Have you ever sat and watched a fly buzz around banging into the window wanting to get out of the house? The fly will keep hitting that window until the day he dies. It only wants to get outside into the big bright wide open world and explore, yet it continuously does the same thing over-and-over again. The fly’s results never change because it doesn’t have the capacity to see the bigger picture. The fly will continue to hit the window not knowing that if it just fly’s down to the bottom of the glass, the window is open, so the fly keeps on hitting the glass expecting a different result, this is the definition of insanity.
Do your employees act like the fly at the window? Is your business performing the same tasks day-in and day-out expecting different results? Do your employees have the capacity to see the bigger picture or are they stuck in complacency not really seeing the big bright wide open world that awaits them individually or collectively? Every business has the capacity to grow beyond its current physical size, yet the physical size of your business is dependent upon your customer base.
Therefore to grow your business you must grow the mindset and aspirations of the people that represent you. Once your employees can see the bigger picture and see benefits that directly impact them in positive ways will you begin to move forward and find success as a business entity? This starts with a plan that is customer centric, forward thinking and creative.
One of the first places to start is the five foot rule. The five foot rule basically means that any employee who comes into visual contact with a customer asks them, “Have you been looked after”, or “Is there something I can help you with”. This is powerful and your customers will notice it right away. Customers do not want to feel ignored, forgotten or feel like just another number. Your customers are your bread and butter and that of your employees, yet your employees for the most part feel that customers are your responsibility, not theirs.
The general sense of most employees is that it is the job of the business to attract new business, keep existing business and promote the business. This mindset to me is the fly at the window not able to see the bigger picture. To me the employees ARE the business and if your employees want a big bright future they must be conditioned to treat customers as if they were their own individual customers.
Wage increases, new technology, new equipment, bonuses and perks only come when a business succeeds yet employees grumble day-in and day-out about not having this or that. Have you as the manager or owner informed your employees that each one of them has a direct responsibility to ensure the business success? Have you told them that their personal and monetary success is directly linked to the businesses financial health and its ability to retain and attract new customers?
Critical customer service skills that all of your employees need to be successful are;
1. A passion for taking care of customers
2. Integrity and commitment
3. A willingness to be flexible to THEIR customers needs
4. A work ethic based on dedication to the company and its ongoing mission
5. Self motivation and goal oriented in every endeavor
6. An eagerness to continuously grow and learn new aspects of the business
7. Persuasive sales skills
8. Excellent communication skills
9. A willingness to go the extra mile to help the business succeed
10. A mindset that exudes THIS IS MY BUSINESS and I MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Have you taken the time to show your employees that;
- The business is the most valuable thing we own collectively
- Personal honesty and integrity are the foundations for our mutual success
- Customer service is our way of life
- Our business is a fun friendly place where teamwork rules
- We work hard… and we reward hard work
- Great things happen when we listen… to customers and to each other
- We strengthen communities, one neighborhood at a time
- We make a difference in people’s lives
- Our doors are open for all to enter
- Good things happen when we all succeed
The following list is an example of setting out a plan to achieve your business goals.
- Building leadership builds businesses opportunities
- Focusing on departmental financial discipline
- Business growth – driven by process and policies
- Talented people focusing on productivity and customer service
- A team that shares common goals and values
- A team vested in customer service equals retention and growth
- Ongoing training for every aspect of customer contact
- Cloning what is working effectively throughout the business
A customer wants to trust the business they are dealing with. If the trust is not established, or if it is lost you will not have commitment from your customers to stay loyal to your dealership. Your customers will become transient and visit your business infrequently. The first order of trust is training! If your customers see your employees as consultants working for them, the customer will be retained into a long term relationship. Once trust is established the customer will become your biggest advocate.
To sum it all up; don’t run your business like the fly at the window. See the bigger picture and escape from the confines of being a mediocre business by instilling the mindset that bigger better things come with the reality that customers belong to the business and the business is your employees. Therefore the customers belong to each individual of the business, collectively forming the business. The success of the business is directly linked to the ownership that every single employee commands within their daily work ethics and habits.
Refuse to work in a world of insanity, try new things to motivate and invigorate both your employees and your customers. You will soon find yourself within the big bright future of endless positive possibilities instead of banging your head against the glass trying to get to the other side.
David
