By Patrick Chapman, Grandy & Associates
There is a reason top-performing companies are successful. You would already be enjoying the profits you want for your company and experiencing the life you want for your family if just hearing good information was enough. As Jim Collins famously said, “the distance from Good to Great is not that far but it is a few strategic steps consistently taken that lead you where you want to go.” This article focuses on the six power habits of top performing companies.
Power Habit Number One:
Know your why. Simon Sinek has done a masterful job over the last few years helping people discover their why. Long before Simon however, the most successful companies went on this journey of discovery. When you know your why, everything changes. You begin to live out of purpose and become far more productive. Let’s do this exercise together.
First, what is your what?
The literal thing you do.
Second, what is your how?
What is your process or propriety advantage that sets you apart?
Third, what is your why? This the foundation. It supports everything else. What is your passion, motivation, inspiration? What is the difference you want to make in the life of your customers?
Discovering your why is a big step to unlocking your full potential and creating unity on your team.
Power Habit Number Two:
Establish a clear set of Key Performance Indicators that are critical for your company’s success. There are industry KPI’s for every sector of business. I encourage you to go beyond broad-based numbers and generalities. Make it personal to your company. The more your team sees the relevance of these Key Indicators the more buy-in you will experience with your team.
One tremendous benefit of tracking Key Performance Indicators is they will produce Key Training Opportunities. Training for many companies is a mile wide but only one inch deep. Training around the performance of your team’s execution of KPI’s will ensure you are training in specific areas of the company that need attention for you to succeed.
Power Habit Number Three:
Create an Interactive Buying Experience for your customers. The best example I can give you on this point is a company we all know very well. Amazon has become the go-to shopping preference for millions of people. Think about what you experience when you shop on Amazon. You will see pictures, product descriptions, ratings, reviews, size and application assistance, etc. Everything you need to make a decision is right in front of you. That is completely by design. Amazon does not want you to leave their site and go to other places to make the purchase.
Conventional wisdom says a buyer has to get 3-4 bids before making a decision. Every wonder where that came from? Years ago, when customers would get a quote for a product or service, it was common for companies to provide only one bid. Since people need choices to make good decisions, they would have to go elsewhere to get additional bids before making a decision. That is not the case anymore. Interactive buying experiences provide the customer with everything they need to make a decision. How can you incorporate this strategy into the buying experience with your customers?
Power Habit Number Four:
Creating professional proposals to help your customers understand their choices and make good decisions. Let me share some hall of shame proposals with you that I have seen over the years. Coffee-stained napkins. Back of business cards written so small you couldn’t even read it. Crumpled up piece of paper from their truck. Sad but true, these actually happened.
There are several options to choose from as it relates to professional proposal software. Many of them are offered through your local distributor partner and will tie in directly to their inventory. Whichever solution you choose, make sure the software platform has the following: Scheduling tools for the CSR. Customizable options to include promotions, rebates, and financing. Ability to capture digital signature and reviews through the platform.
Power Habit Number Five:
Leveraging the power of ratings and reviews. Reviews provide social proof that you deliver what you promise. You naturally are going to say you are the best choice in town. Who else can verify that is true? According to a Northwestern University Marketing Study, when multiple options are presented, the option with most reviews tends to win. The optimal number is 15-20 positive related reviews collected over time to show consistency. As a rule, customers look for 4.4 or higher out of 5 stars with 73% preferring a written review to stars only. 93% hesitate to buy if no reviews are available. Make it easy for customers to discover that others are saying about your company and include these across all your marketing platforms.
Power Habit Number Six:
Incorporate promotions, rebates, and financing into your proposal options. The goal of any promotion is to help solve the affordability issue for your customers. 66% of consumers consider promotions to be important and/or vital to the purchase. 58% have less than $1,000 in savings and 73% have less than $5,000 of available funds on hand. It has never been more important to offer promotions and financing to your customers. The more you help customers find ways to make the purchase affordable and stay within their budget numbers, the more sales you will close.
At Grandy Associates, we have been helping business leaders for over three decades with one goal. Helping you be profitable in what you do. Please let us know how we may provide additional resources to you and your company by contacting me at: pchapman@grandyassociates.com.
