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Why Systems are Critical to Your Business (Part 1)

The key to profitable growth

Have you ever seen companies that grow big fast only to discover that more money is going out than is coming in? I have. And it is not very phenomenal! The bigger you get without systems, the more money is going out the door in reinventing every day.

Employees perform better

When your employees don’t have to depend on you to direct their every move because they have a system to work in, their performance increases.

Fewer surprises

Have you noticed that human beings do weird things? The stuff people come up with sometimes is mind boggling. Like the time one of my clients had an employee who wrecked a company truck. Instead of calling the owner and letting him know, he hid the truck behind his house and didn’t show up for work the next day. Of course my client didn’t have systems in place then. Now he does. Don’t leave it to your employees to try and figure out the best thing to do. Have a system.

Keeps the owner in line

I don’t know about you, but I like to change things, update them, and try something new from time to time. As the owner, you may like to tinker, or you decide which part of the system you feel like using that day. As the owner, you have to be the example and follow the procedures yourself if you want your staff to follow them.

Many years ago in my service business, I went out to do an on-site presentation for a prospective client. I assumed that the client wouldn’t buy and did not write up a proposal. Instead, I just quoted a verbal price and left. Sometime later, the prospect called to have the work done. My salesperson looked high and low for the paperwork and finally in frustration asked the prospect if she was absolutely sure we had done an on-site consultation.

“Oh yes” she said. “A man drove up in a Lexus, looked around and told me how much it would be!” Of course my sales agent knew exactly who she was talking about—me! The owner—the one who decided not to follow the system that day. And of course there’s another lesson there too. Don’t judge a prospect. Do the proposal!

If you like to change things around and you have a team, they will be confused if you don’t inform them beforehand. Customers may also become confused. When you change something, be sure to communicate it and update the system.