From the Management Message Archive

The Four Success Habits

Message:

SMA has recently taken to getting some professional advice - some consulting of our own if you will. It's part of our continuing effort to improve the operations of our consulting company and to be a better and more valuable resource to our clients.

One of our key advisors is author and generic business consultant Dan Sullivan and his organization The Strategic Coach. In Dan's book "How the Best Get Better", he asserts that the best marketing strategy in the world is to be Referable. Being referable means that your existing clients and customers believe in you so strongly that they want to tell others about you.

Sullivan says referability depends upon four habits. At SMA, we have expanded on his concept to call these four habits the Success Habits. You may succeed in the short term without one or more of these, but to be successful in the long term, we think these four simple habits are essential.

The Success Habits:

      - Show up on time.
      - Do what you say you will do.
      - Finish what you start
      - Say please and thank you!

They seem pretty simple, but I am constantly surprised at the number of people and businesses that do not practice these basics of courtesy and common sense.

Show up on time:
You demonstrate respect, an understanding that people's schedules are important, and that time is valuable in today's society.

Do what you say you will do:
Doing what you say you will do wins the confidence of those with whom you work. It is an outward sign of your integrity and reliability. Unfortunately, it is harder that it sounds.

I know that I get buried in busy work or the next call or appointment and inadvertently miss completing an assignment or sending something to a client. I have come to the conclusion that this is a major issue for me, even if it only happens once in awhile, and solving it will contribute greatly to my and our company's success.

How about making things easier for you and your team? I have seen many builders who have contributed to confusion, customer dissatisfaction and loss of profits by not having a good system to track what has been promised and that it is delivered in a timely fashion.

Finish what you start:
This is an interesting habit. How many unfinished projects do you have on your to-do list this week? Seeing good ideas through to completion is indeed a habit of the most successful people I have been around.

It is so easy to let the next idea or project or customer take precedence over for the one that you started yesterday or last week or last month, etc.

Say please and thank you:
Oh boy! This reminds me of that best-selling book "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten." These are common courtesies that we often forget in our busy lives. We should express sincere appreciation for business when it comes our way and train our staffs to extend the same courtesy. We should always ask rather than tell, demonstrating our respect for others' time, schedule and effort.

Make these four habits part of your and your company's training and policies. Without these basics, the best product, price, charm and experience are for naught in securing referral business and long-term success.

Have a great week! Bob

For additional information on this management tip or any other homebuilder management concerns call us at 407/447-5209 (Florida office) or 909/335-9100 (California Office).