Guest post by Yvonne Godfrey, speaker at the TIME 2009 Business Convention
Business is about providing what the customer wants or needs in a way that is mutually beneficial and which creates a relationship that can be sustained over a period of time. Today, if our clients are not happy- they simply pick up their account and move to whoever meets their need in an environment that they find rewarding.
Therefore, in order to gain the market edge and be ‘remarkable and remembered in order to be referred’, it is important to know be clearly Visible, Valuable and Viable.
I see a strong correlation between Michael Gerber’s ‘The E Myth’ classifications of Entrepreneur, Technician and Manager and my terms of Visible, Valuable and Viable – hence I have matched them up.
Being Visible – Attracting the business
Key words: Profile and Results
Question: Are you easy to do business with?
Strongest in this area are Entrepreneurs because they can mentally translate an abstract concept into reality. Visible leaders know that traffic through the door is everything. You can’t do any business if no one knows you are there.
Because of their mental clarity, the visible business leader is a great promoter who can clearly articulate what the business is about thereby attracting others to their cause. (This is not to be confused with sales which is a different proposition)
Visible leaders practice leadership by walking around. They do not hide in their ivory towers and will roll up their sleeves when the pressure is on. They don’t email when the message needs to be communicated voice to voice or belly button to belly button.
However, the visible leader must ensure that their personal vision extends into the functionality of the organisation. First coined by former Scandinavian Airlines President Jan Carlzon, a ‘moment of truth’ occurs any time a customer comes into contact with your business and has the chance to form an impression.
Typical opportunities arise through:
-
Advertisements
- Telephone answering technique
- Business cards
- Cleanliness of reception, office, car
- Email signatures
- Availability of car parks
- Website
- Visible Staff inter – relationships
- Branding on car and place of business
- Body language of staff
Management guru Tom Peters describes the story of an airline passenger who when he pulls down his tray table and sees coffee stains, also has a concern about the state of the engines. He wonders if the same standards for cleanliness also apply to aircraft maintenance. We see here that regardless of the truth, perception has created its own reality in this customer’s mind and a negative moment of truth is established.
Being Valuable – Doing the business
Key Words: Product and people
Question: Are you rewarding to do business with?
People who fall in love with their own product or service are strongest as Technicians and are skilled at their craft. Their own personal sense of worth comes from the pride they have in producing something that kicks the butt of everyone else in the market.
A business relationship works really well when the buyer is getting value for money and the seller is being rewarded for their efforts.
Because they are obsessed with the offering, the seller may bring more value than is required. While this creates a unique and valuable reputation, it does not always make for a profitable business. This lack of profit and over exertion can leave the value merchant feeling unrewarded for their efforts and bizarre as it seems, they may eventually resent their customer.
People
A valuable leader understands that people are their greatest asset. They are willing to spend money on personal development and training to keep themselves and their people overflowing with value. Valuable leaders also have an abundance mentality that collaborates, shares and develops IP, resources and opportunities for the benefit of all.
Teamwork is important to the valuable leader who is a great promoter of others. They connect people for mutual gain resulting in immense personal fulfilment on seeing the collective benefit.
Being Viable – Running the Business
Key words: Systems and profit
Question: Are you consistent to do business with?
People who are strongest in systems are good managers. It is important to their sense of wellbeing that the operation runs like a well oiled machine. Predictable, deliverable and sustainable business is king!
Are you still?
Filling the need, solving the problem and creating the experience with the same innovation and excellence that you promised at the beginning of the business relationship? If not – there could be a problem with the value proposition or it could be that the ‘way we are doing things around here’ has become sloppy.
The cost of not having well documented systems and processes that work
- The business is harder to sell
- It takes expensive people to run it ( as opposed to most franchises)
- It costs a lot to retrain the newbie when someone leaves
- The business cannot easily be expanded by duplication
- Quality control is difficult
- Customer consistency is not guaranteed
Assessment of your systems
Are they working from beginning to end? For example: Is it as easy to return a product as it was to buy it?
Systems often degenerate into what the operator deems as easy, convenient, saves time or seems logical to them – and yet none of these things matter if the end result has moved the business away from traffic, reputation and bottom line results.
This can happen when departments operate in a bubble, become isolated from each other and disconnected from the organisation’s vision. It also happens when the leader is not visible – is not making their presence felt.
Footnote:Business needs all three skill sets to succeed. Few people have all three and therefore it is a smart leader who can identify their own strengths and to surround themselves with the people who have what they dont
By Yvonne Godfrey © 2009 http://www.yvonnegodfrey.com/
TIME is the BIG DAY OUT for business! Held at the Ellerslie Event Centre in Auckland on the 30th October, TIME 09 gives attendees access to over $50,000 worth of business seminars and the opportunity to hear from 22 of the world’s leading business experts. You will also have opportunities to network with the cream of New Zealand’s business leaders.The TIME 2009 Business Convention will be the most important day of your business year and is your chance to finish this year on a high of learning and new business contacts.
