The Salesby5 Blog

Recently, my wife and I traveled to Europe. One of our favorite places that we visited was Prague in the Czech Republic. The city was magnificent and we’re dying to return. I did notice a few differences while there and after our return. The most interesting was how quiet the people were while walking in the streets. If you walk San Francisco, New York or San Antonio, you’ll overhear conversations between people at coffee shops, on their cell phones or with the other people walking along. Interestingly, in Prague, even on the busy Wenceslas Square, you primarily heard foot steps and doors opening and closing. Rarely did you overhear conversations. I later found out from my friend, John, that it was rude to ask Czech’s about their lives prior to 1989, before the fall of Communism. Interestingly, Communism also helped shift a city that was formerly the capital of the Holy Roman Empire with some of the most beautiful cathedrals we’d ever seen, to 61% of the population becoming Atheists.

Interestingly, I find that companies are similar. We’ll notice in some companies that people are more matter-of-fact with their way of presenting thoughts and ideas, while others are more diplomatic. In some, the people are chatty, while others, like Dave Ramsey’s company have a no tolerance policy against gossip (one warning, then you’re fired).

Whether you realize it or not, your office and your company has a culture. It may be affected by a leader that is no longer there, but people remember “the good ol’ days” or how they felt when the one person was there that made it miserable for the rest of the team. It’s important to keep this culture in mind especially during hiring. Nearly all new recruits will second guess their decision for coming to work at a new company within the first thirty days. Have you taken a step back to evaluate the culture that your company keeps? Is it one that’s kept with pride? Are there things that need to be changed to better fit the goals of the company?

Remember the Isley Brothers song “Shout?” One of my favorite parts of that song is near the end when they’re singing very quietly:

(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now
(Shout) a little bit softer now

Replace the word “softer” with “better” and you have a formula for success.

Some of the best businesses I know have a knack for making things “a little bit better now.” Years ago I worked for a manager who had this philosophy. No matter what you did or what you brought to him he would challenge you by asking, “How can you make it better?” Since you knew you’d be asked that you would try to figure out ways to improve whatever the situation was before you went to him. It was a brilliant way to keep making the company and the employees better.

You and your team can do the same thing. No matter what you’re doing, ask yourself how you can make it a little bit better now. This applies to displays, customer experiences, signage, employee coaching, and just about anything else.

It’s a good thing to do on slower days to engage the staff and improve the company. Ask “How do we make this a little bit better now?” I like the now part because it helps us focus on improvements that have an immediate impact and are usually the least expensive to implement.

On busy days keep asking yourself, “How can I work with this customer a little bit better now?” You’ll be amazed by how you’ll be able to increase your sales and how much fun you’ll have. The best part is that customers start feeling. . . you got it. . . a little bit better now. Then they go tell all of their friends and family about their fabulous experience and the buzz about the experience gets. . . Hold on now. . . wait a minute. . . .that buzz gets a little bit louder now.

And that makes you want to throw your hands in the air and SHOUT!

Blog credit to Doug Fleener, Photo by Carlo Nicora

We’ve recently been interviewing students and new graduates for our coveted summer internship position.  You might be shocked at what you see.  We would ask questions and get a response like “yeah” or “uh-huh.”  Some were chewing gum, had no eye contact and exuded entitlement, while others had sub-par email skills.  Today, we got what may be our winner, Bobby.  He was well dressed, had a great (one page) resume that gave us more depth into his life, spoke clearly and had a well written introductory email. 

We have a very special culture and guard it highly.  What if he doesn’t speak to a client respectfully?  What if he drops the ball?  What if an email of his unsells?  We realized, though, that the culture of the organization is not only something to be defended, but it is also provides protection.  The culture doesn’t allow for these things to happen.  Every new person is directed to the brand promise, core values and purpose of Salesby5.  Additionally, questions are welcomed hourly!

So, if communication is sub-par, a team member is on it to clean it up and explain how to avoid this in the future.  If a customer is not receiving the proper attention, someone else helps give them the right touch.  Everyone is concerned about keeping our quality at an extremely high level in communication and service. 

Now, let’s say you start getting used to this and then you go to a doctor’s office or a business who still thinks it is 1980.  They believe they are special, when they are really a commodity. It makes us appreciate what we do, how we do it, and how we’ll never go back. Our culture and attitude is the salt and pepper of 2020. Call us and see!

 We have serious fun at work.

Before coming to work at SalesBy5, I worked in an insurance office.  It was the agent and myself.  Having gone to school, I had learned about corporate culture.  Interestingly, I had never considered us having a culture, because it was just the two of us.  Now, looking back, we DID have a culture and it was wonderful. Our culture was one of trust, fun, openness and respect. I learned how to communicate well via phone and email with a positive touch.  I am often tapped now to help write a difficult email or help others professionally deal with sticky situations.  SalesBy5 is the same.  In hindsight, I went from one phenomenal culture to another.  Now, while helping companies grow and teaching strengths, I see that not everyone is as fortunate.  It makes me work that much harder to help others feel excellence in their culture. 

Culture is the predominating attitudes and behavior that characterize the functioning of a group or organization.  Core values are what you would hire, fire and promote by. They are the guide for behavior!  Attitude is what we hire for and only a positive one is acceptable.

Whether you put your core values on the wall, talk about them all the time or never, you have a culture.  It is a living and breathing element of your company.  The decision is up to you to embrace it and shape it into what you want it to be or ignore it and let the chips fall where they may.