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We hope you find this arcthve useful. A subscription to The Small Business Advisor Newsletter is free. Subscribe now - it's easy! The Small Business Advisor Newsletter for July, 2001 ======================== ======================== Dealing with employees (contracted or yours) is always challenging and will tax your best management and leadership skills. The following listing, based on a good deal of experience, are items to consider that will help keep you out of trouble when dealing with your employees: * Be willing to pay for the best. Remember, you get exactly what you pay for ... no more and no less. * Everyone has their own way of doing things. We all seem to forget this and insist it be done "our way." A better approach is to give instructions as to what is needed and allow the individual to provide the method. * Remember to always criticize in private and to praise in public. * Remember that EVERYONE needs to feel appreciated. Talk to your employees and make certain they know they are providing a valuable service. * Stay visible. Make certain all your employees see you at least once a day. Your employees need to know you're involved and interested. * Keep your promises. If you say you're going to do something, do it! There are no good excuses in the eyes of your employees. * Ask your employees for suggestions on a regular basis. Do this personally ... not just with a "suggestion box." * Allow your employees to fail! It is well documented that successes are generally preceded by one or more failures. The employee who is afraid to fail will be less likely to be innovative. It is up to you to see that none of these failures is fatal to the business. * Every employee must know exactly what their responsibilities are and what authority they have for carrying out these responsibilities. This usually is accomplished by very precisely written job descriptions. * Manage by objectives. Each of your employees should be assigned (by mutual agreement) specific goals to be obtained within a certain period of time. These goals must be measurable and you will periodically review them so that corrective action, if needed, may be taken to get back on track. Managing by objectives stresses real results as opposed to a job description which only lists the individual's responsibilities. * Constantly motivate your employees to do a good job. Talk to them about their job and its importance to the business. Maintain an "employee-of-the-month" program with an appropriate certificate and a traveling trophy. Make the monthly presentation with fanfare. * Implement
an effective training program to encourage promotion. Any employee
who thinks they are in a dead-end job will not perform up to expectations.
· Remember the "Peter Principle"... to paraphrase:
Everyone rises to his or her level of incompetence. See that this
does not happen in your organization. Your customer is the core of your business. If your customers aren't satisfied, they aren't going to stick around. You need to keep them happy by understanding specifically what they want. The first step to understanding what your customers want is to find out WHY they might want your particular product or service. Then, focus on how you can make their shopping experience the BEST it can be. So how do you do that? Put yourself in the Customer's Shoes and ask yourself! OFFER A SOLUTION TO THE "WHY" As a customer, you will often shop for a new product or service because you are dissatisfied with something, and you want to change it. You have a specific need and information you need to know in order to make that purchase. What will stimulate you to buy? Take this situation for example; your car breaks down, and you need to be at the airport for a flight that leaves in one hour. Will you choose *Fast Mac 's* towing service - Mac can help you in five minutes, or will you choose *Cheap Pete's* towing company - Pete sure has a great price, but he's busy eating lunch for the next two hours. In this case, are you stimulated by speed of service - or by price? Understand what stimulates YOUR customer to buy your particular type of product. Take that information and turn it into your competitive advantage! MAKE YOUR CUSTOMERS WANT TO COME BACK In addition to knowing what your customers want most, it is important to know HOW you can do the best job for them. Treat them how you would want to be treated. Remember that you are a customer yourself. Think about what affects your shopping experience. When you are doing business with a company: - What do you
like about them? Evaluate other companies. Ask yourself the following questions, and incorporate into your business what you believe will make your customers happy and motivate them to do business with you. Is it convenient to do business with this company? - Do you have
to tediously search for what you're looking for, or can you find
it quickly and easily? Do you find their customer service helpful? Does it exceed your expectations? - Can you get
help quickly? Are you impressed by their appearance? - Does the
company present a professional and friendly image? Always listen to your customers and build rapport with them. You can also continually find out new things they want through simple surveys and questionnaires. Even the small details can make the difference in keeping customers loyal. By focusing on your customers' needs, you will automatically minimize conflict. You will also show you care. The more you focus on your customers, the better you'll be able to understand them, and you'll be better equipped to offer that competitive advantage. That competitive advantage will ultimately bring you more sales. Contact Sue Barrett at FApublications, the Home Business Center at www.homebusinesscenter.com or at sue@homebusinesscenter.com. Return to top of page - Back to Home Page - Back to Archive Index |