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Loving Your Job Is Not The Most Important factor in getting the job done well in the first place. There are many people who love their job for all sorts of reasons. Some love their job because it’s the only one they feel comfortable in. Some love their job because it was the only one they could get after years of layoff. Others love their job because they bought the business from someone else. Yet others love their job because they somehow managed to turn a hobby into a business. In all of the above instances the people concerned love their job. The question is, are they doing a great job, a good job or an OK job? Only their efforts, attitude and passion can determine that. LOVING YOUR JOB BUT BEING HALF-HEARTED IS NOT ON EITHER As an example of someone that really loves their job but fall far off the mark when it comes to personal performance none of us need to look too far. We all know someone that loves what they are doing but does it just adequately enough to get by. Just recently I undertook a consulting job with a young couple down on their luck trying to start up a new business. The person I want to showcase was retrenched from his full time job a few months ago and he and his family were fast using up their cash reserves and were in danger of losing their home if they didn’t greatly improve their business workflow. I also assumed the man was competent in his work as he had done this work part time for the past 18 months and had plenty of time to get his act together. BUSINESS BASICS AND AN ACTION PLAN HELPED TURN IT AROUND To get things under way as a matter of urgency, a business associate of mine contributed a number of valuable leads and contacts for him: a business advisor helped me develop a foundational business strategy; and I went about providing answers for the obvious missing gaps within the business. After four consultations, where I’d created some new marketing strategies, new brochures, sales material and helped them develop a workable action plan, the business began to turn around almost over night. I also wanted some work done personally on a 9 seater leather lounge I had built for me some 15 years earlier that was now showing signs of wear, discolouration and had a few wear and split marks in a few places. I asked him to offset some of my consulting fee by having him fix this and condition the seats in one of the cars. Almost immediately, I was put on the back burner as I was told I would be looked after in a few weeks. That to me was strange, because, despite my heavy work schedule, I put their needs up as a priority, and I also charged them around a quarter of my normal fee, then gave them time to pay – quite a long time, in fact, to help them get back on their feet. BUT HIS POOR WORKMANSHIP HAS NOW BECOME A REAL ISSUE AND CHALLENGE After an initial assessment, then a quote, and two delayed dates, the work got underway weeks after expected. Then, when he was about to start the work, he realised he didn’t know how to do the work, so he brought an expert with him to advise him how the job should be done. I thought that was strange, but again turned a blind eye to what I saw. The expert told me how the work would be undertaken and how much time it would take. Can imagine how surprised I was when Scott advised me that the work was now completed around four hours after he started it – and somehow managed to completed in around a quarter of the time suggested by the expert. I wasn’t home when the work was being done, but after I saw the result, I determined that I’d be reluctant to use him again, and wouldn’t be keen to recommend him to anyone else either. He simply repaired around 25% of what he said he would and in the main, it looked like he did nothing at all except recolour a few small patches. That’s why it took him around 25% of the time expected. The cracks were so badly repaired, you cold see the botched job around 5 metres away. Meanwhile, other work he’d been doing for a number of other clients, together with the original work he’d done for the referrals that were supplied to him by my associate, also appeared to be well below the standard that was expected of him. HE AGREED TO FIX THE FAULTS IMMEDIATELY However, as a credit to him, Scott agreed to fix the faults that he had overlooked on my lounge, and began seeking specialist advise on how to do the job correctly and to his credit, has undertaken to make good all of the inadequate work. He made the same offer of restitution to others as well. The job he had botched on my couch was not only made good to my satisfaction, but had taken Scott over 20 hours of careful work. On each visit he apologised for taking advantage of me generosity in helping him out and felt like he had been given a real “wake up call” when I pointed out how inadequate his work was. He also told me that his pregnant wife told him some “home truths” about his current less than acceptable work ethic, in the least diplomatic manner possible. I believe that Scott has not only learned his lesson but will grow into an honest and competent tradesman in a short while. We need more people like the “new” Scott in the sales profession today. And the reason is one you would least expect to read about. For 15 years prior to starting this new business venture Scott worked as a salesman in two separate companies. And he will be the first to tell you that his years as a salesman were the reason his work was so badly done, is that was the standard by which he had always sold – near enough and doing as little as necessary to get by from one year to the next. Moreover in the 15 years he sold, he had hardly read a book, never bought any audio tapes or any other sales training material, and all he had learned about sales at the time was some second hand knowledge from his peers or that once a month sales meeting. Before I penned the above information I asked Scott if he would mind as it would help others and, to his credit, he agreed. That too is the mark of a big man. ***************************************** This Article is by Peter Collins - In a sales career spanning more than 50 years, Peter Collins has focused on helping and bringing out the best in others - whether it involves training or mentoring salespeople, managers, business consulting to SME’s. Since the 1970’s Peter has built a reputation as a Nationally and Internationally Published author, and has 65 books to his credit, but he is mainly known for one book based on the Audio Tape series of the same name, Over 50 Ways of Closing the Sale. In his personal life, Peter has been sought after as an encourager and motivator that has given of his time and talents freely despite his busy schedule. Subsequently, he has assisted churches, pastors, community and charity groups, as well as individuals through his teaching, training, development and on-going mentoring. © Copyright Peter Collins, Profit Maker Sales, Sydney, Australia, 2015, all rights reserved. Peter can be contacted through his website – profitmakersales.com - Submit your articles to AMAZINES.COM
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