Rich Allen Speaks

Most everything in your business hinges on your ability to hire and train the right people for your business. It’s a critical competency for any business, especially a small business. This episode addresses the challenges with the typical approach to hiring and lays out a better way to think about and execute your hiring process.

Many experts would suggest that the most important aspect of any business is the Culture they expect, demand and protect. It is the culture that can most easily set your business apart form your competition and position your business to deliver exceptional service and support to your customers. This week’s episode is all about defining and protecting your purposeful culture.

Over the next several weeks we’re going to talk about the fundamental elements of building a Winning Team. This is critically important for the success of your business. Today we’re going to give you the overview, then we will dive into the individual elements starting next week.

In the spirit of continuous improvement, you should ALWAYS be getting better at serving your customers. So how will you know that you are improving in this area unless you are regularly and consistently MEASURING your results? This week’s episode is focused on helping you define and construct your method for measuring your results.

If you intend to deliver exceptional customer service, then you need to do everything possible to mistake-proof your business processes. This can be easily done by incorporating Scripts and Templates into your delivery processes. This week’s episode will share how you can use Scripts and Templates to drastically improve the consistency of your customer experience.

The mark of a winning business is one that serves their customers using standard, documented, and consistently applied processes. Those who “wing it” are putting their business at risk – hoping that their team embers will do the right thing each and every day. Customers LOVE consistency! This week’s episode will help you deliver a consistent level of service every day!

If you want to stand out and never compete on price alone, you need to find and perfect your unique methodology – or what I call your Secret Sauce. This weeks episode will help you think more deeply about this and find your own uniqueness.

All actions in your business stem from the Standards you set. If the actions are inconsistent, then it is likely that you haven’t set the standards. And when it comes to Serving your Customers well, you MUST set High Standards. This episode is focused on how you can set your Delivery Standards so that everyone on your team will treat your customers as you need, want and expect.

Perhaps the most critical element of a successful business is your ability to successfully deliver on the promises you make during your marketing and sales activities. This week we begin talking about the back wheel of your bike – your processes for Serving Your Customers. Today is all about the overview – getting you prepared to take action!

If you want to “own” your business results, then you need to “own” your unique sales process. Don’t leave this to chance. Don’t allow everyone involved in sales to use their own approach – it NEVER ends with the best results! I want to give you a fresh idea on how to make this happen.

Once you understand the needs of your ideal customers, you need to identify the best way for you to connect with them. This requires you to identify the Marketing Strategies your going to use to get their attention. These are your front wheel Spokes. You need 5-7 solid spokes or marketing strategies to have a steady flow of new leads. I want to give you some ideas on getting started.

Winning New Customers all starts at the Hub of your front wheel – the definition of your Ideal Customer. If you haven’t spent time thinking about this deeply, then you probably won’t be speaking directly to them in a meaningful way. In this episode, I want to give you a way to go deep in your understanding of your ideal customer.

There are only 2 places where the rubber truly meets the road on a bike. Likewise, there are only 2 places where the rubber meets the road in a business. Today we’re talking about the Front Wheel of your bike, which represents your ability to Win New Customers. This is one of the 2 most critical activities in your business. Today we’re going to overview the elements of Winning New Customers so you can be ready to dive deep into the details over the next few weeks.

If you want to out-perform your competition, then you need to embrace the idea of Continuous Improvement – a systematic method of improving every area of your business on a regular basis. This episode will help you get a firm handle on how to implement this into your business structure.

If you want your business to be hugely successful, you’ve got to establish Accountability as a critical aspect of your business structure. This needs to be more than just a passing thought or occasional thing. It must be a well-established process that everyone follows. In this episode we cover a couple of powerful methods you may want to adopt in your business.

A critical part of having a solid frame for your business is having everyone on your team in complete alignment with what you need, want and expect from them. So I want you to consider replacing your Job Descriptions with a new concept called a Position Agreement. This episode will explain exactly how to make this happen.

A well-designed Organization Chart can provide huge benefits to the business owner and your employees. But you’ve got to think of it the right way and use it for the right purposes. This episode will help you think about this differently and make this more powerfully impactful to your business success.

While this is not a “sexy” topic, it is critical that you have your formal business documents in place, complete and up to date. Don’t wait until your business is large and complicated. Do it NOW! You’ll be glad you did.

Most business owners focus their communications on what needs to get done right now, today or this week. They don’t spend much time talking about their longer term vision, goals and strategy. But I think that is a big mistake! Here’s how you can set your self apart and inspire your team along the way.

If you want to provide strong leadership and set your business apart from your competition, you must establish the specific and unique performance standards you will expect and demand from your team.