When given the opportunity to work with my clients’ team members in one-on-one coaching or training workshops, I endeavor to instill in them an attitude and mental mindset of a business owner. I truly believe that regardless of one’s position in a company, she must act and think like it’s her name on the door. I provide her with the ideas, tools and proven business principles that successful individuals and businesses use to achieve high levels of success.
I believe that every member of any company is responsible for these four things…
- Attracting new customers
- Retaining existing customers and building loyalty with them
- Increasing business with existing customers to provide a full-service experience
- Reducing expenses (to help improve profits) and improving efficiency
Most members of an organization genuinely have a desire to do a great job. The opportunity lies in helping them understand how business works and how they specifically contribute to the success of the organization. Building on basics, everyone needs to know exactly what they can do every day that accomplishes all four of the above objectives.
For example: A receptionist provides a very important role in a company and can learn to attract new business by encouraging people she knows and meets, while living her life, to use her company’s products and services. She can bring in leads for the sales professionals. When she answers the phone and greets customers and visitors to the office, she can make them feel warm, welcomed and important. She can take a personal interest in them and be knowledgeable, professional and efficient. This will help make the customers want to keep coming back (customer retention) and send new business through word-of-mouth advertising (attract new business). If trained to all of this, the receptionist can also look for ways to identify areas where her company can provide additional products and services that the customer is not already using or may not know exist. She can then do a warm transfer to someone within the organization who is more knowledgeable about these areas (increase business with existing customers).
To accomplish the above requires that it be written into team members’ roles and responsibilities as part of their jobs and expectations of what “a good job looks like”. They then need to be developed and trained on how to accomplish these things because it will be different from person to person based on their role in the company.
If employees were worked with and trained as partners, how would it impact company communications? Goals? Attitudes and morale? Expectations? Overall results?
Try it to find out. If you do, I’d love to hear back from you. If you’d like help, get in touch with me.