Our accountants tell me that our Sales efforts have increased revenue by 25% in the past 6 months and we are looking to invest in additional employees.
In meeting with a customer the other day I was asked to define why they should buy our product. I could have presented another meaningless PowerpointTM presentation but instead, thought I’d share a story about Sue Peterson. Sue is one of the 5 incredible women that work in our Administrative offices, pushing paper and processing orders. Sue is very thorough and reads every order to ensure accuracy. A customer note at the bottom of one order had requested that we ship UPS. Sue felt that perhaps the customer would want to use their own UPS account as a cost savings. Although this would have caused Sue extra paperwork, it was more important to help the customer ease their burden.
I see this compassion throughout XYZ. Ian in Operations asked if any customer had commented on his packaging, Sandy in Production asked what she could do to help with John’s order. Ted replies to email inquiries from his iPhone at 8 o’clock in the evening, even when we know he’s been sampling from his wine cellar.
This is why people want to buy our product. This is why our initiative will be successful.
It is with pride that I represent XYZ as we enter into this new venture together. I could not do it without you. Thank you for your compassion and commitment.
Hi Paige,
ReplyDeleteAs usual, good engaging flow in here and to read it in real situation too. As you are showcasing accomplishments, it is important to focus on positive note to all employees (even though Ted makes a rare blips while sampling wine)
Also, another thing that I can learn is to mention employee's name as a recognition. If I were writing such message to all employees then this will help encouraging other employees to perform and probably they would like to see their name to come up in the message the next time.
Overall, brave decision to present such idea to the customer in Sales presentation. Thank you for sharing with us.
Another good communication paper. Your experience in the sales aspect shines through with your message delivery. Keeping it simple as well as unexpected adds to the "stickiness" of your communication. It was delivered on a personal level rather than an unpretentious approach taken by some executives when addressing colleagues.
ReplyDeleteYour communications are alway engaging and this one did not disappoint me!!
ReplyDeleteThe personal aspects, that we could all relate to and credable as well particularly the reference to Ted answering e-mails while pursuing his persoanl life.
This reminds me of the article in make it stick where all that is important to the editor is Names Names Names. I like the fact that people are pointed out for the extra miles they go and that you as a manager recognize them publicly for their efforts.
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ReplyDeleteI read this and several other statements earlier today during my lunch break. I decided to come back to this one it was the most sticky for me. In particular, I couldn't get the picture of someone surrounded by wine getting work done on their iPhone out of my head! Great work!
ReplyDeleteThis article is chock fill of stickiness. Mentioning names in the company has a great effect and comes straight out of the reading. Thank you for another great read :)
ReplyDeleteGreta memo Paige. I enjoyed the way you communicated your message to employees through stories about fellow employees. Using these short stories presented a simple message of how successful employees act, and then directed your audience how they should perform in their roles. You spoke to their emotions in many ways, making it a very "sticky" memo.
ReplyDeletePaige, this was really well done. First, the title grabs the reader's attention, because we all love to hear about our own accomplishments. I think adding the story about Sue and including the names of various other employees would really make this memo resonate throughout the organization; aka, it makes it very sticky.
ReplyDeleteGood article, Paige. Use of names and relaying details of business stories adds to stickiness. It bordered on being a personal memo more than an article. I am glad you are happy to work at your company, but for business articles direct Sue, Ian and Sandy to how their actions drive business results. It may matter more to them that they are driving business results than it does them knowing that you admire them.
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