Branding with People Power

“I have to increase sales immediately and make sure I cut my costs and meet the quotas the company set for us.” Those are some of the laments I have been hearing from business leaders all over Colorado in the last couple of months. The reality of the recession has set in, and there is pressure in the marketplace to conform to the world of dollars.

Don’t get me wrong, I do understand basic economics and the need for money. However, there is a difference between earning dollars and greedy dollars. There is no doubt that the American world view of success is money driven. The more money I make, the more opportunity I create for advancement. Enterprising entrepreneurs go into business today with the thought that they will do whatever it takes to be profitable so they can sell the company and make a lot of money. I have seen it over and over again in the past year: corporate buy-outs by investors that lead to the profit pressure cooker. We have to do whatever it takes to make a profit. That leadership vision causes management to do something to prove their “worth.” As a result, they end up driven to make decisions based strictly on dollars and people become tools for accomplishment.

One prime example of this is the sales strategy of developing quotas for sales staff. The whole idea of setting a minimum sales volume is de-motivating for a professional sales representative. Why? Because a true professional salesperson has a different mindset than quota demand. They know that relationships build a happy and satisfied customer base, which leads to referrals and repeat business. The most important thing to them is building trust and retaining good customers, followed by the satisfaction of solving a problem for someone. They know that if they do those two things, the money will come. When a quota is set, they don’t have time to build relationships. Instead it becomes a hit-and-sell approach to get the sale and get on to the next prospect.

The real bottom line here is that people are more important than money. Whether its employees, customers or vendors; people drive the business not money. We talk about how we want to build that “Purple Cow” brand in today’s business world. Building a good brand is a result of building good relationships. People are the vehicles that carry your brand and deliver sales.

The graphic pictures of the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan last week are a perfect example of how our businesses can be wiped out in a matter of minutes. What is it that really matters at a time like that? Is it the money, the buildings, the profits, the sales quotas? No, that’s all gone. What matters is the people … their lives and safety are all that matters now. The businesses can be built again but not without the people.

Hebrews 13: 1 and 5 sums it up pretty well: “Continue to love each other with true Christian love. Stay away from the love of money; be satisfied with what you have for God has said, I will never fail you. I will never forsake you.”