10 Steps to a Great Support Team
10 Steps to a Great Support Team
Having a long and successful working relationship with a team of contractors is somewhat of an anomaly among solo entrepreneurs. In many ways I've been very fortunate to have such talented and caring people working for me. But I also recognize some critical pieces of making it work that can be planned for - because it's not just luck!
Part I: Setting up the relationship
1. Hire people that are a good fit for you. Seems obvious, but sometimes our criteria can hinge too much on things like cost and not enough on "can I see myself working well with this person?" Establish upfront what is important to you - consider skills, work habits, communication style, friendliness, etc. - make a list and use it when interviewing and making your hiring decision.
2. Establish written expectations on both sides. Do you expect emails answered in 4 hours or 48? Want a weekly update? Not interested in chit-chat? You may have talked about these things in the interview, but getting them down on paper gives you both something to refer back to. And this should be a two-way street: what are their expectations? Do they need to hear from you when they are doing a good job? Is it ok to contact them on the weekend?
3. Keep the lines of communication open. Talk ahead of time about the best way to let each other know when things aren't working (even better, put it in writing so you don't forget). Think about how you best receive feedback - on the phone, via email, scheduled ahead of time or on the spur of the moment, etc.
4. Life happens. If you work with another solo entrepreneur for any length of time, it's likely that one of you will face at least one personal issue that takes you away from the business at hand for some period of time. These issues can be difficult to talk about.illness, depression, family issues, death. But not telling the other person will leave them frustrated because things aren't getting done and they don't know why. Most people are very understanding and willing to accommodate changes in deadlines, leaves of absence, etc., but you have to communicate first. Talking about "what would we do if" ahead of time may help.
5. Show me the money (plan). This is one place to be absolutely crystal-clear. How often are invoices sent, how much detail do you need to see, what are the payment terms, how do they want to be paid. Do they want a minimum monthly commitment? Do you want to set a monthly maximum? What about referral agreements, profit-sharing, etc.
Part II: Building and Strengthening the Relationship Over Time
6. Pay on time! If the terms say pay within 10 days - why not pay in five? Your support team is the lifeblood of your business - what better way to let them know you appreciate and value their contribution?
7. Put away the fine-tooth comb. If you've done a good job of hiring a team member, you don't need to fuss over how many hours for this or that. If you don't trust them, you shouldn't have hired them.
8. Always say please and thank you. One of my earliest lessons in business - treat everyone with respect. They may be contractors but they aren't your minions! I take time to go over every email before I send it to make sure I've said please, and I send a quick thank-you when the task is completed.
9. Let them know you appreciate them. Send a note when they've completed a big project for you, or a small gift on a special occasion. Celebrate company milestones by thanking them with a card. Be creative! Sometimes it's fun just to let them know you appreciate them, with no particular occasion attached.
10. Encourage team input. They know your business and clients perhaps better than you do! Ask them for input when you are considering a strategic change. Encourage them to offer unsolicited suggestions to improve processes, etc. - and implement them when they make sense! This also goes two ways - if you share with the team your vision for the business, your strategic goals, etc., they will be better equipped to execute the plan with you.
11. Bonus: Let my people grow! If you are like most solo entrepreneurs you are a life-long learner - and so probably are the members of your team. Give them opportunities to take on new tasks. Encourage them to make decisions and take action without asking your input (set the boundaries for this so they know when you do want to be
consulted.) Ask them what they'd like to learn, and teach them new skills. You may be surprised how much better they will be at certain things than you are!
Building a great support team takes time, effort, and caring - but you will be rewarded many times over!
10 Steps to a Great Support Team - To learn more about this author, visit Terri Zwierzynski's Website.
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Four years ago this month, Solo-E hired its first contractors: 3 fabulous VAs. Between them they handled the details of hundreds of items of content for the website, scores of newsletters and uncounted correspondence with subscribers and clients. Two of them still work for me (the third took time off with her third child and is now pursuing a career in financial planning!)
Having a long and successful working relationship with a team of contractors is somewhat of an anomaly among solo entrepreneurs. In many ways I've been very fortunate to have such talented and caring people working for me. But I also recognize some critical pieces of making it work that can be planned for - because it's not just luck!
Part I: Setting up the relationship
1. Hire people that are a good fit for you. Seems obvious, but sometimes our criteria can hinge too much on things like cost and not enough on "can I see myself working well with this person?" Establish upfront what is important to you - consider skills, work habits, communication style, friendliness, etc. - make a list and use it when interviewing and making your hiring decision.
2. Establish written expectations on both sides. Do you expect emails answered in 4 hours or 48? Want a weekly update? Not interested in chit-chat? You may have talked about these things in the interview, but getting them down on paper gives you both something to refer back to. And this should be a two-way street: what are their expectations? Do they need to hear from you when they are doing a good job? Is it ok to contact them on the weekend?
3. Keep the lines of communication open. Talk ahead of time about the best way to let each other know when things aren't working (even better, put it in writing so you don't forget). Think about how you best receive feedback - on the phone, via email, scheduled ahead of time or on the spur of the moment, etc.
4. Life happens. If you work with another solo entrepreneur for any length of time, it's likely that one of you will face at least one personal issue that takes you away from the business at hand for some period of time. These issues can be difficult to talk about.illness, depression, family issues, death. But not telling the other person will leave them frustrated because things aren't getting done and they don't know why. Most people are very understanding and willing to accommodate changes in deadlines, leaves of absence, etc., but you have to communicate first. Talking about "what would we do if" ahead of time may help.
5. Show me the money (plan). This is one place to be absolutely crystal-clear. How often are invoices sent, how much detail do you need to see, what are the payment terms, how do they want to be paid. Do they want a minimum monthly commitment? Do you want to set a monthly maximum? What about referral agreements, profit-sharing, etc.
Part II: Building and Strengthening the Relationship Over Time
6. Pay on time! If the terms say pay within 10 days - why not pay in five? Your support team is the lifeblood of your business - what better way to let them know you appreciate and value their contribution?
7. Put away the fine-tooth comb. If you've done a good job of hiring a team member, you don't need to fuss over how many hours for this or that. If you don't trust them, you shouldn't have hired them.
8. Always say please and thank you. One of my earliest lessons in business - treat everyone with respect. They may be contractors but they aren't your minions! I take time to go over every email before I send it to make sure I've said please, and I send a quick thank-you when the task is completed.
9. Let them know you appreciate them. Send a note when they've completed a big project for you, or a small gift on a special occasion. Celebrate company milestones by thanking them with a card. Be creative! Sometimes it's fun just to let them know you appreciate them, with no particular occasion attached.
10. Encourage team input. They know your business and clients perhaps better than you do! Ask them for input when you are considering a strategic change. Encourage them to offer unsolicited suggestions to improve processes, etc. - and implement them when they make sense! This also goes two ways - if you share with the team your vision for the business, your strategic goals, etc., they will be better equipped to execute the plan with you.
11. Bonus: Let my people grow! If you are like most solo entrepreneurs you are a life-long learner - and so probably are the members of your team. Give them opportunities to take on new tasks. Encourage them to make decisions and take action without asking your input (set the boundaries for this so they know when you do want to be
consulted.) Ask them what they'd like to learn, and teach them new skills. You may be surprised how much better they will be at certain things than you are!
Building a great support team takes time, effort, and caring - but you will be rewarded many times over!
10 Steps to a Great Support Team - To learn more about this author, visit Terri Zwierzynski's Website.
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Dianne CramptonDianne Crampton is an executive leadership coach, team consultant, author and president of TIGERS Success Series, Inc. Dianne has been helping CEO's and Executives connect their employees to their core values and goals for over 20 years using the trademarked TIGERS team culture process, which stands for trust, interdependence, genuineness, empathy, risk and success. To download a free white paper on behaviors that build strong teams and behaviors that will predictably tear them down go here. - Visit Dianne Crampton's Website |
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Dave KurlanDave Kurlan is the founder and CEO of Objective Management Group, Inc., the industry leader in sales assessments and sales force evaluations, and the CEO of David Kurlan & Associates, Inc., a consulting firm specializing in sales force development. Dave has been a top rated speaker at Inc. Magazine's Conference on Growing the Company, the Sales & Marketing Management Conference and the Gazelles Sales & Marketing Summit. He has been featured on radio and TV, including World Business Review with General Norman Schwarzkopf, in Inc. Magazine, Selling Power Magazine, Sales & Marketing Management Magazine and Incentive Magazine. He is the author of Mindless Selling and Baseline Selling – How to Become a Sales Superstar by Using What You Already Know about the Game of Baseball. He created and wrote STAR, a proprietary recruiting process for hiring great salespeople, and he writes Understanding the Sales Force, a popular business Blog and is a contributing author to The Death of 20th Century Selling and 101 Great Ways to Improve Your Life, Volume 2. - Visit Dave Kurlan's Website |
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David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
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Linda RichardsonLinda Richardson is the Founder and Executive Chairwoman of Richardson, a global sales training and performance improvement company. As a recognized leader in the industry, she has won the coveted Stevie Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sales Excellence and she was identified by Training Industry, Inc. as one of the “Top 20 Most Influential Training Professionals.” Ms. Richardson is credited with the movement to Consultative Selling and is the author of ten books on selling and sales management, including Sales Coaching — Making the Great Leap from Sales Manager to Sales Coach, and Stop Telling, Start Selling. She teaches sales and management at the Wharton Graduate School of the University of Pennsylvania and the Wharton Executive Development Center. Linda is a frequent speaker at industry and client conferences, has been published extensively in industry and training journals, and has been featured in numerous publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Nation’s Business, Selling Power, Success, and The Conference Board Magazine. Learn more about Richardson's sales training and performance improvement solutions at http://www.richardson.com web - Visit Linda Richardson's Website |
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Stephanie RobeyStephanie Robey is President and CoFounder of Pivot Positive, LLC - an Internet marketing business focused on helping people start work at home ventures. Previously, she was employed at The Search Agency with over 20 years experience in graphic design and 10 years experience in online marketing. She was responsible for launching the Conversion Path Optimization (CPO) unit where she and her team have conducted hundreds of optimization tests for online companies across multiple verticals. She is a successful entrepreneur having started and sold 2 companies and remains on the board of directors of the third, PhotoSpin.com Stephanie began her career in the direct marketing realm creating and producing direct mail for many of the major cable television companies and directly attributes her understanding of Internet marketing to those early offline experiences. Stephanie is a graduate of San Diego State University with a BFA in Graphic Arts and also holds an Executive MBA from the Graziadio School of Business and Management at Pepperdine University. Read Steph's Blog Meet Steph and Dave Sign up for our Free 7-Day BootCamp: Self Employed & Rich - Visit Stephanie Robey's Website |
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