Breathing Life Into Your Values-Based Culture

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What does your company’s culture look like? Can you clearly define it and how it contributes to the overall success of your business? Could your culture benefit from some special attention? Throughout my 25 year career, I’ve admired certain companies that consistently outshine their competition. What is their secret ingredient? I’ve arrived at an undeniable conclusion? company culture.

But when it comes to building and establishing that culture, where do you start? I’ve learned that one of the most essential steps is determining the difference between your company’s priorities and values. Priorities are the day-to-day demands of our jobs. They can shift and change constantly. In contrast, values are the glue that bind us together. Our values must not change; they are non-negotiable. Our daily decisions are grounded in our values, and the key is discovering what is most important to us. I learned where my values lied when I was working for a former employer. My boss was a headstrong individual who would lock in on an idea, lobby some employees to join his cause, then push his ideas on everyone else until he got his way. His behaviors led to some ill-conceived and financially dangerous decisions.

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About the Author

Brian Fielkow is the author of Driving to Perfection: Achieving Business Excellence by Creating a Vibrant Company Culture and owner of Jetco Deliver. in Houston, Texas. He and has presented to thousands of people across the country on how to establish a healthy culture. To continue the conversation, contact Brian at [email protected], and learn more at drivingtoperfection.com.

Contextual References

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StrategyDriven Organizational Performance Measures Best Practice ArticleAll performance is relative and performance measures without contextual references are largely meaningless. Such measures provide a performance count without a value indicator. Without this indicator, managers cannot know what, if any, action is required.

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About the Author

Nathan Ives, StrategyDriven Principal is a StrategyDriven Principal and Host of the StrategyDriven Podcast. For over twenty years, he has served as trusted advisor to executives and managers at dozens of Fortune 500 and smaller companies in the areas of management effectiveness, organizational development, and process improvement. To read Nathan’s complete biography, click here.

The customer is stalling. What do I say now?

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A common question…

Jeffrey, When a client says he or she is “still reviewing their options,” I know you say that’s the result of their ability to see the value in my product or service. But how should I respond to this objection without pushing the customer away? Thanks, Gladys

You are correct that the customer has not seen enough value to select you. And, in fact, I don’t believe you are in first position. Otherwise they would have given you more words of encouragement.

When this or any other stall occurs, you have to be prepared to communicate on a more direct level the customer with something that might evoke more truth and more respect.

Before I get down to the specifics, I want to make sure you understand the big picture – the strategy of what to do from 30,000 feet – so you can eventually get down on the ground and get to battle. Battle for the order, battle against your competition, and battle to gain the customer.

Start your thinking here:

  • Ask as much as you dare. Asking questions allows you to gain information that might lead to a sale much quicker than you giving a sales pitch about why you’re the greatest.
  • Blame yourself for their indecision. To the prospective customer you have fallen short of communicating value, even though you’re certain that you’re the best choice. Be prepared with a list of your best value offerings, and ask to meet in person to go over it.
  • Get clarity and clarification of the customer’s present status. When the customer says they’re still considering other options, obviously you need more information in order to determine exactly where you are, and exactly what to do next. The only way to get this information is to ask them directly.
  • Be certain you’re in the top three choices. If you are not number one, number two, or number three on the present list of potential vendors, there is no way to even win this business.
  • What are the options beyond price that are part of the consideration. If price is the only option, you need to know that. If there are other elements that are being factored in the sale (terms, split order, speed of delivery, quality of product, reliable service), you need to know that too.

Now for the nitty-gritty. And keep in mind that the nitty-gritty questions can only be helpful to you if you understand the big picture.

ASK: How will the decision be made?
ASK: Who else are you considering?
ASK: What are the deciding factors?
ASK: What are you hoping for as an outcome?
ASK: What happened the last time you purchased?
ASK: What has the discussion included thus far?

And to further clarify the situation, and give you some real reasons behind this stall, it may be that:

  • They don’t have the money.
  • They believe they can get it cheaper someplace else.
  • They are looking for convenience and you may be too far away.
  • They do not perceive enough value in your product or service.
  • They have a bad past history with you or an existing vendor.
  • They are unsettled as they weigh the risk factors.
  • They do not have the comfort to move forward.
  • They do not like you, have confidence in you, believe in you, or trust you enough to buy from you.
  • They have some other unspoken objection.
  • They have some other unspoken risk.
  • They are unwilling to decide based on their lack of certainty.

“Still shopping around” or “still reviewing options” is not an objection, it’s a stall that means the prospect has not found someone who gives them enough peace of mind, enough value perception, and enough confidence to move forward.

And you thought it was all about price. Shame on you!

Reprinted with permission from Jeffrey H. Gitomer and Buy Gitomer.

About the Author

Jeffrey GitomerJeffrey Gitomer is the author of The Sales Bible, Customer Satisfaction is Worthless Customer Loyalty is Priceless, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Red Book of Sales Answers, The Little Black Book of Connections, The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude, The Little Green Book of Getting Your Way, The Little Platinum Book of Cha-Ching, The Little Teal Book of Trust, The Little Book of Leadership, and Social BOOM! His website, www.gitomer.com, will lead you to more information about training and seminars, or email him personally at [email protected].

The New Economic Revolution

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There’s a revolution in full swing that is changing the way ordinary Americans make a living. From internet commerce technology has sprung forth the Bottom-Up Economic Revolution. It’s dramatically altered the way business is conducted by both the seller and consumer. Front and center in this shift is platform businesses – small business cloud-based companies, online marketplaces and crowdfunding sites. They bring buyers and sellers, as well as non-profits and donors together in new ways to interact and do business.

Now the average Joe and Jane can create income, and in many cases a livelihood, with relative ease compared to the offline brick and mortar approach to business. Thanks to websites designed to bring sellers and buyers together in new ways, the possibilities are virtually endless. You can find homeowners in need of your maintenance services sell your own custom made clothing, rent a room on Airbnb, to name just a few opportunities. Need capital? Funding opportunities are also available and could be just a few clicks away at crowdfunding sites for the everyday entrepreneur.

This new group of self-employed individuals who are making part or all of their income online are fueling the Bottom-Up Economic Revolution like never before. As traditional employment opportunities continue to be in flux, these proprietors are increasing at a fast pace. The numbers tell it like it is:

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About the Author

Bill Clerico is CEO and co-founder of WePay, where he drives the company’s vision, strategy and growth. His goal is to make payments easy for the world’s small businesses and the platforms that serve them. Before founding WePay, Bill worked in technology investment banking at Jefferies & Company, where he advised enterprise software, digital media and financial technology companies on M&A and capital market transactions. In 2010, he was named one of Business Insider‘s Silicon Valley 100 and in 2011, as one of BusinessWeek’s 30 under 30 Best Tech Entrepreneurs.

Building Trust Develops Team Cohesiveness

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LDRSHIP is an acronym for the seven core values of the U.S. Army: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal courage. These principles were instilled in me during my eight years in the U.S. Army Infantry, and later in my career as a Drill Sergeant. These values were foundational to many of my business decisions. The growing reality in retrospect is that these same principles not only made me an effective leader, but they enabled me to develop something in the workplace that every organization strives for but often struggles to achieve: team cohesiveness.

Team cohesiveness doesn’t simply happen, it is created. It’s created through a process of due diligence and a deliberate effort to intentionally and consistently integrate the seven core values into the workplace. Simply put, one has to try. With consistency, trust will be developed.

Developing this trust starts with loyalty. Loyalty is subjective, but its basic definition is faithfulness to the commitments you’ve made and remaining true to the obligations at hand. That means you need to look out for your employees, defend them, advocate for them, and represent them — they are your team. Let your words and actions demonstrate that you’re committed to your team, and doing so consistently will mean that the depth of your commitment is never questioned but it’s understood to be deeply rooted and unbending. This established sense of loyalty builds team harmony because of the trust that it creates. You know what it feels like when somebody truly and legitimately supports you. Did it empower you? Do your employees feel the way you do when a team has your back?

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About the Author

Jason LevesqueCEO Jason Levesque, a US Army veteran and entrepreneur, founded Argo Marketing in 2003, and has become a widely respected Maine business owner. Jason has created numerous job opportunities and he remains committed to further developing and supporting his local community. Argo Marketing Group currently has three offices located in Portland, Lewiston, and Pittsfield, Maine; making Argo Marketing Group one of the largest privately held, third party contact center operations in North America.