Be Different or be dead

November 22, 2021

Why the frontline leader should be more important than the CEO

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Why the frontline leader should be more important than the CEO.

Results are delivered by your frontline.

Customer loyalty is controlled by your frontline.

Dazzling customer moments are orchestrated by your frontline.

First impressions are delivered by your frontline.

The imperfections in your business processes are masked by your frontline.

Lasting relationships depend on your frontline.

Frontline job satisfaction depends on the frontline leader not the CEO, not the Operations executive and not the EVP of Human Resources.

Therefore the frontline leader in any organization is of the utmost strategic importance and deserves a disproportionate priority by upper management.

Furthermore, these leader positions should demand a careful and rigorous recruitment process that ensures the most skilled and competent people are awarded custodianship of the frontline.

Does your organization:

▪️have insanely tough credentials for frontline leader positions?

▪️engage frontline employees themselves in team targeted interviews for this position?

▪️actively engage frontline people in selecting people to whom they will report in this position?

▪️have an incredibly detailed recruitment process for frontline leader roles?

▪️recognize this leader as a top notch role that requires support from the rest of the organization?

▪️fill these positions with accomplished servers as opposed to technical experts?

▪️honour a chosen frontline leader with wide-spread internal communication?

▪️include a frontline leader assignment in the career path plan for high potential employees?

▪️have ongoing recognition events to honour the best of these leaders?

Successful organizations recognize the frontline leader as their ‘guardians of strategy execution’ and give them the critical attention they deserve.

Do you?

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

‘Audacious’ is my latest…

• Posted 11.22.21 at 01:00 am by Roy Osing
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November 15, 2021

Is it possible that COVID is actually improving customer service?

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Is it possible that COVID is actually improving customer service?

I’ve seen it, actually seen it. And it’s quite incredible to witness.

Customer service seems to be changing and COVID could be a significant driver for what I hope is a permanent metamorphosis.

Desperation is an amazing motivator, and COVID exposed it as most businesses fight for their survival.

COVID has definitely forced businesses to act out of desperation to save themselves.

Lockdowns, capacity restrictions and vaccine requirements have all reduced the volume of business available.

And as organizations looked for ways to morph their business into something sustainable, one thing became remarkably clear: returning customers and customer referrals were desperately critical to their survival.

It’s amazing to me that this sudden realization hit business owners between the eyes, because it’s always been the case—it’s not a new concept. It shows, however, that in ‘normal’ times businesses are tempted to take their customers for granted and assume their loyalty can be counted on to deliver healthy financial returns.

When the wind blows even a turkey can fly.

COVID changed all that. The natural ‘winds’ of a relatively stable customer base and healthy economy had all but died, and businesses were collapsing with revenues in free fall.

That’s when many of them woke up and realized in an act of desperation that serving their customers in a more positive way was the way to stay alive.

For me, it’s incredibly perverse to characterize providing caring customer service as a ‘desperate act’, but for many businesses I think it actually was.

Up to the pandemic, businesses in general could be relatively successful by providing less than desirable—shabby—service and then COVID shocked them into realizing that better service was needed to survive the maelstrom they faced.

Brilliant customer service isn’t about a single act—the silver bullet—but is rather a number of small compelling acts practised consistently everyday.

Since the onset of COVID, I’ve noticed many businesses make these small moves and nudge their service levels just a wee bit higher:

#1. Tone of service

People seem to be more friendly. Everyone seems to have a common sense of purpose so it’s more natural for customer service employees to be kind and have empathy for the customer in front of them.
The conversation is more caring with a friendly tone that is rare when people share little or nothing in common.

#2. Flexibility

There is more of a willingness on the part of businesses to be more open to accommodate someone’s request for something special that doesn’t fit within the rules and policies of the business.

A special pick up arrangement, booth location at a restaurant or timing for a dinner reservation are now handled with more of the customer’s wants in mind rather than conforming to the organization’s standard procedures.

#3. The apology

I’ve noticed that ”I’m sorry” is used a lot in conversation when customers don’t get what they’ve been promised.

Rather than almost a dismissive attitude on the part of the business when they’ve screwed one of their customers over, COVID seems to have introduced a much softer business approach with their willingness to accept some responsibility when things go wrong and to engage with the customer in finding a mutually satisfactory resolution.

#4. Speed

The pandemic business is driven to increase product or service turnover, moving whatever inventory they have to the hands of the buyer as quickly as possible. It’s how sales can be maintained.

The result is that customers are able to get what they want perhaps a bit quicker—notwithstanding the supply chain issues faced by businesses today to get the inventory they need—than previously experienced.

#5. Quality

There is a strong need for a business to ‘do it right the first time’ when it comes to delivering a product or service to their customer.
Any mistake made by the business in meeting the customer’s expectations results in rework and added costs (which they can Ill afford) that go with fixing the mistake, so there’s a strong motivation to avoid repetitive work to get it right.

Customers obviously benefit under these conditions; they get what they want, when they want it.

#6. Technology

To reduce personal contact as much as possible, many businesses have gone to using texting as the communication tool to engage with their customers.

During a recent stay—maintaining social distancing or course—at Marriott’s Lagoons in Kauai, we were asked to text whatever in room service we need and a bag was hanging on our door knob in 15 minutes. Awesome!
They called it their Assistance at your fingertips service. It was friendly (with the tasteful and fun use of emoji’s), responsive and safe. I think it’s a brilliant blueprint for others to follow for the hospitality in-room services application.

Finally…

I’m not saying that businesses are now delivering great customer service because of COVID. Businesses have a long way to go in my view to raise their service game beyond, in some cases, mediocrity and achieve a level of brilliance that is acknowledged as such by the people they serve.

What I AM saying, however, is that COVID just may have sensitized businesses to take care of their customers a little better, and maybe—just maybe—it will be looked back upon as a point of inflection that foreshadowed real change in the way customer service is delivered.

Or maybe it’s just wishful thinking on my part.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

‘Audacious’ is my latest…

• Posted 11.15.21 at 03:47 am by Roy Osing
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November 13, 2021

3 necessary actions business owners should take to deal with a scandal

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3 necessary actions business owners should take to deal with a scandal.

The potential for scandal has always been a concern for business owners. However, this is somewhat more pronounced in the contemporary commercial landscape.

The tools of our digital age have not only made information more readily available for consumers to scrutinize, but social media has made problems more shareable. Information about a scandal in your business can spread around the world in seconds.

It’s important to handle a scandal swiftly and correctly. An unaddressed controversy can haunt your business. But it can be challenging to know how best to go about this.

Let’s explore a few ways you can best approach handling a scandal.

#1. Prioritize transparency

Among the most common mistakes businesses make following a scandal, is to desperately try to minimize it. This could involve attempts at a full cover-up or perhaps delivering messaging to suggest the impact of the scandal is not as serious as it is in reality.

However, whatever the nature of the scandal, it is vital that your first step is to be honest. While the event itself may be embarrassing, full transparency is the only way to meaningfully rebuild trust with your consumers, staff, and the community. 

This begins with clear communication. Make a straightforward announcement across all your channels — this should include your social media accounts and website, as well as traditional platforms.

Be open about what the initial knowledge is about the problem and the effect it may have. Importantly, you then need to set expectations for further communications. This could be setting timelines for any further investigations that need to occur or the progression of mitigating actions.

If there are any elements of the unknown, be clear about this and establish how you’ll approach information gathering. Give your staff, consumers, and the public confidence that you are keeping them in the loop.

Along with your communications, you need to put in place access to key materials to support greater transparency and could prevent future similar scandals.

A good example here is the problems that can occur when a private party or business is suddenly in receipt of a large amount of wealth.
It can be easy to make mistakes revolving around the treatment of these funds, particularly in meeting the relevant tax obligations and protecting stakeholders’ assets.

Following a mismanagement scandal, it can be helpful to make resources about the true financial status and actions of the company available to relevant stakeholders.
Provide yearly reports to the public. Businesses are often hesitant to share this kind of information, but it can do wonders for establishing trust.

#2. Adjust your practices

Successfully handling a scandal isn’t about paying lip service to culpability or placating disappointed stakeholders. You can’t just hold out until the worst of the situation has passed and then put your efforts into marketing your way back into prominence.

Contemporary consumers and employees expect to see real and lasting change from businesses following this kind of setback. Understanding and implementing these adjustments is an area where you should be focusing your efforts.

Look inwardly at your company’s culture and ethics. While individual actions may have been directly to blame for a scandal, it is often an ineffective or weak set of core company values that gives such behavior space to breed and thrive.

By examining your approach to your business ethics and being willing to adjust you have a route to affecting meaningful cultural change. This not only manages the current scandal but also lays the groundwork for preventing them in the future.

It can be helpful to engage with a professional that specializes in business ethics so your company can gain greater clarity on how employee interactions, fair treatment, and corporate social responsibility should factor into operations.

Whether they’re an external consultant or a new member of leadership, their insights into designing and implementing ethical frameworks can be instrumental in your recovery. Importantly, their insights should be treated not just as an immediate solution.

You need to work with them to make sure changes are sustainable over the course of years and design periodic assessments to gauge efficacy. 

#3. Be accountable

Perhaps above all else, it is vital you fully accept responsibility for the scandal as a business owner. No matter what kind of leadership style you favor for your business, at the end of the day all business owners share a single trait.

You hold ultimate responsibility for the actions of your company and employees. You need to treat a scandal within your organization as though you as a business leader have caused it personally.

To start to recover from the problem, consumers want to see you’re being accountable for the controversial behavior. 

Take your lumps with gratitude. Accept that the fallout of this issue isn’t just something your company could have been damaged by. It has also given you the tools and impetus to make it better. Seek out meaningful ways you can make reparations (205) to those who may have been injured or otherwise negatively impacted by the events.

An important part of addressing a scandal is to consider it from the mindset of the customer or employee affected. Seek to understand what they need from your company in order to be indemnified for their losses or address their trauma. Part of your recovery is helping them recover. 

Even once you’ve addressed the immediate impact of the scandal, you have to remember that accountability should be an ongoing practice.

Establish an open dialogue with your consumers and staff members. Invite them to reach out if they feel you or the company is not upholding its ethical standards. This shows that you accept the faults of your past and appreciate their role in helping you be better in the future.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, experiencing a scandal is a reality for many businesses and it can be a damaging influence. It’s important to understand that handling these issues is about making genuine efforts.

This includes being transparent in your communications, adopting meaningful change, and establishing a culture of accountability. It’s not easy to get past a scandal, but when you do the work you can not just move on from the problem but come back stronger.

— Jori Hamilton is an experienced writer residing in the Pacific Northwest U.S. She covers a wide range of topics but takes a particular interest in covering topics related to wellness and mental health. To learn more about Jori, you can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

• Posted 11.13.21 at 04:43 am by Roy Osing
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November 8, 2021

How the best salespeople find customers who are leaning their way

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How the best salespeople find customers who are leaning their way.

What’s a ‘leaner’?

It’s a prospect that’s leaning your way after having heard your ’un-sales’ pitch over a rather lengthy engagement period.

And it’s a prospect that, once they fall your way, will never have to be sold again.
They’re all in with you and the organization you represent. They believe you and they trust you. They are convinced that you will forever look after their best interests. They treat you as family, that’s how strong the bond is between them and you.

And as a result they believe you when you tell them that you need a new solution to a persistent problem they have. They believe you when you say a significant new investment in your product will deliver an order of magnitude increase in productivity.

They’re on cruise control with you in the driver’s seat (at least until you do something stupid that destroys all the currency you’ve built up with them).

How does this happen? How do you as a salesperson spot a leaner and secure them as advocates?

1. Look for the cream

You need a high potential leaner because the time and effort you devote to them must have a big potential payback if it’s to make any sense at all.

Work with your marketing colleagues to develop a list of leaner candidates; those targets—The WHO—with the potential to generate substantial additional revenue for the organization.

Start with a list of 10 high potential leaders; don’t try and boil the ocean by having a list longer than you can reasonably manage.

2. Hunt for the fox

This is where you need good detective work to identify the person in each top 10 organization you should be paying attention to.

The fox is the one who will be making the buying decisions and who will decide whether you get the business or not, so be sure they are the right person in the client’s organization you should be dealing with.

It’s important that you don’t spray your efforts among many people in the target organization; focus on the fox to ensure your efforts are justly rewarded.

3. Discover what they crave

The innermost desires of people - what they crave - are powerful influencing agents, far stronger than what they ‘need’ so you need to put in the time to find them.

Fox cravings are essential beacons that will allow the salesperson to make inroads quickly to establish credibility and trust with the leaner.

Everyone else will be generally looking for client needs which are basic and quite frankly boring client requirements—inventory, communication, CRM, and financial systems for example. These relate to basic operational matters rather than the specific wants and desires of the fox, which could be completely different.

They may have a specific problem, on the other hand, that they want solved to make their life easier and more pleasant in performing their immediate role. If you can discover what this craving is, you will differentiate yourself from the hungry sales pack and be in the best position to capture their affection.

4. Know their strategy better than they do

To be successful with any business client, you have to understand their business plan at a granular level to really appreciate the problems and opportunities available to you.

So, take the time to study their plan and to translate it in terms of what it means to the fox and their operations.

Generally foxes are too busy running their operations and don’t spend the time determining how they specifically relate to the overall strategic game plan of the organization, so if you help them develop the critical few priorities they should be concentrating on to make the greatest strategic impact, you will be ‘a friend for life’ and earn their loyalty.

5. The devil’s in the details

People are generally impressed with someone who can remember details, particularly about them and the issues they face and to capture their attention and have them lean in your direction requires that you are concerned with more than their ‘big picture’.

Pay attention to the micro matters surrounding the fox. Make copious notes on ‘pinch points’ that define their reality so you can study them and come up with potential solutions.

First, the fact that you are paying attention to the small stuff and second, that you are offering viable solutions will make you that special salesperson who gets more learners than anyone else.

6. Keep your promises

Strong relationships are moulded by placing more emphasis on the fox as a person than on the organization as a whole.

Loyalty isn’t commanded from a business, it’s earned from the way an individual inside the organization is treated and served.

And at the most fundamental level, it’s about keeping promises. How do you rate as a promise-keeper? When you promise your fox to do something, do you always deliver as promised? Or do you keep some and make others?

Or, so you even know what your promise-keeping performance is? You need to keep track of the promises you make and the promises you keep. Make it a daily discipline and ask your fox for feedback on how well you are doing.

Looking for and capturing a leaner isn’t rocket science; it’s about doing the no-nonsense little things that make a big difference.

You won’t find leaner-gathering tactics in a classic sales textbook, they’re learned from ‘in the trenches’ real life experience.

Cheers,
Roy
Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

‘Audacious’ is my latest…

• Posted 11.8.21 at 05:06 am by Roy Osing
• Permalink