RECENT ARTICLES

Below you will find a sampling of world-class articles written by Andrew and many of these articles have been published in national sales/service magazines or featured in association newsletters around the country. These articles incorporate tips, tools and techniques on how to improve upon your own performance as well as the performance of your company.

What Are “Moments Of Truth”?

What are these “moments of truth” you ask? These are the moments or opportunities that each individual within your sales/service company has when an occasion presents itself to impress a customer or prospect with “world-class” customer service. These moments of truth can be big or small depending on the customer. What else determines a moment of truth? The philosophy of your company. As I always like to say, “Speed of the leader is speed of the gang”. If your top management team pays only lip service to “world-class” customer service, then your people will do the same. And in addition, if your top management team doesn’t treat your own people with respect and compassion, then do you really believe your team will treat your customers any differently? The answer is no!

What brought this subject to mind is a very simple example. Where I live are a number of national donut/coffee chains that are spread out all over town. I used to patronize these locations until I realize very quickly that each time I ordered a coffee and a bagel, I would hand my hard earned money over to their front line employee and I would wait…waiting for them to give a simple thank you…and I wouldn’t hear anything. What made it even more aggravating was these “front line” employees wouldn’t even look me in the eye or acknowledge my purchase. I actually spoke to one of their managers who said “well, what do you expect from kids!” I retorted by explaining to him people respond to others based on the expectations that have been set and established by their manager/supervisor. I am not sure he appreciated my observation. I also mentioned to him that the slightest disrespect or perceived bad service to a customer can mean an unhappy customer who does come back. My decision was simple…I haven’t been back.

Why am I sharing this story with you? Again, it goes back to the “moments of truth” with each and every customer/prospect you come in contact with. What are some of your moments of truth? They could be:

1. The attitude you and your team choose everyday.
2. The acknowledgement a customer gets when they walk through your door.  
3. The polite way a customer is helped over the telephone.
4. The helpfulness and knowledge of your staff about your products and services.
5. Making your customer feel special by being “present” for them.

And the best thing about these “moments of truth”… they don’t cost anything. The only thing you need to invest in is a new attitude and philosophy about really caring about your customers. Because if you don’t…somebody else will. By the way I now get my coffee from a different retail coffee outlet. They even invite me to have a great day!

TTPTip: First identify, with the help of your team, when and where are your “moments of truth” with your customers/prospects and list them out. Next, incorporate these truths into your new philosophy and coach and train your people on this new mind-set. Once you’ve set the expectations, don’t step over any bad or indifferent behavior by your team when it comes to implementing these philosophies. Your customers will love you for it. Good luck till next month. If you would like more information about this subject or other topics regarding grooming and growing your people, please send me an E-mail at andrew@totalpeakperformance.com

Another Moment Of Truth

As many of my subscribers know, I travel around the country speaking and working with sales companies on sales and customer retention strategies. And as I travel through airports, fly on planes and stay in hotels, I am always on the lookout to share with you great “moments of truth”. A moment of truth is when you take an ordinary situation and turn it into an extraordinary event, an event that makes you stop and say “Wow!”

I couldn’t wait to share my latest experience: I was traveling on Southwest Airlines, which by the way I love, as they seem to make the world of hectic traveling a little more pleasant. As the flight crew was passing out their little snack packs, I decided I would go for the Oreo cookie chips. Like most of you, nothing goes better with cookies than a glass of milk. I asked the flight attendant, Charollotte, if I could get some milk with my cookies. She apologized and said they don’t carry milk on their flights. Perplexed, I asked “what if I wanted milk in my coffee?” She informed me that they use dairy creamer.

Upon seeing my disappointment she entered into the “moment of truth” zone. Do you know what that is? This is the zone in any customer service experience where you can either make or break that experience by choosing its outcome. Will it be a neutral or negative experience or striving to create a ‘Wow” experience? Would she pass or fail the “moment”? This is the fine-line between delivering “world-class” service or “lost opportunity” retention? She then leaned over and said “Sir? I happen to have a thermos of milk I brought with me for my lunch; I can share it with you.” Of course I said she didn’t have to do that, but I appreciated her offer anyway. She said “No, sir, I know I don’t have to, but I want to.” I accepted her offer. Charollotte had a choice to make and she chose to create a “Wow” experience. We chatted for a while and I told her I wanted to use her example in my customer service programs. She was very flattered. What did she do differently? She has that conscientious mind-set, an attitude that when it comes to delivering world-class service, she knows what needs to be done.

Too many companies practice “lip” service and not true customer service. According to some statistics, 68% of people stop doing business with you because they perceive disinterest or rudeness by either you and/or your company. Again it comes down to the right attitude both on-site and at the top. How do you and your company size up in respects to your customers “moments of truth?” Charollotte later told me that Southwest practices what they call “POS”: Positive Outrageous Service, which is a great book by T. Scott Gross. This is their company culture and it works. What can you do to create the same culture within your organization? There’s a reason your customers reciprocate their loyalty to you by renewing their business because of the world-class service you deliver each and every day to them, no exceptions. As I continue to witness or experience Wow “moments of truth” I will share them with you. The way I look at it, if I can get you to think a little differently or help you think of a powerful “moment of truth” that you can use to deliver better customer service to your customers, then I just created a moment of truth with you.

TPPTips: At your next sales meeting, begin asking your team for examples of “moments of truth” that have occurred between them and your customers. After sharing with your team, distribute these moments throughout the rest of your company. Maybe by sharing you can all experience the “Wow!” Also while doing this exercise, identifying areas that need improvement or tweaking, like maybe your current “new client” protocol or looking for ways to enhance the education of your customers. Good luck till next month. If you’d like more information on this topic or other advertising sales & service topics and issues, please email me at andrew@totalpeakperformance.com

Don’t Bite The Hand That Feeds You

With the economy still trying to find its legs, renters are cautiously sitting on the sidelines struggling with concerns about job security and recognizing the need to save instead of spend.  The focus must now be on how your property management company can keep its current residents, the ones who pay your bills and salaries each month, happy and renewing.

Why is it that most property management companies spend more time, energy and money trying to attract new residents and less time, energy and money trying to keep their existing resident’s happy? Just look at your line budget items for advertising and resident retention and the story is apparent.  Statistics show it costs 6x more money to replace an existing resident; so let’s focus our energy there.  As I speak around the country to management companies and apartment associations I hear the on-sites concerns about turnover and residents looking for better deals. Some even voice frustration about their companies imposing rent increases during these challenging economic times. Unless your community’s occupancy is 98% or higher, does raising rental rates sound like a good idea at this time? Probably not. It’s simple: don’t bite the hand that feeds you.

So what can you do to keep your residents happy and renewing?  First of all, treat and handle your residents with care. Let’s start by providing less “lip service” and delivering more “customer service”. Remember to under promise and over deliver.  I truly feel delivering world-class customer service is an attitude that you can’t learn from reading a book; it comes from within. When it comes to customer service attitude, you hire for it or fire for not having it. This may be your business, but it’s their home.

According to Satisfacts.net, 48% of residents leave an apartment community because of what the resident terms “controllable property issues”. These issues can range from noisy neighbors to rental increases to slow response to service requests. Whatever the reasons, the resident didn’t feel the management company did enough to service their needs.  Secondly, delivering and creating world-class customer service is a conscious choice made by you and your team ever day. You either choose to offer a negative experience, a neutral experience, a positive experience or I challenge you to create a WOW experience. The more WOW’s your residents experience at your property, the higher the probability you’ll have to renew your residents. Here are some other ways to WOW your residents:

• Offer your current “move-in” special as a “renewal” special-residents do talk to one another
• Replace your template renewal letter with something more personal, like an anniversary card, invite them to your office for their anniversary gift and schedule a renewal meeting in their apartment.
• During any resident conflict, ask yourself are you willing to lose this resident and possibly others from any negative fallout?

There are many other ways to create WOW experiences for your residents. Get together with your team and put your brainstorming caps on and ask the question “how can we WOW our residents?” Making residents happy is not only good business sense; it should also be a rewarding experience for you and your co-workers. Good luck and have fun. 

TPPTip:  During your renewal strategy meetings include your maintenance teams; as you know they have the biggest impact on your renewals. Let your onsite teams know whose birthday’s are coming up so everyone can “WOW” a resident with a birthday wish and review those residents coming up for renewal over the next 90-days so your leasing and maintenance teams can make a difference to those residents. If you’d like more information on creating WOW moments for your residents or any other information on retaining residents please me an email at andrew@totalpeakperformance.com.

Good luck till next month.

Motivating In A Down Economy…Starting Today!

We knew it was coming; the analysts and the pundits have been giving us economic warnings for the past 12 months. Then, consumer confidence began to wane, as gas prices shot up to over $4 a gallon, food prices increased and the subprime mortgage crisis hit. The economy began to slowdown and with it, came a slowdown in sales activity, revenues and service…and a slowdown in employee motivation. With it brings rise to lackluster performance and excuses on why they can’t sell or renew. This means as sales and service industry leaders; it is your responsibility to keep your sales & customer retention teams motivated while we ride these waves of uncertainty.

Regarding your sales and service teams, first make sure everyone is “getting back to the basics” of selling and servicing. We all get complacent from time to time and we lose our competitive edge.  I’ve always found by reiterating the basics, your teams will get re-focused on the principles and disciplines that got them there in the first place.  
                                                                               
After assuring the basics are being adhered to, the first thing you need to look at are your incentive programs for your sales teams. Incentive programs will help you, your teams and your sales and service company to focus on key areas of its business, mainly selling more product/services and reducing customer turnover. 

The question is how will you motivate your teams and dangle the proverbial "carrot" in front of them, while the economy and sales activities begin to make a comeback? The carrot is "sales & customer retention team incentives".  I’ve run national sales organizations for over fifteen years and can attest to the fact when new monies or contests are waved in front of the eyes of sales and service teams…they get juiced, they get reinvigorated and they are ready to sell, sell, sell and service, service, service all over again.

By implementing incentives you not only motivate your top-level performers, you more importantly motivate your mid-level performers who are larger in numbers than those at the top. A small improvement from your mid-level performers adds up quickly.  Money is a motivator (but not the sole motivator). As I like to say, "cash is king". If cash is not freely available, try using incentive trips or prizes like IPods, paying mileage, the new latest cell phone or even gas gift cards. The key is to re-energize and re-focus your sales & customer retention teams to add a little fuel to their tanks.  I promise, carefully selected incentives will help you to meet your market/company budgeted revenue numbers during these tight times.

Let's look at possible incentive programs: Some incentive could be sales contests. The first sales SuperStar to make three new sales wins an extra $100 or the person who demonstrates reduction of an expense item by eliminating redundancy wins a gift card. When it comes to customer renewals have a team incentive that includes both sales & customer retention teams. This type of incentive also helps your market personal work more as a team. For instance, if customer renewals are increased by 25% they all share equally in a bonus of that percentage.

TPPTip: Remember to include everyone in your incentive programs to create a closer team environment and create a little competition. Incentives make everyone feel like they are truly part of your team and part of the solution. There are many creative and fun programs to put into place so have fun as you re-energize your company’s destiny.
Good luck and if you’d like more information on this topic or other sales and service industry topics please email me, andrew@totalpeakperformance.com

How to Hire Sales Superstars

With the economy making a slight comeback in the first quarter of 2002, most of my recent coaching work with my sales clients has been concentrated on improving upon and/or adding to their current hiring efforts. During our calls, we have been discussing the challenges they are facing during their hiring and interviewing process for sales professionals. A re-occurring theme was their lack of formal training in their interviewing/hiring skills. Let's face it...if you don't interview for a living, like a recruiter does, then it's easy to become "atrophied" in this process. In addition, if you don't have time to practice your interviewing skills, then you will continue to make hiring mistakes. Let me pose a question to you...can you afford to continue to make hiring mistakes? Have you calculated what it costs to hire a replacement, especially in this job market?

Here are some of the common mistakes that are made by sales/service interviewers:

1. The expression, "First rate people hire first rate people and second rate people hire third rate people" should say it all. The insecurities or confidence of the interviewer will show in their hiring process, especially if the position is within their own department.
2. Not having a formal job description. The only way you can "expect what you inspect" is to set the expectations with a written job description. This allows each person to know what is expected of him or her and creates personal accountability.
3. An inadequate screening process. Utilize a telephone screening process before bringing a candidate in for an in-person interview. Your time is valuable. By using a formalized telephone questionnaire, this will give you a "snapshot" of the foundation of each candidate.
4. Brush up on your in-person interviewing skills and the types of questions you will want to ask. Do you have a written list of questions to ask each sales/service candidate?
5. Not utilizing a second opinion. If you feel you have a strong candidate, ask one of your managers or a top sales/service professional to meet with the candidate for a "mini" interview. This gives you a second set of eyes and eliminates the "halo" effect. The "halo" effect is when you are "blinded" during the interview process when the person reminds you of yourself.
6. Not checking references thoroughly. When I ask my sales/service coaching clients, "who does their reference checks," some of them have said their assistants do the reference checks. OUCH! If you are being held accountable for your hiring decisions, then you need to be the one who does your own reference checks. Your assistant may miss some crucial information that could save you a big headache down the road.

By implementing these six key areas in your hiring and interviewing process you will eliminate the chances of making a bad hire. Remember.... hire the "right" sales professional the "first" time.

TPP Tip: Before you conduct a telephone interview, know what you're looking for in each sales/service position that you're hiring for. If the candidate sounds strong on the telephone, immediately set up an in-person interview. Don't let them get away. In addition, do your homework before the candidate comes in, by reviewing their resume and making notes about the questions you may want to ask, aside from your prepared list of formal questions. Most importantly, take the interviewing process very seriously, because the success of your sales company and your career depends on it!

Tis The Season Of Budgets

As a sales/service professional, it will soon be the time of year when you begin to gear up for one of the most important fiduciary responsibilities you have. preparing your new budget. Since most sales companies begin their budget process during the third quarter, I thought the timing for this article would be perfect.

Over the years, when developing my own company budgets and while working with my current sales/service coaching clients on developing theirs, time is always an obstacle. What I mean is that we often do not have enough upfront budget prep time because of daily work-load, and this means we end up "rushing" through the budget process which increases the possibility of error, which never ends being in your favor. Your budget is like the "play book" of a professional football team, where lack of preparation shows on the playing field.

So.let's do a budget check-up to make sure you'll have a head start and an effective budget to help you reach and exceed your occupancy and revenue goals:

1. Have your teams pull their budget file and notes from last year's budget folders. Now, review this information to get a "feel" of what and how you and your team were thinking when preparing last year's budget. Will you think differently for this year's budget versus last?
   
2. Pull a current year-to-date financial statement with all expense/revenue lines broken down separately and take the temperature of your current financial situation. What shape are you in going into the next year? What trends could affect you?
   
3. Calculate your staffing and sales/marketing needs, your revenue/renewal targets and your projected expense items. Remember, your budget needs and wants are two different things.
   
4. I recommended you have your budget worksheets on an excel spreadsheet to make for easy calculating. Also make sure those working with you on the budgeting process make copious notes about their budget calculations so justifying each budgeted line items will be easier. In addition, base this year's numbers from the ground up and not from last year's numbers.
   
5. Compare last year's budget to this year's new proposed budget looking for big variances or "red flags" and discuss those with your multi-housing team.
   
6. Lastly, after your budgets have been approved, place the final budgets into a three-ring binder so your team will have a working budget to operate with throughout the year which builds accountability into your budget forecasting. This means, reviewing their budgets monthly helps them keep on top of their budget performance.

The key to building a successful budget is to get an early start so your time and great thinking/planning can go into this process.

TPPTip: Pull together a budget meeting over a working lunch and get your action plan put together with timelines in place for each task/responsibility for getting the budget completed. Assign specific duties for people and get busy. Have a quick weekly meeting to see the progress everyone is making. To reduce the stress, maybe award a prize for the first team who get their budgets completed on time and correctly. Good luck till next month.

Leading By Example

I recently finished a seminar for a sales/service company on "Leading With Vision In A Challenging Market". This well attended seminar consisted of owners, executive managers, plus regional and local sales managers. During this seminar, we asked the group to identify their challenges as leaders and their responses included how to create new ways to motivate their people, hiring and keeping SuperStars, to developing effective and accountable budgets and creating profitable marketing strategies.

As a group, we discussed, in depth, what are the top qualities of an effective leader, especially with the challenges they and other sales/service leaders around the country face today. One of the qualities we identified was "leading by example". This is such a critical quality because for you to motivate and inspire your team, you need to lead your team by the results of your actions, not just your words. Let's face it, if you don't "walk the talk", then no respect is created between you and your team. And without respect, you can not inspire your team.you can only make demands of your team.

So, what is it you need to motivate and inspire your teams to accomplish? To start with, how about exceeding their aggressive budgets with enthusiasm, having them carry out your company vision with pride or providing "world-class" service to your customers with a smile, just to name a few. These areas, as you know, are critical in the proper execution of your sales/service company's success. Therefore, it is important you realize the impact that your leadership has, with respect to the examples that you demonstrate to your teams.

Think about it. Every action you take is being observed by your team. Whether it's an employee discipline issue or handling a customer problem, your team watches how you act and react to every situation. I like to call it "being on video". Your team constantly has a mental video on you and fortunately or unfortunately, they will play that video back at their convenience. What will your leadership video look like? What will it say about you and the examples you set? Remember, "The speed of the leader, is speed of the team".

TPPTip: Start right now by putting together your leadership action plan, schedule visits to your other locations or just drop down to the sales floor. But don't just make them a quick "walk-thru". Visit and sit with your sales/service professionals. Ask them how you can help them be more successful. What tools do they need to exceed their budget for the next twelve months? And while you're there, why not meet with a few customers or maybe even give a sales presentation to a prospect. Now that's a powerful way to build trust and confidence with your team while leading by example. Good luck till next month.

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