Ring, Ring, It's Your Core Business Calling

When a client's web site looks more like a poorly made scrapbook than a well-constructed communication tool, what can you say? Where do you start to get at the root of the problem?

It's not as if the site only had problems with typos and graphics, or it lacked a compelling message or a clear call to action, or took too long to load. Those would appear to be isolated problems. This web site was remarkable for its problems on so many levels. It was like a relic from the early days of the web. It was so bad that I dared not test it for Google placement because if the search engines didn't have it registered in its crawler database, it would be to the company's benefit for now.

Lee leads a group of lighting and energy consultants. He had landed several key accounts and his team was busy, cash flow was good, and the next level was very much on his mind. He had called me in to discuss developing and supporting his staff to execute an ambitious growth plan and improving customer spending and longevity.

In doing research prior to the meeting, I was so surprised by the amateurish web site that I had to double check the domain name, even though it matched his company's name. I knew that having a poorly executed web site would act like a brake as he pushed on the gas pedal in ramping up his business. As soon as a prospect went to check out the site, it would serve to delay, derail, or distract from building trust and credibility rather than deepen it. I had to find out from Lee his thinking that led to this state of affairs.

Before taking a seat in the company's nicely decorated six-person conference room, I was offered a bottle of water from his assistant. Lee entered the room smiling and extended his hand. As we both sat down, Lee began talking and pulling documents out of a plastic carousel and spreading them on the table.

"This is the business plan I started with seven years ago. Here is a marketing plan we put together a while back. This is list of our strategic partners and how we work together. This looks like an inventory spreadsheet we started at the end of last year."

I reached over for the marketing plan and began to read the pages. The content was clear and complete for the first three or four pages, then the sections grew shorter and the white space between the sections became larger. It looked like he had about 7 or 8 pages of content spread across 20 physical pages in the document.

At that point, I was dying of curiosity, so I interrupted his discourse. "Lee, I've got a question for you. Can you tell me the background on this marketing plan -- who wrote it and how is it being used?"

"Ah, yes. I worked on that to get some of my thoughts down on paper about new target niches to reach. I got it to a good point and then started reaching out to the companies that fit the profiles on page 3. I never filled in the rest of the outline. I guess that would be a good thing to do..."

This snapshot led to a discussion not about marketing as much as about standards and professionalism. Lee had desensitized himself to the pain that his half-finished projects were creating for his company and his reputation. Through his interactions with his staff, he had unwittingly trained them to not hold him accountable for his half-completed projects, because, he often said, "I'll take care of it when it's time," and since he's the boss, that remark ended that discussion. It took the perspective of an outside expert to bring more accountability, prioritization, and clear communication to his business.

Companies led by leaders who are great at starting projects but poor at finishing them are not uncommon. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. Entrepreneurs are often better launchers than finishers. Leaders who figure out how to supplement their strengths with staff and outside consultants who can provide competencies and skills tend to flourish, while those who try and build a business by "doing it themselves" go slower and get stuck more easily.

You may be able to make a great tuna casserole, but that doesn't mean you should whip up a batch when you're hosting a business meeting. Many business leaders who know to hire a caterer in this situation think they might be able to crank out a web site on their own because it looks so easy to do and they think of themselves as technically savvy. Even educated professionals will miss important subtleties and steps because they don't know what they don't know. Sidestep the business bottlenecks leaders sometimes create for themselves by remembering to bring in the pros when it is time to get important things done quickly and to high standards, so you can focus on your core work.

Advanced lessons to extract:

1) Become crystal clear on your core strengths and delegate or outsource other activities, except for those necessary to your job function. If delegating is a weakness, for instance, make developing your skills in this area a priority and get coached.

2) Believing you can save money or time by DIY is a short-term strategy at best. Be sure to review your "homemade goods" each quarter so you can make sure that your internal and customer-facing materials and systems are always congruent with the company you are leading. As a career coach once said, "Dress for the position of the job you want, not the job you have." Apply this idea to your company marketing, in particular.

3) Follow through and finish jobs you start. If you cannot find time to finish them, then re-evaluate if it is still a priority and whether you can delegate or outsource the project.

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