Fly On The Wall

You work hard. You have goals and action plans to grow you practice or business in spite of the economy and tight cash. And then ... your own personnel unknowingly undermine your plans by NOT being the walking/talking company representatives they should be.

Here's a typical observation from the field. Recently I was in the waiting room of a very successful construction company; along with me were two window manufacturer reps. They were chatting as I entered and continued to talk about how best to sell and that they should never talk down the competition to make their own product lines stand out. I guess these yahoos didn't believe such guidelines applied to their own company. These same guys began talking down their own product line right in front of me. Unreal. I couldn't believe it. On they went -- the weaknesses, lack of R&D, poor support -- on and on it went. Ironically, the construction company is their client and the client's receptionist was easily overhearing the conversation, just as I did.

Ouch.

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Think About This: How are you tracking the business results generated from your promotional activities?
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Now, these guys had no idea I was listening to them closely. They should have known as I do not own a cloaking device!

Do you recognize this sort of thing? Have you seen it in your own business? I swear I've observed this same kind of thing in medical offices, automotive repair shops, banks, retail stores, restaurants and salons. You probably have too. How do you feel? Awkward, right? Because it is! Not only because of what was spoken by the employees but because they don't realize what they are saying and the damage they are causing! There's no shame, no embarrassment, no regret, no, "sshh shhh someone might hear us." Nope.

Bottom-line: I can't think of anything much worse than having your own people kill business and ruin brand with ignorance. How well does your staff measure up? Here's a top 5 check list to see how they rate:

1. Do all employees really know the company's mission/vision and act on it each day? (many have no clue)
2. Do all employees know the company's strengths and share some of them with each client? (ditto)
3. Have your employees been to a client-alignment workshop (what to say/do when preparing to meet the client)?
4. Are your employees held to competency standards regarding their position and your brand?
5. Do you formally review the above 1-4 items with your employees one-on-one each quarter for reinforcement and Q&A?

Take action and decide to not let your employees accidentally stain your brand. Not with you, not with each other, not with vendors and certainly not with clients. Be the fly on your own wall.

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