
It’s good to be loved…

the story is in the telling
· By Amy Swift Crosby
· By Amy Swift Crosby
We can learn a lot from looking at Apple and their business models. Not only have they made great strides with creating products and being innovators but they do something all us small business owners can use too. It’s all about a good retail hiring strategy.
We’ve all walked into one of those giant apple stores and interacted with one of the Geniuses. They all seem to meet the same qualifications, friendly, accessible, knowledgeable, smart but not cocky, happy but not annoyingly so? It seems if you were to plop them in Portland, Brooklyn, Austin… they would meet the creativity in progress requirements. Why is it that Apple has got it all together especially in the Genius department?
Although it’s a close second, skill set is not the first requirement for being hired. First they hire for culture for their store personnel.
For smaller organizations this is key. You may not be number one on Interbrand’s Best Global Brands but maybe this is why Apple is. If someone you hire doesn’t have the personality, work ethic, mission orientation, it’s not going to work — no matter how pretty their resume is!
Skills are teachable — disposition ain’t!
Stay Smarty People
· By Amy Swift Crosby
I learned something about birds that was kinda interesting recently. They see best in black and white, so when you first get a feeder, the best way to let them know it’s there and ready to feast on is to put seeds that are black and white inside. Despite being a bit messier, it’s the fastest way for them to see it, and the best way to build your “bird posse”. After that, add seed that leaves fewer shells, and in any color you like.
Clients and customers are the same way. The marketplace is crowded – we have to be crystal clear with our message, our offering, our value – we have to make it black and white to even get people’s attention. If it isn’t absolutely clear, it’s a client who keeps clicking….right on past your products or service.
Once you have a client or customer, as everyone knows, it’s a lot easier to keep ’em! So how do you drive the flock? Having a sales person is one way.
Check out some of our virtual offerings coming up in the next few weeks – especially our SALES webinar with Stephanie Barrymore. She’s going to tackle some amazing questions about structuring relationships with sales people – specifically if you’re a service provider. She’ll answer:
– When is it time to hire a sales person?
– How do you structure the relationship financially?
– How do you hire the right person – based on experience or rolodex?
– How do you manage them and set metrics for success?
– When do you let them go or determine it’s not working?
– How much training do they need?
– What kind of uptick in revenue can you expect and how long will it take?
I like what Stephanie’s presenting because we so often get it for product people, but hardly ever for service professionals.
Amy
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I’m a brand strategist and copy writer. I mostly work with partner agencies or directly with the leadership or founding team at a brand. My primary mission is to connect design and messaging solutions to business missions. I work with start-ups and Fortune 500 companies, across beauty, hospitality, wellness/fitness, CPG and retail. This blog reflects my personal writing and explores our humanity – often as it relates to work, space, time and language. You can review my portfolio here or connect with me here.
Brand Strategists Hilary Laffer and Amy Swift Crosby tackle business questions with candid, (mostly) serious and definitely unscripted workshopping sessions. Guests – from small business owners to CEOs, executive directors and founders – bring their head-scratchers, hunches and conundrums to Hilary, the owner of a boutique creative agency in Los Angeles, and Amy, a copy writer.