Getting Back to Basics

When I started my training business in 1998, my goal was simply to offer a personal level of service, listen to what my customers’ were telling me about their challenges, and offer solutions that really work on a practical level for them, combined with great value for money. It seemed to work for me. But how many companies get anywhere near achieving that these days? Almost everywhere I go (with a few notable exceptions) I seem to become either frustrated, annoyed or disillusioned with the poor quality of active listening, non-acknowledgement of me as a valued customer, and the lack of basic courtesy that I expect (and feel I really deserve) as a customer.

Is it a lack of investment in customer service training or could it be some form of genetic problem involving the “can’t be bothered” gene that the present generation seem to be evidencing? I often wonder. Or maybe it’s just me: am I getting old? A youthful (in my opinion!) 49 years young, brought up with the simple credo that the most important thing in life is to treat others as you’d like to be treated yourself.

We need to get back to doing it the good, old fashioned way: employ people with potential to learn, train them to understand the company philosophy, and then the skills to deliver it. Follow this up with regular performance management – performed competently by well-trained managers – ongoing training to motivate and build on skills and experience and there you have it – the makings of a strong, enthusiastic and skilled workforce.

Getting Noticed

Having a great business with fantastic product or service and brilliant staff is half the battle. But there’s no point if nobody knows you’re there. It used to be all about keeping up with the competition, but today a forward-thinking business needs to be at least one step ahead of the competition – our customers somehow know the difference. This became very apparent to me when, for example, I was running a series of Performance Management programmes a little while ago for a well-known, global gaming console corporation. They only have one significantly close rival, but their young customer base are fully clued up on who’s ahead of the game, if you’ll excuse the pun, and who isn’t – and subsequently who they’re loyal to when buying the latest version of their favourite football or war game.

Pro-active, targeted and structured marketing is the way to keep ahead of the game now – just sending out brochures and doing a few follow-up phone calls isn’t enough. I learnt at a recent seminar about Social Media, that to really get noticed and start achieving the results that will grow your business significantly, you need to be doing at least 12 different types of marketing, targeted to the specific sectors of the market you want to do business with, and while you’re doing this, making sure that you’re standing out from the rest. You need to learn how to use the likes of Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn effectively, whilst bearing in mind that apparently over 80% of businesses using these media don’t get much business from these sources – they’re doing it wrong, so you have to do it differently. If you haven’t tried networking yet, it’s worth having a go. 4Networking are a UK – wide network that’s really getting results – it’s a fantastic way to promote your business whilst learning from others how to develop and improve it.

There are many other vital elements to successful marketing, and it’s critical to approach this part of your business in a structured way. Getting the right advice and guidance from the right people who KNOW what they’re talking about is essential: so you get it right first time, and every time. This will save you £000’s and, of course, make you £000’s when you achieve the success you’re aiming for!

Getting the Right Focus and Attitude

So, you’ve got your business growing by spreading the word in lots of different ways; you’ve got the right people in place, equipped with the right knowledge, skills and attitudes. But why is it that so many businesses with lots of good people are still finding it difficult to retain their staff or worse, finding their business at breaking point?

It goes without saying that a successful business needs strong, focused leadership. Seems obvious, but I was told a few years ago by a (now non-existent) Government Department client that a recent staff attitude survey had highlighted the most common concern as “lack of direction” – people stating that they were worried about their jobs, the future of the organisation, change and general lack of communication through the tiers of management. So, what’s your goal? How are you going to set about achieving it? (Clearly stated objectives are a must.) What measures and deadlines have you put in place to ensure your objectives have been met to the standards you expect? How and when are you going to communicate this information efficiently?

And then there’s your attitude – you’ve committed to enabling and encouraging your staff to keep learning and growing, to developing their knowledge, skills and attitudes. But what about your own? If you stop learning and growing, there’s a really danger the same could happen to your business. A team looks to their leader for role model behaviour, and mirror it. So, if you’re not doing what you expect your team to do, they might start to question your leadership, which in turn may affect their performance and that of your business.

Getting around like-minded people with a positive, entrepreneurial attitude can do wonders for your self-motivation and self-esteem. Continuous learning, personal development and regular interaction with other successful people will help you to stay positive, focused and motivated to achieve your potential – and the rewards that you deserve for taking a risk that most people haven’t had the courage to take.

In the words of Zig Ziglar: “See you at the top!”

What are your thoughts on this subject?
Do you have your own business?
How have you survived the recession?