W 5

When you think of W5 perhaps it is the hard hitting Canadian television program that comes to mind. There are investigative reporters telling stories of hardship, of errors in the justice system, of scams, and on and on. But what if W5 was a key to making your business successful?

Consider for a moment that every time you interact with one or more people you have an opportunity to promote your business, your product, your services. You have the opportunity to make an impression. Now, that seems like something worth thinking about.

Consider the five W's that could make or break that interaction.

W ho are these people? It is important to know who you are talking to or will be talking to. Are they in the same business as you? Do they presently use any of your services?

W hy are they here? If you are to connect with these people it is important to know why they are here in the first place. Are they here to make business connections themselves? Are they perhaps invited guests of someone you have done business with? Are they merely here because you offered them a free meal? Don't laugh that happens more than you might think.

W hat do they do? Are they in the same business as you are? Are they in a business that has a natural link to what your business offers? For example, a recruiting firm may link naturally to a firm that prepares resumes or trains new employees? An advertising firm may link will with one that produces short videos.

W hat is my main message? Now that you know about the other people, what do you know about your purpose in being there? All too often we have so many products and services that we try to sell them all every time out of the gate. It is always best to consider what you want to promote during this interaction and do that. As has often been said, it is better to do one thing well than a dozen poorly. Think of how the latter would reflect on you and your business!

W hat do I want them to do? This is the critical part of the five W's. If you can not clearly identify what action that you want these people to take, are you wasting your time and their time as well? Do you want them to agree to meet with you? Do you want them to give you a few names and contact information of people they would recommend your organization to? Do you want them to merely add your business card to their ever expanding pile of unread cards? The choice is yours, but you clearly must make a choice.

Perhaps now W5 will have a whole new meaning to you. Consider it as a way to organize for success each and every interaction with others.

The Right People Processes

In the life of any given organization, regardless of its size or level of business success, there is a natural ebb and flow of personnel. This process requires firms to acquire new people. Just a few of the needs are to:
• support business growth or expansion;
• replace employees who have left for a variety of reasons both of their
choice and at the request of the organization itself;
• acquire new skills to support a restructuring or reorganization.

Identifying the right people for the organization is significant start to a positive relationship for both parties. However, having the right people processes in place for after the hiring process is critical to both the retaining and leading of any team. Employee relationships like any other aspects of a successful organization follow a process. Consider it a three phase process.
• Phase one is the documentation of a new employee.
• Phase two is a program to orient him/her to the job / organization.
• Phase three deals with ensuring he/she is properly managed and coached
during employment.

One way to develop a consistent and defendable documentation process is to use a template.

In life there is no option of making a second first impression. Likewise, making sure that the new employee is properly oriented should not be left to chance. Every organization should have in place a structured consistent orientation process.

Ensuring that employees are properly managed and coached is the third component in the people management process.

I get into this concept ever further in Chapter 5 of There Has To Be A Better Way. Request your copy as a comment or send me an email to betterway@newmanlearning.com.