Actions Speak
“Actions speak louder than words” is a mantra that I firmly believe in in the business world. We judge people by their behaviour whether in a business or private setting.
If we see someone being aggressive and forthright in a business setting, we tend to assume that’s what they’re always like. Period. From personal experience, I find I tend to adopt different personalities depending on the situation, and just to confuse things, the same situation at different times may see different personalities. As they say, “it depends.”
So knowing this about myself, do I make allowances for others? Sadly, at times, no. Do they make them for me? Some may, some may not, others almost certainly don’t (a bit like me). Ask several people what they think about person X and don't be surprised if you get several different answers as everyone may have had different experiences.
Whether we like it or not, people will judge us by what we do. For me, if someone says they’ll do something, I expect them to do it. I know that things may delay them, and if this is the case, as long as they let me know, that’s fine. Life doesn't always happen the way we expect it to (but don’t let the time management experts hear you say that).
Our reputation in the business world is what will sustain us. If we’re known for being reliable, punctual in delivery and delivering on-budget, we’ll always have contracts. If the opposite holds true, what’s the likely result?
I’ve seen certain individuals who consistently show themselves unreliable in a private setting, and yet seem to be successful in business. There may be an inconsistency between their “business persona” and their “private persona”. For them, the business is what counts, whereas private life is where they loosen up and relax.
Do we have different personae, or are we be consistent? Which works for us?
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 international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide 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 websiteprovides 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, Strategy, Teamwork
Keep your Customer Credibility
In any business, there’s a product or service that someone wants to sell, and a customer who wants to buy it. The trick is to understand when someone wants your product/service or whether you should walk away.
I had an interesting experience recently which taught me about my naivete as well as that some people can't take a hint. Someone reached out to me on LinkedIn asking to be on my contact list. He was the CEO of an organisation that I’d heard of (having worked in that country – information which was on my LinkedIn profile) and I was flattered that he should want to link in.
I accepted and within 24 hours received a message offering me an “Investment Opportunity” in the country concerned. Given the status of the sender, I politely declined the offer, thinking that would be the end of it.
I received another message, this time asking me for my email address to which more information could be sent. At this point I removed the person from my contacts list and blocked him, worried that he might reach out to others on my network with the same offer.
We only have one chance to make an impression. We’re taught in “Sales School” that we have to be persistent but if someone says “no”, it’s time to withdraw gracefully. If we fail to spot the signs, we risk losing another (better) opportunity in the future with that customer, or the chance that they will recommend us to someone else who may need what we have even more.
Selling is a tough game at the best of times. Everyone’s style is different and I continue to learn both by my mistakes and those of others who approach me. My mantra has always been to approach others as I would wish to be approached.
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 international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide 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 websiteprovides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Selling, Strategy
How Do You Work?
When dealing with another organisation, it literally pays to know how they work, particularly when it comes to getting paid.
A client recently came away from a client meeting very frustrated. When I talked to him about what had happened, it seemed that he had been asked a lot of questions about a quotation he had submitted for more services to the same client.
What was the problem? They obviously had a good relationship if he was being asked to provide even more services to them, but his proposal had resulted in a slew of questions. On looking at what had happened, it wasn’t the overall price that was the problem, but rather the way it had been put together.
This client liked consistency. The problem was that my client had included expense categories that weren’t part of the overall contract, but showed how he had reached the price that the client was happy with. The person my client was talking to was the one who had to put the proposal up to his bosses, and it seemed that they were the ones who would compare this pricing with previous pricing. (albeit without understanding the logic of why it was so stated) and ask the “junior” what this all meant. The junior was simply trying to forestall these questions and suggest that my client re-submit the proposal but set out in a format more consistent with what had gone before.
In other cases, the approval process for an invoice can vary. Sometimes we need to send it direct to the client’s accounts department, at others to the person who is in charge of “our” contract. Sending it to the “wrong” person may cause delays as it makes its way (sometimes very slowly) to the correct party.
Understanding our clients’ way of doing things means we get deals approved faster and paid faster as well. “Every client is different” and it’s vital that we understand these differences, particularly if we are small businesses. The bigger the business, the more “bureaucracy” we’re likely to encounter as our clients’ approval processes (usually designed by lawyers, accountants and compliance managers whose focus is on explaining to auditors and regulators why things are so) have to be satisfied.
We need to be as flexible as we can and understand as much as possible in advance. Much of this comes from asking the “right” questions if we can, but a lot will come from experience, trial and error and is part of the great game of business dealings.
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 international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide 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 websiteprovides a full picture of my portfolio of services. For strategic questions that you should be asking yourself, follow me at @wkm610.
Labels: Customer Care, Financial, Selling
