Performance Tips

As a result of the current tendering economic turmoil business owners face, many things have changed.  From paradigms to processes to plans, there have been shifts in virtually all businesses.  The truth is no matter what you do or sell the “meltdown” worldwide has affected all of us.

Yet in the face of turmoil and change it is essential that you focus on the future and move forward, having learned from the past. 

Consequently, for all who choose not to be victims, but instead choose to grow, it is the perfect time to revisit your vision as a firm.  Renewed vision excites you and those around you, while at the same time consciously and subconsciously creates a pathway forward.

Many firms have reset their vision several times during their history, so they can never fall into complacency or miss opportunities that appear.  One of the most compelling new vision statements is from Coca Cola.  Their vision now is, “We must get ready for tomorrow, today.”  That says plenty for all of us.  Historically, this focus on a renewed vision to move forward has been modeled by many firms:

Boeing 1950’s: Become the dominant player in commercial aircraft and bring the world into the jet age.
Current: People working together as one global enterprise for aerospace leadership.

Ford early 1900’s: Democratize the automobile.
Current: To become the world’s leading consumer company for automotive products and services.

Honda 1970: We will destroy Yamaha.
Current: To be a company that our shareholders, customers and society want.
Note: Yamaha continues to do well and people do want Hondas.

As Dick Harris, my Senior VP who heads our coaching division, often says, “Vision is the what and when.  The mission is the how.”  With a clear new vision it is a useful tool to promote change in direction as well as a change and alignment of behaviors. 

Most importantly, you renew your desire to spend time learning to execute your vision versus just spending money trying to be earning.

In our final PERFORM acrostic segment, the evidence of a real shift by those who are winning business today is moving from merchandiser to marketer. No longer are they merchandising a product, service or process to win business. Rather as scores of business owners reiterated to me the right approach is now that of a marketer. The difference between a merchandiser and a marketer? Merchandiser’s focus on products, marketers focus on people. Their shift has major implications on every aspect of business structure and growth. By focusing on specific groups of people, educational programs and platforms have been rearranged to improve the people skills of customer interfacing personnel, specifically in areas such as demonstrating, understanding, and engagement in customers. Externally no longer are products used to push out or into a market. Rather as many successful business leaders indicated, they were now focusing on messaging the advantage (what people actually can accomplish) of each product or service they offer. This focus results in more pull (inquiries) from qualified buyers.
Importantly, the increase of inquiries results in more business when the same advantage based approach is used in the sales focus. Simply put, they realize that product features (what is it or who you are or have) coupled only with the well worn product benefits is no longer compelling or convincing. Conversely, those who are winning more business in today’s economy are focused on the specific advantages consumers gain from every product, service or attribute they offer.

In Summary:
1. Are you using a product to lead you away into a market? Or are you focusing on what target consumers want to accomplish as your lead?

2. Are you receiving more incoming calls from people who heard about what you have done for others like them?

3. Are you using generic features and benefits of your product line or business as a reason to buy or are you articulating the personalized and humanized advantages of the same?

4. Finally, consider the acrostic and ask yourself what changes have you made in the past several weeks based on the feedback and insight I have gleaned and shared with you from those who are growing significantly in spite of the economy.

Purpose Versus Pressure

Effort Versus Busyness

Relationships Are Key to Retention

Focus on People Not Products

  Are you Opportunity Driven?

Responsiveness by Consumers

Marketers or Merchandisers?

In today’s commoditized environment, it is increasingly difficult to stand out from the crowd. Further, consumers at all economic levels are skeptical and cautious. They have been recipients of a relentless barrage of marketing approaches that are laden with business-centric or offering-centric messages. As a result, they are increasingly non-respondent to most marketing, sales, and even service initiatives. What is working for businesses enjoying steady growth is a fresh consumer/client-centric approach to all aspects of business messages. No longer do consumers look for or respond to an old school Unique Selling Proposition (USP) as a reason to do business. Instead, today they look for and respond to a promise of value and outcome. Successful businesses, during these past several tough economic years, have recognized this and are messaging a Unique Value Promise (UVP) instead. The results are quantitative. Why? Consumers know the difference between a proposition and a promise. They respond on curiosity and confidence of outcome. Curiosity as to how a company delivers on it’s promise. Confidence that here is a firm that communicates from the consumers perspective and as a result has the consumers best interest at heart.
In Summary:

• Are you marketing and messaging on a promise as a reason to do business with you?
• Is your message about you and what you do or is it about the outcome people receive by doing business with you?
• Are you answering the question “Why should I do business with you?” with a promise? -OR- Are you answering their WHY with the WHAT and HOW of your organization?

Food for Thought: What and How is not the answer to Why.

Successful business leaders consistently articulate that they are always looking for and seizing new opportunities to expand their business. Of course on the surface this seems obvious, but if it were, why do so many business professionals fail to see new opportunities when they arise? What is it that sets apart those who are quick to see opportunities and seize them? In my discussions with those business owners, I identified the following traits:
1. They are curious about many things but choose to only focus on those few things they are passionate about. This sounds very much like Steve Jobs’s mantra and we all know how that worked out.
2. They constantly ask themselves who and how? Is doing what I do better, and how are they doing it? Just take a look at Green Mountain Coffee’s move to acquire Keurig and how it revolutionized Green Mountain and coffee service.
3. They surround themselves with positive productive people in all aspects of their lives and business. We all know that who you surround yourself with and the messages they deliver profoundly impacts personal and professional outcomes.
4. They realize all opportunities, no matter how large or small, require understanding, buy in, support and collaboration with their team. For this reason they focus on leading their organization vs. owning it.
5. They are avid learners. They realize that the average person in business reads one book per year, which puts things in perspective as to why they are average.
 
In Summary:
Based on the above findings, how would you rate yourself on a scale of 1-5 (1-lowest, 5-highest)? No matter what your score, we can all improve on seeing and seizing opportunities. As Milton Berle once said, “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.”

Irrespective of business or profession the need to focus on specific groups of target constituents has never before been so important. Firms that have achieved and realized sustainable growth in the current financial maelstrom have moved to “narrow casting” versus broadcasting. Most have seen significant improvement in recognition, inquiries and offering acceptance as a result of narrowing their focus.  Instead of attempting to be all things to all people (broadcasting) they have identified specific target or niche markets in which to grow their business. Given the limited financial resources many business owners acknowledged having in the past four years, many were forced to focus or die. Their ability to select and focus on specific groups of people who are good prospects for their products and services has given them a unique ability and increased growth.

They have been able to focus their messaging and promise of outcome in a very customer-centric way.  In addition they have gained distinction with prospects and customers alike as they are seen as the “go-to” business by the people they are targeting. This is important for every business owner to consider: Are you building a business that is simply different when compared to others, or distinct, set apart from all others? People want a business to be distinct, i.e. set apart, from all others.  It gives them a special sense of meaning and significance when they know they are buying where they are understood and cared about.
To help you focus on specific groups of people:

1. List your top 10-20 customers and segment them based on how they network and communicate with one another specifically:
a. What organizations support what they do for a living
b. What organizations/clubs support their recreational activities?
c. What special interests groups are they involved with on an ongoing basis (such as charitable, cultural, religious, neighborhood groups)

2. Select 2-3, or perhaps 4 of the groups and align your marketing, products, sales and service messages and activities to be compelling to each group.
In Summary:
You will likely discover, as top business owners have, that by focusing on targeted groups of people (less) instead of everybody (more) you will see substantial growth and profitability.

To perform well in today’s competitive marketplace there must be a commitment to the personalization and humanization of every interaction.  Top business owners from virtually every industry we serve gave these as the hallmark for effective customer and team member relationships.  The ability to relate to people in a personal and human way draws them to desire to relate to and with you.  Whether conducting marketing campaigns, greeting a caller, or leading a new internal initiative, the ability to connect with people on a personal level is essential.  Many business leaders to whom I spoke talked about writing or speaking to people from their perspective was the most important thing in establishing a relationship. 

The Customer
With this is mind as a cornerstone of elevating performance in today’s economy, consider both your customer and team member constituents. Realizing that most industries, products and even services are commoditized in the court of public opinion, focusing on the customer’s perspective from the very first interaction is essential if not vital.  To execute this brilliantly:
1. Write/market to specific individuals.  Communications that begin with “Dear business owner” or “Valued client” are not a personalized or humanized communiqué.  Further it commoditizes the recipient or the reader, which in a market where the consumer’s perspective rules, immediately diminishes connection.
2. Be gracious and elevate inquiries by:

• Having your team answer the phone with enthusiasm and when transferring the call, say, “May I place you on hold?” versus “Hang on a second” or “Please hold” etc.
• Using “old school” manners in a commoditized marketplace connects with people in ways that drive business.  Just ask the Ritz Carlton or the Four Seasons.

3. When opening a discovery conversation be sure to focus on what the prospect wants versus what you want.  Asking, “What three things do you want to accomplish, discuss, identify, solve, gain insight on, etc. today” is far more relational than launching into your capabilities and abilities first.  Remember, the sale does move forward when they have the floor.

Your Team
Your team wants and needs to relate to you and each other.  Here are some things we do that may be useful to you.
1. Each week whoever is “in residence” at our corporate headquarters has lunch together on the corporate account.  The theme is “all fun no business.” It created spirit de corps and allows everyone to feel part of an organization that is made up of people that care about them personally.
2. Every morning our corporate support team gathers for 15-20 minutes in a stand-up meeting.  Everyone has the role of equal opportunity contributor. Topics are brief and center on who is on what project, what are the priorities, who needs assistance or perhaps coverage, etc.  The advantage – they relate and respect each other.  Plus it saves many interruptions throughout the day.
3. Also on Monday, unless I am speaking at a client event, I Skype in for a 30 minute staff meeting.  The entire discussion is how can I help or how they can help me.  The result – personalization and humanization.  Everyone feels supported and that they count, and they do!
In summary:
What will you do to consistently personalize and humanize client and team interactions?

Successful people in business today, defined as those who realize the value they bring and deliver to others, have recognized the difference between being busy and being productive. They know that their time is best invested in doing the things that move the business ahead. Whether they are in sales, marketing, administration, service or any other myriad of roles, they have recognized their greatest currency is their time. As a result, they have confronted themselves about wasting time or practicing creative avoidance. Many business owners I spoke with in the past several months have delegated email and meaningless “errands” so they can focus on what they do best. Consequently they are relentlessly focused on productive activity. Those who can’t delegate relegate those activities to non-business growth time periods such as very early or very late in the day.

The clear feedback is that those who are growing have a DAILY plan of exactly what they will accomplish by focusing solely on productive activities. In this economy as in any others, to waste time when there is no time to lose is a recipe for disaster.

What can be learned from this? Are you delegating what you “can do” so you can focus on what you are gifted to do? Are you steadfastly guarding against time wasting activities, also known as “creative avoidance”, (getting the mail, running an errand, etc.) to be sure you are always productive, not just feeling busy?

Finally, are you putting in enough real effort to get to where you want to be . . . or just enough to justify where you are now? We are two-thirds of the way through the 1st quarter of 2012. If you have momentum, increase it….if you don’t have momentum, lose no time in getting it!

During the last three months, I have personally spoken to over 150 business owners and professionals about the state of their businesses.  They range from $100 million distribution firms to individuals leading professionals with a $1 million per year practice.  In all cases, when we discussed business performance, each had varied input on what they believed were the keys to moving forward in this economy and beyond.

During the next few performance tips I will share what I discovered.  I will deliver them in the form of an acrostic using the word “PERFORM” and give you action steps to execute them in your business.

 Purpose
Many stated a commitment to working and building a business  or practice that creates and delivers substantial value for consumers was essential.  When I asked why, several indicated they were passionate about what they did.  As a result, they felt their passion gave them a sense of purpose and to accomplish it in good times and bad they had to deliver substantial value to achieve sustainability and/or growth.  Asked whether value equated to price, the response from nearly all was the same.  Price is the driver only when substantial discernable value is absent.  They said that working from purpose relieved them from a sense of working from pricing pressure. 
With this input in mind:

1. Are you clear on why you are doing what you are doing?
2. Are you working from a clearly defined purpose?
3. Are those on your team feeling pressured to perform or have you uncovered their purpose for being a part of your organization?
4. Is your focus on creating substantial value for customers?

These discussions made me reflect and examine our purpose once again.  You would be well served to do so as well.  I know we are passionate and purposeful about elevating our clients’ business performance in today’s marketplace.  What’s yours?  Why?  There is no doubt a clear purpose is the gateway to a superior pattern of performance in any market!

We are thrilled to announce the Marketer of the Year winner for 2011!
We received more entries than ever before and the selection process was very difficult. Many entries were considered extraordinary, however in the end our team of certified coaches selected the following entry based upon the execution of 3 important factors: creativity, the event itself, and most of importantly ROI.
 
Congratulations, this years winner is:
 
James R. Mounier, CSNA, CRPC®, CIMA®, CFP®
Senior Vice President – Investments
Wealth Management Advisor
Merrill Lynch
7210 East State Street, Suite 102
Rockford, Il  61108
 
  James and his Team will be awarded one full year access to The Weylman Center for Excellence in Practice Management™  and two coaching sessions with Richard. 
  
  
  Here is his Team’s winning entry, enjoy…..
 
 The following three events really standout based on the feedback we have received from our clients and prospects.  It is difficult to tell if our new client relationships were a direct result of them attending one or more of our events.  One thing we do know, these events separates us from many of our competitors in Rockford.  We believe all of our events allow our clients to get to know us better and gives prospects the opportunity to learn more about us and interact with our happy clients.  People ultimately do business with the people they like and trust.
 
At each event (except the hockey game) we give a copy of The 50 Questions You Need to Ask….To Achieve the Financial Advisor Relationship You Deserve to anyone who does not already have copy. I wrote and published this book in 2006.
 
Prospecting Event (Women Only)
This event was held June 20, 2011.  We hosted “Organizing Your Financial Life” seminar at Anderson Japanese Gardens in Rockford.  We purchased tickets for the garden tour and allowed time beginning at 4:00 for everyone to tour the gardens before our event that began at 6:00.  The gardens are rated as one of the top Japanese gardens outside of Japan.  This was a women’s only event.  There were 32 attendees.  More than 1/4 was prospects, best girlfriend, adult daughters, daughters-in-law, or mother-in-law.
 
Original Idea:  Heard about doing a women only event from Dion Rooney with MFS Investments.
 
Objective One:  Thank you to our clients.
 
Objective Two:  Connect with clients’ family members.
 
Objective Three:  Meet clients’ friends.
 
Objective Four:  Spend time with key prospects.
 
Invitation:  Personalized email
    
Follow-Up:  For this event we sent an email to clients and called prospects thanking them for attending and to see if they would like more information or to set-up a time to meet.
Overall Outcome:  See the overall outcome under “Client Appreciation Event.”
 ____________________________________________________________
Prospecting Event (Men Only)
This event was held August 11, 2011.  We hosted a “Weathering Market Storms” seminar with dinner coupled with a “Short Game Clinic” at my country club.  This was a men’s only event.  We had two PGA professionals from the country club teach chipping and sand shots.  We asked the attendees to bring their wedges and 7-iron to the clinic so they could get individual attention.  There were 35 attendees.  More than a 1/3 was prospects, best friend, adult sons, sons-in-law, father or father-in-law.  The invitation lists the golf clinic after dinner but we actually held the golf clinic first and then the presentation and dinner after.
 
Original Idea:  We heard about this idea from several investment wholesalers.
 
Objective One:  Thank you to our clients.
 
Objective Two:  Connect with clients’ family members.
 
Objective Three:  Meet clients’ friends.
 
Objective Four:  Spend time with key prospects.
 
Invitation:  Personalized email.
 
 
Follow-Up:  For this event we sent an email to clients and called prospects thanking them for attending and to see if they would like more information or to set-up a time to meet.
Overall Outcome:  See the overall outcome under “Client Appreciation Event.”
 
 ____________________________________________________________
 
Client Appreciation Event
Our community has an American Hockey League team (IceHogs) that is
affiliated with the Chicago Blackhawks.  The games have proven to be a great venue for an entertaining  clients and prospects.  Clients love to bring their children and grandchildren.  We rent the “Party Deck” that holds about 150 people for a Saturday evening game and provide food and refreshments.  Everything is included except parking passes.  We also arrange for the IceHogs mascot (Hammy Hog) to visit the Party Deck after the first period.
 
This event will be held December 3, 2011.  We have done this in past years with great success.  150 attend our last event on the “Party Deck.”
 
Original Idea:  Jim Mounier and John Larson.
 
Objective One:  Thank you to our clients.
 
Objective Two:  Connect with clients’ family members.
 
Objective Three:  Meet clients’ friends.
 
Objective Four:  Spend time with key prospects.
 
Invitation:  Personalized email (see below).
 
Follow-Up:  For this event we simply sent an email thanking everyone for attending.
 
Overall Outcome:  From prospects who have attended our events, so far this year we have opened 9 client relationships totaling more than $14,000,000 AUM.  We have several other prospects that we have met with one or more times.  We believe we will open at least 4 new client relationships within the next 3 months with total assets of about $6,000,000 AUM from these prospects. (For a total of $20,000,000 in AUM from these three events.)

Business plans for the New Year too often fall into the same category as New Years’ Resolutions – well-intentioned but soon deemed too difficult to execute. New plans, like resolutions, will not be fulfilled with a new year, but with a new you! No matter what type of business or organization you are in, to execute in today’s economy requires that you first personally examine two areas.

1. Your Personal & Professional Lexicon

Frequently I hear things such as, “We are trying to move ahead,” or “I am trying to execute.” The word “try”, in and of itself, lacks determination and commitment. Trying suggests that it will happen but if obstacles occur that you can’t foresee, you may not reach your objectives. In all our offices we have a mantra we encourage all clients and friends of the firm to adopt. It is, “Try is dead, will do killed it.” Using “we will move ahead” as your execution lexicon encourages your team members. Most importantly, it also creates a mindset that you will execute regardless of unforeseen obstacles.

2. Purpose in Yourself to Practice Self-Discipline vs. Self-Indulgence

To execute brilliantly the distinctions between the two creates a remarkably different mindset and outcomes. Here is an illustration to help you “see” this important change in you.

____________________________________________________________

Self-Indulgence is:
 You THINK about how
 You FEEL and decide whether you want/can/should execute, then
 You decide whether to ACT or not and
 You worry about the CONSEQUENCES later.
Alternatively: Self-Discipline is:
 You THINK about the
 CONSEQUENCES if you do or don’t execute
 You decide to take ACTION (with the consequences in mind) and
 FEEL good about your progress.

____________________________________________________________

By first adjusting your lexicon and then purposing in yourself to practice self-discipline vs. self-indulgence you are equipped to fight through or around the obstacles that often prevent the elevation of business or personal performance in today’s chaotic environment.