the community? Inevitaby, everyone in the room raises their hand. And that, foks, is the answer. However, there is a caveat: They wi ony support the business if they fee they are being romanced, recognized on a reguar basis, and have their wants and needs met in a superior way. Commodity: The next point in the Transaction coumn is Commodity. Big Box retaiers se everyday commodities, and at the cheapest possibe price. Sometimes they wi price it ow enough to be a oss eader 76

77 firsty, to get the maximum number of consumers into their stores, and secondy, they compete among what I ca the rarefied air of the Big Box, making their money on voume and not necessariy on profit per item. And make no mistake, they are very good at what they do. Shoud you be in the commodity business, then your ony advantage is to add more vaue to your offering by way of intangibes, in order to differentiate your business. Otherwise, you coud be in troube. Minimum Contact and No Connection: Aha! This is where most Big Boxes fa down, and what provides most hope to the smaer retaier/service business. As we move deeper into the impersona word of onine buying and Big Box commodity buying, the human condition is sti and wi remain one of reationship and connection. With minor exceptions, Big Box to date has not appeared to be overy keen to deveop reationships with even their best customers, for a mutipe of reasons: it is not their cuture, there is reay no time, and they are in the MERCHANDISE SELLING business. Here I refer to consumer customers rather than corporate customers. Nevertheess, some Big Boxes ike Home Depot are aso moving towards better service by offering the customer courses and training with regard to usefu projects. Their staff are aso typicay more knowedgeabe, and they cover a bases, so they are a formidabe competitor. Win/Lose: Here again, by their nature, Big Box stores attract consumers who make it a bood sport to get the best possibe price, and who wi trave mies to save a quarter. 77

78 No doubt, you have encountered this kind of consumer. You know the type. They come into your business and hagge you down unti a you are eft with is your tie and underwear, and then wak out and go esewhere because they think there is a better dea somewhere out there. I have good news for you. THEY ARE NOT YOUR CUSTOMERS. Before you start drinking doube scotches for breakfast, you are ooking for the customer who wants what you have to offer and is wiing to pay the price you ask. No Loyaty: This is the way a ot of consumers view their reationship with the Big Guys. There is very itte oyaty, due to the transaction nature of their business. The Big Guy has the product and the price, and the rest doesn t matter therefore, no oyaty. Your Business On the right side of the tabe a few pages back, you wi see the Reationship mode. This is where your turbocharging strategy originates. It is the beginning of your differentiation from the Big Boxes. A fundamenta shift must exist for you as sma retaier/service business in how you view your customers, how you fee about them, and about understanding what makes them tick. Now, et s move on to the first point namey Vaue: 78

79 Vaue: You must try, where possibe, to upgrade the quaity of your offering whether it be merchandise or service because your customer wi come to you in the future for what you offer at the top end of the scae. These are the turbocharged customers; the ones you want to attract, the ones who wi buy from you if you give them reasons to buy. Therefore, vaue is one of your key cutura components. Service: I m not taking about the ubiquitous good customer service. I am taking about jaw-dropping, can t wait to te a my friends kind of service. The kind of service that sets you so far above the norm, that you are an icon in your community. (Remember my cabbie story?) Is it possibe? You bet it is. Later, I wi give you numerous exampes of this service, in businesses that you woud not beieve possibe. So yes, it is possibe for you. Maximum Contact: By that I mean reguar, focused contact. Not the aggressive, I ve got me a ive one! contact. I am taking about seeking ways to keep in contact on a reguar basis with your best customers using common sense. I wi aso discuss this ater in greater detai. Win/Win: You provide a quaity product/service at a fair price, and the customer gets the reationship and a your vaue-adds, and is happy to 79

80 pay for that, pus refer you to a their friends and acquaintances who are ike-minded. Ongoing: Your reationship with your best customers is ongoing. These peope are vauabe to you, and the onus is on you to keep in touch with them on a reguar basis. I wi aso discuss this in greater detai ater. Trust and Respect: You deveop a eve of mutua trust and respect with your best customers over time. They respect and trust you in a your deaings, and you create and maintain that cuture through your day-to-day business. A Compaint is a Gift and an Opportunity The Research Institute of America, which conducted a study for the White House Office of Consumer Affairs, sheds some ight on the devastating consequences of poor customer service: The average business wi hear nothing from 96% of unhappy customers who receive rude or discourteous treatment. 90% of those who are dissatisfied with the service they receive wi not come back or buy again. Each of those unhappy customers wi te their story to at east nine other peope, and 13% wi reate their taes of woe to over 20 peope. 80

81 For every compaint received, the average company has 26 customers with probems, six of which they consider serious probems. Ony 4% of unhappy customers bother to compain. For every compaint you hear, 24 others go uncommunicated to your company, but not uncommunicated to other potentia customers. Of customers who register a compaint, between 54% and 70% wi do business again with your firm if their compaint is resoved. The figure rises to 95% if the customer fees the compaint was resoved quicky. It takes tweve positive incidents to make up for one negative incident in the eyes of your customers. YIKES!! Isn t that scary? Aren t those a great reasons to turbocharge your customers? Here s a suggestion: next time a customer makes a compaint, try to see it as a wonderfu opportunity to improve your business. Thank the compainant for the courage to step forward and make their voice known, and appreciate the fact that now you have the opportunity to wow them and create an evangeist for your business. What is the True Vaue of your Best Customers? How we do you know your cients and customers? Since they re the ones who wi make your business a success or faiure, I suggest it s in your interests to get to know them reay we. 81

82 Here are some suggestions: 1. Describe your idea turbocharged customer. Get specific. If necessary, take time to observe your customers from this new perspective, and identify the best ones. Ask yoursef: What are their key characteristics? What is their age group? Gender? What are their frustrations? What is their eve of wiingness to share that information with you? What is their preferred communication channe? For some, it is by emai, for others, snaimai, and for others a store advertising fyer. For sti others, it might be through socia media. How often do they visit your store? Do you know and greet them by name? Do they vaue expertise, and are they wiing to pay a premium for good service? Or are they transactiona buyers who ony care about price? (a a Big Box Stores) How ong have they been your customer/cient? 2. Guesstimate how much your idea turbocharged customer wi buy from you during the entire buyer/seer reationship. For exampe, you re a niche retaier/service provider, and et s say, a typica customer stays with you for two years, and they are buying goods or services from you to the vaue of $200 a month, then their current 82

83 ifetime direct transaction vaue is $200 x 24 months = $4,800. But wait... that is ony part of the story. 3. Guesstimate how much business each customer or cient wi refer to you over the next two years. Let s say the typica customer/cient sends you one new cient every two years, and that new customer/cient aso purchases goods/services worth $200 a month. That s $4,800 in referra vaue. 4. Add the two figures. The true ifetime customer vaue, incuding referras and direct transactiona vaue, is therefore $9,600. Therein ies an important criterion for independent business. It is my observation that most independent businesses underestimate this simpe fact, and they negect to cacuate the overa vaue of their best cients. As I mentioned previousy, my bet is that you wi be shocked when you discover how sma a percentage of your tota business is represented by your best cients and you wi be equay shocked to discover how arge a percentage their ong-term contribution to your business is. Aren t those a great reasons to reay turbocharge your customers? It coud make a HUGE difference in your business. 83

84 Action Steps Determine who the 20% of your customers are that do 80% of your business Determine the ong-term vaue of this 20% segment Brainstorm ideas on how to add more perks for these customers Brainstorm ideas how to create your own persona Mr Smartie experience in your business 84