Dedicated to supporting High-Performing Contractors and all contractors working to become one. Written by Dennis Sowards

Customer Focused – Trust Bank Account

The Forum Corp. of Boston conducted research into what separated top sales producers from the average. They found that it was not skill, knowledge or even charisma. The number one difference between the top sales people and the rest was honesty. (1)

Jeffrey Gitomer asks: “Who do you trust? Why do you trust? Who trusts you?” (2)

Most of us in construction are not in sales – at least not directly but all of us are in the relationship business which includes selling what we deliver and ourselves.



Mr. Gitomer has what he calls his sales law: “If they like you, and they believe you, and they have confidence in you, and they trust you – then they may buy from you.” This applies to all of us in business and life. If they like you, believe you, have confidence in you and trust you - they will cooperate with you.



Gitomer goes to explain his law. “The customer bought because they trusted you. But in order for you to gain that trust, they first had to like you AND believe you AND have confidence in you. If those three elements were not present, trust (or trust enough to purchase) would not have followed.



“CAUTION: There’s a variation of this law. In sales, trust or no trust, sometimes customers will just take the lowest price. Avoid these people.



“In sales and business relationships, why does one person trust another person? Trust is a perception and a realization. It’s based on initial feelings and perceptions by the prospective customer -- value perception being a huge one. If the prospect feels value, they will begin to believe, have confidence, and maybe even purchase.



“Relationships are based on trust. Engagements and interactions over time and words and deeds over time. They’re based on a past history of performance. Trust is not given. Trust is earned. And trust is not earned in a day; it’s earned day by day.



“It may take two years to earn trust. But it only takes one minute to lose it. And the difference is two letters UN – truth or untruth.”



Steven Covey describes this concept of trust as a trust bank account. We have such accounts with everyone we know, associate and or do business with. We make deposits and withdrawals all the time by our actions, words and even no actions. We can build a healthy account that can withstand some unintended or intentional trustbuster. If we have made few deposits and many withdrawals we can be overdrawn and become bankrupt in our account with others.



How to build trust?

Gitomer explains, “Why do you trust somebody? Think about the criteria in your mind that creates permission to trust someone else. Then think of the people you trust and ask yourself why do I trust him or her? Reliability? Consistency? Long-term friendship? A giving person? A truthful person? An understanding person? A person whose words, thoughts, and deeds you’ve come to rely on and depend on in times of need? Is it someone who performs these things for you without any motive? Without any agenda? Without any expectation of something in return?



“Trust is not complex. Many of the answers you come up with as to why you trust others can lead you to your own game plan to become trustworthy.



“Here are some simple elements of trust that you must MASTER in order to make it possible for a relationship to blossom:

Tell the truth. This is the number one element of trust AND relationships. Once truth has been violated, trust evaporates and may never return.

Deliver what you promise. People hope and expect you to deliver on promises.

Do what you say you will do. This is a test for being reliable and trustworthy.

Communicate in a timely manner. Rapid response shows you are responsible, on top of it, and that you care.

Bring value beyond your product or service. What you do to help others be more successful will be a true reflection of your character.

Be on time. Being on time shows you respect the other person’s time. It also proves your reliability.

Be friendly. Smiling people are the gateway to open communication. It costs no extra money to be friendly.

Be sincere. This can only come from belief in what you do, loving what you do, and caring for others. Not just being true to others, being true to yourself. Sincerity comes from within.

Be appreciative of their business. Showing and saying genuine thanks will not only build a relationship – it will enhance loyalty.

Be grateful for the opportunity to be of service. If you have a service heart, if you love to serve others, you will build trust with every action.

Be consistent. Trust is not a once in a while thing. It’s a constant thing. You can’t be on time one day and late the next. You can’t be friendly one day and rude the next. You can’t deliver one day and not the next. I believe this element is the most difficult to master because it combines all the other elements.

Give trust. You become trustworthy by giving trust to others.

“In sales, in business, and in personal relationships of all kind, trust is THE critical element. It’s the glue that binds all the other elements together. Without it, the relationship will fade, diminish, or die.



“What are you doing to breed trust? What are you doing to build trust? What are you doing to enhance the trust you have built? What are you doing to guard and protect the trust you’ve built?”

(1) “Truth, or Take Consequences” By Harvey Mackay, AZ Republic, March 1, 2009.

(2) Jeffrey Gitomer's Sales Caffeine issue 374

Employee Focus - Engaging the Hearts and Minds of Your Employees

Ralph Keller, of the American Management Association (AMA) believes that the most successful leaders openly respect their staffs and care about their ideas and well-being. He explains his theory,



“There are countless examples of lean transformations and continuous improvement programs where the gains achieved are not sustained because the hearts and minds of the people in the organization were not captured and engaged in the effort.



“Captain Michael Abrashoff, the author of It's Your Ship, talked about how his leadership took the USS Benfold from the worst ship in the U.S. Navy's Pacific fleet to the best in two years. How did he accomplish that? He demonstrated every day to the 380-plus sailors and officers of the ship that he cared about them and valued their ideas on the journey to continuously improve the operation of their ship. He found, as have many others, that you can't accomplish this by sitting in your office and issuing orders. He did it using the tried and tested technique of MBWA (Management by Walking About) and engaging everyone on the ship so he knew each one of them personally and demonstrated to them that he cared about them and valued their input.



“It takes time and a lot of hard work to win over people who have not been engaged, especially when previous leaders have not respected them, but Captain Abrashoff persevered every day with the same message until everyone on board bought into his program. That's when the improvements were made and sustained.



“This focus on engaging the people in an organization by having the top leadership demonstrate every day that they respect everyone and care about their ideas and well being is a recurring theme in successful, sustainable continuous improvement efforts. We have all seen the results of tools-based programs where people are directed, but not engaged, and the lack of sustainability that results. The gains that are made are not captured and quickly erode as people return to their old way of doing things.



“Put succinctly, leadership matters, and it's the leaders who demonstrate every day that they respect, value and care about everyone in the organization who are able to achieve sustainable results in their continuous improvement efforts. What kind of leader are you, and will you be able to win in this competitive and difficult global business environment we operate in?” [Source: IndustryWeek, Oct. 1, 2008]



In construction, leadership is just as critical as running a ship. The projects that finish ahead of schedule and under budget accomplish this by design not default. Project managers need to be leaders too, shop superintendents are leaders and most critical for the success of a company is for the president/owner to lead in a way that engages employees. The top actions to take to engage employees are:

Ask employees for their ideas for improving’

Listen to what the employees say

Act on these ideas if possible, if not explain to the employees why not.

Make sure the employees have the tools they need to do the work

Ensure that the crews have the materials when and where they need it, and in the right quantities.

Communicate with employees – tell them what is planned for the job, the day’s tasks, and company. They feel important when they are included not excluded.

Be consistent - don’t play favorites.

Go to where they do their work and observe how it is done. This is more than management by walking around – invest the time to see the barriers that keep the crews from doing their best.

Invest in training – what a great message is sent when one has the opportunity to learn how to do things better and how to do new things. Think of the message that is sent when one is excluded from training.

Recognize accomplishments – individual and as a team.

Reward performance as a team.

Give honest feedback individually in the spirit of helping one to improve.

Source: 2008 Global Productivity Report, Quality Digest, Dec. 2008

Learning Opportunities

You may be interested in attending one of these training seminars:

• March 19, 2009 - Job Planning that Really Works – The Last Planner System, – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy
  
• March 20, 2009 – Lean Works in Construction – San Diego, CA – Sponsor: SMACNA of San Diego, email or 619-460-5362. Must be a SMACNA member company, associate or sponsored by one to participate.
  
• April 16 & 23, 2009 - Making Meetings Work for You (must attend both session), – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contactCathy
  
• May 14, 2009 - Problem Solving Lite (No Carbs) - Getting to the Root Cause, – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy
  
• Sept. 17, 2009 - Customer Loyalty by Design, – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy
  
• Oct. 6, 2009 - Lean Works in Construction – Milwaukee, WI – Sponsor: Plumbing Mechanical Sheet Metal Contractors Alliance, Contact: Dajen Bohacek at 414/543-7622 Must be a SMACNA member company, associate or sponsored by one to participate.
  
• Oct. 15. 2009 - Introduction to Lean in Service, – Phoenix, AZ – Sponsor: PIPE & 469 JAC, contact Cathy

Contact Dennis Sowards if you want to schedule a customized workshop exclusively for your company

Thought for the day

Behavior rewarded is behavior repeated. If you measure the wrong activities – then reward the wrong results – you won’t get what you wanted . . . you’ll get what you rewarded. - Scott McKain, What Customers Really Want

For more information about the High-Performing Contractor assessment process contact Dennis Sowards at 480-835-1185

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