HOW TO ACT WHEN YOUʼRE THE TOP DOG

News {Business Development} How To Act When You’re the Top Dog

Leading like a professional or barking up the wrong tree

By Jeff Mowatt

Judging by the way we elect some of our political leaders, you’d think that the three most important qualities to leadership are: popularity, an outgoing personality, and loyalty to your supporters. Coincidentally, these just happen to be the three most outstanding traits of our 6-year old Corgi, a ectionately named “Sadie.” Sadie is popular with everyone she meets. She’s outgoing - to the point of being embarrassingly familiar with strangers - and she’s loyal, to us and anyone else at the park with a milkbone.

When you are the “top dog” in an organization, there are indeed three keys to leading others that will strengthen customer loyalty, increase spending per customer, and enhance team spirit. ey distinguish you as being a professional - signi cantly more e ective than amateurs who have a title but nothing beneath the surface.

1. Harness the power of the pack.

Too o en, amateurs get wrapped up in their own egos. ey expect their people to support them simply because they are the “boss”.

Professional leaders also have huge egos. But their pride is centered in their belief in their people. In fact, they go as far as involving their sta in the creation of an organization mission statement. Boring stu ? Only when some marketing person dra s it, gets the boss’ endorsement and hangs it on the wall in the lobby; never to be remembered or referred to again. e real value of a mission statement lies in involving everyone in its creation. People discuss why they do what they do for a living. You discover shared values and an underling purpose to work beyond taking home a paycheque. You tap into the common bonds that are the true motivators of the human spirit. Sound touchy-feely? Absolutely. Why else would they want to work for you? Job security? at’s di cult to provide. People want to work in an environment where they feel like they are a part of a greater good. ey can be forced to work for you because you have a title.

Professional leaders think of themselves less as a boss and more as an activist rallying support for a worthy cause. People will support a leader who has a strong sense of mission, whose values match their own.

2. Sni out the right information.

Amateur leaders love e ciency. ey think the key to increased pro ts is to simply reduce costs and work harder. e problem with this leadership style is that e ciency is usually not the problem. e problem lies with their products and services not being tuned-in to the needs of the market.

To a professional leader, there’s no use in nding a faster way to climb the ladder if the ladder’s leaning on the wrong wall. ey systematically and proactively check to make sure they are heading in the right direction.

Tools they use include:

• Ask the competition. Professionals learn to innovate by discussing issues with their competitors. Sound absurd? Amateur leaders shun the competition; professionals understand that today’s competitor may be tomorrow’s business partner. • Ask customers. Amateurs think they understand their customers’ needs because they do business with them. Yet, how many times have you eaten at a restaurant and decided that you wouldn’t go back? Statistically only one out of every 27 dissatis ed customers actually complains. Amateurs wonder why business is dropping o . Professionals admit they need to know what their customers really think, so they regularly verify client satisfaction. • Use local business students to conduct surveys. Students get huge response rates. ink about it: wouldn’t you be more likely to answer a few questions to “help a student with their class project?”

3. No tricks here

Amateur leaders ooze with golden promises and good intentions. Example: a customer asks when you can deliver something to them. You think you can get it to them by Wednesday. e amateur’s response, “I’ll try to get it to you by Wednesday.” But something comes up, so delivery is delayed by one day, until ursday. At least you tried. No big deal, right?

Correct - it’s only a big deal if you had any aspirations of being respected. Professional leaders know that their most valuable asset is their personal reputation. It’s simply not worth jeopardizing that reputation by making a commitment they may not be able to keep. So professionals make a practice of underpromising and overdelivering.

As someone with a title, you are the ‘big dog’ trotting by the yard where the neighbourhood dogs are lounging. Whether you lead like a professional or an amateur will determine whether they are motivated to run with you, or just stay on the porch.

About the Author:

Je Mowatt is a customer service strategist and Hall of Fame speaker. He’s the author of the bestselling business books: Becoming a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month and In uence with Ease. This article is based on the bestselling book, Becoming a Service Icon in 90 Minutes a Month. Je heads his own training company and has written and produced 13 self-study coaching tools. His In uence with Ease® column has been syndicated & featured in more than 200 business and online publications.

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As the pandemic wore on however, the global supply chain of PPE eventually came back online, reducing the need and demand for these products which our industry did so well to pivot to quickly.

While suppliers and distributors still have a few accounts that are buying PPE in bulk, its safe to say that the saturation point in the market for PPE products has been hit. Unless customers are looking speci cally for customized PPE, you can walk into virtually any store in Canada and purchase these products; distributors that were elding 30-40 calls every week for PPE stock are now getting only one or two inquiries per week.

“We’ve witnessed a big downturn in PPE demand. Last year at this time there was a huge push towards face masks and hand sanitizer because you couldn’t get any, and then as soon as the big retailers jumped on the bandwagon it just wasn’t worthwhile,” says eresa Hunter of Dawson Creek, B.C.-based Promo Shoppe. “We still do weekly orders for decorated face masks, but that’s the only category worth noting.”

Whether or not PPE remains a promotional product category once the pandemic is nally behind us is up for debate, with some industry insiders believing the niche is here to stay due to the widespread shi in mindset that has occurred.

Our entire society has now become hyper-sensitive to germs, and that’s not necessarily a bad thing for us in the promo world. With our industry’s heavy reliance on event business, its understandable to think that PPE kits and accessories will outlive the pandemic and remain in demand as society gradually opens back up, and large corporate and recreational gatherings come back into existence.

As our communities start to reopen, events are going to start ramping up again and one of the top things an event coordinator may need to procure is PPE kits. When you walk through the door of the rst in-person event you return to, and they give you a PPE kit, you’re going to know that the host is putting safety rst because they’re giving you the tools to do so.

Some suppliers feel that santizer will become the “gravy” to our industry. Remember the days when you were actually able to sit in a restaurant with friends or clients? You sat down,

The common sentiment is that things are different right now; the volume of requests suppliers and distributors are getting is ramping back up, but the size of orders aren’t as big as before.

ordered a sandwich with fri es; if you had a good server, he or she wouldn’t even blink and ask: “Would you like gravy for those fries?” And you looked up and said, “Sure I’ll take some gravy!” is is what sanitizer may become to the promo industry now.

Every time distributors sell anything they can upsell with sanitizer because people need it, companies need it, and it’s going to help society open back up to normal again.

While the post-pandemic popularity of PPE can be debated, what is certainly clear is the saturation of these products has caused a natural shi back into core promotional products, which has echoed across the country by suppliers and distributors alike.

While this shi back to core promo products is welcome news for everyone, sales volumes are still not back to prepandemic levels; this is understandable since many industries are not close to 100 per cent yet. e common sentiment is that things are di erent right now - the volume of requests suppliers and distributors are getting is ramping back up, but the size of orders aren’t as big as before.

Summertime generally is bit hard to judge due to seasonality and the aforementioned fact that many regular outdoor events aren’t yet taking place yet, however many suppliers and distributors are noting a shi towards more personalized products vs. generic bulk o erings.

Customers that were used to having the big corporate parties where they’d order thousands of products for, are instead doing smaller, more expensive personalized giveaways. As such, distributors and suppliers have noticed an uptick in the value per item for orders that include brand name products and more expensive pieces.

With the swing back to core promotional products, the issue for suppliers and distributors has shi ed; the problem now isn’t getting the orders but rather securing inventory to ful l the orders. Like many industries right now - natural resources, food, retail, to name a few - the production and availability of products is running at fractional capacity, which is causing shortages and wreaking havoc throughout the global supply chain. Many suppliers are back-ordered on a signi cant bulk of their o erings.

“It’s a lot harder to get products as inventory challenges are very prominent, but it’s with complete compassion and understanding,” says Hunter. “Every category - whether it’s hard goods or wearables or drinkware - everyone is in the same boat but it’s not just promotional industry, everyone is dealing with supply issues and people are willing to wait due to this understanding of the current realities,” she added. With the swing back to core promotional products, the issue for suppliers and distributors has shifted; the problem now isn’t getting the orders but rather securing inventory to fulfil the orders.

“It was surprising to see how many holes in inventory there was across all platforms - it was a big challenge, but it is understandable with what is happening globally,” says Michael Filice of Woodbridge, Ontario-based FM Promotions. “Inventory is getting better for generic bulk products which seems to be catching up to demand. Where we nd gaps is in the higher level brand name o erings as this inventory gets wiped out right away,” he added, lending credence to the fact that current demand is being concentrated on higher valued o erings.

To further complicate inventory constraints, overseas freight costs have jumped and are now three-times more expensive than they were pre-pandemic. ere have been so many delays in shipments due to COVID: there are less vessels on the water, fewer containers being loaded, less people working on the ports o -loading and working in factories to produce the goods that it’s slowed everything down in a massive way, and in some cases by three to four months.

As a result, suppliers have encountered signi cant logistical challenges, especially in certain product categories. In response to this, many suppliers started projecting bigger volumes of core items sooner to ensure there is adequate inventory when eventually needed. So if something is currently available, suppliers have indicated that they are picking these products up now and holding on to them for when it’s needed, rather than risking it not being able to get it in on time or at all.

With all these challenges that have been thrust upon us, industry insiders agree that the pandemic has shi ed the collective focus to the near-term. While our industry - like all others - continues to evolve and work its way out of the pandemic, the resiliency and optimism for better days ahead is undeniable. ere is a bubbling anticipation that a postpandemic boom is coming.

Come Fall, when vaccination thresholds have hopefully been met, things can start to return to normal once again and the expectation is that we will see a big boon in events, trade shows, concerts and sports, much like what is transpiring south of the border.