All Employees Are in Sales- Part II
Posted on | April 24, 2009 | 1 Comment
In Part I of this blog topic, I discussed how employees impact a customer’s buying experience. In this blog entry, I’ll explain how that is the essence of your sales efforts.
This will be short, because the concept is so simple.
Your employees can sell your products or services by showing that they value customers. Period. End of concept. End of post. (almost)
‘Value our customers?”
What’s that mean?
I mean that they should really, truly value your customers. There should be genuine concern by your entire staff to help, serve and improve a client’s status or position. Genuine effort is required, but genuine concern is equally important. Most customers can detect when a clerk or salesperson is faking it. That is a huge barrier to getting repeat business, which should be the goal of every business in some form. It’s too hard winning all new customers every day. It’s easier to sell a customer whose already accepted your product or service. So, do everything it takes to get the customer to return.
The first and most important element in that effort rests with your staff. They are your company. That one rude (or exceptional) employee, as much as anything, will be remembered by your customer the next time she is going to buy your or your competitor’s product or service. So, hire, fire and invest in people properly. Don’t “train” your staff. We train dogs, seals and show horses. “Empower” your staff with skills, knowledge and rewarding work environments. “Develop” your human resources.
Get this. . . in many European countries, the success of a company is measured largely by employee retention and job satisfaction. We treat employees quite differently here in the USA, and it shows in the lack of employer-employee loyalty. Who pays the price for that distrust and lack of loyalty? The customer, that’s who.
Align your company’s vision and goals with those of your staff, and you’ll be on the path to making customers happy. My guess is that most of your staff has no clue what your company is trying to become, accomplish or excel at. So, it is no wonder that those values aren’t translated into quality customer relations.
Do you get it? If you don’t, your business is almost assuredly underperforming.
I got fired yesterday. What a blessing it was!
Posted on | April 20, 2009 | 1 Comment
This is a true story. I got fired by a client yesterday. I don’t get fired by clients often. In fact, I can only remember a handful of times, when I have been fired as a lawyer over the past 18 years of my law career.
Getting fired yesterday was a blessing.
Here is why. In a nutshell, I was never going to please this client. He wanted me to tell him that the law is something different than what it actually is.
I don’t tell my clients what they WANT to hear. I tell them what they NEED to hear.
Lesson #1- You are not going to please every client or customer. So, don’t try.
Long story short, my client did not like the bad news that I delivered. This client came to me for legal documents to complete transactions that are generally prohibited by Indiana law. When I explained to him that he could not do what he wanted to do, he became very frustrated. He was disappointed that his lawyer, which was me until yesterday, would not sanction and approve his business model. He never expected that his lawyer would discourage him from a business model that he had already spent thousands and thousands of dollars creating. In fact, after I first met him and delivered the bad news a few months ago, he spent hours and hours on the Internet trying to prove me wrong. He found several websites of other companies offering to do the same unlawful business that he wants to do. So, he found it very hard to accept my advice. Even after I printed and gave him sections of the Indiana Code that clearly prohibit his business model, he remained in disbelief.
If you are a professional services provider, your clients must have faith in you. If they do not trust or have faith in you, they will ignore your advice or not follow it religiously. If they do not follow your advice, they are, in essence, paying you for the privilege of ignoring your advice. They can ignore your advice, all on their own. If they are not accepting your advice and counsel, they are paying you for nothing. There is no good reason for them to pay you for nothing. That is simply a waste of their money. So, you either need to establish a higher level of trust or terminate the relationship.
Lesson#2- If you can’t please a client or customer, end the relationship on good terms- early.
If you do have a client or customer whom you cannot please, end the relationship on good terms now. Don’t struggle to try to fix a broken business relationship. There are plenty of customers and clients who need good advice, other services and products. This is a variation of the old 80-20 rule. 80% of your problems come from 20% of your “bottom” customers. While 80% of your profits come from 20% of your “top” customers. Spend your time and energy on the top 20% of your customer-base. If you spend your time and energy on the customers whom you will never please, you are doing a disservice to your best customers, that difficult customer, your employees, your business partners, and yourself. Let the bad customers go, and add to the number and quality of your top 20% customers.
Let that difficult customer go to your competition. You will be happier and more profitable, and your customers will be happier.
To finish my story about getting fired, I met with the client and ended the relationship on good terms. I got paid in full for my time, and returned my client’s file to him. I wished him the best of luck and encouraged him to reevaluate his position. Had he asked, I would’ve helped him find another lawyer. In fact, I spent 15 – 20 minutes with him, explaining once again that the law does not support his position. I gave him specific examples of other cases for other clients, and even suggested that he go talk to some other lawyer-experts in this field. I even offered to arrange a phone call with local experts, who were the chief governmental officers in charge of this area of the law. They happen to be personal friends of mine, and I was willing to arrange private meetings with these lawyer-experts to help the client. All to no avail, because the client is 100% committed to pursuing a plan and business model that poses significant risks to him and his business. He is a client who cannot be pleased, and he would not remember all the efforts I made to keep him out of trouble. The minute he gets in legal trouble, he will develop selective memory, and blame me for his refusal to follow my good legal advise. Who needs that?
It was a blessing to be fired by that client yesterday. I feel bad that the client is making a bad decision, but I did the right thing. The client should have more, not less, confidence in me, but he doesn’t care about that. He is not searching for good advice or a trustworthy advisor. He is searching for legal confirmation that he can do whatever he wants to do. That’s not the type of client I want to serve. So, it is best that the relationship ended.
Can you apply these lessons to your business? Do any of you have customers or clients whom you need to fire? Let me hear about it. Add a comment to this post and tell us your story.
Foreclosure investors shift tactics- IBJ INTERVIEWS YOURS TRULY
Posted on | April 19, 2009 | No Comments
The Indianapolis Business Journal interviewed me recently about real estate, investing and the economy. At first, the reporter misspelled my name. So, I gave the IBJ no links or references.
I got more calls and emails from people to tell me about my name being misspelled than responses to my thoughts about the economy! That’s funny.
Any way, the IBJ was kind enough to correct the spelling of my name, after a couple of days and just one email from me. That’s good service.
So, I’m posting a link to the article here- Foreclosure investors shift tactics.
I’ll post again in a day or less. Come back and read more. Thanks.
What to Do, When a Judge Gets It Repeatedly Wrong
Posted on | April 17, 2009 | 1 Comment
Question from One of Matt’s Readers
“I am a landlord with several properties. I’ve been having a problem with a particular small claims court judge. He always want to put off rendering a decision on a cases. It takes two to three weeks to get a decision on any type of damage hearing. When I do receive the decision in the mail the amount awarded is always about half of what I asked for, with no explanation. I take meticulous records and proof to court and have everything documented. I’m always surprised when he doesn’t make a decision right there. Is the judge required to explain why he disallowed part of my damages. Is this something I should appeal? On what grounds?
or am I throwing good money after bad?”
Matt’s Answer
In Marion County, Indiana, there are nine small claims courts. You can appeal judgments from these nine courts to the Marion Superior Court on any grounds. Actually, you don’t need a reason to appeal. So, one option is for you to obtain your ejectment in the small claims court and then appeal the adverse monetary judgment to the Marion Superior Court. That will be a longer process, however. That is one option.
Another option is to avoid the small claims courts completely and file all of your lawsuits in Marion Superior Court. That is a slower and more complicated process, however. My law firm had a client who experienced the same troubles that you are experiencing. That client, out of pure frustration, filed all its lawsuits in Marion Superior Court. It costs more money and often requires a lawyer’s help. That is a second option.
A third option would be to ask the judge for a few minutes of her time to discuss her court procedures in private. You cannot talk about a specific case in private with a judge, but a good judge would be receptive to a general discussion about her courtroom procedures and the evidence she requires. I would try to make that overture. That might not work, but it is probably worth a try.
A fourth option might be to change the way in which you present your case. If you do not provide the court with a one-page summary of all your damages, you should start doing so. I would label the summary as an exhibit and formally introduce it into evidence. I would make a “big deal” out of your summary of damages. It should be typed, include a title, and look like a formal document. Make it a serious effort.
Here’s yet another suggestion… file a motion to correct error or a motion to reconsider after your next inadequate judgment award. Describe why the court erred and provide an itemized damages calculation. There is not a formal means by which the court in small claims cases can consider a motion to correct error or motion to reconsider, but I would still give it a shot. If you try this, make sure you file this document soon after you get your judgment.
Another option is to simply keep doing what you’re doing. Frankly it is not unusual to wait two or three weeks to get a decision out of any judge in any court in any county in the state. So, I’m not surprised or alarmed that it is taking some time for you to get your judgments.
As a final thought, it might worth trying to bring an attorney to your next case. Judges tend to treat litigants differently when a lawyer is present. After that one case, you might find that the judge treats you differently.
I have given you several suggestions. You might experiment with one, two or all of these. Unfortunately, there is no single, absolute and perfect solution. It is frustrating when courts ignore the law and the facts. It is even more frustrating, when it seems that a court has its own agenda. Please be patient and diligent. Persistence helps as well. Keep trying, and keep fighting for a just result in your cases. For your own good, assume that it is your fault that the judgments are wrong. Assume that you could communicate your position better. In other words, don’t blame the judge for hearing you wrong. Try speaking clearer. Present a better case. You may be perfectly right and you may be doing a good job of presenting your case, but assume you could do better. You might find that a better articulated and presented case will serve you well.
Good luck.
Should You Include An Arbitration Clause in Your Contracts?
Posted on | April 13, 2009 | No Comments
As the costs of litigating disputes continue to increase, litigants are increasingly settling their disputes through arbitration. Arbitration is a process in which a neutral third person (arbitrator) or panel, usually of three persons, considers the facts and arguments presented by the parties and then renders a decision. By utilizing arbitration, litigants can avoid trial, and the lengthy and expensive process of getting to trial. Arbitration usually results in a quicker decision than could be had by going to court. After the arbitrator renders a decision, that decision can be enforced by the courts. However, the courts cannot hear an appeal of an arbitration decision, except in the case fraud.
Arbitration is often preferable for the plaintiff who wants quick redress for the harm he or she has suffered, but defendants may prefer the longer and slower processes of trial and appeal in the courts. The rules of evidence in arbitration differ from those in trial. There are other differences between the two processes. Consequently, before a party agrees to submit to arbitration, thereby waiving the right to trial, careful consideration should be made as to which process is more likely to yield the better result.
How do parties choose arbitration over trial? They simply agree to arbitrate, usually in a written agreement. Written agreements to submit a dispute to arbitration can be signed before or after a dispute arises. So, for example, an employment agreement might include a provision requiring an employee to submit a wage dispute to arbitration. Nearly any agreement can contain an arbitration provision. Agreements can even be written to require mandatory arbitration only if requested by one but not the other party to the agreement.
Whether arbitration is right for you depends on a number of factors particular to your circumstances. However, all parties to an agreement in which significant disputes might arise should consider whether arbitration is a preferable alternative to resolving those potential disputes.
Tags: arbitration > attorney > Contracts > dispute > Indiana > lawsuit
Recession -vs- Opportunity to increase market share- PART II
Posted on | April 10, 2009 | 2 Comments
This post is about OPPORTUNITY. The opportunity we all have today is to grab more market share, because of two important business realities:
1. Your competitors are scared and aren’t fighting for market share these days. They are not spending money on marketing, advertising, sales, creating efficiencies or their human resources.
2. You can establish strategic partnerships today that were not available six months ago. Today, other players in your industry will form relationships, do joint ventures and co-develop or co-market with you. They did not need you as bad last year, but they’ll talk to you about a deal today.
Last week, I wrote a post about OPPORTUNITY. I suggested that you should not be listening to all the negativity about the economy and should look for opportunities. I got a lot of positive reaction to my post, which was encouraging.
Later, I appeared on the Internet show, The Buzz, with Tony Scelzo of Rainmakers. That video will be at the Rainmaker’s website soon. Tony and I talked about OPPORTUNITY in a down market. Although the media does not talk about it, more than ever, there are huge business OPPORTUNITIES today. Also last week, I was interviewed by the Indianapolis Business Journal and was quoted as saying that more millionaires will be made over the next few years than in decades past. (The IBJ spelled my first name wrong! It’s MATT. Not Mike. Amazing!)
Why am I so confident that now is the time to be aggressive in your strategic planning?
My confidence comes from history. After every recession or depression, there is a recovery. And in every recovery, a few get very, very rich. Some of these “recovery millionaires” simply see growth in their existing business operations, but many others create new opportunities through discovery, invention or innovation. Bad times cause people to become innovative. Good times make people lazy.
What our federal government does not understand is that recessions weed out the weak and stimulate innovation that generates new and long-term growth. Great ideas that benefit society are generated during hard times. Fat, bloated and inefficient businesses die or get trim during recessions. Recessions are painful in the short term and healthy in the long term. Recessions are a natural cycle that is disrupted by government bailouts.
The question for you is this: Do you see opportunities to increase the market share for your current product or service? Or, do you see a need that you can fill in a new or more creative way than the current competition? If so, you too could be a “recovery millionaire.”
Think about the opportunity to increase market share through this analogy. Your business is like a small boat at low tide. Low tide represents the current recession. If you can find a way to buy or build a bigger boat today, while labor and materials are cheap, you’ll have a larger boat when the tide returns. And guess what- the tide lifts large boats at the same rate that it lifts small boats. It takes no additional effort to lift a large boat as the tide rolls in, because the returning tide (economic recovery) does it for you. You just have to have a bigger boat in place in time for the tide to return. A larger boat represents more sales, more profits and easier operations.
So, what’s it going to be: a dingy or an ocean freighter? Are you going to seize this opportunity or match or exceed your competition’s withdrawal from the market? Do you really want to become a “recovery millionaire?” Or, are you satisfied with the status quo? How truly strong is your spirit as an entrepreneur?
Have you thought about your market positioning? Are you taking any steps to maximize your opportunities when the economy grows stronger? Will you be ready? Or will you be left behind?
Let me hear your thoughts. Send me your comments.
A Tribute to a Great Man & the KKK’s Worst Nightmare- Morris Dees, Esq.
Posted on | April 8, 2009 | 2 Comments
Morris Dees, Esq. (photo: Kevin Glackmeyer)
If you are very, very lucky, just once in your life time, you will meet a person as great as Morris Dees, Esq. - civil rights activist, lawyer and community leader.
I was that lucky Tuesday evening, April 6, 2009, when I attended the Wabash College Peck Awards Dinner. Wabash College presented its Senior Peck Award to Morris Dees that evening, one that I will not soon forget. I wish you all could have heard the inspiring acceptance speech delivered by Mr. Dees. This is a man worthy of a few minutes of your day today to think about and consider.
Who is Morris Dees?
Just ask the KKK.
Or ask the Aryan Nations.
Those and other hate groups know him well. Morris Dees has successfully sued the Klan more than once. He sued the Aryan Nations. And he has sued governmental agencies. If there is a civil rights violation to be addressed, you couldn’t find a better lawyer to right such wrongs.
What follow are remarks delivered by Patrick White, President of Wabash College on April 6 at the Peck Dinner. Please enjoy:
“Morris Dees is an activist and a lawyer, not a unique combination, but rare enough. What is more, he is an activist through the law. The United States of America was invented as a nation built upon a solid basis in law. It is well to remember how rare this grounding in law was in the 18th century, and we might be humbled to realize how limited the rule of democratic law is in the 21st century.
Throughout history the question has been not only what is the law, but who is the law for, who should the law protect? The simple answer in a democracy should be the law should protect all citizens, even more broadly all the people. But too often the answer has been the law has been worked to protect the powerful, with the conviction that law is for the mighty. Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center have for years found a way to recalibrate our sense of the law and for whom the law exists. Morris Dees through his activism and his knowledge and use of the law has made the country strong. Morris Dees has worked tirelessly to make the law the servant of all the people – not just the powerful.
In so doing he has done much good against the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Nations and other groups who would divide the nation and deny the protection of the law to those with whom they disagree or those whose lives they abhor.
A few examples of the cases:
In 1987, Morris Dees won a $7 million verdict against the KKK for a lynching in Mobile, Alabama.
In 1998, a $21.5 million judgment against the KKK for conspiracy to burn a black church.
In 2000 through a $6.3 million judgment, he forced the Aryan Nations to give up its compound.
And in 2008, the Southern Poverty Law Center won a $2.5 million judgment against Klansmen who severely beat a young man they suspected of being an illegal immigrant at a county fair in Kentucky
I mention the monetary details to share some sense of the magnitude of these cases and to show the difficult and prolonged labor that must have gone into them as well as to point out the nature of the tactics Morris Dees and the Southern Poverty Law Center have used to stand with the powerless against the powerful — through careful work, they have made it more costly and difficult for the hate groups to be effective and assured that all will be treated fairly before the law.
In his work, Morris Dees has been called a lot of names, has had insults of all kinds slung at him. At the risk of being an ungracious host, I am going to add another name that I reckon Morris Dees has not been called too often in his long and distinguished career, a name that no one in this room certainly would take as an insult. Tonight, Mr. Dees, I wish to call you a conservative. In the good that you have done, you have conserved the rule of law for all of us and one of the great works of your career it to restore the belief in law among those who feel disproportionately the force and control of law and order, and not the gentler hand of justice.
By your practice, your thought, and your argument, you have conserved the power of law to do good, fairly, equally to all in this country. You have helped restore faith in our justice system and a belief in the nobility of the law that is blind to the temptations of the powerful and the mighty and measures all peoples as one before its even balance.
Morris Dees, for your work and your life, for your wisdom, courage, bravery, and determination, for your clear voice for the poor and the disenfranchised, for your lifelong dedication to the power of law, for the role model you provide for the gentlemen of Wabash College as we all strive to be responsible citizens attentive to all in American society and the wider world, for your work that has been much honored and role model for the gentlemen of Wabash, Wabash College is extremely proud to present to you the Senior Peck Award.”
Learn more about Morris Dees and the civil rights group he helped to form here- Southern Poverty Law Center.
A Question About Non-Compete Agreements
Posted on | April 7, 2009 | 2 Comments
Question for Matt-
“Matt-
I am in litigation with a company I had a 3 year non-compete. They litigate many of their former dealers. It has been almost 4 years since I left, and I have one the preliminary injunction hearing in December. My attorney now wants $50,000 up front to continue the case, my small growing business is struggling because of the suit. I am worried about the small amount of assets I have left – I don’t think its possible for me to fight the case this summer – when its slatted for trial. If I fight, if possible, I risk all I have, but if I don’t – I am in the same boat.
I can’t get a straight answer from my attorney about if I loose, although she is great about fighting the case.
Any help?
CM”
Matt’s answer-
First of all, your lawyer stinks at her job!
If she can’t help you understand your case, the law governing your case, your options and the costs-benefits of your options, then she is doing a horrible job. A lawyer is first and foremost an educator. We TEACH our clients what the law is. We TEACH judges what the law is or should be. And we TEACH juries what the facts of a case are and how they mesh with the law.
Good lawyers even TEACH opposing counsel about the strengths and weakness of a case or what the controlling law is, as part of a lawyer’s advocacy for the client.
If you can’t get basic guidance from your lawyer, you have to question everything she does. TEACHING is job #1 for a lawyer. If she can’t TEACH, she can’t “lawyer.”
How is your lawyer going to explain your case to a judge or jury, if she can’t even explain it to you?
Fire your lawyer and find one who can communicate well enough to do the job!
As to your particular covenant not to compete, I would need to read it. I’ve enforced many covenants, and I’ve defeated many covenants here in Indiana. Each case is different, as the facts and the contracts differ from case to case. Also, I am unsure of where you live or what state’s law will control. In some states, restrictive covenants are harder to enforce. So, I would need more details. Sorry, but that’s an honest answer.
I think you might start your analysis with getting a second opinion from a new lawyer!
You can also read Are Covenants Not To Compete Really Enforceable? That’s a blog I posted here several weeks ago.
Best of luck!
Book Review- “Book Yourself Solid” by Michael Port
Posted on | April 6, 2009 | 3 Comments
I recently read Book Yourself Solid by Michael Port. It’s a good read. In fact, it’s a very good read. I’ll probably buy the next book he writes. There is already a follow-up book, but I’m not certain that it is all that different from Book Yourself Solid.
Book Yourself Solid is about generating more business for professionals, service providers and related businesses. I’ve followed the lessons taught in Book Yourself Solid myself for some time. Although there’s nothing revolutionary in this book, this author describes these tools and techniques in a clear and easy-to-follow method. It’s worth buying and reading.
I then went to Book Yourself Solid website, as the book repeatedly encourages. That was a little disappointing. The website is one big sales pitch for other companies, books, services, authors, etc. I felt constantly under pressure to buy something, which is the exact opposite feeling and atmosphere that the book teaches you to create in your customers. That was ironic but still disappointing.
All in all, I recommend the book Book Yourself Solid but not the website. There are other web-resources listed in the book. Those other resources are worth exploring, but don’t bother going to the Book Yourself Solid website itself. Stick to reading the book.
Tags: book review > Book Yourself Solid > branding > business book > business plan > entrepreneur > Michael Port > Small Business
Recession? Or opportunity to increase market share?
Posted on | April 3, 2009 | 2 Comments
You think we’ve got it bad here in the United States? You think the recession feels like the end of life as we know it? Do you think this is as bad as it can get?
Hogwash!
We’ve got it made in the USA!
Hard work and intelligence go a long, long way in this country. This is truly, absolutely and without doubt THE land of opportunity. Unfortunately, it’s also the land of complainers and whiners. We’re spoiled. We have an extremely high standard of living, ready credit (even now!), free primary education, tons of governmental services, social safety nets, and opportunities every where. Yet, most of what you hear these days is doom and gloom.
I just got back from the Caribbean, Panama and Costa Rice. I can tell you from personal observation that we are very, very lucky to be in the USA. The fine folks living in Central America do not have the infrastructure, markets, education, credit or opportunities we enjoy here in the USA. It’s not even a comparison!
Yet, all I hear these days is how bad things are, and how people are suffering. We’re suffering? Really? Tell that to 90% of the World’s people. THEY are suffering. WE are just feeling sorry for ourselves. I know people have lost jobs and income in this country, but we have it GREAT here compared to what the rest of the World has to endure.
If you want to end the recession, then GET MOVING. Stop waiting for Congress (which helped to screw this up in the first place!) to solve our problems. If you own your own business, grow it faster. Hire more workers. Order more materials and parts. If you manage business operations, get better at it. Do something to make your operations better and better and better. Get better every day, and your business will grow. You’ll have to hire more workers. You’ll create more jobs. And, you’ll make more profits.
If we all stop listening to the bad news, the media will stop reporting it. So, turn off the TV and stop reading Yahoo’s news on line. Instead, get busy!
92% of us are employed. Interest rates are still incredibly low. Credit is hard to find, but you can still find credit or credit substitutes. Try building strategic partnerships and alliances in lieu of financing. Consider trades and exchanges with other businesses. Talk to your customers, clients, vendors, suppliers, employees and even your competitors. You never know where you’ll find opportunities. . . especially if you’re not looking.
So, stop worrying. Stop complaining. And start making it happen. The sooner we all get busy, the sooner the recession will end.
Tags: business plan > economic growth > Economy > entrepreneur > Indiana > Indianapolis > profits > Small Business > stimulus
Meet Matt
Expert Author
Categories
- Asset Protection (33)
- Business Attorney (19)
- Buy Sell Agreements (4)
- Cash Flow (8)
- Contracts (10)
- Insurance (9)
- Law (42)
- Marketing (14)
- Real Estate (35)
- Small Business (48)
- Uncategorized (28)
