Christmas Bonus

Christmas Bonus For years, we have paid our employees Christmas bonuses. Each year, we felt we were obligated to increase the amount until it grew out of control. I postponed the solution because I was worried that a change would upset people. I know, I'm a chicken. One Christmas we were low on cash and had no choice but to reduce the bonuses significantly. So the following year, we made the move. We let everyone know that we were making a change so they would not be expecting the extra check. Instead, we tied financial rewards to each tank that we set for a new customer. All full time employees receive a small financial reward for each completed, new customer tank set. (Only 500 and 1000 gallons tank are counted.) The total is added to the last payment period of the month. This has removed the pressure of deciding who gets what and focuses everyone's attention on new business. At our office Christmas party, instead of handing out bonus checks, we wrap candy bars or gift certificates and pass them out to each employee as "awards" after a brief, humorous story of what we appreciate about each person. Now the only thing I have to stress about is what to get my wife for Christmas!

Dare to Be Different We went out on a limb last Fall and wrote a two-page handwritten marketing letter on a yellow legal pad to a number of potential propane customers in a three county area. The format of the letter was the idea of author, Bill Glazer, whose creativity had yielded great results when he did it for his clothing stores in New York City. Like his, our handwritten letter had words crossed out, arrows, underlined words and penmanship which hasn't improved since the 5th grade. We gained 20 new accounts from it last fall. The new customers said things like, "It shows that the owner is involved in the business...It seemed kind of hokey but I liked it...it was sincere..." One customer told us that he had called us a couple of months earlier but he didn't act until he received the letter. We sent another letter this summer and have had an overwhelming response. We knew that there were many potential customers out there that felt neglected and taken for granted by their current provider and might be willing to switch.  We offered to change out their current tank, leak test the system and do it in three hours of less or dinner would be on us. Near the end of the two page letter I invited them to call us to become a "part of the family". The majority of the people that called us echoed what we had perceived to be their dilemma; their current provider had become distant and aloof. Many of them had been with the same company 10 years or more. Price was not mentioned at all in the letter; only a description of the "pain" we could remedy for them. All of the letters were addressed by hand to continue the personal touch. Being just a little bit different often brings the best results. Above is a copy of the letter to give you an idea of its content. As always, feel free to use any of the material for your own programs or call me with any questions.

Director of First Impressions

Director of First Impressions Have you ever watched customers as they pull into your parking lot? Do they have to search for the office entrance? I have wasted precious time at warehouses when picking up parts for a service tech wondering, "How do I get in this building?" A sign that reads, "Office" in the window or over the door sounds simple but it will quickly and easily direct your customers to someone who can help them. When was the last time you saw a "welcome" sign in a hotel lobby? A welcome mat or sign at the office entrance is essential for any retail business. The word, "Closed" does not appear on any of our signage because it has a negative connotation. The sign that displays our hours reads: Open 8-5 Mon-Fri, Sat 8-12. A sign on our CSR's desk just inside the entrance reads, "Wilma Roth, Director of First Impressions" along with a stack of business cards that bear her name. The first person to greet a customer is always your Director of First Impressions! Our office has a pleasant scent due to a small device that releases a fragrance several times an hour. (Not everyone likes the smell of ethyl mercaptan as much as we do.) A small dish of old-fashioned, Double Bubble gum is on the counter for customers to enjoy. Appealing to as many of the five senses as possible creates a pleasant experience for our customers. If someone is speaking with a customer, that employee introduces them to any other company personnel who happen to walk by during the conversation which adds to the pleasant atmosphere. We're not Disney World, but we make sure by the time a customer leaves our office that we have done everything possible to make their visit a positive experience.

Yard Signs

A yard sign of a paving company appeared along the road as one of our bulk drivers was on his way to work one Monday morning. By Thursday, three more signs appeared along the same road.

When a sign goes up in someone’s yard, people notice. A yard sign implies an endorsement for a service. Many customers have hidden fears about making new purchases which need to be overcome in order for a sale to occur. When another person in the neighborhood hires a company and they place their sign in the yard, busy people assume that the person has already done their research and have chosen the best company to do the work.

We have had people tell us they hadn’t heard of us until they noticed several signs on their way to work. One or two signs create an image much larger than the actual number of new accounts in the area. We had been spending a lot of money in this area in yellow page advertising but the signs are what actually produced the results. We have since reduced our yellow page advertising dramatically over the past year.

In rural areas, customers talk amongst themselves so the signs are good conversation starters. They give a small town feel which is the way we market our company.

Some of the customers that came to us this year were already on our newsletter mailing list and were somewhat  familiar with our company. Once they saw a few signs in the neighborhood, it was the final “touch” that motivated them to call.

Your company name/logo, telephone number and web address are all that is needed to get noticed. We are very pleased with the return on such a small investment.

YOU'RE IN LUCK!!!

Everyone gets annoyed when a customer runs out of gas. The customer, the bulk driver and you. Because the well being of the customer is our first concern, we follow up the next day by mailing a note on bright, colored paper with the  following words:

YOU’RE IN LUCK!!!

(Because we messed up!)

We have made you a member of the “You’re in Luck Club” because we messed up. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience of running out of propane so we have credited your account for $xx.xx and have included a gift for you as well. Thank you for understanding.

(Sign your name in blue ink, for the personal touch)

We then enclose a $5 gift card for a popular coffee shop. It is unexpected and our customers appreciate it. We have also sent gift cards to customers when our service techs have missed an appointment, after a billing error or when a delivery error has been made. Just about any time a customer has an issue that was clearly our fault, we send them a note and card. The wording is sometimes a little different (depending on the circumstances) but the focus is always on “making it right”. After the delivery has been made and the leak test is complete and everyone has put the incident behind them, receiving your note and gift card several days later will speak volumes about your concern for your customer’s well being.

Shoe Covers

As I was driving away from a customer’s home recently, a neighbor waved to me from his front porch. I pulled into his driveway and was invited into the house. He said that he had been planning on calling us for new service when he noticed me next door.

As we were talking in his entrance way, he stopped and pointed to the floor. I had mud on my shoes and had made a mark on the white throw rug. I was sick. I would not have done that in my own home. What was I thinking? He said that he would clean it (before his wife came home) and that it was “OK”, but his tone was as sincere as a mother-in-law’s kiss.

What a rookie mistake to make. He did become a customer and still is to this day, but I decided that I would never let that happen again. We purchased shoe covers from http://www.shubee.com/ and asked our service techs to start wearing them. Easier said than done. They pushed back on the idea and said that they usually removed their shoes (exposing worn socks with holes) when they entered homes anyway, implying that the shoe covers were unnecessary. I then started to require that they record that shoe covers were used on all their service work orders to be able to receive their monthly sales commission. They have been using them ever since.

What does it say to a customer when you enter their home with shoe covers? It shows that you respect their property and it implies that you will work on their equipment with the same level of professionalism. It’s the little things that differentiate you from your competition.

Calling Customers

This winter has been long and cold for our heating customers. (In the northeast, we get ten months of winter and two months of bad skiing.) This has put people on edge and a little grumpy.

Some of the customers that joined us last summer and fall, had recently started calling the office questioning price and usage. Most of them had left their previous suppliers because they felt neglected and taken for granted. It sounded to us as though they were beginning to show symptoms of buyer’s remorse. Many of them had been with their previous suppliers for many years before making the change.

These calls prompted us to go on the offensive and start calling them. We started the call by acknowledging that it had been a long winter and we wanted to know if they had any feedback, comments or suggestions on our service during their first year with us. If they had a complaint, we were ready to deal with it immediately. If they had a positive response, we asked them if they knew anyone who could benefit from our service as well. When propane marketers are asked what makes them differ from their competition, they respond, “We give good service.” What we need to be saying is, “We serve our customers.” There is a difference!

Grumbling Employees

Do small groups of employees talking in low tones make you nervous? Do I sound paranoid? Maybe, but when I saw a couple of the guys out in the yard talking on a regular basis, I decided to investigate.

When I spoke with them, they said that they had been observing my behavior and thought that I was getting ready to sell the business and that they might lose their jobs. This was not the case at all, so we started having 5-minute meetings every morning at 8:05am before everyone dispersed for the day. We needed everyone on the same page by communicating with each other. (I guess I was the one who needed to communicate.)

These meetings do occasionally go over 5 minutes, but we try to stick to it. We discuss what each person is doing that day, which implies that they should already have a plan ready the night before. If a call comes in or the plan changes, the strategy is discussed on the spot and everyone knows what is going on. If a customer has voiced a complaint, we will discuss the details and how it was handled. This has often worked to our advantage. When a bulk driver delivered to one such customer recently, the upset customer exaggerated the details of the situation. (That never happens, right?) The bulk driver was able to explain our position as well as the solution and why it was implemented, in detail, because we had discussed it that morning. It puts a lot of responsibility on the driver, I know. But, consider this.  He has been entrusted with a vehicle worth over $100,000 and sees our valuable customers face to face on a daily basis. Without these meetings, the guys would be tempted to say, “I don’t know. You’ll have to call the office.” Or, “They never tell me what’s going on.”

If your people are a part of what is going on, your customers will sense it and respond by doing business with you instead of the other guys.

Why a Blog?

Peter, a local business man encouraged me to join a (certificate) course at the local university for business owners. Feeling sure that I wouldn’t qualify, I didn’t pursue it. He took it upon himself to contact the director of the program and asked her to call me. If he hadn’t, I would not have gone.

As I walked on to the large campus for the interview, I looked up at the tall buildings and the crowd of young faces and thought, “What am I doing here?” The woman who interviewed me looked at our business performance over the previous three years (which was poor) and asked why. I shuttered because I didn’t know. ‘I’m done,’ I thought. 'Now I’ll have to tell Peter that they didn’t accept me and embarrass him as well.' But, I was accepted and it opened a whole, new world for me. To my surprise, there were other business owners in the class with similar problems and some were worse off than I was.

One night, a business coach came as our guest speaker to present the 9 lies that are holding your business back. Across the table from me was a very wealthy and successful classmate who owned a large construction company. I noticed that he was taking several pages of notes from the presentation so I concluded that I had better do the same because the information was apparently very valuable.

I believed that the business coach had the answers that I was looking for in our business. It was my desperation that forced me to approach him and ask if he would work with me. In order to do so, I had to overcome my fear that he might judge me and my ability as a businessman. I was running our business by trial and error. Mostly error. I thought he would be like most of the people I knew; either they didn’t know what propane was or they knew what it was and considered it dangerous. Not the best way to meet friends and influence people.

The lesson I learned from all of this is, that my fears were in my mind. The more I thought about how I would be judged or if I would be good at being coached, the more the fear grew. Once I took action, the fear melted away. I learned that seeking outside help was demonstrating strength not weakness. As for the fears, they were unfounded. No one judged me and I learned that we all get better at whatever we are committed to doing if we have a coach to teach, push and be accountable to. I’m the player out on the field,  the coach just brings out the best and keeps me focused.

It was these trial-by-fire-experiences that have led to the creation of this blog. I want to share what I have learned (mostly) the hard way. With our coaches’ help, we have implemented various programs into our business which have been successful and more importantly, enjoyable to create. We have prospered in spite of several large oil companies entering our market, natural gas incursions and an economy in recession. Please join me as I share the actions we have taken that have worked for us in the real world.