First things first, I want to apologize for getting ‘90s R&B stuck in your head with this title.
But in all seriousness, I do consider “this is how we do it” to be one of the most dangerous things a business can say! If you’ve taken my training, you know I’m all about defining and refining processes that make your business run smoothly. But you also know that I’m all about the why behind each process. What challenge does it address? How does it align with your big-picture goals for your business?
My goal is to help stores find processes that work, really work, for their goals, their teams, and their guests. And that means getting honest, not just about the way we do things, but why we do them that way.
Why is it so dangerous?
Put simply, “doing things the way we’ve always done them” is complacency. Every year, the market changes. Technology changes. Expectations change. Sometimes the change is slow, over many years. Other times, it happens all at once. But if your processes stay the same, eventually, you’ll be left behind.
It’s great to have a set process for things like greeting a guest, suggesting custom work, or following up to say “thank you” after a sale. But those processes should be starting points and guides, with room for flexibility. After all, if you hope to provide each guest with personalized service, no one can stick to the exact same script! A store that is too set in its ways will miss out on new possibilities, opportunities, and most importantly, new sales.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m all for old-fashioned customer service. The basics of treating guests in your store well are the same: listen, know your product, know your customer, and go above and beyond. But the ways that we can do these things have changed since I got into business in the ‘80s, and I welcome that!
What does “this is how we do it” look like?
When a salesperson is working with a guest, the word I would use to describe it is “closed.” Have you ever heard a teammate say, “We don’t do that here,” or “We don’t have that,” and cringed? I’ve often noticed that salespeople tend to be literally “closed off” when they say these kinds of things, right down to body language like crossed arms.
But the “this is how we do it” mentality can affect how we work with teammates as well. I see this come to the surface a lot in mergers, as teams from two different backgrounds realize just how many things they do differently. Often, salespeople will defend their own team’s way of doing things fiercely, without thinking about why they do things that way! This is also common in teams with different ages or levels of experience. Older or more experienced employees will be set in their ways, and younger or less experienced employees will be stuck on the “right” way that they were taught. In all these cases, getting the team to understand the “why” behind the store’s process is the first step to bringing harmony back to the team.
Team leads and store owners aren’t immune to “this is how we do it” thinking either. Often, policies are developed to find the path of least resistance: what can the team lead or owner actually convince team members to do? What’s quick? What’s easy?
It’s also common for team leaders to have to make compromises based on outside factors. Maybe the old store was too small for a seating area, so no one even thinks of adding one when the store expands. Maybe the old customer database didn’t support text messages, and while the new database does, salespeople aren’t used to asking for phone numbers. Re-evaluating processes regularly means that, when new opportunities become possible, you’ll be ready to take advantage of them.
What can businesses do about it?
While I can’t tell you exactly what your business needs in this article, I can give you an idea of how to find the areas where your business can improve, and how to develop processes that preserve the best of your business and take it to new heights.
The first step is being honest: change can be hard! Adapting to one new process can be tough. Adapting to a lot of new processes, all at once, can feel downright impossible. But as the old joke goes, “How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time.”
I suggest starting with a team meeting, where team members can give feedback about what processes have felt restrictive. You’ll likely continue to get answers after the meeting, as salespeople have “this is how we do it” on their minds and notice new things. This is good! It will help you make a list of areas where your business can improve.
From there, think about the “why” behind existing processes. Some of them may need to stay the same, and that’s okay! After all, new ideas aren’t always better. But shouldn’t you know for sure? With others on the list, you may realize that something has changed in the market, or even in your store. Maybe you have a new space, new tools, a new supplier, or a team member with a new skill, and you can update the process accordingly.
Whatever you do, keep track of your new processes carefully, including your “why” for reference. I always recommend putting a date on each one, so you know how old it is the next time you sit down to review. Gather feedback from team members, and soon, you’ll have a full set of procedures that reflects the needs of your business as it is today – not years or even decades ago.
So next time you hear Montell Jordan singing “this is how we do it,” you’ll know that the secret to sales is knowing “this is why we do it!”
