Shhh just make me a website that makes people go "wow"

I saw this yesterday (courtesy of @latinocean) and just had to share it.  If I had a dollar for every time a customer has said this to us I'd be able to use it to pay for all the free beers we're buying in Manly in 2 weeks.

No-one else knows your business, customers, suppliers and staff like you do.  No-one else built your business and no-one else makes it successful like you do.

I believe this also applies to any IT project, not just websites.  If management doesn't have buy in and if the business doesn't own the project then the outcome will rarely be satisfactory.  You just can't outsource business critical projects to third parties.  Even the very best of suppliers can't do much with this kind of brief.

To working parents

I caught a ferry I don't normally catch this morning and was amazed to see the downstairs section filled with parents, strollers, toddlers and babies.  I sat down as I normally do and sipped my nice warm coffee and got about minding my own business.  Except this morning it was more difficult to do as there was so much more energy and activity in the room.

In watching these busy families I couldn't help but be filled with admiration for the parents who would have been up hours before the rest of us, preparing and feeding children, packing bags, escorting them all to the ferry and then making the journey into the city to work all day while the kids play at a local daycare.

To a person these parents were busy feeding, playing, fussing, kissing and hugging their kids all the way to work yet at the same time they were happy, alert, immaculately groomed, and endlessly loving and attentive.   Not easy to pull off at 7am on a crowded boat on a rainy day when you've been up for hours. 

It struck me this morning that there is an entire section of the working populace who do this every morning all over the country.  We meet them and work with them every day but we wouldn't know because they are immaculate, in control and quietly, totally and absolutely committed to what they do. These people are performing an astonishing job but don't make a fuss about it.  They just get on with their business then pick up their children and head home for another day's work then repeat it all again the next day.

Judging by the families I observed this morning these parents are also raising a generation of happy, balanced, and extremely loved children.  I don't know what the social gurus will name this generation but I am delighted to have a daughter who is a part of it.

I for one am going to be a lot more mindful of these amazing people in the workforce.   

Your website is a window into your business

We used to exchange business cards as a way of introducing ourselves and our businesses to people.  First impressions are important and we all knew the importance of a beautiful design and nice think, glossy business card to make a good impression.  How often have you received a flimsy, ugly card from someone and immediately made a judgement about them and their business?  I know I sure have (and still do).

Well your website is exactly te same, only more so.

Your clients, prospects, business partners, potential employees and anyone else thinking about working with your business will look at your website.  They will judge you and your business by what they see there.  Scary but true.

{Unabashed sales pitch coming up.....}

The good news is if you are in recruitment then we have a solution for you.  JobAdder designs and develops professional websites from the ground up.  If image and experience are important to you then please call us before making a decision regarding your next website.

Here are just a few sites we have designed and developed for clients recently;

http://jobadder.com/recruitment-websites/portfolio

Contact us today to find out how JobAdder can help with your new website.

94.7% support satisfaction

We have just run quarterly helpdesk reporting and were delighted to see our support team have achieved an overall 94.7% satisfaction rating.

When a support ticket is closed in our system the user is notified and they have the option to express their satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the support they received by clicking "good" or "bad" and then adding comments to support their selection.

In the last 3 months we have had 417 users express their opinion, and of those 22 clicked "bad" and 395 clicked "good", and overall satisfaction rating of 94.7%.

I am extremely pleased with this result, especially considering how fast we have grown in the last 2 years, and the fact that of our 4 support staff, 3 have been here for less than 12 months and 2 of them les than 6 months.  To be achieving these results so quickly is testament to their extreme commitment and sheer hard work.

Thanks to all clients who have given us their feedback (good and bad) and a public thanks to my amazing support team for their hard work.  

We look forward to improving these numbers in coming months.

 

Qualifying out can be winning too

When qualifying prospective clients and partners I believe it is vital to be able to qualify out when you know the opportunity is not right.  Not enough sales managers empower thier sales staff to walk away from potential opportunities when they know the deal is not right.

Qualifying out of a deal can save your business and the prospective client's business a lot of time, money and heartache.  If you know the opportunity or relationship are not right then do not force a sales person to ram a square peg into a round hole.  That only leads to expensive tears down the track.

Here are some times when qualifying out might be winning;

1.  When you know your solution is not what the client needs.  No solution meets the needs of all businesses so don't be shy or embarrassed to say "you know what, I don't believe our solution is right for you."

2.  When you know you don't have the time or resources to service the opportunity.  There can be times when you are too busy, you have projects booked solidly or you are short on human or other resources.  If timelines can't be re-arranged then qualifying out can sometimes be the best option.

3.  When you don't believe you can build or retain a working relationship with the prospect. Sometimes you will have personality clashes, or even come across a psychopath when qualifying an opportunity.  If you are sure the problem is not you (and always seek a second opinion here), and you are sure it is something you can't resolve by getting other team members involved then move on.  Tell the prospect you don't believe you can work together and qualify out.  Failure to do this can lead to the nightmarish situation of having lunatics in your client base who you can never make happy.  These clients can have a devastating effect on staff morale and performance so weed them out early and do it without hesitation.

Qualifying out makes many sales managers and business owners extremely nervous but it shouldn't. Not all deals are meant to be.  If there are clear parameters around when and how to do it then I believe qualifying out of a deal is one of the most valuable and powerful tools a sales person has in their bag.