(Time to read this Blog is about 4 minutes)

Before we get to the main topic, here are a few things to get you thinking or smiling:

1. My Biz Quote of the week:
   “If you can’t even take a 2-week vacation without your business falling apart, how are you ever going to sell it to someone and get out?”         
   …Donald Cooper.
    
2. Quick Biz Tip:
   Developing your team is like playing chess. You need to think a few       moves ahead. 
    
   You can’t create an extraordinary business by hiring ‘ordinary’ people.  Many clients tell me, “I’m down 3 bodies.”  If you look for ‘bodies’, you’ll hire ‘bodies’.  But, if you’re searching for ‘talent’, you’ll keep looking until you find ‘talent’.  We tend to find what we’re looking for.  Hire talent, not ‘bodies’.
    
   When you’re interviewing job candidates, first look for people who will fit with or elevate your Culture.  That’s a deal breaker. If they’re not a good fit, nothing else matters.
    
   Then, don’t just ask yourself if they can do the job you have for them ‘today’.  Ask yourself if they seem to have the qualities, drive, passion and attitude to do that job as it develops and evolves in the future, and do they appear to be promotable to a bigger responsibility in the future?  If you never hire people who are promotable, you’re in big trouble down the road.
    
3. TD Bank racks up $4.4 billion in fines. A national disgrace!  Canada has always prided itself on having large, conservative, law-abiding and well-managed banks. But, in the past few months, TD Bank, Canada’s 2nd largest, has racked up $4.4 billion in fines for widespread criminal behaviour.
    
   1. $3 billion US for pleading guilty to criminal charges in the U.S. for failing to deter money laundering, particularly among drug cartels. Because of this money laundering probe, TD was also not allowed to go through with its planned US$13.4 billion acquisition of First Horizon Bank in the USA.
       
   2. $28 million US for sharing incorrect customer credit information with Consumer Reporting Agencies.
   3. $128 million US for faulty record-keeping.
   4. $28 million US for placing fake stock orders to manipulate markets.
   5. In Canada, the bank was fined $9.2 million in May for failing to report suspicious transactions.
   6. TD agreed to pay $70.3 million Cdn to settle a lawsuit over commissions paid to brokers who were not allowed to give investment advice.

      Total fines, in Canadian dollars, =  $4.4 billion.
       
      Three questions:
      1.  How did the Culture deteriorate to the point where such behaviour was thought to be acceptable?
       
      2.  What happened to the Control Systems and Audit Procedures that should have caught this massive malfeasance in so many parts of Canada’s 2^nd largest bank?

      3.  Why is the CEO allowed to hang around and ‘retire’ next April?
       

4. If sales are falling, just raise your price.  Because the volume of letters mailed continues to plummet, Canada Post says the solution is to increase the price of stamps by 25 cents, starting January 1^st.   Great strategy.  If your customers don’t like your product or service at your current price, just increase the price by 25%.  Clearly, they’re not willing to deal with the real problems facing Canada Post.

Now, to this week’s important topic:

How could you differentiate your business with a clear & compelling ‘Performance Commitment’?

I done a lot of Management Speaking and Biz Coaching in the HVAC industry across North America.  These are the folks who bring heating, cooling, ventilation and air quality solutions to our homes, business and public spaces.

The HVAC market is overserved and under-differentiated…just like your market is.  So, for these HVAC folks, I created a game-changing ‘8-Point Performance Commitment’ that I’ve since modified for several other Biz Coaching clients in other industries. 

How can this HVAC ‘Performance Commitment’ inspire you and your Team to come up a ‘Performance Commitment’ of your own that will ‘grab’ your target customers and clearly differentiate you from your competitors?  

To create your own ‘Performance Commitment’, think about what will resonate with your target customers and blow them away at every step and every ‘touch-point’ of your relationship with them.  Think world-class.  Think of what will have your target customers saying the magic words, “It’s amazing, they’ve thought of everything!”

Our 8-point ‘Performance Commitment’ (for HVAC contractors)!

1. Professional needs analysis and system design by expert technicians to ensure an effective, economical & environmentally-friendly solution to your air quality, climate control and air management needs.
2. Top quality components, backed by the manufacturers’ guarantee…and our own additional 5-year guarantee.
3. Top quality work done right, first time, on time by our qualified, bonded & courteous team.
4. Perfect clean-up at job completion.
5. On-site instruction re all aspects of system operation and maintenance.
6. Automatic system follow-up in 3 weeks to verify all aspects of system performance.
7. 24-hour – 365-day Emergency Service.
8. All mechanical systems and equipment need ‘Seasonal Maintenance & Service’ to keep serving you effectively and efficiently. We offer you a choice of free, ‘Automatic Service Reminders’ at key intervals…or our ‘Peace of Mind Automatic Service Package’, at reasonable rates.

So, how will you use this ‘8-Point Performance Commitment’ above to guide you and your Team in creating your powerful version of this?  Yours doesn’t have to be exactly 8 Points.  It could be fewer…but probably shouldn’t be more than 10.  I’d love to see what you come up with.

That’s it for this week…

Stay safe…live brilliantly!       

Donald Cooper 

Donald Cooper speaks and coaches internationally on management, marketing, and profitability.  He can be reached by email at donald@donaldcooper.com in Toronto, Canada.