Posted by Eric on May 9, 2012 under People, Performance, Process | 
In the iconic 1992 film, “A Few Good Men,” Tom Cruise’s character, Navy JAG Lt. Daniel Kaffee challenged the combat-hardened and highly decorated Marine Col. Nathan Jessup, aptly portrayed by Jack Nicholson. Their spirited courtroom dialogue concluded with Jessup adamantly telling Kaffee: “You can’t handle the truth!”
If you are in a leadership role in any type of organization; profit or non-profit, public or private – and especially if you are the CEO, COO, CFO, or VP HR, even a department head or team leader – you must know the truth. Given the authority and responsibility for employee productivity and welfare in your organization you should consider two questions:
- Do you know how your employees really feel about your company? and
- Why should you care?
Let’s assume that you really don’t know how they really feel, and explore why you should care. We have found (and the research supports) that performance is directly linked to the effectiveness of people and processes. We believe most organizations, including yours, try to hire the best people – who do the best job they can – with the tools they are given. Further, you probably think your people have everything they need to perform at optimum levels.
So if the right people and processes are in place, why is it that gaps continue to persist between expected and actual performance? And, why are company leaders consistently confronted with unpleasant surprises?
Gaps persist because things are overlooked; “We’ve always done it this way”. Or, complacency: “It’s good enough”. Often, people are too busy, or we place too much trust in certain individuals. Today, organizations are typically short-staffed and there are multiple projects and often competing priorities. Consequently, problems are not recognized until it’s too late.
Recently the comptroller of Dixon, Illinois, was arrested for embezzling $30 million dollars in public funds over the past 6 years to finance a horse breeding operation and an opulent lifestyle. Now you might say, “That could never happen in my organization! – We have controls”. Well great – just be sure to closely examine the books while your comptroller is on vacation.
Another example: In October, 2011, a disgruntled employee walked into a meeting at the Lehigh Cement plant in Cupertino, California and shot and killed 3 of his co-workers and wounded 7 others. It was reported that the shooter didn’t like the way his manager and Union Steward talked to him about his attendance and work performance.
And just last week, a friend who owns a construction company told me about a project manager at his firm (with an obvious sense of entitlement) who financed the remodeling of his home with a company credit card to the tune of over $100K.
Finally, consider Employment Practices Liability (EPL). During the recession there has been a huge rise in lawsuits against employers for age, gender, disability, and racial discrimination, sexual harassment, wrongful termination and retaliation (for reporting discrimination!). According to an Inc. guide, “While American firms were downsizing in 2010, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) saw a record 99,922 discrimination claims filed in the fiscal year ending September 30. It was the highest number of cases brought in the agency’s 45-year history.” The report further states that “EPL cases can be a drain on time and monetary resources for a small or mid-sized business. The average tally for a discrimination case exceeded $235,000, according to the EEOC”. [i]
These examples describe an enormous toll in economic and human costs, and there are no doubt many more occurring daily across the country. So if you don’t know how your employees really feel about your company, and you recognize that you must care, what steps should you take to prevent catastrophes in your organization?
You can start by learning your employees’ views and feelings about their workplace, their leaders and their co-workers. Then, armed with that information, you can begin to take steps to correct deficiencies, remove performance barriers and create a more productive, supportive and healthy work environment. Certainly you should have policies and practices in place to prevent the most egregious situations. EPL insurance and training can also help. However, you can’t fix everything at once – and we have the tools to help you find out where to start.
When leaders don’t recognize problems, or understand why gaps exist, they actually create barriers to performance. This demoralizes the people who work hard – who don’t feel they are being heard – and they don’t feel they are appreciated. So they leave – or worse, they return -with devastating human and economic consequences.
If you think you can handle the truth, (you can’t afford to not know) conduct a climate survey to find out. But don’t conduct a survey unless you are willing to respond to the results. To create hope and raise expectations and not act on the data – is worse than doing nothing. We’ll help you figure things out, analyze performance gaps, identify the potential for improved performance and design interventions to enable you to implement solutions that stick. In conclusion, consider this quote from Simon Sinek: “Success always takes help. Failure we can do alone.”
Eric Doner is the Founder and President of AchieveCorp, a professional services firm that provides tools, consulting and training to enable improved organizational, team and individual performance. Contact Eric at edoner@achievecorp.com.
[i] www.inc.com/guides/2010/12/how-to-reduce-employment-liability-claims.html
Tags: arrest, catastrophe, climate survey, corporate culture, discrimination, effectiveness, embezzlement, employee performance, employee satisfaction, employment practices liability, epl claims, evidence, executive concerns, expectations, harassment, human capital, lawsuits, leaders, leadership, legal costs, legal fees, lost productivity, on-the-job problems, organizational performance, people, policies and procedures, process, productivity, retaliation, risk mitigation, shooting, skills, small and medium-sized business, support, teamwork, theft, tools, training, truth, unpleasant surprises, work environment, workplace violence, wrongful termination
Posted by Eric on May 19, 2011 under Marketing, Sales |
Is there a difference? Probably not. The message marketers are sending is the same: They are trying to convince you that you’re getting more than you expect for what you’re going to pay. Both consumers and business buyers want ‘bang for the buck’ and everyone appreciates something extra without spending more. In this blog, I attempt to define and illustrate added value and value added.
First, let’s define value. Value is a perception of what a product or service is worth to buyers at a particular point in time. This perception is driven by needs and wants; buying motivation. For example, a First-Aid kit is probably worth more when you’re bleeding than when you’re not. And if you’re dying of thirst, you’re probably not going to try to negotiate the price of a bottle of water. Value establishes what the market is willing to pay and helps explain why consumers flock to buy highly anticipated or promoted items (think iPad2) – and even pay more than MSRP when those products are in short supply. It also explains why you can find slow-moving products at deeply reduced prices (think BIG LOTS). It’s all a matter of market value.
The first step in selling value added is to define value in the buyer’s terms[1]. Then decide what you want to add to the basic product or service to give buyers more than they expect. Lagniappe [lan-yap] is a great term that originated in Southern Louisiana. It literally means ‘something extra’ – a small gift given to the customer with a purchase as a compliment – an unexpected benefit. I’m reminded of when I bought my first set of Cooper Zeon high-performance tires; not only did the dealer give me a great price, he gave me a beautifully embroidered free Cooper baseball cap!
Value can also be added at different stages in the manufacturing or distribution process. Steel service centers add value by cutting, shaping and finishing raw steel into sheets or bars used by 
manufacturers. These materials have greater value to buyers because they save them time and money compared to dealing with huge coils from the steel mill. Tech companies and professional service providers add value by giving customers access to special features, information and updates through downloads, conferences, forums and blogs like this one you are reading.
Added value is something customers get without incurring additional cost. Bundling is a great example that combines different products into a single purchase – at an overall lower cost than if each product were purchased separately. Others are: ’Buy 3 tires and get the 4th tire free’, ‘Order by 5pm and get free shipping’ or “We pay the Sales Tax”.
Value Added or added value describes the feature, benefit or advantage – something extra –added to a basic product or service. You can add value by enhancing the appearance, serviceable life or ease of use of your product or service. Taking steps to change, improve or increase a product’s value will make it more accessible to a greater number of buyers’ needs. If your product provides
customers with an advantage that enhances their business system – and improves the output of their business – then you have added value.[2]
And here’s a point to remember: Don’t subtract value – I’ll cover this topic in another blog.
[1] Value Added Selling Techniques by Thomas P. Reilly, Motivational Press, St.Louis, MO, 1987.
[2] Managing for Value by Bernard C. Reimann, The Planning Forum, Oxford, OH, 1987.
Posted by Kenyon on May 6, 2011 under People, Performance |
Are you a good person? Do you hold doors open for others? Give your seat on mass transit to someone elderly? When answering the question of “Are we a good person?” most us would think of these or similar examples in our lives and probably say “Yes – I am a good person”. That said, are you good to the core? What is at the heart of your core values? Could you write them down on a blank sheet of paper with minimal effort? It would appear many of us would struggle here.
I had the pleasure of hearing John G. Blumberg speak to a group of human resource professionals recently who ask us this very question. John is the author of Good to the Core: Building Values with Values. In this book, John addresses the basic question of what are our individual core values and how do they influence how we approach our work. His presentation was outstanding and his book reinforces how important it is to have solid core values at home and work, especially in these still turbulent economic times when we might be tempted to do whatever we have to for ourselves.
You most likely learned your values at your parents’ knee. You graduated from school with these values firmly implanted and went out into the working world. Where are you today? Are you really practicing your core values? John pointed out as he has travelled the world asking businesspeople this question. Many businesspeople had trouble answering that question. His analysis: we don’t go running away from our core values. Rather, we drift away from them over time. This gradual process finds us one day in a place we never meant to be drifting in a direction we would have never chosen. Recently I heard an interview on Bernie Madoff that reinforces this idea. The journalist who interviewed him recently in prison felt he did not start as a dishonest person. He essentially started his “criminal career” in the 1960’s at a point when he could not face up to fact he invested millions in a fund that went bankrupt and he feared telling his clients he made a huge mistake and tried to cover it up for their interest. He clearly drifted away form the core values he had when he started his investment firm.
Why is this so important?
- Core values create boundaries.
- Boundaries in turn create focus
- Focus minimizes drift.
So the application for you? In creating highly productive work environments, it is critical to align these three points together. The better we know our own values, the more interested we will become in others. This point is what keeps good employees working at top capacity. This approach to employees and associates my managers will keep employees engaged because workers will know they matter to the organization. Core values act as an anchor that will help drive productivity and improvement in all organizations. I don’t know of many organizations that would refuse high performance from their workers.
John’s book is very insightful. It is easy to read and gets you to think. He says that having core values will cost you; not having them (or losing sight of them) will destroy you. So, can you answer this question honestly: What seeds are in your core?
John’s web site is www.keynoteconcepts.com for more information on him and his books.
Posted by Eric on May 4, 2011 under Process, Sales |
Most well-managed sales organizations follow some type of consultative selling process. Such a process requires learning about customers needs and requirements before presenting a solution. Successful sellers then, ask well-planned questions and listen more than they talk. To do anything less results in ‘premature presentation’ – which creates buyer resistance and kills or delays the sale.
Our model provides a planned sequence of communication steps for sales interviews that ensures that you earn the right to present your solution. By consistently following seven simple steps, you can pinpoint customers’ needs and pain points, and fully qualify sales opportunities. Armed with this information, you can then make precise presentations, and tailor your solution specifically to each customers’ individual (and organizational) needs. By carefully sticking to the process, and not getting ahead of your customer, you will experience virtually no resistance when it comes time to ask for a commitment. We like to emphasize that “If you slow down the process, you can speed up the sale”.
The steps and skills in our model are not new; what makes them effective is practicing the behavior to perform them in order, and not skip a step. This questioning part of this process can be customized to fit any product or service – if you know the answers you are seeking. In a training activity, we explain each step in the context of the sales environment and provide insights and examples for each step.
Question: Open, Closed and Leading
Listen: Active attending; not feigned
Observe: Verbal and non-verbal signals
Verify: Confirm, paraphrase what you hear
Explain: Describe your solution; be concise
Recommend: Tell them what they should do – don’t ask
Secure commitment: Confirm agreement by describing the next step
The Explain Step can best be accomplished using our N-F-B sales aid below. This chart can be constructed during the sales interview by taking careful notes. Then, verbally review what you’ve written
with your prospect.
Under Need, list your customer’s need, pain point or problem. Under Feature, describe compelling characteristics of your solution that directly relate to customer’s need. And under Benefit, clearly describe how your solution will satisfy your customer’s need, remove the pain and solve the problem.
By presenting your solution in this format, you demonstrate that you have been listening, and you address only the needs important to each customer. Your product may fill dozens of needs, but if the customer only has two, you can avoid disclosing unnecessary product knowledge – and more easily set the stage for the buying decision.
