From Chaos to “Smoothville” in Your Small Business

iStock_000020577362Small_NL Feb 26 15

“We’ve had a lot of turnover recently and brought on some new employees. I just haven’t been able to train them the way I would like. So many things are falling through the cracks. Our customer service is really slipping. I need to get everybody on the same page. We have some systems in place, but not everybody knows what these are. If we had good procedures in place, I know things would go better. I just don’t have the time to get it all done. I have so much on my plate, I don’t even know where to start.”

New employees, increased demand from customers, and spotty systems are a recipe for chaos and lost profit in a growing small business. Even though revenue is increasing, employee mistakes, dissatisfied customers, and lost opportunities are profit leaking out of the business. Where do you even start to get a handle on this?

The first step is to get crystal clear on your sweet spot. Who are your best customers? What is your unique offering that addresses their needs?

The next step is to put solid systems in place that support you in consistently delivering your unique offering to your best customers. Look at the systems you are already have in place to serve your best customers. Which systems are working best? What can you do to solidify and improve these systems? Where are the gaps? Which employees need training on these systems?

As you train employees on these systems, ask the employees to document, step-by-step, what they are doing. This serves several purposes:

  1. Writing reinforces their learning. Your employees learn the systems better as they write down what they are learning.
  2. You will be able to see the procedures your employees have documented. Gaps in their learning will be apparent to you. You will see what areas need more attention from you.
  3. You can use the employees’ documentation of the system to create a checklist of the procedures.

Going forward, the checklists can be used to ensure an outstanding customer experience—every time!

Use these steps to continue developing and refining all of your systems that support your sweet spot. You will be well on your way to “smoothville”!

 SabrinaDr. Sabrina Schleicher recognizes that employee  problems can be one of the biggest stumbling  blocks for any business owner.   With her background in psychology, and years of driving profit in small businesses, Dr. Schleicher knows what it takes to find, keep and get exceptional performance out of your biggest investment-your employees. Access her comprehensive video training 5 Secrets to Exceptional Employee Performance (her gift to you!) at www.tapthepotential.com

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About The Author

Dr. Sabrina Starling, The Business Psychologist and international best-selling author of the How to Hire the Best series and The 4 Week Vacation™, is the founder of Tap the Potential and host of the Profit by Design podcast. At Tap the Potential, we work to free business owners from the constant demands of a growing business.

We believe work supports life, not the other way around. Clients in our Better Business, Better Life coaching program have more time for what matters most and more money in their bank account than they’ve ever had. Next, we send them off on a 4 Week Vacation™ to celebrate their hard-earned journey to take their life back!

Dr. Sabrina and her team at Tap the Potential are on a mission to change the story of entrepreneurship from one of long hours, grinding it out, to one of sustainably profitable businesses that support and enhance life. The Tap the Potential Solution™ and our Tap the Potential Family of Business Owners are disrupting small business as usual. We are on our way to making the Tap the Potential Solution™ the mainstream model for growing business.

By 2023, 150 Tap the Potential clients will have taken 4 Week Vacations. These are the trailblazers, role modeling what’s possible for entrepreneurs. In many entrepreneurial circles, it is becoming more and more common for one entrepreneur to ask another, “Have you taken a 4 Week Vacation™?” (as opposed to asking “How many employees do you have?” or “What is your annual revenue?”). Taking a fully unplugged 4 Week Vacation is rapidly becoming the recognized symbol of entrepreneurial success.

Never one to accept the status quo or back down from a challenge, Dr. Sabrina’s How to Hire the Best series grew from her desire to solve the toughest hiring challenges interfering with her clients’ growth and profitability. What sprang from her experience working with entrepreneurs in rural areas catapulted her into becoming the world’s leading expert in attracting top talent in small businesses—no matter what hiring challenges those businesses are facing—and earned Tap the Potential’s reputation as the go-to resource for entrepreneurs committed to creating Great Places to Work with thriving coaching cultures and highly engaged team members working from strengths.

As The Business Psychologist, and with her years of driving profit in small businesses, Dr. Sabrina knows what it takes to find, keep, and motivate exceptional performance out of your biggest investment—team members.