ITS YOUR VISION

Just like all of you, I get up every day knowing exactly what I don’t want to do. Unlike a lot of people though I also know pretty much what I am going to do. I try to start every day with a plan, some vision if you will to guide me through the day so I can accomplish what I need to as efficiently and profitably as possible. Sometimes it’s not easy, and without fail something gets thrown my way that makes it a little harder to accomplish every thing I had planned, but that is the way it goes. I still have a plan to make what I want to accomplish happen.

Vision. How many people really look down the road and see what’s ahead and plan for it? I mean really think past what is right in front of them and plant some seeds to make the next day even better? Not a lot it is sad to say. Do you pack up to go on a trip without knowing where you want to go? I talk to a whole lot of people every week and hear the same things; it’s slow, nobody is buying anything, I have nothing on the schedule and the phones just aren’t ringing. Is that you or your shop?

Look around your shop to the other businesses around you, if there is one that is similar in size to yours and they are busy and you are not maybe you need to ask yourself why. What are they doing so differently that they have what looks to be all the customers? If I had to guess, they saw where they wanted to be and had the vision to make a plan to get there. My guess is that the difference between you and them is so small you would be amazed. The difference between good and great is really not a large gap, and if great is too lofty for you to think about, the difference between good and better is even smaller. What is stopping you from being better?

I have seen some pretty amazing things in this so call bad economy, businesses that have been in business for years that have actually doubled their business just by stopping and evaluating where they were and where they wanted to be. Strangely enough, to accomplish this all it took was a little bit more work, not much, and making every sale count. Every sale, every time. Not just picking the low hanging fruit, but asking for more, training customers as to what to expect on the next visit. As important as the sale in front of you is, the seeds you plant for the next sale are even more important. We cannot continue to wait for customers to just show up, we need to tell them when we want them back and what we are going to do for them the next time they come in. They need to feel and know we are looking out for their best interests by doing this for them.

It is very important in putting together your vision and plan for the future to know that customers will never come to you wanting to spend money, it is your job to make them feel the need to spend it. That everything you are telling them is essential to them and their family, that the plan you are putting together for them is the most cost and time efficient for them and that by doing things exactly like you say is the only way to go. Every customer, every time. It is also important to look at your team, if the people you have are not right for your vision, it is time to find people that fit. It sounds cold, but I believe that just because they don’t fit with you doesn’t mean they will not be perfect somewhere else. We cannot afford to have a team that falls short just because they have been with you a long time. If you think they can be retrained to your vision, stay on them until you have them the way you want them to be. It’s your shop, your vision, decide where you want to be and get busy getting there.

Talk to you next month-Gordon

Posted on: June 8, 2010

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