A few words to current and future small business owners: Anybody can get new clients. The magic is in the hold- it’s in keeping them.
Build a company around sales and you’ll get new clients. You may elevate yourself from ‘doing the work’, you may be able to flip your company to a salivating buyer. You may see faster growth and revenue. If these are your goals, then please proceed. You will get a company culture ripe with top paid employees obsessed with the sales mentality. If that’s what you want, well, then you have my blessing, as I’m sure you’ve waited with bated breath…
However, build a company around people who are passionate about its offering, add client service and retention, and you’ll get what we like to call ‘the hold‘.
– You’ll keep more clients.
– You’ll hire great people to take care of your clients.
– You’ll promote strategic thinkers and doers to higher paying positions and give them authority.
– You’ll personally worry about your client’s success. You’ll be a warrior for the front lines, not just the bottom line.
– You’ll build your company for the long haul, and yes, you’ll probably be getting your hands dirty with at least some of the work for a long time.
– With a vision of what you’re building over the long run, you’ll build your reputation, your brand, and a healthy organization that will be around to take on your kid as an intern when he’s in college. Yes, that is something I see happening here. I’ll hire my son as an intern someday, and he’s only 8 years old. That’s planning and playing the long game.
We’re not 100% there 100% of the time, but we’re working at it. Working our butts off at it! We’ve invested in the best people in the industry, right at the front lines, and it’s really making a difference. We’re building project management processes and tools that will pay off years from now, not just next quarter. We’re building a network of partners and influencers that we’ll be able to leverage long into the future. None of this is cheap, nor always seems to pay off right away. But we believe it will pay off for our employees and clients over the next several years and decades.
We probably won’t be selling the company anytime soon and living on a Tahitian island, and yes, you will still find me in my office, but we’re building something good and we’re seeing constant progress. How do we continue to build and see progress? Simply put- it’s the hold.
