What Do You Value?

I think most lists of company values are crap.

Yes, I said "crap."  Why?  Because, in my opinion--the lists are contrived from a random list of values that the leaders think "sound good" or would be good for the organization.

If you want to dig deep on this, spend 3 minutes at Jim Collins' site to listen and learn about the absolute #1 best way in the world to select your company values:  Examine your best employees and what makes them special--and take their list of collective values and attach them to your company.

I've used Collins' technique and can tell you it works…very well.

Is The Customer Always Right?

No.  But you want them to feel that way.

Some people that are part of great organizations sometimes act like the customer is on one side of the wall and the employees are on the other.

• "Us against them"
• "They're not paying attention to the rules"
• "Watch out or they'll take advantage of us"

As a good friend and former colleague said so plainly one day, "Customers Make Payday Possible."  Organizations exist to find, create, and keep customers with products and services that meet or exceed their needs. 

Why do we lose sight of that at times? Do we really understand what our customers need?  What they want? If they find it easy and beneficial to do business with us, or is a competitor looking more attractive? I have discovered that by far the best way to learn how your customers perceive your company is to visit them, see them in action, and look back at your own business through your customer's eyes.

Short of that, caring for a customer is not a "nice to do" its a "must do."  There are the same number of reasons to do so as there are competitors from which your customer has to choose.  

Be simplistically easy to do business with.  Anticipate needs. Strive to "delight" and surprise your customers.  Say please and thank you.  

This is not to say you break down procedures and give the store away.  You've got to be profitable and run a good organization.

The customer is not always right.  But you want them to feel that way.

Forgetting To Put The "Sell" In Selling

If you're selling a product with highly technical attributes--well, yes--you'd better know them well and how to sell them. And how they benefit the buyer. But of course--the technical and performance attributes aren't the only reason that buyers buy.

This blog is about getting caught in a trap. The trap of a singular focus. The trap of forgetting why people buy.

Are you selling the practical benefits? And stopping there? Or are you reaching out to customers with a story about "why?"

Some auto experts claim the Honda CR-Z is the best value in automobiles in America today based on fuel efficiency, performance, and the low $20,000 base price. But of course--not everyone buys a car based only on value--or the "logical" reasons for the purchase. We buy for prestige, comfort, safety, resale--and a host of other "emotional" reasons.

Consumers can buy a $800 set of Cutco knives when a $300 set from Macy's might do. Consumers can buy a $800 replacement window when they're commonly sold for $300. And consumers can choose a BMW 128i Coupe for $32,000 when the Honda CR-Z at less than 2/3 the price is judged a better investment.

Long story short--buyers buy on more than just reason, payback, and tangible attributes. The more expensive products listed above might all in fact be much better. And that's where the "sell" in selling comes in.

Paint a picture. Ask questions. Find out what buyers truly value. And then create a compelling "why" that helps them satisfy their emotional as well as logical needs.

Park yourself for 18 minutes and watch this video of Simon Sinek giving a talk about the "why" in buying decisions--and not just "what" and "how."  My good friend Rick VanDermyden shared this with me after a conversation we had about the need for companies to have a "customer and market" focus--as opposed to only a "product and services" focus.

The "traps" are:

1.  Forgetting why companies make stuff.
2.  Forgetting how we sell stuff.
3.  And overlooking "why" people buy stuff.

Enjoy the video--and here’s to good selling!

What's The Value of Your Values?

When you establish values for your company--what's the real value?

I've been fortunate enough to have happend upon Jim Collins' methods for establishing values within a company--and have had the chance to do it twice within two different organizations.

In short, Collins suggests that instead of the executive team sitting down and picking out the 4-5 values THEY believe are important--that instead--they study the best employees in the company, identify the values those employees demonstrate, and where those values overlap--make them the company's own.

What you end up with is a set of values that defines the very best people within your organization. You may then use these values to emphasize behaviors, evaluate performance, and also use them to recruit and bring aboard new employees into the company.

You now have a set of values that really mean something. They not only describe your company--but they ARE your company.

And that's where the real "value of the values" comes into play.

When facing decisions, these values serve an imporant purpose. These values become the filter through which your evaluate choices and they help chart your course very cearly and plainly.

These values--that have been developed from a set of the best characteristics displayed by your very best employees--now have real meaning. This, as opposed to the meaning derived from a set of 5 "classic" values that the management team thought were important and had printed on posters around the office.

Not that you shouldn't print and post them--but wouldn't it be better if they resonated with your employees?

Follow Collins' process and you'll wind up with the best set of values possible--which will help guide you in every way you can imagine.