I cannot take any credit for this... This is part of an email that I received from not only one of my Great Mentors, but a better friend....
Folks, it's in Green lettering because it's simply. M-O-N-E-Y! Right on!
Check this out, below are our corporate values but if you think about it, these really apply to anyone who is in business and has customer bases. food for thought:
WE Must: Listen to the Voice of the Customer
WE Must NOT: disregard the voice of the customer
* think about this one. What are "your" customers telling you...what do they need and want in a product, support?
We Must: Be disciplined Professionals
We Must NOT: Be reckless amateurs
*work professionally, ethically, show true character and do not compromise. Our character is very important..."Be more concerned with your character than with your reputation. Your character is what your really are while your reputation is merely what others think you are..." Dale Carnegie
We Must: Embrace change
We Must NOT: Resist Change
*our environment is constantly changing with technology and even economically.
We must commit to accept the changes and work through and with it.
We Must: Improve continuously
We Must NOT: Remain Status Quo
**This one goes with everything and applies to all aspects of business and even our lives. Improve ourselves, what worked today may not necessarily work tomorrow. Look at what we are doing look at ourselves are we improving or continuing down the path of what didn't work yesterday. Are we struggling with getting new customers? lets look at how to gain new ones. Are you struggling with keeping records or appointments? figure out a filing system that works, look at your appointment book continuously through out the day...the night before, the morning of, after calls, look at your week...plan appointments out to 2-3 weeks in advance and mark them down. Are you learning? Knowledge is key, grab someone to mentor and say "show me".
We Must: Be proactive
We Must NOT: Be reactive
*Being proactive keeps us a step ahead of our customers and competitors. If you listened to the Voice of the customer, you might be able to anticipate their needs and perceive what they need before it becomes a fire drill. Being reactive, i.e. a delivery person for breakdowns, a fireman putting out fires because we did not ask the right or all the questions. We Must: Manage our financial health
We Must NOT: Practice irresponsible financial management We Must: Use strategic selling skills
We Must NOT: "sell like hell"
*Sell like hell, is selling at below margin, sell no matter what. In instances like this it is easy to forget your ethics, your professionalism, and even in some cases your respect with customers. Remember your customers are watching you too..."is this guy helping us or just a guy we can bully on pricing." It is easy to get in this mind set and difficult to get away from it. I have used a term "added value", what added value can I provide and show this customer, beyond the sale. What will make this customer remember "me" as a resource for support and product. We must think for a few minutes before we enter a dialogue with our customers...what is our purpose, what is our goal?
We Must: Work as a team
We Must NOT: work independently - No "I" in Team
*This goes with every company and group of people who are intended to work together to achieve a certain goal. From sports, to business and even our personal relationships with others. One individual can make or break, but if all are a team others can help in areas where some lack.
We Must: Make data driven decisions
We Must NOT: Make emotional decisions
*I like this one...how many times have we been in a sales situation and left to much on the table. How many times have we all said "If I could go back and do that again...sheez." If we know the situation in advance, a situation is easier to figure out. Qualify customers before charging in and "sell like hell". Look them up, find out what they do, do you have a product that can support them. Can you support them. I only get "x" dollars out of this customer not "xxx" dollars, but I am there all the time...maybe less time and find a customer who can provide "xx" I only get "x" dollars out of this customer but he has potential for "xxx" dollars - find out why. Stop look around, ask yourself...who are they buying from, why.
We Must: Decide, Commit and Execute
We Must NOT: Procrastinate
*Procrastination is a killer of all"...and all listed above. Once we figure out what we must do it is of the utmost importance to Decide this is the right path. Do not hesitate to walk it, commit to it and execute your plan. If it doesn't work at first, give it time, if you still struggle...step back and re-evaluate again....make the changes again and again until you find what works for you. We are constantly reinventing ourselves in our daily lives; some want to loose weight, other gain muscle, others education and the list goes on...we must look at ourselves and reinvent.
Thought you might like these .... the ones with (*) is just my thoughts on each item. The food for thought is ...look at each value and fill in your own thoughts as to what they mean to you. I am always surprised that they are completely different from person to person.
