Setting Up an Auto Service Business Development Center

Staffing

Our Service BDC does all inbound/outbound service calls. We also have a Sales BDC that handles all inbound/outbound sales calls.

In addition to the calls that they are paid for (see below), our Service BDC reps also follow up on reservation no shows. Our current no-show rate is about 6%, down from a high of 15% that occurred before we changed our reminder emails/texts (which now go out at the time the Customer makes the reservation, the night before their reservation, and the morning of).

Conversica has also proven useful as a data mining/contact tool. Our results have declined, but the volume of reservations that it generates is still very reasonable for the cost. We just wish that it was able to text Customers, as we find that far more effective than emails or calls.

Metrics

• Answer speed: 94% on the first ring. 100% by 3rd ring.
• Abandon rate: Less than 4%.
• Outbound calls/texts per day: Minimum of 120. Texts are better than calls – they get many more responses.
• Reservations per day: Minimum of 20/rep, goal of 30.

Breakdown of reservations

• 50% as the result of outbound calls
• 20% online
• 20% Service Advisors
• 10% combination of email and snail mail

Necessary Resources

• I highly recommend having a call recording system to playback calls and for training– at least 90 days of storage, ability to track calls by extension, ability to forward calls as .wav files, and ability to generate reports that show call length, successful/unsuccessful outgoing calls, and wait time
• Booking system – The same system has to be used by the BDC and by the Service Advisors; BDC reps must be able to leave notes that the Service Advisors can see, and the BDC reps must be able to see recommended services, including quoted prices; the booking system must be able to report on volume by date, rep, show/no show, service(s) performed
• ACD Reports – answer speed, abandon rate, call volume by day of week, date, time of day (to help figure out staffing), wait time (to corroborate with recording system)

Training
We give each of our BDC reps a training manual. It contains our scripts, a phone operation manual, breakdowns of our processes, a reference guide, maintenance service guide and prices, contact list of Motorcars employees, our department’s priorities and philosophy, and a set of flashcards. We use the flashcards as a fun way to train new reps on questions that they won’t likely get very often but should still know the answers to (see below, after Scripts).

We also have up-to-the-minute versions of all of this – plus the schedules of all employees – in the cloud (Google Drive).

A typical new hire shadows the entire team and begins to make outbound calls within 2 weeks, and inbound calls within 4 weeks. Because there is so much to know, we would rather they learn things well, rather than quickly.

Outbound Calls/Lists

• No shows
• Declined services
• Collect updated email addresses, textable phone numbers
• Purchased recall lists
• Sold not serviced
• ToyotaCare (each cycle, plus late, ToyotaCare Plus, and Toyota ServiceCare)

Compensation
We have a daily spiff to drive the next day’s reservations. The spiff is paid out to every member of the team, and starts at a combined total of 70 reservations for the following day:

• Less than 70 reservations = $0.00
• 70 reservations = $12.50
• 80 reservations = $15.00
• 90 reservations = $18.75
• 100 reservations or more = $25.00

The team can see where they are constantly throughout the day by checking the Workbook in Xtime, and I tell them how much money they have in their ‘bank’ every time it goes up. This has proven to be a winning strategy – everyone makes extra calls to get over the next hump.

Outbound Campaigns

Conquests

• $7.50 for Customers 9 to 16 months without service
• $10.00 for Customers more than 16 months without service
• Recalls – Payout per ‘show’ for proactive outbound contact - $5.00
• ToyotaCare - $0.75 for each ‘show’
• ToyotaCare Plus - $20 for each credit card number collected
• Toyota Service Care - $10 for each credit card number collected

Detail Center

• Complete Detail - $12.00
• Interior Detail - $6.00
• Exterior Detail - $6.00
• Pet Hair Removal - $2.00
• Floor Shampoo - $2.00
• Seat Shampoo - $2.00
• Exterior High-Speed Buffing - $3.00
• Engine Clean & Degrease - $2.00
• Rubbing Compound - $5.00
• Steam Clean Dashboard - $2.00
• Ionizer - $3.00
• Add Fresh Air Scents - $2.00

Recommended Services

• Alignment - $5.00
• Battery - $5.00
• Brakes - $5.00
• Tires - $10

Marketing Plan

We have found that our most successful campaigns have several traits in common:

• They are a combination of email, postcards, and outbound calls.
• They are narrowly targeted – not ‘shotgun’ ads. For example, there are 5 different ToyotaCare email templates – one for each of the 5 services – plus one to transition Customers to ToyotaCare Plus and another to get all Customers, regardless of brand or model year, onto Toyota ServiceCare.
• As a rule, our eBlasts and postcards rarely feature pictures of cars. Instead, we use humor, children, single panel comics, puppies, kittens, and images of the folks who work at our stores. ‘Dad’ humor seems to work best.

Scripts

Incoming Call

• Thank you for choosing Motorcars. This is ___________ speaking and I can help you!
• My pleasure, I’ll be happy to assist you with this.
• Please allow me to gather some personal information from you. May I have your home telephone number?
• (If Customer does not appear under the phone number given, let them know, and ask if they have brought vehicle in for service before.)
• (If yes, thank them for being a loyal Customer and try to find them by last name.)
• (If no, thank them for the opportunity to earn their business and create a Customer profile for them in XTime.)
• Which vehicle is your call regarding? (Year/Make/Model)
• (If Honda) What service codes appear on your Maintenance Minder?
• (If Toyota) Your next recommended maintenance service is XXX. Is this the service that you wish to schedule?
• (Check Dealer Daily for Toyota recalls. If there are open recalls, let the Customer know, and ask if they wish to have them taken care of during their visit.)
• Anything else that you’d like us to check out, since it’s coming in anyway? We also offer complete Detail services, if you would like to schedule that at the same time.
• Will you be arranging your own transportation or taking advantage of our shuttle service? (Unless oil change or other Waiter. If the concern is an electrical concern of any kind, it must be a drop off. The Customer’s SA will be able to give the Customer a good idea of how long it will take once the technician has an opportunity to see the vehicle.)
• What day works best for you?
• Let me check our service calendar for a convenient drop off time… We have an opening on ______ (day) at ______ (time) - will that work for you?
• What email address/textable phone number may we send your confirmation to?
• We have you scheduled to meet with your Service Advisor at ____AM/PM on _____ (day). You will be meeting with _______________. Our goal is to complete your visit in roughly XX hours, but your Service Advisor will be able to give you an exact time when they check in your vehicle.
• (If new Customer, explain service drive and shuttle process.)
• Again, my name is ____________and if for any reason you need to reschedule, will you please give us a call?
• Have I answered all of your questions and provided you with excellent service today?
• Thank you for calling and have a great day!

Declined Service(s)

If You Get Voicemail
Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars. Please call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Thank you! Have a great day.

If a Human Being Answers
Hello, this is __________ calling from Motorcars. Is __________ available?

Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars. Your Service Advisor recommended some work during your most recent visit, and I’m calling today to schedule your reservation.

We have an opening today at __________. Will this work for you, or would another day be better?

If They Push Back
I understand. Do you mind letting me know what obstacle we might be able to help with?

If It’s About the Cost
I realize that this might be an unexpected expense. If it will help, we have a special coming up next week on (depending upon which service was declined):
Alignment - $95.96 (normally $119.95)
Brakes - Save $50

We also offer a deferred interest credit card that allows you to take up to 6 months to pay for any work that you have done. It can also be applied to needed parts, such as tires and so on. Would this be helpful to you?

IF IT’S ABOUT BEING WITHOUT A CAR (only applies to brake jobs)
If it will help, I can offer a 1-day rental at no cost to you while you have this work done.

IF YES
Great! What I’m going to do is to schedule your reservation and I’ll add a note to your Service Advisor, so they’ll know about this.

(Make sure you schedule them with the same Advisor who made the original quote.)

IF NO
That’s fine. When you are ready to schedule this service, please let me know. My name is __________ and you can reach me at XXX-XXX-XXXX ext XXX. Is there anything else that we can help you with today? (Pause) Thank you! Have a great day.

No Show Follow Up

Hello, this is _____ calling from Motorcars. The reason I’m calling is that it looks like you may have missed your recent service visit. We understand – life happens.

Would you prefer to reschedule in the daytime, evening, or on a Saturday?

I have 3 times open on __________ … one at __________, one at __________, and one at __________. Which is best?

Great! I have you scheduled on AT . We have you scheduled for . Is there anything else that you wish to add?

Excellent, we’ll see you at ON . Have a great day!

IF THEY PUSH BACK
I understand. When you’re ready to reschedule, just call us back at XXX-XXX-XXXX. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Recall Script
If You Get Voicemail
Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars about an urgent safety recall.

Please call me at XXX-XXX-XXXX extension XXX. Thank you!

If a Human Being Answers
Hello, this is __________ calling from Motorcars. Is __________ available?

Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars. Your vehicle is subject to a safety recall by Honda/Toyota, and I’m calling today to schedule this service. This service is intended to improve the safety and reliability of your vehicle, and it’s completely free to you. If you like, we can schedule the recall service at the same time as your next maintenance service.

We have an opening today at __________. Will this work for you, or would another day be better?

If They Push Back
In addition to improving the safety and reliability of your vehicle, Honda/Toyota requires this service to remain compliant with your vehicle’s warranty.

Would an evening or weekend reservation work better for you?

ToyotaCare

If a Human Being Answers
“Hello, this is __________ calling from Motorcars Toyota. Is __________ available?

Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars Toyota to schedule your ToyotaCare service. This is a free maintenance service that we provide that includes everything but air filters and wiper inserts for the first 2 years that you own your vehicle. We have an opening at __________ on __________. Will this work for you, or would a little later be better?”

If You Get Voicemail
“Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars Toyota to schedule your FREE ToyotaCare service. Please call me at __________ ext. __________ to schedule this service. I’ll be happy to help. Thank you!”

ToyotaCare Plus

If a Human Being Answers
“Hello, this is __________ calling from Motorcars Toyota. Is __________ available?

Hello, __________, this is __________ calling from Motorcars Toyota to schedule your next maintenance service. I see that your ToyotaCare service plan is about to expire/has expired. Would you like to extend your ToyotaCare coverage?

Extending your ToyotaCare will extend your coverage for maintenance for an additional 2 years. This will cover your first major service, which is normally $160. It will also cover 3 additional services after that. Extending your plan will also extend your roadside coverage for an additional 2 years. This covers flat tires, no starts, running out of gas, and they will get you to the nearest Toyota dealership anywhere in the United States.

There are 2 ways that you can extend your ToyotaCare. One is to pay the total amount of $329 plus tax.”

If They Say No
“That’s fine. Let’s go ahead and schedule your next maintenance reservation.” (Continue with service scheduling process.)

When They Say Yes
“Excellent! Let’s go ahead and schedule your service, and then I’ll take your credit card information so that we can extend your ToyotaCare coverage.”

The View from the Back of the Room

The next time that you attend a conference or large meeting - especially if a new idea or plan will be introduced - do yourself and your organization a favor and sit at the back of the room. Then watch the other attendees carefully. Some body language is fairly obvious. Some, not so much.

• If they frequently look to the attendees seated to their left or right, it's likely that they disagree with what is being said and are looking to see if their peers agree.
• If they look at their phones... well, this one's pretty obvious.
• If they sit up straight well into the talk or meeting, they are engaged, but the engagement may be positive or negative.
• Are several of them slouching? Engagement is probably low.
• If they fidget and move around as the talk or meeting goes on, they likely feel the material covered is something that they already know and their time is being wasted.
• If there are some who look down a lot and don't appear to be on their phones, it may be due to pent-up hostility.
• If they appear to be doing a lot of writing, and the event is not a class or lecture, it is likely they are completely disengaged and are doing other work.

"When I Was at X, We Used to Y..."

Suppose you throw a party, and a friend of one of your guests starts off a conversation like this:

"The last party I went to, they had little Beef Wellingtons on tapas plates. Do you have little Beef Wellingtons on tapas plates? You should really look into that, because they're delicious. They also had this really cool game that we all played; it was a riot! What activities do you have planned?"

How likely are you to invite this schmuck to your next party - or the friend that brought them?

Believe it or not, many folks* who move from one company to another do this exact same thing, oblivious to how rude and condescending they sound. Sure, you want to share your expertise, experience, and problem-solving skills, but you're missing 2 key words from the end of that sentence:

...when appropriate.

It's fine to suggest new ideas. It's even fine to suggest old ideas, if you think you know enough about the issue to understand it from your new co-workers' perspective. Usually, though, we don't. We talk when we should be listening and absorbing. As a newbie, that's your main job. If someone asks for your opinion, fine - but don't mention what you did at your old employer or who they were. At best, it comes off as grandstanding. At worst... well, if you don't know, this article is definitely for you.

Even when you do voice an opinion - when appropriate - it's always best to couch it in a way that leaves room for a conversation. Maybe this:

"I'm guessing that you probably already tried Y. How did that work?"

First, you're giving the other person credit for probably thinking of and trying the obvious solution(s). Second, you're acknowledging their expertise by asking for their observations regarding the result. Third, you're establishing that you don't have all the answers, but you're willing to roll up your sleeves and work on it together.

Popping back to our party guest metaphor, the new employee who does this is the one who runs out for beer/wine when you're low, offers to drive the really drunk guest home, and helps clean up afterward.

Those are the folks who get invited to every party.

*Guilty as charged - but I'm much better now.

The Culture of No

Today I want to talk about the Culture of No.

The Culture of No comes into play when we explain to a Customer why we can’t help them.

We are almost always polite when we tell a Customer no. We speak in calm, measured tones, with a sympathetic look on our faces, and sometimes a shrug that says “Whaddayagonnado?”

You know what? Customers don’t give a damn why we can’t do something. All they see is that we are an obstacle to getting what they need or want. And what do you do with an obstacle?

You go around it. If they have more aggressive personalities, they might ask to talk to your manager. If they think that you weren’t really listening, or you’re the second or third person that they’ve told their story to, they might even ask to talk to your department head... or, later, your corporate attorney.

Most people don’t have that kind of personality, though. Most people hang up. Then they go somewhere else. Forever. And they tell everyone on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and on and on to do the same.

The Culture of No is a trap – for a business, a fatal trap. There’s only one way out: Find a way to say yes.

The Culture of Yes takes more work. You have to offer alternatives – would you prefer this, or this?, Or teach yourself to say “We probably can’t do that, but we can do this – does this work for you?”

The Culture of Yes takes creativity, and flexibility. Which is a good thing, because an inflexible person is often a corpse, and an inflexible business almost always becomes one.

Mirror, Mirror

Today we’re going to talk about the human brain. Our brains are hard-wired to behave certain ways and to recognize and seek out certain patterns, even if we’re not conscious of it. For example, we’re automatically attracted to people who have symmetrical faces, no matter where we’re from or how we were raised. We see pictures in clouds because our brains try and force a pattern onto things that don’t have any.

One of the things that our brains are hard-wired to do is to respond favorably to someone whose accent, pace, and gestures mirror our own. A recent study found that salespeople who observed and mirrored how quickly or slowly their Customers spoke, their accents, and their hand gestures were 5 times as likely to close the sale as salespeople who did not. This is because our brains are hard-wired to trust someone who talks and acts like we do – no matter what their age, sex, or ethnic background is.

Try this when you speak with Customers – and remember that your company's employees are internal Customers. If the person that you’re talking to speaks a little slower than you do, slow down. If they cross their arms when they speak, do the same thing. Have you ever noticed that Hillary Clinton’s accent changes depending upon where she’s speaking? She does that on purpose – and many other politicians and other public figures do, too.

When Customers are tense, such as when something costs more than they were expecting or we have to deliver unhappy news, mirroring helps to ease the tension. It tells the Customer, “We’re just like you. We’re on your side. We’re going to help.”

Sales and Customer service are all about communication – learning to speak all of our Customers’ languages. The better we learn to mirror their pace, accents, and gestures, the more successful we’ll be.

The Hierarchy of Communication

In these days of social media, email, texts and on and on, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that each type of communication is more or less effective than another. We get into the rut of using one way to touch colleagues and Customers, even if it's less effective, simply because it's habit.

Remember the Hierarchy of Communication, in order from most to least effective.

For one-to-one or small groups:

1. Face to face
2. Remote videoconferencing
3. Telephone (voice not text)
4. Text
5. Email

For group communication:

1. Face to face
2. Videoconferencing
3. Teleconferencing
4. Recorded video
5. Text
6. Twitter
7. Facebook
8. Email
9. Print

There are place-changers, of course, depending on your Customer demographic. If your Customers are primarily over 55, print moves up to number 4 or higher, and Twitter likely drops to the bottom. But why in the world would you shotgun a message to every demographic using one outlet? Or use the same message for every demographic? That's the marketing equivalent of using worms to fish for marlin.

Every time you interact with a Colleague, try to make it face to face. Don't have time? Does that mean that it takes you less time to field the ping pong series of emails that it takes to convey your point - and hear your colleague's points - that way? Sounds like a hollow argument to me.

Remember: If a communication medium isn't effective, it doesn't save time, it wastes money.

Story

What do you know about the history of Apple? That it was founded by 2 nerds in a garage? That they stood up to corporate behemoths like IBM and kicked their butt? That Apple prospered by giving people well-designed, cutting edge products? That their products reflect what people want?

Great story.

What you may or may not have heard is that, before Apple was even formed, Steve Jobs cheated Steve Wozniak out of money. Or that Wozniak was content to hang out with Apple's user groups and refine their existing computers rather than work on the Mac. Or that Jobs didn't bathe. Or that Apple has had just as many failures as successes. Or that they have a long history of treating their Customers like crap.

Because of social media, you don't have control over your message any more. It can be argued that you never did - that basic fact is just more visible now. But because of that, it is vital that you deliver content that resonates, so that your Customers become advocates. Because there's nothing people like better than a good story.

Did your company actually start in a garage? Great! Do you have photos of those days? Put'em on your press page. Got some funny anecdotes? Get those puppies out there. Remember your first big win against a bigger competitor? Tell it. What do you believe in your heart of hearts? Strip out all of the marketing-speak and say it as simply as possible.

Become a storyteller.

A great story is the difference between Apple and IBM. Do you know IBM's story? Of course not - nobody does! (And if you do, you need to get out more. Life awaits.)  But you might know Ben & Jerry's story, or Thomas Edison's, or Alexander Graham Bell's.

Granted, large parts of those stories aren't true, and there are bad sides to every tale, but that's not what people remember - give them the right ingredients, and they will believe. (Disney knows this to its bones; their whole business model is about telling this story over and over again. Only the names and costumes change.) I'm not saying lie - if you do, in this day and age, you will absolutely be found out. I'm saying deliver the ingredients that make your story sticky, so that people want to tell it:

1. Was your founder a maverick? People like underdogs. Even better if you had 2 founders who are/were pals.
2. Did your founder come up with a brilliant and original idea that was just common sense applied to a market need? The trend may be against intellectuals, but common sense sells.
3. Did your company go up against a bigger, more powerful rival and win? We all love a good fight - especially if it's long and involves hard work and sacrifice.
4. Do you employ a lot of people? If you treat your employees well, say so. People like to think of the companies that they like as big, benevolent families. If that's what your organization is, people will love you for it.

The basics don't change, of course - you still have to deliver great and timely service and communicate perfectly - but story builds goodwill, and belief can often buy you the benefit of the doubt (even if your grammar is poor).

Tell your tale. Keep it simple. Keep it concise. Keep it clear.

Sales 101

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, it's time we start our conversation about Sales. The fact is, most companies do Sales wrong: Wrong expectations, wrong incentives, wrong communication, wrong, wrong, wrong.

Let's start with Incentives. I mentioned in a previous post that an adequate Sales rep should generate 10 times as much revenue as their total compensation. To help make this happen, goals should be based on this metric. Otherwise, you are underpaying some reps and overpaying others vs. what their value is to the company. And believe me, they know it.

Expectations: You spend a lot of money to generate leads, right? So what's the close rate for each of your Salespeople? You should know this, your Sales Managers should know this, and your Salespeople should know this, too. At a minimum, it should be reported monthly, and it should be public information. (Nothing drives performance like spectators.) Regardless of your industry, if you have effective marketing (you do, right?), your Salespeople should close at least 1 out of every 3 leads (a 33% close rate), or you're wasting your money.

Communication: If you sell a physical product, rather than a service, your Sales reps should know exactly how much gross margin each product has. This will make it easier for them to negotiate volume deals - especially since their pay should be based on margin.

Splitting Territories: Because this is often done incorrectly, Sales reps feel like they're being punished when a productive territory is split. This is exactly the opposite of what you want to convey. Generally, if you're thinking about a split, it's because there are Prospects in the territory that the original rep isn't getting to. That's how you need to explain it, and that's how you need to approach compensation: reward the 2nd rep for new business generation, and make sure that the two reps work together by giving the original rep an incentive for turning over Leads that they have not touched. It need not be a large amount - they know they're being comped for zero work; it's more the fact that you are acknowledging the fact that you expect them to be team players and reward them for it.

CANI: The important thing is to look at everything that your Sales staff does, every day, and ask yourself "Why?" It is incredibly easy to fall into the rut of doing things a certain way just because you've always done them that way. The way to keep your company growing is to constantly improve everything you do. Don't expect to fix it all in a day, but do make a list of what to change and do set deadlines and milestones for those changes. (Think CANI - Constant And Never-ending Improvement.)

U Shore Do Talk Fun-E

Every industry and organization have their own terms and even their own language that are completely inscrutable to anyone from outside. It can take years for newbies to learn the lingo. Meanwhile, a lot of knowledge is flying over their heads at the speed of sound simply because they don't grok.

Solution: Create a company dictionary of industry and organization-specific terms, including their usage and which departments they tend to be associated with. Post this dictionary in your new hire folio, on your company intranet, your FaceBook page, your wiki, your cloud - anywhere that newbies are likely to look.

A major component of new hire on-boarding is figuring out who to go to for what. How about an internal contact directory that shows not only name, phone number and title, but also what each person actually does, so that you don't have to ask everyone else in the building.

You see? It's the seemingly minor and easily corrected things that waste a large percentage of your man-hours and productivity.

Here's another one: Once you've created these two animals, turn them loose and let employees update them. Heck, if it's a wiki, you might even just start with the title and let them take everything from there. After all, they know everything that should go on both far better than you do. Plus it frees you up to actually get some work done between all those meetings.

Hmmm.. empowerment, buy-in, plus less work for you. What the hell are you sitting there for? Go make this happen right now!

Communication Disintregration

A funny thing happens when you move from being a worker to being a manager: People stop telling you things. There are 2 main reasons for this:

• They assume you know everything they do. You're the boss, after all. You know everything, right?
• If you don't know, they're afraid to tell you, either because they're afraid they'll get yelled at or because they're afraid of getting someone else in trouble or they're just shy or they figure it's not their job to tell you.

Managers need information like fish need water; they die without it. To be effective and make good decisions, you have to know what's really going on. And you simply can't be everywhere at once to see it with your own eyes, even if it's something that happens on your radar. And as organizations move from small & intimate to medium-sized & distracted to large & distant, this communication gap only gets larger without a deliberate and never-ending effort to fill in that canyon.

Here are some of the best ways that you can do this right now, without a committee, a meeting, or resource restrictions getting in your way:

• Never punish the bearer of bad news, even if they are the cause of it. If it's a discipline issue, of course follow your normal process, but always recognize and praise anyone who brings an issue to your attention. They are trying to save you time, money, resources, etc. They are lifesavers, not assassins, and should be treated accordingly. 
• When you meet with your team, invite the manager of a department that touches or is touched by your group to praise what your group is doing right and talk about what issues need to be addressed. They can report progress back to their team, you learn what's happening, your team takes ownership and processes improve. That's at least 4 goals with just one puck. Not a bad return for 5 minutes' of your time.
• Hire or designate a Bullshit Detector. Sometimes you completely miss the mark on something, and roll out a new plan or program or process that is doomed to fall on its face, and everyone in the room knows it but you. I have been blessed with a Bullshit Detector on every team that I've ever led, and it has saved me time and again from brilliant ideas that were bullshit because of something I didn't know or somehow missed. There are caveats to the Bullshit Detector, though, for it to work its magic: 1) If you designate this person, make sure that it's the member of your team who tends to find fault with everything, or who can spot a process hole a mile away. (This increases ownership - you're making them a trusted advisor.) 2) Impress upon them that they may cry "Bullshit!" to you alone, preferably before the meeting. That way, they no longer complain to team members or talk you and/or your ideas down in front of someone else, plus they give more careful thought to their objections, helping them grow into higher positions. 3) You reserve the right to go ahead with your plan, program, etc., anyway, because you are the boss and you have a view and/or level of experience that they don't.
• Befriend and regularly catch up with every other manager who affects or is affected by your team - and not just the ones you personally like. This is the 'Customer for Life' method and, because it is so inclusive, you are more likely to be able to ask for and return favors and help each colleague get where they want to go... which helps you get where you want to go.
• Have pot lucks and team-building events (not corporate functions or anything formal - things that take almost no planning are best, here), and invite members and managers from other teams. Grill hot dogs together, put together an after-hours soccer team, go to the movies together. Social in its best sense.
• All of the above.

The Perfect Employee Manual

A brilliant and newly minted HR Manager just gave me the most beautiful employee manual I've ever seen, one so good that I can't not share it. I've also added a couple of things I like to include. If you don't have employee manuals for your new hires (and your old hires), or if you have one that doesn't include the following, print this post right now:

1. A checklist of what the new employee should receive on their first day of employment
2. A list of all of the applications that the new hire needs access to, what they do, and where they are (as much for IT as for your new hire)
3. All of the passwords and logins the new employee needs to know
4. W4
5. I9
6. Explanation of pay plan and time off; whom to call if you'll be late or out
7. Direct deposit form
8. Phone/contact list of all employees (or at least key department leads) and what they do (not just their title)
9. System failure guide: who to contact (and in what order) if phones, key apps, website, email, electricity, internet access, etc,. are down. You need 2 contacts per system.
10. Policy regarding discrimination, sexual harassment, bullying, etc.
11. Smoking policy
12. Policy regarding use of technology
13. Policy regarding use of social media
14. How to get in and out of the building, hours of operation, main phone/fax/web address/key email addresses
15. Nondisclosure and non-compete contracts
16. List of local restaurants, banks, health clubs, and bus stops
17. Training schedule
18. Training booklet(s)

What am I missing?

Managing Up

Stop me if you've heard this one: "For your organization to be successful, once a decision has been made about another manager's initiative, you must support it - even if you disagree - so that they will support your initiatives. If you can’t do that, you have to leave."

It's hard to respect someone who manages from their knees.

The trouble with going along and not making waves is that it leads to Enron and other organizations that were and are all about doing what pays well in the short term vs. what ensures longevity and what is right. Stealing from Customers - internal or external - is neither. The Customer for Life philosophy dictates that you always do what is right for the Customer, so long as it is within your organization's means. This doesn't necessarily mean doing what the Customer wants. Remember, every good compromise means that both sides get - and give up - a little of what they want.

But how do you deal with the scenario above, where a colleague or perhaps even your boss asks you to do something that you know violates that philosophy, or gets in the way of something else that is more important or more time-sensitive, without violating chain of command?

First, make sure your own bias isn't getting in the way. As much as we'd like to believe that we are independent and objective observers, it just ain't so. If you personally dislike the person who has put forward the new initiative, be aware that human beings have a very difficult time separating the message from the messenger (why do you think messengers hate to carry bad news?). Sit down and make yourself a list of why you object to the initiative, then read it after a good night's sleep. If you can still say you have solid reasons to object to the initiative, and it's not a personal vendetta of some kind, you're ready for the next step.

Welcome to the wonderful world of managing up.

Managing up essentially means managing your manager, and it turns on a very simple assumption: Your boss (or your colleague) is not a moron. If they are, you have bigger problems than the initiative they've put forward, and you really might be better off calling it a day and updating your resume. But if they're not, it's a simple matter of giving them a clear choice, just as you do when making an offer to a Customer.

Here's what to say:
"Just so I understand, are you saying that is more important than ?"

If they say yes:
"Okay. So it's okay to let everything else slide in favor of ?"

This is about when most people's brain starts working. They actually have to think about this question, rather than speak off the top of their head. A lively conversation is likely to ensue. But if they still want to go ahead, at least they're more likely to have assigned the new initiative the priority it actually deserves, rather than the 'anything to put out the fire' priority it may have started with. Plus you now have clear direction on that priority and what may or may not be permitted to slide to address it, which both keeps you from getting in trouble and showcases your skill as a tactical thinker.

Perspective: How to Get Some

One of the truisms of any organization is that organizational growth and/or your ascension through the ranks is in inverse proportion to the amount of communication you receive from the bottom. There are 2 main causes for this. Either one is bad; both together are death:

• People below you in the org chart assume that you already know everything.
• People below you in the org chart know that you don't know everything, but they're A) afraid to be the one to tell you, or B) decide that it's not their job to tell you.

To be effective, a manager must know what's happening at every level of the organization.

So how do you get the perspective that you need?

In every organization that I've ever been a part of, Customer Service was and is the repository of (almost) all knowledge. While they may lack the 'Big Picture' view, CS reps live and breathe issues from outside (external Customers) and inside (internal Customers) every single day. They are the first to hear when there is a problem, and the first to know whether or not a proposed solution actually works. Also, because they are in direct communication with both kinds of Customers, they have their fingertips on the heartbeat of your company.

Even if your relationship with the Customer Service Manager is good, it can be a touchy thing to sit with Customer Service. Wouldn't you feel funny if another manager asked to sit with your direct reports for a few days? To avoid that whole thing, we pay thousands of dollars to consultants to sit with people for us and tell us what they say. Then we tell ourselves that we spent all that money because we just don't have time to do it ourselves, or that it's somehow beneath us. The real reason is that we don't want the confrontation that we think will result.

Everyone's job is to hold everyone else accountable for doing the best job they can, and to help them do that in whatever way you can. If you purposely create a culture where everyone sits with everyone else on a regular basis, it stops being scary. And here's the magic word that you will use to make it happen:

Cross-training.

Rolls nicely off the tongue, doesn't it? And it's even true: You really do want to know how things work in that other department, because then you'll also learn what dumb things you unintentionally do that make their lives hell, along with being able to provide fresh eyes for all of their processes. How can it possibly be a bad thing for everyone to understand what everyone else actually does, and what their challenges are? Getting inside our colleagues' skins is right in line with the whole philosophy of Customer for Life!

If I could, whenever I joined a new company, I would hire in as a Customer Service rep for 2 weeks, and not let anyone know that I was anything else. I'd take a notebook and a bunch of pens and write down everything I saw and heard. At the end of the 2 weeks, I'd think about everything good and hard, and then put together a plan of action the following Monday to address the dozens of things Customer Service assumed I already knew, or that they  (or their manager) were too afraid to tell me.

Since you can't do that, you can at least listen in on calls and watch Customer Service in action as yourself. Bring a big box of good chocolate or cookies with you; it's amazing how people loosen up over a little sugar. What is their process? Look for inefficient workarounds (there are always inefficient workarounds, most of them unintentional). Look for how often calls are transferred as opposed to completed on the spot, and ask why. Look at what extra work the Customer Service reps do (all Customer Service reps perform dozens of tasks that have nothing to do with Customer Service). Should they actually own those tasks, or are they the result of an inefficiency in your own department, or someone else's?

Question everything.

This should be a regular part of your routine, especially after any kind of reorg or process change in your own department, and don't stop with Customer Service (although you should certainly start there). The more often you do it, the less scary it is, and the more it becomes a regular part of your culture. Especially if you take the other department's manager out for lunch and speak in private about what each of you saw and heard (she gets to sit with your team, too, right?). One pair of eyes and one brain are good; 4 eyes and 2 brains are better; everyone's eyes, ears, and brains combined are the first steps on the path to Kaizen (or CANI... Constant and Never-Ending Improvement).

Are They Ready?

Management is essentially working with and through others to accomplish your organization's goals. A leader's role is to raise employees' aspirations for what they can become, and get them to release their energies to try. By now you know that you can't do everything yourself, and you understand the importance of delegating, as well as when to delegate and whom to delegate to. The next question is, how do you know what approach to use, depending upon the employee's readiness?

To talk about readiness assessment, we first have to talk about what employees need from you in order to feel comfortable enough to take on a task. Before anything else, you must have the following:

• A clear direction. 
• Clear communication. 
• The employee's trust. 

Got those? Good! (If you answered no, you have some serious issues that must be resolved before anything else can move forward. Get to it!)

The next step is to identify your leadership style. Your leadership style is your patterns of behavior as perceived by others. There are basically 2 leadership styles:

• Directing behavior: You define the employee's role and responsibility, explain & clarify what to do, when, and how. In a nutshell, one-way communication, all coming from you. 
• Supporting behavior: You set positive expectations, praise, encourage, and listen. All two-way communication. 

Readiness is essentially ability (knowledge, skill, clear on priorities) + willingness (desire, confidence, incentive). Remember, willingness is often a measure of confidence. Before assigning a task, ask yourself if the employee has:

• Task-specific experience 
• Task-specific training 
• An understanding of the priority of the task 
• Desire 
• Incentive (this is usually the opportunity to shine, or to advance at some point down the road - not money) 

There are four levels of readiness:

• R4 = High Readiness (Ability High and Willingness High) 
• R3 = Moderate to High Readiness (Ability High and Willingness Not High) 
• R2 = Low to Moderate Readiness (Ability Not High and Willingness High) 
• R1 = Low Readiness (Ability Not High and Willingness Not High) 

Each of the four levels requires a different delegation style:

• R1 = Directing (Explain and clarify what, where, when, and how.) 
• R2 = Coaching (Instruct and convince via 2-way discussion. Explain the 'why'.) 
• R3 = Supporting (Support them to reinforce their ideas and confidence.) 
• R4 - Autonomy (Follow up and support as needed/as determined by employee.) 

No matter which readiness level an employee is at, defer to their approach, but define the deliverables. Remember that your way of doing things is not the only way, and not even necessarily the best way. There will be mistakes, but your employer should be allowed to make them and to learn from them.

Last but not least, only ask their input about things that have not already been decided. You wouldn't ask your son or daughter where they would like to go to dinner if you've already made up your mind about it, would you? That would only undermine their confidence in their ability to make decisions, your interest in their input, and their trust in you.

Here's a handy readiness reference chart that you can print for your office or cube wall:

Chopping Up Customers

In a prior article or two, I talked about different behavioral styles and a little bit about social media. Today, we're going to tie those together and convince you to abandon ads on TV, radio, and newspapers.

First, let's talk about what those three mediums really are: shotgun marketing. You have one message, and you shoot it at the crowd that each medium's salesperson tells you they have a lock on, and then you sit back and hope that your buckshot hits enough people to at least cover the cost of the ad (you do measure that, right?).

It's easy, right? They probably even put the ad together for you, or your agency does, and everyone tells you that that's where you need to spend your money because that's where the people are. And they're right - there are people there. The problem is, those people aren't Customers. They're media salespeople and ad agencies who make a lot of money every time you produce a shotgun ad.

The problem with shotgun ads is that they're not very measurable. This is to the advantage of everyone but you. If you can't measure the results, all you have to go by is how many people buy from you in general following a campaign. How do you know that it had anything to do with your ad? And even if you have a coupon code or something similar, and your reps don't let Customers have the special even if they don't have the coupon or the code (they never do that, right?), your typical response rate is probably somewhere between 1% and 3%, and you marketing people will tell you that's good.

Missing 97% (or more) of the people we aim at is good? Since when?

The core issue is, you're trying to hit several different kinds of slippery fish with buckshot. You don't use buckshot on fish; you use bait. And each type of fish has different tastes when it comes to bait. And some like bait that floats on the surface, some like bait that moves around or has a particular scent or color or feathers or or or...

You don't need a shotgun. You need a tackle box!

The first step in fly fishing, before you ever tie a fly, is to know what kinds of fish you want to catch, and then what those fish like. That means gathering information about your Target Customers - as much as you possibly and legally can. (At this stage, not necessarily information tied to a specific person; we'll talk about that in another post.) This is the bare minimum (bearing in mind that the needs of your business may require additions):

• Age 
• Sex 
• Household Income 
• Dependents 
• Interests 
• Ethnicity 
• Sexual Orientation* 
• Sources of Information (what used to be called 'news') 
• Behavioral Style

Once you know what your Target Customer's answers are to each of these questions - and remembering that you may have more than one target Customer - you can begin to break down their demographics. (Note: The old media that I mentioned before - radio, TV, and newspapers - will try to tell you that they have demographics, too, already all broken down for you. This is a lie. At best, they have guesses and hopes, none of which are something that you should risk your revenue on.)

Now look at as much information as you have on your actual Customers. How closely do they match your Target Customer? If it's not a close match, you just learned a bunch about whoever decided what your Target Customer looks like (hope their resume is up to date). Adjust your Target Customer to more closely match your actual Customers.

Now, how many Target Customers did you come up with? If you only have one, you'd better be a military contractor, or you're in trouble. You want a minimum of three or four to sustain your business if interest in your product or service wanes in any one group (or, in the case of B2B companies, in case one of your Target Industries has a financial downturn). As a general rule, more is better.

Once you have your target Customers finalized, you can begin to break out where your marketing money should go, and how you need to rewrite your message so that it speaks in the language that each Target Customer wants to hear and how it addresses the needs that each one has.

This is called Segment Marketing, among many other names. And while it definitely takes more work and time on your part, it doesn't need to cost more than what you already waste (I can't say "spend", because I only spend money on things that benefit me) on old media marketing - and your conversion rate will show a drastic improvement. It's hard not to like something that earns more for the same investment.

And, lest you think I forgot my promise to tie in social media, check out Mashable's lovely infographic. If your brain isn't buzzing with new marketing ideas by the time you get to the bottom, it may be a good time to take a nap.


* You are not asking Customers to come out of the closet. But knowing if a gay person is a potential Target Customer for your product or service - because they tend to have more disposable income, for example - may help you decide whether or not to spend money with a gay-focused publication or event. You could just as easily add religious or political orientation, too, depending on whether or not these factors are related to your core business.

Social Media Suckage

Social media is the number one marketing topic of the day. You can't turn on your PC without a PR pundit telling you how social media will totally change your business, help you sell more, turn your customers into content co-creators, and make your life perfect.

This is bunk, of course. Social media is just one more thing that someone will pretend to know more about than you do in order to make money from your lack of knowledge. Social media is not so readily pinned down; it's fluid, and moves with the crowd. Companies that have tried to use FaceBook to sell product (other than games) have wasted their money.

So what is social media good for?

Communication. Social media can be one of the best ways to communicate with Customers, because it is perceived as more direct and honest than plain old PR. But there is a price to pay: To be effective and not come off as out-of-touch or, worse, evil, you must do the following:

• To cover your backside, write specific rules regarding who is allowed to write about what happens at work, and what they are allowed to say. Make certain that everyone in your organization signs it, and fire anyone that violates it.
• Have a plan. Since when has anything gone well for your business when you just let things happen? Social media is no different. You need to know what you want to get out of it, the steps to get there, the metrics you want to see and the timeline by which they must be accomplished. See? You already know how to do this.
• Manage the conversation. Have Customer Service read all posts every day and immediately respond to the ones that need responding to. Some companies make the mistake of having the PR department respond to posts. PR is not a conversation; Customer Service has always been one. Social media is just a continuation of that conversation.
• Unless you are a game developer, don't believe anyone who says that they can help you make money on FaceBook. They're lying.
• Don't settle on one platform. Social media blows with the wind. To be part of the conversation, you have to be where your Customers are. New social media platforms arise seemingly out of nowhere and get hot fast (witness Pinterest). They disappear just as quickly (MySpace much?).
• Never, ever remove a post. You will instantly lose all credibility. Forever.
• Never pretend to be a customer. You will be found out, and you will burn for it.

One of the benefits of the social media conversation is that your fans and your enemies tend to congregate in one spot. If you respond quickly and positively to the latter, you grow the former. And that is where the real value comes in: as always, anything that a Customer says about you has infinitely more weight than anything that you say. No one believes your TV and radio ads; no one is seduced by your mailers or your stuffers or your email blasts. But one fan saying nice things about you on the platform of the moment resonates. (They also don't cost you a dime.) But bear in mind that it resonates just as loudly when an unauthorized employee says how much work blows on FaceBook, Twitter, or your company blog.

If you want to know what the current hot platform is, ask your kids. If you don't have any of your own, ask your neighbor's kids. They'll know. They can also tell you far more than you want to know about how each works. And at most, you'll have to buy some Girl Scout cookies that you were going to buy, anyway.

See? Social media isn't scary. Now go paste some pictures of food and kittens on Pinterest.

The Cult of Personality

As I mentioned before, most salespeople tend toward high "I" behavior styles. This means that they are Influencers, which makes total sense for their role. Part of being an Influencer is the drive to find one's way around obstacles - again, a necessary trait for anyone in sales. It only becomes an issue when this trait and this drive are allowed to subvert the organization.

To spell it out: Don't let the tail wag the dog.

One of the things that tends to happen in any organization with a sales department is that sales receives the majority of the attention, accolades, rewards, and power. But since when can any organization function without any department other than sales? Any organization is an organism, and every department and every person in every department is necessary to sustain the whole. Take any cog out of the motor, and the motor no longer runs.

Salespeople will seek their way around internal obstacles, even when they are rules set up to protect the company. (See "Special Situations".) You cannot blame them for trying; it's in their nature, and it's a part of what makes them so effective in the field. Your job is to hold the line - even if it's not your line - and never let them cross it. Because once you do, the tail begins to wag the dog. (And this is coming from a several-time sales manager; I know whereof I speak.)

Also, because being "high I" means that you are often likable and persuasive, a disproportionate number of people in management tend to be "high I", even when their actual business skills are poor, and even in departments where a "high I" manager doesn't necessarily make sense (such as accounting).

Also, because of sheer force of personality, some salespeople can come across as prima donnas. In fact, many managers encourage them to be so, in the mistaken assumption that this will drive results. It doesn't. All it does is drive the perception that the sales department can do whatever it likes, and that no one else in the company has as much value as a salesperson.

What drives sales results are clear expectations, constant monitoring of results, and mentoring. (You must inspect what you expect, as a friend used to say.) And it is always better to have a salesperson that consistently hits 100% of quota than a salesperson who hits 105% one month, 85% the next, and 97% the month after. The kind of sales rep that hits those numbers is not a professional salesperson - they are someone who works on and off and occasionally gets lucky. That's not who you want on your sales team.

To make your organization work better, make certain that everyone knows that they are equally valued. Make sure that President's Club (if your organization has such an animal) is equally accessible to people from all departments (because everyone should have growth and performance goals, right?). If more than 50% of the people who attend are from sales, you're doing it wrong. Also, make sure that everyone who goes gets the full experience.

Make sure that your managers become managers because they are the best qualified person for the job - not because they are the nicest guys or the most persuasive. (Companies that boast that they only promote from within limit their success by doing so.)

And, above all, remember that internal obstacles are often there for a reason. Give careful thought to any attempt to step over them, and avoid salespeople who blow smoke to benefit themselves in the short term at the expense of your organization.

Working with Developers

We've previously discussed the DISC system of behavior profiling, and touched on the very real personality and language barriers that exist between departments. Nowhere is this more apparent than when working with Developers - a situation compounded by the fact that many of the most widely-used development groups today are based overseas.

It is difficult for a Sales Manager (for example) to understand that whatever he or she asks for from a CRM tool will be built exactly as they specified. On the surface, this sounds positive, but the truth is that anything that is left out of the description will not exist at all, and anything even somewhat loosely defined will end up a complete mess. The Developers will, of course, make modifications - all during billable hours, and typically at rates much higher than their original proposal, because this is all 'extra work' that you did not originally specify.

The fault, of course, is yours.

Think of it this way: If you say to your teenager, "Please take the wet clothes out of the washing machine and put them into the dryer", what are the odds that they will start the dryer? With a Developer, the odds may be 0%. Bear in mind, this is not the Developer's fault. Their job is to build exactly what they are asked to build - no imagination, no guessing, no assumptions. They are not rewarded for thinking outside the box - they are the box. To be good Developers, they have to be the box.

So when a Developer gets your laundry request, they have several questions, because they want to get it right and any mistakes they make come out of their pocket:

• In which room is the washing machine?
• In which room is the dryer?
• If the washing machine and the dryer are in different rooms, by which route should the clothing be transported?
• Which machine is the washing machine?
• Which machine is the dryer?
• At what time of day do you wish this task to occur?
• Should the clothing be removed from the washing machine immediately after it becomes wet, or at some later time? If at some later time, exactly what time?
• Should all of the clothing be removed, or only some of the clothing? If only some of the clothing, please specify which clothing is to be removed.
• Should all of the clothing be transported to the dryer, or only some? If only some of the clothing, please specify which clothing is to be transported.
• Should clothing be immediately transported after removal from the washing machine, or at some later time?
• If at some later time, exactly what time?
• Should clothing be transported from the washing machine to the dryer one article at a time, in groups, or all at once? If one article at a time, please specify the order of articles. If in groups, please specify which articles should be in which groups, and in which order the groups should be removed.
• Do you wish to have some type of confirmation when the clothing has been removed from the washing machine? Do you also wish confirmation when the clothing has been transported to the dryer?

This list could be pages longer (Business Analysts, you know it's true), but you get the idea. And notice the critical point: Because you did not specify turning the dryer on, it never made it to the list of questions.

Here's the real problem:

• Developers assume that you know what you want. (And that you will spell it out.)
• You assume that the Developers know what you want. (And that they will build it without being told to.)

Successful Development takes time and work on everyone's part. But more than that, it takes understanding of how the Development process actually works - how it has to work.

This is the reason that large organizations have Project Managers, Business Analysts, QA's, etc.: their real, unspoken job is translator. And - even if you are in a large organization, with the benefit of all of those folks - it will save you months (if not years) of frustration dealing with budget overruns, late launches, bugs, unworkable interfaces, unmet priorities and lack of sleep if you learn to look at every Development project from the Developer's point of view, and give them exactly what they need to give you exactly what you need:

A good night's sleep!

Liar!

The average human being lies 4 times each day (this number does not take politicians into account, because they obviously throw off the scale). So why in the world do you expect someone to be honest with you on a survey?

Long, long ago, when dinosaurs ruled the earth, I worked for a software publisher and reseller that was building an online catalog. Online catalogs were a new thing at the time, as was the idea of a user interface that was actually geared toward an average user. To do it right, we met with a fellow who did consulting for companies that wanted to do business with big players like Microsoft, Apple, and Amazon, or to emulate them.

We walked him through what we had, and our head of new product development explained how we had structured each page to push Customers toward other pages to control their experience and expose them to useful content.

"Stop," he said. We stopped. "How successful have you been at getting Customers to go to that page?"

Not very, we admitted, but we had this great plan to change that by doing this, that, and another thing.

"Stop." We stopped again. "What makes you think Customers want this?"

"We did surveys," said our product development guy. "And the majority of..."

"They lied," said the consultant guy. "They told you what they thought they should say, not what they really do." Silence.

"Why would they lie?" we finally said. "It's in their best interest to tell the truth."

"Because people lie," he said. "The U.S. spent $24 billion on porn last year, but if you ask anyone, they don't buy porn. Somebody's buying it."

Furrowed eyebrows around the table while we digested this.

"So what do we do?" we said.

"Do what Amazon does: Don't listen to what Customers say. Watch everything they do. If they don't go to a particular page, get rid of it. If they go to another page a lot, give them more of whatever's there. Don't make anything more than one or at most two clicks away from where they start out. And recheck your results every single day, so you can anticipate shifts before they become widespread."

Another note about surveys: They are hollow. By that I mean that most people don't do them, and those who do tend to be people who are strongly motivated to say something positive or strongly motivated to say something negative. If you are like most organizations, 80% of your customers fall somewhere in the middle. And, since the average survey response rate is around 3%, why are you making business decisions based on what 1% or 2% of your Customers took the time to say?

I am not saying don't provide Customer for Life (perfect, on time, personalized) service. I am saying that watching what your Customers do - how many respond to offers and when, how many you lose or retain and why, increases or decreases in spend, etc. - matters more than what a small number of them say. Don't make major changes because of a single complaint or two, or reward based on a compliment or two. Which leads us to GAS:

Don't Guess. Assume, or Speculate. Find out. Eliminate G.A.S.

DISC, By Any Other Name

By now, you've likely been in business long enough to recognize that the employees in each department tend to have similar personality traits to other employees in the same department. In fact, despite individual differences, personality traits within one department often seem to be more a matter of degree than anything else. The important thing is to learn why this is, what it means to internal and external communication, and why it's a good and necessary thing.

A psychologist named William Marston created a way to rank personality traits according to 4 main behavior styles. Everyone has all 4, but the degree of each style and the blends between them differ from person to person. Marston called his ranking system DISC, an acronym of the 4 styles:

• Dominance - relating to control, power, or dominance
• Influence - relating to social situations and communication
• Steadiness - relating to patience, persistence, and thoughtfulness
• Caution - relating to structure or organization

I took my first DISC assessment and class in 1984. The class was sponsored by the National Association of Music Merchants, or NAMM. Out of all of the profiling and communication classes that I have taken at dozens of seminars in the years since (some of which took the fundamentals of DISC and simply renamed them), I still consider it the single most important business class I have ever taken, and I have shared it with every team I have managed since.

It's probably no secret to you that individuals with a strong 'C' drive tend to end up in Accounting, high 'S' individuals tend to gravitate to IT, 'I' to Sales and PR/Marketing, and high 'D' to Management, but this is a black-and-white perspective of a shades-of-grey reality. High incidence of these traits make these employees well-suited to their roles. They would not be as good at what they do as they are if their personalities were different. Unfortunately, this often means that communication between different departments is strained, because the personalities and communication styles of the people involved are so different from each other.

Communication with external Customers is just as difficult. Salespeople with high 'I' may actually turn off Customers who are high 'C'. Customer Service reps who are high 'S' may frustrate high 'I' Customers. Every behavior style wants to be spoken to in its own native language. Isn't that what you expect as a Customer? And what's wrong with that?

For this reason, I recommend DISC profiling and training for all employees, beginning with Management, then PR/Marketing (if they haven't already had it), Sales, Customer Service, IT, Accounting, Development, Production, etc. Profiling so that each employee is aware of how they are perceived and what their own needs are, and training so that they understand other styles and learn to communicate with them in their own language.

Be aware, too, that certain behavior styles can have a tendency to bugger advancement and chain of command. For example, people with high 'I' personalities tend to move up quickly because they are social animals and often well-liked. But they also tend not to be detail-oriented or results-driven. Why advance someone into a management position if they are not likely to be any good at it? This does no one any good. By the same token, someone with a high 'D' personality has a tendency to believe that codes of conduct and process do not apply to them. Is that who you want as your CEO?

Again, people are rarely this black-and-white, nor am I saying that a high 'D' person can't be a good CEO (especially if paired with a high 'S' COO). Everyone is a blend. Just be aware of how different behavior styles can influence your thinking when hiring, managing, and promoting.

An overly complicated DISC matrix. (I had a little trouble with the scissors.)