Relational Leadership goes beyond how you treat your staff. It becomes the sum total of your "people focus" which includes your customers.
Today I encountered a genuine relational leader, his name is Frank - no relation! He and a partner own First State Garage Door and he came to my home to resolve a problem I was having with my 20 year old Hechinger opener. When I made the appointment, the call culminated with my saying I would like to fix the opener if I could; if not, I would pay for him to install a new one.
Let me tell you a couple of things about Frank. He is very personable and knowledgable about the operations of garage doors. He uses reliable equipment and charges a fair price for his work. He is respectful of your time. By that I mean he answers his phone, calls back, and shows up when he says he is going to. He tries to educate you about your problem and even is willing to give you hints about how you may fix your problem on your own. He views his business as a long term affair and you as both a potential current customer and a future customer.
When he arrived at my house, I told him I took his advise about fixing the settings and that did not seem to work. He responded that he would try. A few minutes later the door was responding the the remote. After my excitement simmered down a bit and I had thanked him several times, I asked how much I owed him - his answer was "nothing". He didn't do much of anything (except fix the machine!) and it was on his way to another job anyway. He would appreciate my calling him, when the Hechinger finally does make it final upward or downward motion.
Let's examine what he could have done without issue from me. He could have said, if I did what he said to do, then it just had to be replaced. He could have checked it out and said that it was not repairable. He could have said he could repair it and charged $100 or more for the house call. He could have made an augument that the machine was 20 years old and it was time for a new one anyway. What he did was fix it in about a minute's time and would not accept money now but asked me for a promise of money later.
This is a man who understands people and business. He is building a business based on Fidelity, Appreciation and Value. He understands the importance of good will and reputation. He understands that building your business on a strong base will help it through the strong winds that repeated attack the small business owner.
If you need Frank's services contact call him at 302-832-9122 or 877-572-2166 or visit his website at www.firststategaragedoor.com. You will be glad you did!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Monday, April 12, 2010
Relational Leadership and the Telephone Solicitor
There are lots of jobs where rejection is a regular part of the work process. One that pops out is telephone solicitors. This is a stressful job that doesn't pay much money to compensate for the stress. Turnover is high. However there are some things that can be done that will help lower the stress and achieve better results.
At Junior Achievement we conducted a telemarketing campaign to raise needed funds from small and medium size business in the Delaware area. We used volunteers from local companies as the solicitors. This campaign was very successful.
The volunteers received comprehensive training before starting out with their calls and they had on sight support virtually all the time they were at the phones. We had contests, took frequent breaks and stayed on top of the mood in the room. Our objective was to maintain an upbeat atmosphere and be very supportive of the volunteer's needs.
So what did this look like in practice. The training involved communicating the value of Junior Achievement for the youngsters who were involved, presenting information about the facts surrounding the organization, highlighting the achievements of JA Delaware, rehearsing a typical call, identifying objections and how to counter them, setting goals, and drilling home what the volunteer could reasonably expect to achieve from their effort. We brought people in to thank them for their support including students or other volunteers who could testify to the results of JA for kids. Training was ongoing throughout the time (usually a week) they spent with us.
The most important part of orientation was communicating the value of JA and the results we were achieving with the dollars that were being raised. This was followed by what to expect from their calls. Therefore we made it OK to get a "NO" because that was part of the process. Finally being with them, supporting them, and being their cheerleader was vital.
What it amounts to is being relational. Have fun, pay attention, be purposeful, and reward performance - these were our keys to success. You can apply these principles to any form of telephone solicitation.
At Junior Achievement we conducted a telemarketing campaign to raise needed funds from small and medium size business in the Delaware area. We used volunteers from local companies as the solicitors. This campaign was very successful.
The volunteers received comprehensive training before starting out with their calls and they had on sight support virtually all the time they were at the phones. We had contests, took frequent breaks and stayed on top of the mood in the room. Our objective was to maintain an upbeat atmosphere and be very supportive of the volunteer's needs.
So what did this look like in practice. The training involved communicating the value of Junior Achievement for the youngsters who were involved, presenting information about the facts surrounding the organization, highlighting the achievements of JA Delaware, rehearsing a typical call, identifying objections and how to counter them, setting goals, and drilling home what the volunteer could reasonably expect to achieve from their effort. We brought people in to thank them for their support including students or other volunteers who could testify to the results of JA for kids. Training was ongoing throughout the time (usually a week) they spent with us.
The most important part of orientation was communicating the value of JA and the results we were achieving with the dollars that were being raised. This was followed by what to expect from their calls. Therefore we made it OK to get a "NO" because that was part of the process. Finally being with them, supporting them, and being their cheerleader was vital.
What it amounts to is being relational. Have fun, pay attention, be purposeful, and reward performance - these were our keys to success. You can apply these principles to any form of telephone solicitation.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Aspects of Relational Leadership
Welcome to my blog which will feature discussion regarding aspects of relational leadership. I will comment and elaborate on parts of my book The Relational Leader that will help readers better implement the model. Over time I will comment on related leadership and management issues that I think will be of interest.
While not specifically addressed in the book, the concept of customer focus is certainly important in the world of relational leadership. The core of the model is people. People are defined broadly and absolutely include customers. I experienced the essence of customer focus a couple of days ago. Let me tell you about it.
I was hand washing a white cotton sweater that I particularly like. While running the water to rinse it out, I noticed a brown spot forming where the water was hitting the sweater. All of a sudden, I remembered that the city was flushing out the water mains and warned of rust coming out of the faucets during this process. I examined the sweater and noticed there was discoloration throughout the fabric. I was truly disappointed and had no idea what I could do to reverse the damage.
I decided to call the city water department and that is where the story of customer focus begins. My call was answered by a cheerful person. When I told her my problem, she told me that she would connect me to a person who could help. I was immediately connected to another cheerful person who asked me a couple of questions and told me that she would be able to help. She asked for my address and then told me that someone would be by soon to deliver a package that I could add to my water. If I washed the sweater again in this solution the rust stains would go away. Wow, was I delighted.
Within 15 minutes the door bell rang and there stood another water department employee with a big smile and two packets of the miracle substance in his hand. He told me that there was instructions in the bag and all I had to do was to follow them. He wished me well and then left with a smile on face.
Back to the sink, I ran the water and found there was still rust running. I don't know a lot about washing clothes but I didn't think this would be good for my sweater even with the miracle product that I held in my hands.
So I called the water department again, got the same lively, helpful person. No she was not annoyed that I was calling again. She told me not to attempt anything until I got the water running clear. I should go to my tub and run the water full tilt from there until it ran clear and then proceed to wash the sweater again.
Great ending - my sweater looks as good as the day I purchased it. The water department produced a happy and thoroughly satisfied customer!
You know this could have gone a different way. I am sure the folks at the department had many calls from people like me. And in many organizations not committed to customer focus, I would have been treated much differently. We have all experienced "the attitude" of employees who do not hold customers as the purpose of their work. It almost always ends up poorly for the customer.
Virtually every time I encounter a Newark, Delaware city employee, I come away with the same feeling. It makes me feel like the tax dollars I pay are well spent, in fact I think they are the best return I get for a dollar spent.
It really doesn't take any more effort to be pleasant and helpful and the return to the organization is clear. I have a poster I first saw in the office of a senior executive at Delmarva Power 25 years ago. I hung a copy of it in my office and preached its content to staff regularly thereafter. It could be summed up with this portion of the verse, "The customer is not an interuption of our work, the customer is the purpose of our work!"
While not specifically addressed in the book, the concept of customer focus is certainly important in the world of relational leadership. The core of the model is people. People are defined broadly and absolutely include customers. I experienced the essence of customer focus a couple of days ago. Let me tell you about it.
I was hand washing a white cotton sweater that I particularly like. While running the water to rinse it out, I noticed a brown spot forming where the water was hitting the sweater. All of a sudden, I remembered that the city was flushing out the water mains and warned of rust coming out of the faucets during this process. I examined the sweater and noticed there was discoloration throughout the fabric. I was truly disappointed and had no idea what I could do to reverse the damage.
I decided to call the city water department and that is where the story of customer focus begins. My call was answered by a cheerful person. When I told her my problem, she told me that she would connect me to a person who could help. I was immediately connected to another cheerful person who asked me a couple of questions and told me that she would be able to help. She asked for my address and then told me that someone would be by soon to deliver a package that I could add to my water. If I washed the sweater again in this solution the rust stains would go away. Wow, was I delighted.
Within 15 minutes the door bell rang and there stood another water department employee with a big smile and two packets of the miracle substance in his hand. He told me that there was instructions in the bag and all I had to do was to follow them. He wished me well and then left with a smile on face.
Back to the sink, I ran the water and found there was still rust running. I don't know a lot about washing clothes but I didn't think this would be good for my sweater even with the miracle product that I held in my hands.
So I called the water department again, got the same lively, helpful person. No she was not annoyed that I was calling again. She told me not to attempt anything until I got the water running clear. I should go to my tub and run the water full tilt from there until it ran clear and then proceed to wash the sweater again.
Great ending - my sweater looks as good as the day I purchased it. The water department produced a happy and thoroughly satisfied customer!
You know this could have gone a different way. I am sure the folks at the department had many calls from people like me. And in many organizations not committed to customer focus, I would have been treated much differently. We have all experienced "the attitude" of employees who do not hold customers as the purpose of their work. It almost always ends up poorly for the customer.
Virtually every time I encounter a Newark, Delaware city employee, I come away with the same feeling. It makes me feel like the tax dollars I pay are well spent, in fact I think they are the best return I get for a dollar spent.
It really doesn't take any more effort to be pleasant and helpful and the return to the organization is clear. I have a poster I first saw in the office of a senior executive at Delmarva Power 25 years ago. I hung a copy of it in my office and preached its content to staff regularly thereafter. It could be summed up with this portion of the verse, "The customer is not an interuption of our work, the customer is the purpose of our work!"
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