brent phillips

Occasionally, I find myself discussing strategy with local business owners and One of the most interesting conversations I have is how they determine when to ‘change things up’ (offer new services, new products, campaigns to drive sales, whatever). And most of the time, I just hear feedback about marketing – we advertise here. We do campaigns there. We run ABC promotion and want to see XYZ happen. And of course my follow up is ‘so…how’s it going?’

Not surprisingly, many are frustrated because – for all of their effort – business isn’t where it should be and they have no idea why. Granted every business ebbs and flows, but if yours isn’t meeting your expectations, here is one thing to try.

Find a few of your best customers and take them for coffee or lunch. Plan to ask a few questions then spend a lot of time listening. Find out what they love about ‘what you do’ and, most importantly, why they love it. Have them also tell you what they would suggest improving to make your business even better. And definitely find out why they come back. Put yourself in their shoes and experience your business from their perspective. Through these interactions you should find a handful of top priorities to either keep doing (or do even better) and things you might re-think or re-work.

And while advertising and running specials have their place, it is undoubtedly the personal touch that makes small businesses thrive. Give your customers a reason to speak highly about your business to their friends and colleagues. Continue to ‘check in’ with your best customers and give everyone else plenty of ways to give you feedback (don’t forget, bad feedback is also helpful). And when you open your doors every morning, don’t focus on the numbers – focus on the experience that your customers are receiving. Are you simply meeting expectations or are you delivering something memorable? it’s the latter that drives repeat business. If you’re unsure, however, one way to start is by simply asking.

I watched my son’s soccer coach do a great thing recently. To stress the importance of passing and positions (rather than everyone mobbing the ball at the same time), he told them that getting a goal would not count. Rather, each team had to successfully pass the ball 5 times, without being intercepted, to score. Their behavior immediately changed. They moved into position and played much better through the remainder of their scrimmage. Even better, they finally realized that playing this way helped them to achieve the ‘real’ goal of getting the ball past the keeper – each team member had a role in achieving the overall objective.

Businesses need this too.

I’ve participated in teams of all sizes. Some were well tuned and functioned extremely well as a cohesive whole – the total was truly greater than the sum of the parts. I’ve been on the other teams as well. The total seemed to be dimished because focus, emphasis, priorities were all being driven by ‘individuals’ not team members – no ultimate goal was being achieved. There was no ownership of role. There was no service orientation. Every man for himself.

If you observe this, or worse, are a part of it – think about what rule you might change to improve teamwork. What are your rewards tied to? Where could rewards be better applied? As one example, my team has an award every year for ‘making others great’ given to an individual who literally gives of themself to help others exceed their goals. If you are participating, what can you do to better ‘own’ your role? Play it better? Be more service oriented? Set the example? Raise the bar?

Teams succeed because individuals learn to give and contribute, not own and expect. Play your role. Be service oriented. Do your absolute best and trust your team members to do the same. The results will be amazing.