Are you confident that your people would know how to make a quick decision in a stressful situation?
Many companies take far too long to make decisions.
Even when companies know the things they should be doing, aren’t getting done, it can sometimes take months or years to make a decision.
Why does it take so long?
It takes a long time because they don’t have proper decision-making processes in place, even though studies show that you’re 6X more likely to be successful when using a process.
What is a process? Very simply; a process is a series of actions, tasks, decisions, or activities completed to convert inputs into outputs. With many of my clients, we’re often working on putting the right growth-orientated processes and systems into place.
If you want to make quick decisions, you need a process.
If you want loyal customers, you need a process. A process goes far beyond just saying, “we provide a “wow” experience!”
Customer loyalty is a symptom. Retention is the cause.
Many of the companies I talk to understand the importance of “loyal” customers, but they also don’t have any retention systems or processes in place to make that happen.
They want the outputs but don’t have the inputs.
You can’t get banana bread unless you mix bananas, sugar, flour, eggs, and baking soda. A recipe is a process.
Sometimes, for whatever reason, decisions need to be made quickly. You won’t have all the perfect information. You only have the information that’s available to you in the moment.
You’re often forced to make the best decision you can make by looking at the alternatives and the risks involved with each.
But sometimes the risk is unknown. Sometimes the risk is high. Sometimes, one of the alternatives has a level of risk you aren’t willing to take.
What processes and procedures do you have in place – and which do you need in place?
For example, think about how your company would go about making a decision in a stressful situation.
What would happen if one of your key clients suddenly informed you they’re going to one of your main competitors? What’s your process for saving the client? How would you quickly go about replacing the lost business?
What would you do if one of your key suppliers just stopped supplying?
What if three of your key executives walked out today?
What if someone was killed on a job site?
What decision-making processes do you use?
What’s your sales process?
What’s your retention process?
Your challenge for this week:
Ask your sales team to map out their sales process for you.
Ask your executive team to map out what they believe is the corporate decision-making process.
Ask your service and marketing teams to map out their customer retention process.
See what you get in return.
Is there a standard process, or is everyone all over the map? If it’s the latter, that’s usually a problem.
In business, there’s always going to be someone sneaking into the cage, and you won’t always have all the right information.
More often than not, you need to move quickly. And sometimes, you’ll need to shoot the gorilla.
