You just think you’re not a sales person!
You, your co workers and employees are all sales
representatives in one fashion or another. You represent your company at all
times, everywhere, in company uniform or not. No matter what function you hold
in your company your image and attitude should be on the forefront of your mind.
There is a misconception by non manager employees that non front line employees
have little effect on the customer experience. That is wrong.
Customer experience is usually rated on measurable and
quantitative factors such as timely service, cleanliness of the lobby,
completion time and price. This is directly tied to front line employees and how
they conduct themselves. However, how does poor attitude, performance and image
of co workers negatively affect their performance?
But I’m not a front line employee you say. How you project
yourself to your coworkers influences their attitude toward work. Here is an
example; if the office manager has a poor attitude, their interaction with the
facility maintenance person affects and influences that person and has the
potential to reduce their performance expectations. This opens the potential for
a poor facility image in-turn affecting customer satisfaction. Poor attitude,
image and performance should be unacceptable at all levels of the organization.
Attitude is contagious.
Additionally, self esteem and enthusiasm affects your
performance. Even if no one sees you, how you look and feel affects your
performance and verbal communication. The better you feel, the more confidence
you have and the more excited you are the higher you performance will be.
Additionally, when you do not feel good you do not sound good and your verbal
communication is negatively impacted. Dress nice, eat right, decorate your
surroundings with things that excite and motivate you. It makes a difference.
It is understood that if you are reading this you are the type
of person that is career oriented. That being said,
Aviation is a small community and people remember who you are. Conduct
yourself as if everyone is watching, because they are. I was out of the business
aviation community for almost 20 years. Upon my return I called on some old
contacts. They remembered my attitude and effort. Your image in the position you
are in, no matter how insignificant you might think it is, follows you. Sell
your company and you will sell yourself. Career progression will follow.
Top down, lead by example. As a leader of your group or
organization, always carry confidence and enthusiasm, again, it is contagious.
Coach and educate your employees on the importance of their actions. If this
topic is not part of your employee reviews and coaching it should be. It is easy
for someone in the trenches to forget how their actions affect customers. When
you are in the heat of the moment, just trying to get the job done, it is easy
to forget the big picture. It is management’s job to manage assets, maintain
moral and ensure quality and standards are maintained. Constructively and
positively coaching will payback multiples.
On
a side note.
Guilty by
association the old saying goes. Your company’s reputation is also exposed to
that of those you associate and contract with. That is why it is so important to
ensure you utilize the services of quality vendors. It does not matter that you
run a perfect ship. If you utilize the services of companies with questionable
practices you become guilty by association. The thought is that if you are
willing to accept second rate services, where else are you lowering your
standards? Think of it as if your flight is perfect but you serve bad food. Your
passenger will have had a bad experience! If you missed the article I wrote last
month, “The Cost Of Saving Money.” this concept follows very closely.
Jerry Gemma
President
Pro Guard