October 2019 « Confidence Coach

The Magnitude of Your “First Customer”

We’ve talked before about your employee being your “First Customer.” One way at Confidence Coach that we help companies grow is to help them recognize that their greatest untapped resource is their employee — who we refer to as their “First Customer”.

Your employees are the ones that know the most about your business. They have the greatest interaction with your customers. Nobody has a greater bearing outside of you for your company’s success, than your employees do.

So in order to start thinking about your employees as your First Customer — thus increasing employee participation, engagement and enthusiasm — ask yourself these questions:

1. What do you do for your (paying) customers that you could do for your employees?

Are there any discounts on products or services or is there something you do at events that you could also do for your employees? It could be any number of things and only you can answer that question.

Be original!

But, you need to start recognizing that your employees are your First Customers. Start thinking of them in this way and create an “experience” for them like you would create for your paying customers.

2. How can you serve or support your employees better?

It’s a simple question, yet if they are your First Customer and they’re so important, you should be thinking about how you can serve and support them in a way that would help them do a better job at work. If they feel supported and know you really care, this will increase their performance and also improve their attitudes at work.

3. What do your employees need from you in leadership?

How is that to be done? What are they looking for? Have you asked them what they need as far as leadership, vision or direction for themselves, for their unit/division of the company? You need to have that conversation. I think you will be surprised at what you hear.

4. What are your employees’ stumbling blocks in their work?

What’s getting in the way of them reaching their full potential to produce, serve and make a happy repeating customer? They should be able to tell you these things and then you need to know how to overcome them.

5. What are three things you will do to improve your First Customer (employee) experience?

Think about three things you will do this month to make your employee experience better. The first thing you’re probably going to say is: you’re already paying them; we have benefits, vacation, etc. But those things aren’t enough in today’s economy because employment is basically zero. There are a lot of jobs out there and not enough people to fill them. Do something different and think about them as your “First Customer”. What are three things you could do for them that would give them a greater sense of value, appreciation and support in the work that they do for your company?

Helping companies view their employees as their “First Customer” is just one of the processes we use. If this peaks your interest, we also have a process called The Dream Employee. We love working with business owners and their employees.

We also love to help employees tap into their greatness to exponentially grow your company! Reach out to us at confidencecoach.org and schedule a free consultation today to help you with your First Customers.

by Scott Ballard , October 27, 2019

You have a Choice

Do you sometimes feel like you don’t have any choice in making a change that will take your business to the next level? Don’t fall into that trap.

You always have a choice.

Sometimes that choice is simply in how you respond or react to change, adversity or a particular situation.

The first and most important choice is to have a mindset to look at situations, difficulties, challenges, obstacles, barriers in your business as opportunities. The bigger, more difficult and the more challenging a situation or problem is — the greater the opportunity you have to build a bigger and better future for you and your business.

One of the ways to do this is get clear:

Identify. Get out of your mind and onto a piece of paper exactly what this obstacle, barrier or challenge is.
What’s in the way. Decide what are all of the things around it that are preventing you from moving past it or finding a solution to go around it.
List them out. List each obstacle or situation out so that you can break them down. Ask yourself the question for each one: What is a simple, basic thought to transform this barrier or obstacle?
First Step. What is a simple first solution or step that would take us past, through or over the top of this obstacle?

A lot of our coaching is “thinking about your thinking”. Be aware of how you’re reacting to challenges and problems in your company, business or corporation.

I’d be curious to hear what the biggest obstacle is that you are facing. What do you feel is keeping you from reaching the next level in your business?

What’s in the way?

Identify and work on what’s in the way; then you can also get clear about solutions and next steps. (Which will also help you figure out the team and resources that you will need in order to move forward.)

Today’s all about choice. But, first you have to choose to think about these obstacles, barriers and problems in a whole new way.

That’s the challenge today — think about what’s in your way. Let us know what that is and/or schedule a free consultation and let us take you through this little exercise and help you turn your obstacles into opportunities.

by Scott Ballard , October 20, 2019

Do you have an Unfair Recruiting Advantage?

We are working with several companies right now and their number one challenge is on-boarding and recruiting. They are trying to fill empty spots that they have in their company and it’s becoming a huge issue.

One client was sharing the other day that he has a candidate for a very important position. He met with him, went through all the interviews, and they really feel that this is the right person. But, the gentleman told him that he has two other offers and that he’s trying to decide which is the best offer. The money’s about the same, the industries are the same and the company sizes are pretty equal. The client said he didn’t know what else to do in order to get this guy to come to work for them and not one of their competitors.

I asked him what he’d talked about. He said, he’d told him about how great the company was, the culture, that their company is like a family, and they’ve been in business a long time. This would be a great fit for him and he wouldn’t have to move. Unfortunately, these are all the same things that every other company has been telling him.

So I said, why don’t we think about it from the candidate’s viewpoint. I told him to call the guy back in and once he’s sitting down, ask him these questions:

How could this position help you get what you want out of life?
What are your dreams, goals, aspirations?

Then spend a half hour talking about how your company can help him achieve those dreams, goals and aspirations.

And I said to him, if everything else is equal, but you’re actually talking about what the candidate wants to do with his life, his personal dreams and goals for himself, his family, and find out what he wants out of life — once he sees that you care about that, you will have an unfair recruiting tactic that nobody else is using in your industry. Sure enough, that was the result. The guy came to work for him after they had that conversation.

Are you experiencing problems in this zero unemployment environment? Do you need more people on your team? Is recruiting much harder, and you seem to have an endless number of vacancies to fill? Try this approach and ask the recruits the above questions.

This will set you apart from your competition and enable you to get those key people into your company so that you can keep on the path of growth.

At Confidence Coach, we help business owners, CEOs, and entrepreneurs with the task of maximizing their greatest asset, which is their employees, their “first” customers. Part of doing this is you have to be a great recruiter. Part of being a great recruiter is not seeing it just from your side (the company’s side). Instead, you need to see it from the perspective of the potential candidate — who could come in and help your company grow even further.

We also use these same questions when working with companies using The Dream Employee. If you’d like to know more, schedule a free consultation.

by Scott Ballard , October 13, 2019

What Makes Employees Stay?

What makes employees stay with a company or organization for a long time?

As we’re using The Dream Employee process with companies, we’ve discovered two things that make people stay.

When we ask someone who’s been with an organization 5, 10, 15, 20, even 30 years, why they have been there so long, we consistently hear the same answer.

It is because they feel acknowledged and appreciated.

They are acknowledged for the value and contribution they bring to the business.
They are also told how much they are appreciated for the great job they are doing.

As a leader, manager, CEO, or business owner if you remember to do these two things — ACKNOWLEDGE and APPRECIATE your employees — it will extend the life of your employees!!

If you have any comments or thoughts on this, let me know.

by Scott Ballard , October 9, 2019