The Roller Coaster Rant: From Their Point of View
The American Airlines Flying Bus has taken the Rantmaster to various ports of call in our nation this month. We’ve stopped in Kansas City, Dallas, Omaha, Lincoln, Portland and Boston.
And, while the Rantmaster usually keeps to himself on these jaunts, these are unprecedented times and he wanted to learn about the economic challenges small businesses are facing firsthand and how they are dealing with them. So he did some interviews with 11 entrepreneurs/business owners. There were no political conversations, discussions of socialism versus capitalism and no debates about whether Sean Hannity can out-yell Keith Olberman.
As you read about what they had to say, think about how this compares with what your financial services firm and your teams are doing in business banking, in the branches, in the call center to proact during this economic meltdown.
Leadership:
“If there was a better time for business owners to lead, I can’t think of one,” suggested the principal of an IT consulting firm. He went on to talk about how it is vital now to inspire confidence with employees, suppliers and clients. “It’s time for every executive to get out of his/her office, walk around the floor and talk to people. I’m an IT nerd and fairly quiet by nature. We all need to get over ourselves now, though, and do what’s right for our company. Hiding under a chair is not the answer.”
Internal Communication:
A senior executive on her way to a trade show in Texas suggested that while there were lots of issues out of her control, communication was well within her pay grade. She writes a one-page “hot sheet” that is sent around every couple of days to her direct reports. It is also posted on the company intranet. The focus is tips, ideas, thoughts about how to deal with client concerns and how to stay positive during the downturn. She finds quotes about the tough economy from decades ago to show that even in the hardest of times, Americans always come back.
This leader also has a one-on-one weekly with her direct managers and she asks how they are using her “hot sheet” in their meetings and one-on-ones. She believes this simple “accountability question” is causing her managers to have better discussions with their people. She feels this communication is calming some fears inside the company.
Another owner from a medium-sized consulting firm has taken the extra step to help everyone in the company know where it stands with profits, sales, expenses, cash as well as some of the issues they are facing. He feels this has helped everyone get more “skin in the game” and has actually improved morale even though the numbers don’t look as good. “People are finding ways to save us money and I’m totally convinced that is so because we have opened up lines of communication. We are using our collective company intelligence—the answers reside within our people. We just have to ask them the right questions. There is no better time than now to take advantage of it.”
Marketplace Communication:
“We are over communicating,” indicated a business owner who declined to share his company or industry. “If I am not in constant contact with my best customers and prospects, my competition will take this as a sign of weakness. We are doing well and making money and I’m not ashamed of that. We send product literature, pricing sheets and other information just to stay in contact.” (The Rantmaster would rather they sent something of value, but at least they are doing something.)
This gentleman also indicated that while his salespeople collected their own receivables, he wanted their feet on the street with prospects and clients. “My receivables are coming in slower than I want,” he indicated. But I trust my clients and taking a bunker mentality is foolhardy. My salespeople are traveling around the country and guess what? They are getting in the door and not seeing much evidence of our competitors.”
Rantmaster Note: Are your bankers’ feet on the street or have you hunkered down and determined that making calls could only expose you to questions and criticism?
Long-Termism:
One conversation occurred on a jet way with a partner in a law firm. He talked less about his situation and more about the country as a whole. “We live in this sound bite world where every problem is supposed to be solved quickly. We lost our long-term vision as a nation. Add to that the pundits and screamers on CNN, FOX and CNBC and one would think the sky is falling most of the time. The fact is we need to look at this crisis over the long haul. We need to stabilize the patient, diagnose what caused the illness and fix it. That will take time and in three-to-five years we’ll be fine. My law firm has a focus, a mission and a vision. We will be more than fine.”
Rantmaster Note: For a great book about the “crisis of short-termism” read Return on Customer, Don Peppers and Martha Rogers.
People Watching:
“We are always looking for great people,” said a distributor on his way to Kansas City. “This downturn allows us to exit people that weren’t cutting it anyway and to add people at all levels that will take us to the next plateau over time. We don’t have any openings, but we always make room for great people. One thing we ask each sales associate to do on sales calls is to conduct a survey of sorts. Salespeople are required to ask what other great salespeople are calling on them. They also ask about service and operations issues from their suppliers. We get names of salespeople, managers, ops people and others from competitors and it is my job to reach out and prospect to them. Any company owner that is not looking to add great people is doomed to fail.”
Trust in a Recession:
Readers of this newsletter know our respect for Charles Green. Charlie wrote two best selling books: The Trusted Advisor and Trust-Based Selling. Charlie wasn’t on one of those airplanes, but here’s a portion of what he wrote about Recession Issues in his Trust Matters blog on October 14, 2008.
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Don’t fall prey to short-termism
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Do well by doing good (Charlie suggests finding a local charity in severe trouble and making a contribution. It’s all about the law of reciprocity.)
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Meet transactional opportunism with relationship strategies
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Be there for others now and they will be there for you later
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We remember those who helped us when times were tough
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Now is the time to prove you are trustworthy—worthy of trust
What About Your Bank?
Each person was asked “how has your bank reacted toward you during this crisis?” Six responded that their bankers had reached out by telephone or in person to ask if there was something they could do to help the company with short-term loans (banks are actually making loans?). Four companies had not heard from their banker at all. They weren’t happy about that.
One had an energizing story. He named the bank and the banker. “Every Monday when I get to my office for the past four weeks, I have something about the economy in my e-mail from my banker. She sent me an article about some issues in my industry, something from the website of the trade association I look to for some advice and even a lead. One reason I went to this bank was this banker sent me the same kind of stuff before I started with them. I don’t know how she finds the time but she promised she would stay with me and she has.”
Final Rantmaster Note: It is indeed a small world. This banker, who was trained in trust-based selling by SM&H, and this bank take pride in doing both the 25 before 8 and the 3-2-1 Sundown Selling approach.
SM&H Partners with Best-of-Breed Sales Survey
CSO Insights is a world-class firm in the area of sales performance research. Results from its previous studies have been featured in Harvard Business Review, Business Week, Entrepreneur Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Inc., CRM Magazine and many others.
CSO Insights has launched its 15th annual Sales Performance Optimization study and this year a key focus is selling in the financial services industry. St. Meyer & Hubbard has been asked to partner in this effort. We are inviting Conversation Signposts readers to take part in this program. In return for a brief investment of time, you have the opportunity to connect information in the 200+ page report with your 2009 sales strategies to optimize the performance of your organization.
Upon Completion of this Study, You Will:
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Have access to CSO Insights’ new reports on Sales 2.0: Hype, Hope or Happening
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Receive the 2008 Lead Generation Optimization report, highlighting key areas where companies are achieving the best ROI from their lead generation investments, when it is published in October 2008
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Receive a complimentary copy of the complete 2009 Sales Performance Optimization report from CSO Insights when it is released early next year
To take part in the survey, click on the following:
CSO Insights Sales Performance Optimization Survey Link
Jack Hubbard has personally taken this survey for the past three years on behalf of SM&H and he has found the report invaluable in working with SMH clients. Should you have any questions about our partnership with CSO Insights, feel free to call or e-mail Jack at: 847.717.4328 or jhubbard@stmeyerandhubbard.com.
Questions on this survey can be directed to Kim Cameron, Executive Director of Research, CSO Insights: kim.cameron@csoinsights.com.
An Exciting Announcement: Introducing SMH Consulting Group
By Bob St. Meyer, President, St. Meyer & Hubbard
When Jack Hubbard and I launched SM&H in 2000 we were dedicated to helping a select group of banks develop Performance Cultures. We also promised our clients and associates to tear the company apart regularly and rebuild it better and stronger. One of those re-constructions occurred this month and we are pleased to announce the creation of SMH Consulting Group and the hiring of Ron Buck as its President.
Ron brings three decades of consulting experience to SM&H ranging from process design and improvement, strategic sales planning and linking sales enabling technology to customer conversations. For the past five years Ron has monitored the sales progression of more than 1100 financial services branches and hundreds of business bankers. This has resulted in a cutting-edge analysis of what best-of-breed organizations (the top 300 branches and the top business bankers) do differently to maximize the customer experience and to optimize revenues and shareholder value.
Ron’s office is in Rio Verde, Arizona, so you had better believe that we will be having some team meetings there in the January to March timeframe. Starting today and under Ron’s leadership, the SMH Consulting Group provides several key services including:
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Performance Appraisal and Business Impact Study: helping clients evaluate performance improvement opportunities, isolate weaknesses and then project, quantify and track performance improvements
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EQ ReviewSM: ongoing guidance with an outside perspective including eight steps of execution support, quarterly Executive Reviews (EQ Reviews), Roadmap Evaluations and Progress Reports targeting speed, direction and course corrections needed in your Performance Culture
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Performance Benchmarking and Scorecarding: a diagnostic review of how organizations monitor results, a gap-to-goal evaluation of performance barriers, a performance roadmap and comprehensive management recommendations around Key Performance Indicators and metrics
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Performance PlannerSM: a diagnostic tool that benchmarks analytical information on a bank’s financial and operational performance, enabling it to pinpoint and target areas where resources and investments deliver the maximum lift in shareholder value and ROI
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CRM Analysis: assistance with selection, design and management of CRM projects. Ron has guided more than 80 organizations with the purchase of new software, the better use of existing technology and linking software to such initiatives as Onboarding and Event Triggers.
We met Ron three years ago and Jack and I were both impressed with his knowledge and his approach to working with clients. He has presented two years running at our Client Executive Council meeting in Chicago and clients were really impressed with his Center of Excellence 300 and Best-of-Breed Business Banking Studies. Ron felt our approaches to trust-based conversations were symbiotic and our discussions took all of about ten minutes to determine there was a fit.
Ron earned a degree in Electrical Engineering and Mathematics from Iowa State University. Early in his career he worked on missile guidance systems and he holds 14 patents connected to the initial development of the microwave oven. He has launched two technology firms and took them public. Most recently, Ron was President of the Solonis Center for Excellence. An author and lecturer, Ron presents at numerous state, regional and national financial services conferences.
Ron is up and running as President of SMH Consulting Group now and if you have need of his services, he can be reached at rbuck@stmeyerandhubbard.com or by telephone at 480.212.6082.
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