Episode 10Turning Employees into Sales Superstars
More often than not, it’s employees and not business owners who have face-to-face contact with customers and are on the first line of defence. Managing a successful business is no longer just about a strong foundation and innovative ideas, having well-trained staff who buy into your business’s purpose can make or break a small business. Investing in qualified and motivated people is what it is all about, but how do you transform these employees into sales superstars?
Case study
Starting 10 years ago with an electrician and a goal, Service Heroes was born with Anthony and Annie Bedrosian as the owners. Their vision is to change the way we think about tradesmen, and this vision has driven their business’s culture and ultimate success. They have instilled these values within their staff and have created a buzzing workplace culture. They provide quality service from the very first phone call with a customer which has made their marketing an investment and not an expense.
Case Study Key Takeouts
- If your employees are not happy and don’t stand behind your brand, product or service they won’t be servicing your customers in the best way possible and potentially harm your brand’s reputation.
- When hiring new employees, don’t only look for skill but also make sure to choose a candidate that will stand behind your mission and vision and fits in with the rest of the team and the company culture.
- Make your employees happy and they will be able to serve your customers to the highest level.
- Having employees who stand behind the brand and provide a great service every step of the way can have a great impact on your return. For example, a skilled Call Centre can convert more interested consumers into customers and staff providing the service or selling the product can impact on the likelihood of the customer coming back again.
- If you spend money on attracting new customer but the experience the customer has is sub-optimal the money you spent on acquiring customers is not an investment but an expense.
- A great culture needs to be design, it does not happen by default.
Marketing Panel
Peter Likoudis
Director of Strategy, Marketing and Innovation
American Express
James Gilbert
Marketing Director
Hubspot
James Chin Moody
Founder & CEO
Sendle
Panel Key Takeouts
Turning Employees into Sales Superstars
- Create a bold vision that excites you, your customers and your employees.
- Your staff is a reflection of your businesses brand and if your staff is motivated, they will go the extra mile when it comes to sales or keeping your customers happy.
- Unless you are a solopreneur, you rely on other people in order to make profit. Ensure that these people are aligned with your company culture which ultimately boils down to beliefs and behaviours.
- Employee advocacy is marketing from the inside out. By having your employees buy into your core values, they will be able to communicate to potential customers the passion and purpose behind your business, the Why. As such, the purpose becomes your marketing message and your employees are the ones spreading the message.
- Think about your employees who are not passionate about your company and purpose and evaluate how much of a negative impact they have on your business. Decide whether it might be better for them to serve another purpose at another company.
- Training is only a small sub-set of creating a great company culture. You need to be a great role model in order to instil the beliefs and behaviours into your employees that you would like them to portrait.
- Just like you do with loyal customers, recognise and reward your employees for their loyalty and a job brilliantly done. This will not only motivate the employee you are rewarding but also others who want to be rewarded next time.
- When hiring people, there are three answers to the question whether a candidate would like the job an stands behind the purpose: No, Yes and Hell Yeah! Hire people who answer with the latter.
- Continually talk with your employees about why you do what you do. The Why will engage not only your employees but ultimately also your customers.
Small Business and Data Privacy
- Even with Facebook’s recent data breach and the subsequent public outrage, you don’t need to stop using customer data to grow your business as long as you do the right thing by the customer. Be transparent and make sure your customers always know how you use their data.
- Make it easy for the customer to opt out if they don’t want you using their data.
- Ultimately, the only reason you should be collecting customer data is for positive outcomes such as improving the buying experience etc. For example, if you know that a website visitor is in New Zealand, display a New Zealand phone number making it easy for them to contact you without having to look through arrays of phone numbers. It can also improve consumers’ experiences by not offering them products or services that are irrelevant to them.
- Treat your customers’ data as if you are only a custodian of it and use it with care. In the end, it is their data, not yours.