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I asked myself the question: to take or not to take on clients who are controlled by fate and the universe? How to correctly return people from fantasies to the plane of a business solution? Where it is clear what to do and what the result will be.
Agree in business it is difficult to imagine that an employee comes to the head and says: ““You know, the required level of profitability can be achieved by spreading chicken feet around the perimeter of the sales department and doing two ritual dances.”
In business, everyone defines strategies, goals, objectives and specific efforts. And yesterday I asked myself: is it possible to orient any client at once into the plane of business tasks?
I will tell 2 stories from my own business experience.
First story
In 2007, one of the owners of a large automobile holding in the city of N invited me to work in his company as an anti-crisis manager. Things were going badly for him. He suggested that I take the site, which was the most problematic and unprofitable. We agreed that I would manage the «X» dealership.
When I met with the current director of the dealership and started talking to him, I heard the following: “— Alexander, the monthly loss and growing loan obligations are not the result of poor work of the staff or improperly organized processes and actions. The thing is that the wrong place was chosen for business. I have researched the matter (made inquiries) and it was rumored 100 years ago that this place was a cemetery for cattle. In general, the place is unsuccessful and cursed.
At the same time, he noticed that he, as a leader, did not sit idly by, and invited a priest to remove the damage. Now the dealership is sanctified.
I, in turn, asked the question: What changes have occurred during the last year, after the invitation of the priest?”.
The answer was expected: «- In principle, there are no improvements in work and profitability yet, it is necessary to wait.”
I listened to him attentively, without giving any sign that I had already carried out a preliminary audit of the operation of the enterprise in terms of finances and documents. As a mystery shopper, he visited the departments of the company. Collected feedback from some customers. And the conclusion that I made from everything I saw is that there is no management at the enterprise. Absent from the word «completely» and in all manifestations.
We quickly agreed with the director as follows: while we wait for the space to be cleared, I will manage the enterprise, and he will sign the documents that I will tell. I will tell you what to do and he will do it. This is how we organized the transition from the status of a “cursed place” to a place of business solutions.
For two years of work, by training staff, changing processes, investing in communications with customers, they turned a loss-making enterprise, which was in the last places in the ratings in all drivers and indicators in the country, into a successful and profitable company. In terms of profitability, they are among the top three in the country (out of 115 centers). In terms of loyalty and quality, they are in the top five, and all this without the involvement of church ministers.
Second story
At the same time, during the first year of work of one of the priests, I nevertheless called and used his services.
One client ordered a car in a very individual configuration. At that moment, when the car was manufactured and delivered to the dealership, the woman refused the car.
When a car is ordered in an individual configuration, then putting it up for sale later, it is extremely difficult to sell it without a significant discount. Therefore, the head of the sales department turned to me with a request to talk to the client, especially since she (the client) is not quite “ordinary”. I dialed the client’s number, and heard the following reason for refusing to pick up the car.
According to the client, there were terrible circumstances. The car began to give signs and indicate that it was not bought. The car hinted that it would bring her to her death. The woman spoke very colorfully about how the day before visiting the salon she had a dream that she was riding in a coffin on wheels, a coffin was riding next to her, in which her daughter was riding, and all this with details and nuances, what ribbons on the coffins everything else. When she arrived at the salon and her car was started, the fuel level indicator light began to flash red. The gauge needle was accordingly close to zero (car manufacturers, from a safety point of view, never send cars with filled tanks). All this was deciphered as a sign that there is danger ahead and life is also coming to zero. There were many more nuances, colors and details. I listened to this woman on the phone for 10 minutes quite carefully. In pauses, I tried to insert a reasoned position about contractual relations, the seriousness of the brand, five stars of safety according to EuroNCAP, but nothing worked. At some point in time, an interesting thought came to my mind. I remembered the priest and offered to offer her to bless her car. I said that I would agree with him, since the former director of communications had: “— You know everything that you are actually saying quite seriously, and I understand that this problem must be solved. And it needs to be done as soon as possible.»
The client was delighted with this decision and agreed.
I invited a priest, having previously filled the car up to a full tank, and as a result of a small ceremony, the client was satisfied and calmed down. Before leaving in our car, we organized a briefing for her and a small lesson on counter-emergency driving. After a while, she arrived with gratitude for the lifted curse. And after a while she ordered a car for her daughter. I think it’s not worth saying that my daughter’s car was filled up to a full tank in advance.
The priest also liked this approach to resolving the issue, and after a while two Ford Transit buses were ordered for the needs of the church.
I think that I did not help this client, but locally I got the desired result. Some things help us to establish contact with such clients, then it is necessary to work with them already in the plane of goals and objectives.
I think it is interesting to work with such clients, it is interesting only at the initial stage, and I am not sure that I want to take them in further work.