It’s The Little Things That Count
You can lose a deal on
something as simple as getting someone’s name wrong.
I recently received a message from someone with whom I’ve
been a LinkedIn contact for about a year.
We knew each other when I was working in a different country and he was
asking me to look at a new service his company offers which provides profiles
of individuals whom I might meet.
He started off by addressing me by my family name (no “Mr”
in front). To be fair, my family name could be a first name, but if he can’t
get my name right when selling me a service to profile individuals, how
accurate is the profile likely to be? With
no more than two words (Dear and the wrong name), this contact has just blown
his credibility.
Surely it doesn't matter, right? We all make mistakes and we’re all
human. True, but what impression do you
think you're giving someone whose business you want? If you can’t even get their name right,
they’re likely to assume that you’ll be equally as careless with their business. Remember, there are others out there who are
asking for their business as well - and they might get the name right! You never get a second chance to make a first
impression, as they say…
All-too often, we give people an excuse to discard our proposal
with our opening statement or salutation.
It’s easy to avoid this however through one simple process: research.
Research your target.
Everyone is busy and has lots of salesmen/women calling them to pitch
their product or service. All of them
will look and sound the same (and a few will also get names wrong). How will you stand out? You need to know:
- Who’s the “person with the problem”? They may not be the person
you think you should contact.
- What is their real problem? Make sure you understand it perfectly. It may involve a preliminary meeting or more.
- What steps (if any) have they taken to solve it in the past? Have they gone to another provider, for
example? If so, what was the result?
- How does your product service respond to their actual need/problem in a way that no other does
(i.e. is it cheaper/safer/faster/more convenient/more reliable, etc)?
- How valuable is that solution to the target? You may have the best solution ever, but if
the target perceives no value in it,
you need to restate it in terms of values that they do understand.
- Do they have a budget
to pay for your solution? Does your
solution meet it? Can you and/or they
negotiate?
- Is the person to whom you're speaking the one who can commit to buying the solution, or do
they have to seek higher approval?
- If so, what do
they need to get it?
- How long will it take?
You may also need to meet the “decision -maker”.
- Is anyone else involved in the “buying process”?
- How will they pay (cheque, bank transfer) and when?
- What “after sales” support will they need?
A friend of mine says that you should never think of your
product/service in terms of features and benefits, but in terms of “what
problem does this solve for my customer?”
People are most flattered by what appeals to their needs.
Your research will tell you what their problem is, what they
have done about it in the past, how much they’ll pay for a quality solution and
what you need to do to show that you can solve it better than anyone else.
I have spent more than half my life
delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to
“emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services
industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I
started my own Performance Management Consultancy to offer solutions for
improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses,
charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An
international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be
asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.Labels: Customer Care, Leadership, Productivity, Selling, Strategy, Teamwork
Project Management : Making It Happen
I see more and more recruitment
adverts for people with experience in “project management” which tells me one
thing – this is an essential part of management as change becomes ever more
prevalent and companies adapt to a faster pace.
I’ve managed projects myself, and know others who are much
more knowledgeable in this art (or is it a science?), but what I’ve seen in my
time is that you need to:
Ask “Why Are We Doing
This”?
Usually, projects have a reason – to improve efficiency,
raise quality, increase revenues or profitability, introduce a new system, or
any another purpose. Make sure you know why you’re embarking on this adventure.
Define the “Owner”:
Who owns the project (i.e. wants it done)? This will usually be a head of department, function
or of a company. Can they make things
happen if obstacles arise?
Define The Objective:
How will you get there if you don’t know what the end result
looks like? This is known as an overall
specification and needs to be set firmly, but allow for unforeseen events. Often, people start work without asking,
“what do we want this to look like in the end?” and ended up starting over,
going over budget, or both. This becomes
the “Scope” of the project (see below).
Refine The Objective
– Deliverables:
What is actually needed to make sure that the objective is
achieved? This could be premises,
people, processes, systems, changes in the way the business does things - any
number of items which all need to fit together by a certain time. Again, these form part of the “Scope”.
Deliver the
Deliverables:
What needs to happen and when to deliver each part of the
project? Break it down into steps
(Post-It notes are great for this!).
Starting at the end and working backwards
is the best way to do this.
Establish
Dependencies:
What needs to happen before something else can? If something needs to end before something
else can start, how do you make sure that things proceed according to
plan? The “Critical Path” consists of
the deliverables, targets or steps that must
be delivered or met before others can
begin. Any one of these can derail the
whole project.
Allocate Time And
Resources:
How much time will
it all take? What resources are needed (people, systems, cash, equipment)? Are they available? How will you get them? Do you need to hire in extra staff,
plant/machinery? How much will it cost?
Allocate Funding:
Everything costs time, money and effort. How much will this be? Will it all be worth the end result? Sometimes, the cost outweighs the benefits -
a good reason not to proceed. Allow for
“unforeseen expenses”. When will funds
actually be needed? Many projects come
in over budget/behind schedule because of poor financial planning in the first
place.
Allocate Responsibilities:
Who will do what and by when? Are they clear on what they
have to do? Do they have the resources
and authority? What do they do if something goes wrong? How
do they report progress? Does everyone involved know who's doing what?
Remember “Murphy’s
Law” (Contingency Planning):
What could go wrong?
How will you put it right? What
“early warning systems” can you put in place to alert you to problems before they
become crises?
Get Support:
Get support – from management above (approval), those at the
same level as you (agreement) and from those who report to you or are junior to
you (acceptance). This is where many
projects founder due to lack of support or commitment from whichever level.
Respect The
Scope/Time/Cost Relationship:
Depending on the “scope”, you will need more or less time
and resources to complete it, so it’s important to define it properly at the
outset. If you want to get things done
faster, (reduce the “time” element of the project), you will need more resources, which will increase costs.
If you want to reduce costs, you have to reduce either the scope (accept a reduced outcome) or resources
(increasing time to complete).
Review, Review,
Review:
Projects don’t manage themselves. Review progress regularly: what has happened, what is happening and what is due to
happen. How will you track
progress? What meetings will you hold,
with whom and when? What information
will you need to track progress? Who
will deliver it, how and when? Who will
help if delays occur? How will you
measure success? Again, have an “early
warning system” to alert you of potential problems before they become
disasters.
Celebrate Success;
Both when you achieve “milestones” and at the end. It’s great for morale.
I have spent more than half my life
delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to
“emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services
industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I
started my own Performance Management Consultancy to offer solutions for
improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses,
charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An
international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of
services. For strategic questions that
you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.Labels: Career, Leadership, Productivity, Strategy, Teamwork
Do People Leave Leaders, Not Companies?
A sentiment with which
I strongly sympathise is that people leave leaders, not companies. However, should we always blame the leader?
Just as the leader can set a positive tone, they can set a
negative one. It may not actually be the
fault of the leader that this is happening.
We often “appoint” people into leadership positions without training
them for it, so it is just as much the business’ fault that they find staff
leaving.
Ironically, one often hears companies saying “People are our
most valuable assets), but never really acting in such a way to prove this is
the case. The “people” are both the
leaders and those whom they lead.
It’s not a case of paying more or giving more benefits to
make up for deficient leaders. American
psychologist Frederick Herzberg found that there were two groups of drivers
that affected people. These he
classified as “Hygiene Factors” and “Motivators”. Interestingly enough, when you look at the
list of what are considered “Hygiene Factors”, they bear a close resemblance to
the usual “tools” that businesses use, namely:
- Salary
- Work conditions
- Status
- Policy
- “Perks” (e.g. company car)
- Security
“Hygiene Factors” are the more “intangible” reasons that
make people want to work for a
particular business and or leader, such as:
- Achievement
- Recognition
- Responsibility
- Interesting & rewarding work
- Advancement
- Personal Growth
Looking at these, it seems to me that leaders are
responsible for the motivators and HR for the rest…
So when staff leave for “motivational” reasons, what does
that tell us? It means they’re not
getting enough recognition/responsibility/opportunities for personal growth,
etc. They may say that they’re leaving
for a better salary and/or a better position in another organisation, but what
this tells you is that your business or their leader or both haven’t been on
the ball in terms of motivators. There
are plenty of cases of people who have been offered higher
salaries/promotions/both but have turned them down. Why?
Because they felt that they wouldn’t get the recognition/responsibility/advancement,
etc that their current organisation or leader provides.
Some people will quit for a few dollars/pounds more
somewhere else, but it suggests that they value their own needs as humans at a
low price.
Businesses need to understand the theories of Abraham Maslow
(another American psychologist) who identified a human “hierarchy of needs”
which consisted of:
- Physiological (food, clothing, shelter)
- Safety (freedom from physiological & psychological
harm).
- Belonging & love (feeling valued, positive
relationships)
- Self-esteem & confidence (achieve, gain approval &
recognition, trust others…)
- Self-actualisation (develop talent to full)
Notice any similarity between the final three and Herzberg’s
“motivators”? For me, they seem
remarkably similar. Once a human decides
that they’re physically safe, they look for the higher things in life. Why do you think that “vision” is such a
powerful tool?
Leaders need to understand this and to be trained as
leaders. Some are “naturals”, others
will need more support as they settle into a role. Otherwise, people will leave the leader, but it will be the business' fault...
I have spent more than half my life
delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to
“emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services
industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I
started my own Performance Management Consultancy to offer solutions for
improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses,
charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An
international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of
services. For strategic questions that
you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.Labels: Career, Leadership, Teamwork
The Leader Sets The Tone
“Do as I say” or “Do
as I do”? With some leaders, it’s fairly
obvious. Whatever they do and however
they behave, you don’t.
The more the question of “leadership” is studied, the more
we understand how NOT to do things. There
are still, sadly, people in leadership positions who don’t understand the
impact that their behaviour has on those who work for them and therefore, by
extension, their customers. “The fish”
as they say, “rots from the head”.
I often use this lack of awareness to distinguish between a
“boss” and a “leader”. Bosses aren't
aware of the impact they have. Leaders
are. Bosses use their “hierarchical
authority” to get things done; leaders draw people along with them. Bosses can threaten to fire you; leaders make
you want to do things. Bosses get the
bare minimum necessary to get the job done; leaders get extraordinary results
from ordinary people.
Now widen the circle.
Say you have a boss in charge of a business that relies on customer
service to provide its revenues. What
sort of service will customers see? In
some cases, it may not matter (if, for example, that business is a “monopoly
provider”), but in others, it will.
Customers can tell from the way your staff behave how well led they are,
and whether they’re driven by dread or by desire. The banking crisis of 2008-9 proved that
incentivising staff by means of higher bonuses or fear of losing their jobs led
them to behave in a way that brought the system to its knees.
The effects of ”Boss Behaviour” can be seen in how staff
treat:
- Each other
- Customers
- Others outside the business
In the end, it will impact
your business.
Think of the different businesses with which you interact:
how do you think the staff there are treated?
Yes, you can teach
your staff how to be nice to customers
through so-called “Customer Service Training” courses, but if you as a
leader treat them badly, that time, expense and effort spent in training is
simply wasted.
So how does a “boss” become a “leader”? Simply by treating others as he or she would
wish to be treated themselves. Get to
know them as human beings: their motivations, hopes, worries. Too many bosses view their staff as being
there to get things done, forgetting that they’re human beings as well.
I have spent more than half my life
delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to
“emerging” economies. With more than 20 years in the world financial services
industry running different service, operations and lending businesses, I
started my own Performance Management Consultancy to offer solutions for
improving performance, productivity and risk management. I work with individuals, small businesses,
charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international
speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email . My website provides a full picture of my portfolio of
services. For strategic questions that
you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.Labels: Career, Customer Care, Leadership, Strategy, Teamwork
