Okay, so if we are committed to assembling a marketing dream team in 2009, we better get started.
The core of the team is going to be… the team. Oh…, this is so good.
What will happen when every single member of your staff… every one… is actively engaged in promoting and marketing your business from within their area of responsibility, and sphere of influence?
The answer is that you will dominate the competition within your market niche. You will also have less stress… and more income… greater respect… and the list goes on and on.
It can happen, but only with the right players on the team.
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As small business owners, we must transform our entire staff into a marketing machine that understands that they do what they do because it is important to the organization’s objectives,
and to the experience the customer has when doing business with you.
You’ve heard of ‘whole brain thinking’; this is what I refer to as ‘whole team marketing’.
To do this, we begin by evaluating what we currently have, and then we ensure that every future hire upgrades the position, and meets criteria that will cause an increase of our organization’s ability to satisfy the needs of the market.
Since most of us grew up learning in an A-F system (not sure what happened to E), it seemed like a logical measure as I looked for talent to join one or another of my teams over the years.
So, just in case you’re only familiar with pass-fail systems (which are the antithesis to creating excellence), here’s the review:
A = Exceptional
B = Superior
C = Average
D = Poor
F = Fail
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It should seem pretty obvious that a D or F-level employee should never make it onto our staff to begin with, and there are some very easy steps to avoid this from ever happening (or happening again). Please feel free to reference several earlier posts on this subject here and here.
But it is amazing how many companies allow C’s into their ranks… and once there, allow them to stay for what seems like forever.
What’s even worse is the number of managers that possess these C-level traits. “Well, you know, Manager Joe’s been with us a long time and he’s just, well… steady. Shows up every day… does what he’s told… you know… average.”
And average managers can’t manage a department of superior players, so they hire down one notch… and compromise the entire team. I’ve seen it infect scores of organizations over the years.
The handful of excellent and superior players still there will only work in that environment for so long and then they give notice, leaving behind an entire team of C-level, completely average players.
Here’s the problem… week after week after week after week after week, average teams get beat by superior teams with exceptional talent.
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Here is a statement that many have argued with over the years, only to regret it later: Whether in sports or business, if you are looking to put together a team that wins consistently, there is no room for average, C-level players. None.
Thankfully, the solution is simple… still a lot of work, mind you, but simple… and you wouldn’t want it any other way.
Check out the linked posts above, and we’ll continue our discussion tomorrow. I look forward to hearing from you.
Principles:
Superior and exceptional players actively promote and engage in marketing your business; average players do not.
You cannot win consistently with an average team.
Commit to making ‘Superior’ the new ‘Average’ at your company.
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