If you are like Led Zeppelin and have experienced "communications breakdowns" that "drive you insaaaane" (my best textual Robert Plant impersonation!), I have good news. I know a couple of communication superstars. Like most real entrepreneurial innovations that impress me, and often motivate me to rave about them here, these are very simple, and immediately implementable by anyone.
Business communications are a messy and noisy realm these days, with all of the electronic options available to us in getting our message out to prospects, clients, associates, and service providers alike. And, there are inherent challenges in using these modern modes of communicating. For example, the inability to express emotions in emails (other than silly emoticons) can lead to misinterpretations and misunderstandings that harm business relationships. And, using emails as a promotional medium means you have to fight through the spam-weary recipients to actually get your message read.
My communication superstar #1 is a client who has put a very simple, but I thought very effective, message as part of his "signature" for emails sent from his mobile. Instead of the stock "Sent from my wireless device", he has made his say "Sent from my mobile device (please excuse conciseness and typos)". A subtle, but effective, way to let you know very plainly why his response might be as it is, and takes away most opportunities for the recipient to deem a short message as abrupt or rude, or one containing spelling errors as unprofessional.
My communication superstar #2 is a client who uses a monthly e-newsletter to share info about his business, info about upcoming shows and performances (he is a magician and speaker) and includes a link to view a video trick of the month (check his site out at www.trommater.com). At the very top of every newsletter, he lists the word count and number of minutes required to read the message. So, for busy recipients wading through overflowing inboxes, they can tell right away that Dan only wants about 2 minutes of their time. This helpful quantifying of the time commitment involved HAS to help these messages get read, instead of immediately being trashed or ignored because its unknown by the reader how long it might take to get through it. Maybe this kind of thing is common practice in e-marketing and I've been too quick on the "delete" button for others to notice, but Dan's newsletter is the only one I can recall seeing this innovation on.
Once again, "simple" rules the day in effective innovations or improvements to doing business. How will you become a communication superstar in your business?
Who do you answer to?
Earlier this year I enrolled in an entrepreneurial coaching program that helps successful entrepreneurs take their businesses to even greater levels, and achieve a better work-life balance in the process. We meet in person for a full day every three months, and receive incredible tips and practical tools to help us implement the ideas we have discussed.
The program would have some value even if it only offered the training and these accompanying tools. But, I would suspect like most entrepreneurs, even if I have been given all the tools in the world to make this kind of thinking and changing as easy as possible, I know that I still am not very likely to actually implement most of it. Same old excuses we all use - too busy, too tired, no resources, etc..
But, the true genius of this program is that it has a high degree of accountability hard-wired into its structure. Throughout every session I attend, not only am I learning the new ideas presented, but I am also continually having to answer for how much/well I have implemented the ideas from prior sessions. I am now, in essence, accountable to my coach and the 20 or so other entrepreneurs in the room as to the progress I am making in utilizing what we've been taught. Makes it much harder to let all these tools and ideas simply go to waste, for fear of looking foolish in a room full of successful people.
I had actually thought about this idea of creating third-party accountability for my business a little while ago, even before I began this program. Being the sole owner of my business, I have no Board of Directors, or similar group, to answer to. I have a network of associates, friends and mentors who I will continually bounce ideas off of, but no one to "answer to", no one who is aware of my goals and will hold me accountable for my results.
I think most of us are wired like that, for whatever reason - whether its natural procrastination, or some subconcious fears or apprehensions, or simply a lack of devoted time to do it, most of the time we all have trouble actually executing plans with any reasonable degree of urgency, especially "big" ideas, like strategic changes in your business. So, we all need to find a mechanism that creates that urgency.
I think all small business owners should have a formal entity to which they answer. Call it a Board of Advisors, call it a Mentoring Panel, whatever - but a small group of selectively-recruited people (on a voluntary basis, who have your best interests in mind and relevant skills to offer) with a specific mandate (help you grow your business) and responsibilities (set, regular meeting dates, meetings with agendas and written reports, etc.).
I have committed to have mine in place before the end of this year, and in fact, a colleague of mine and I who are looking at starting a business together in the future have already discussed the need for such a group for us in that business as it comes to fruition.
Who will you answer to in yours?
The program would have some value even if it only offered the training and these accompanying tools. But, I would suspect like most entrepreneurs, even if I have been given all the tools in the world to make this kind of thinking and changing as easy as possible, I know that I still am not very likely to actually implement most of it. Same old excuses we all use - too busy, too tired, no resources, etc..
But, the true genius of this program is that it has a high degree of accountability hard-wired into its structure. Throughout every session I attend, not only am I learning the new ideas presented, but I am also continually having to answer for how much/well I have implemented the ideas from prior sessions. I am now, in essence, accountable to my coach and the 20 or so other entrepreneurs in the room as to the progress I am making in utilizing what we've been taught. Makes it much harder to let all these tools and ideas simply go to waste, for fear of looking foolish in a room full of successful people.
I had actually thought about this idea of creating third-party accountability for my business a little while ago, even before I began this program. Being the sole owner of my business, I have no Board of Directors, or similar group, to answer to. I have a network of associates, friends and mentors who I will continually bounce ideas off of, but no one to "answer to", no one who is aware of my goals and will hold me accountable for my results.
I think most of us are wired like that, for whatever reason - whether its natural procrastination, or some subconcious fears or apprehensions, or simply a lack of devoted time to do it, most of the time we all have trouble actually executing plans with any reasonable degree of urgency, especially "big" ideas, like strategic changes in your business. So, we all need to find a mechanism that creates that urgency.
I think all small business owners should have a formal entity to which they answer. Call it a Board of Advisors, call it a Mentoring Panel, whatever - but a small group of selectively-recruited people (on a voluntary basis, who have your best interests in mind and relevant skills to offer) with a specific mandate (help you grow your business) and responsibilities (set, regular meeting dates, meetings with agendas and written reports, etc.).
I have committed to have mine in place before the end of this year, and in fact, a colleague of mine and I who are looking at starting a business together in the future have already discussed the need for such a group for us in that business as it comes to fruition.
Who will you answer to in yours?
A creative idea that truly "moves" you
I was in Toronto last year and saw a really unique idea a small business was using to help get noticed and gain a bit of a competitive advantage in a very crowded marketplace.
I saw a cube van driving around that belonged to an independent mortgage company, and though I can't remember the exact wording on the truck, it was very clear that if you got your mortgage with them, they'd let you use this cube van for free to help move you into your new place.
Competing against all the giant financial institutions, I thought this entrepreneur really tapped into a clever idea to stand out for potential clients.
How can you "move" prospects to choose to do business with you today?
I saw a cube van driving around that belonged to an independent mortgage company, and though I can't remember the exact wording on the truck, it was very clear that if you got your mortgage with them, they'd let you use this cube van for free to help move you into your new place.
Competing against all the giant financial institutions, I thought this entrepreneur really tapped into a clever idea to stand out for potential clients.
How can you "move" prospects to choose to do business with you today?
Can I hear your "watercooler"?
Designing the customer-accessible areas of your business space is a tricky task - there are considerations of logistics, convenience, decor, functionality, etc.. No matter the type of business you operate - retail, professional service, hospitality, trades - there will likely be a "watercooler" space that your employees will naturally assemble at, mingle and chat with one another. Its kind of like the kitchen at a house party - some place where people will naturally congregate and talk. And, it might not be a place you would have expected in designing the space. But, effective managers or owners will watch their staff's behaviour to learn where the watercooler is, and determine if it is having any negative impact on the business.
I was in a restaurant the other day where the order entry/cash register terminal seemed to be the natural gathering point. When the space was designed, the location of this was obviously chosen for convenience - it was exactly between the two dining rooms, just beside a group of tables, and near the entrance to the kitchen - likely the seemingly "perfect" place for ease of use by the staff.
But, by also becoming the "watercooler", it might have some repercussions the owners didn't think about. As 3 or 4 staff habitually gathered there between trips to the tables and kitchens, they engaged in the kind of friendly conversation that you would hope for between staff. But, in this instance, it included one staff member telling the others about having to wait for a medical diagnosis for one of his family members, and how he really didn't want to be at work because as soon as his cell phone went off with the news, he was likely leaving.
He wasn't my server so I can't tell if his level of service was impaired (understandably so, if that was the case), but because I was within earshot of the "watercooler", I heard it all, and was left to feel uncomfortable, as if I was intruding on a very personal conversation. Imagine if the watercooler conversation was something even more uncomfortable, perhaps even offensive? How would that make those patrons within earshot feel?
If I were to come into your business, could I hear your watercooler?
I was in a restaurant the other day where the order entry/cash register terminal seemed to be the natural gathering point. When the space was designed, the location of this was obviously chosen for convenience - it was exactly between the two dining rooms, just beside a group of tables, and near the entrance to the kitchen - likely the seemingly "perfect" place for ease of use by the staff.
But, by also becoming the "watercooler", it might have some repercussions the owners didn't think about. As 3 or 4 staff habitually gathered there between trips to the tables and kitchens, they engaged in the kind of friendly conversation that you would hope for between staff. But, in this instance, it included one staff member telling the others about having to wait for a medical diagnosis for one of his family members, and how he really didn't want to be at work because as soon as his cell phone went off with the news, he was likely leaving.
He wasn't my server so I can't tell if his level of service was impaired (understandably so, if that was the case), but because I was within earshot of the "watercooler", I heard it all, and was left to feel uncomfortable, as if I was intruding on a very personal conversation. Imagine if the watercooler conversation was something even more uncomfortable, perhaps even offensive? How would that make those patrons within earshot feel?
If I were to come into your business, could I hear your watercooler?
Would you think to Circle Check this??
In our book, Trucker Management, we talk about the importance of regularly doing a Small Business Circle Check in your business.
A Circle Check is essentially a brief pause and chance to objectively look at your business space through the same scrutinous eyes of a first-time visitor, rather than with your usual "million-things-on-my-mind-as-I-rush-in-and-out-the-door" eyes. This way, things that might reflect poorly on your business and easily be overlooked amidst the day-to-day rush of things have an opportunity to be noticed, and more importantly, addressed. If some part of your premises is in disrepair or dirty, if your signs and other notices are outdated, or some other "let-down" in your business has occurred, a Circle Check will let you identify and fix it before too many people have the opportunity to see it.
To aid with this, we suggest creating a checklist (or customizing one of the ones we have created), and include on it the different areas of the business space (interior, exterior), viewing things from different angles or viewpoints, etc.. There are a lot of "obvious" things or places to include on your Checklist, but often times, there are aspects of your business which ought to be included in these regular Checks that you might forget about.
One of my favorite ones is your voicemail/phone answering message. Is it current, is it clear? How about your hold music if you use some - I can't tell you how many businesses I have called where the tuning for the hold music has somehow been thrown off whatever station it was set to (yes, with all the available technology, things were still connected to an FM radio), and the caller hears an earful of static. Most business owners won't ever have to listen to their on-hold music or messaging in the course of their daily work, but things like this definitely need to be checked regularly.
However, I came across one the other day for one I hadn't thought of. I received a cash register receipt from a store, dated July 23rd, and the receipt had a printed message that said "Starting on February 15th there will be a change to our returns policy." Kudos for the initial insight to include this warning/notice to customers on the receipt way back in January or February, but that's a message that's more than a little stale by July 23rd. Even if it was still important that this change be communicated on the receipts, the message ought to at least be changed to "Since February 15th, there has been a change to our returns policy.", or something else more current and accurate.
Is your cash register receipt or invoicing documents included on your Circle Check? What else have you forgotten?
A Circle Check is essentially a brief pause and chance to objectively look at your business space through the same scrutinous eyes of a first-time visitor, rather than with your usual "million-things-on-my-mind-as-I-rush-in-and-out-the-door" eyes. This way, things that might reflect poorly on your business and easily be overlooked amidst the day-to-day rush of things have an opportunity to be noticed, and more importantly, addressed. If some part of your premises is in disrepair or dirty, if your signs and other notices are outdated, or some other "let-down" in your business has occurred, a Circle Check will let you identify and fix it before too many people have the opportunity to see it.
To aid with this, we suggest creating a checklist (or customizing one of the ones we have created), and include on it the different areas of the business space (interior, exterior), viewing things from different angles or viewpoints, etc.. There are a lot of "obvious" things or places to include on your Checklist, but often times, there are aspects of your business which ought to be included in these regular Checks that you might forget about.
One of my favorite ones is your voicemail/phone answering message. Is it current, is it clear? How about your hold music if you use some - I can't tell you how many businesses I have called where the tuning for the hold music has somehow been thrown off whatever station it was set to (yes, with all the available technology, things were still connected to an FM radio), and the caller hears an earful of static. Most business owners won't ever have to listen to their on-hold music or messaging in the course of their daily work, but things like this definitely need to be checked regularly.
However, I came across one the other day for one I hadn't thought of. I received a cash register receipt from a store, dated July 23rd, and the receipt had a printed message that said "Starting on February 15th there will be a change to our returns policy." Kudos for the initial insight to include this warning/notice to customers on the receipt way back in January or February, but that's a message that's more than a little stale by July 23rd. Even if it was still important that this change be communicated on the receipts, the message ought to at least be changed to "Since February 15th, there has been a change to our returns policy.", or something else more current and accurate.
Is your cash register receipt or invoicing documents included on your Circle Check? What else have you forgotten?
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