-by Kristopher Hampton.
“Playoffs? We can barely make it to practice!”
Pretty much any coach has made this statement during a losing streak, but imagine you and your favorite team getting ready for a new season. You pull out your favorite jersey and call your friends while the chicken wings are frying because you are pumped! You just know this year they are going to go all the way. Then you read that the team owner has decided to cut practice down to one day a week to save some pennies. He believes the team is good enough to play at a high level because after all, he sure pays them enough! As a fan, you are thinking, “What is wrong with this guy? Is he crazy?”
Of course the team continually gets worse as the season rolls on. Players quit because they know they look like the middle school team playing Alabama. Their fan base depletes tremendously with tons of revenue lost, but hey, it looked good on paper, right? No! It’s not right, and now you have to rebuild.
How does this scenario play out in your business? How many times have you said, “We are in a rebuilding stage”? Why do we go through rebuilding stages that cost us customers, employees, and profits? I call it the:
~Never-Ending Cycle of losing dollars to save pennies.~
If your first question this year is “how can we cut training costs?”, you fall on the saving pennies side. If your first questions is “how can we invest in our people?”, you are on the path to discovering dollars. It really is that simple! Yes, you can always spend hours looking at numbers and find smart ways to cut wasteful spending, but investing in your team should not be up for debate.
Just like with any sports team, weekly motivation and daily practice isn’t an option; it’s critical in order to compete. A consistent training system that develops highly trained, professional service advisors will enhance morale, which will lead to more long term employees with higher production, and build better customer relationships. This seems like a much more profitable option than saving pennies. Now I have one final question for you:
Who would you like to coach your team and lead you to the championship?
Kristopher Hampton
sw Service Solutions