September 4, 2024 • 38 mins
What if a few subtle tweaks in your communication could skyrocket your business success? This episode of the Business Guide promises just that, as we uncover the secrets to mastering essential communication skills. We start by diving into David's question about how to attract younger customers to his auto repair shop. Discover how leveraging online reviews and creating engaging social media content on Instagram Reels and TikTok can help build a genuine connection with a younger demographic.
Ever wondered how to keep your seasonal business thriving all year round? We've got you covered with practical advice for landscape business owners, including offering Christmas light installation and firewood sales during the off-season. Plus, we help pet grooming business owner Jessica break through her growth plateau by sharing strategies for expanding services while keeping that personal touch her customers love. These tips will ensure that your business maintains financial stability and continues to grow.
The episode wraps up with a heartfelt discussion on the transformative power of soft skills in business leadership. Hear a touching personal story that illustrates the importance of delivering feedback with empathy and respect. By fostering positive communication and listening thoughtfully, you can create a motivated workforce that drives your business towards success. Don't forget to leave your comments and feedback—we value your input as we craft future episodes tailored to your needs. Thank you for your continued support, and here's to your business's bright future!
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hey everyone, what's going on?
It's Jonathan Wagner and I wantto welcome you back to another
episode of the Business Guide.
Today we are going to be divinginto a topic that is often
overlooked by most businessowners but is absolutely crucial
in business, and that is theimportance of soft communication
(00:21):
skills.
Yes, sometimes we need to takeit down a tone and often when
marketing or talking to acustomer but more importantly,
your employees and how yourmessage comes across sometimes
you need to bring out the softskills.
So today's episode we're goingto be talking about, yeah, just
mastering communication skillswith your employees, your
(00:46):
customers and other businessowners.
So let's dive in First.
Again, we're still kind of inthe first season of the podcast.
I figure the first season isgoing to be me testing a bunch
of stuff and trying to figureout what I like and what I don't
like.
So today's episode I'm going tostart a little differently.
I have a couple of questions.
(01:07):
Pretty cool.
I've brought some questions inthe past up just one question at
a time, but as they started toflow in, I documented them and
took a couple down.
So I want to spend a couple ofminutes going through some
questions and, yeah, I get that,I'll see, get that answered.
(01:28):
So first up we have David.
David owns an auto repair shop.
First up, thank you forlistening, david.
I don't know how you stumbledacross the podcast, but thank
you for your time listening.
So he says, jonathan, I've beenrunning my auto repair shop for
over a decade.
Congratulations, you've hit thedecade.
That's a milestone right there.
(01:52):
Okay, let me get back into it.
So I've been running my autorepair shop for over a decade
and while I've got a solid localreputation, I'm struggling to
attract younger customers.
What are some modern marketingstrategies that I can implement
to appeal to a youngerdemographic?
I mean, I would probably sayyou know, just kind of thinking
of your auto repair industry.
(02:14):
Right, I don't know, I'm kindof choking on this.
You don't deal with new cars,you deal with used cars and,
primarily, who has used cars.
Now, a lot of people have usedcars, but primarily the market
is going to be a youngergeneration.
The newer cars I would saywould probably be for maybe
somebody that's got a careerfigured out or whatever.
(02:36):
It may be Not saying that otherpeople don't have used cars,
but I do think that a youngergeneration is going to have more
of a market for used cars.
I forget where I saw this, butI think, like AutoZone and
O'Reilly's all those auto repairstores where they sell service
car parts I've heard that theyare having record years and the
(02:59):
next decade is going to be arecord for them.
As well, as the cost of newcars have gone up and
affordability with houses andthings like that, people are
investing more in keeping theirolder cars.
So I think you're in a marketthat is not going anywhere.
I think you're in a market thatyou have a ton of room to grow.
(03:19):
So congratulations there,congratulations there.
Gosh, what are some modernmarketing strategies that you
can implement to a youngerdemographic?
So one thing I go back to isalways make sure that that you
know says you have a good, solidlocal reputation.
Is that a local reputation fromyou doing a good job?
(03:41):
I know that I've got a repairshop down the street from me
that we use, and he came word ofmouth after a few auto repair
shops didn't work out for us andnow we continuously take our
fleet there.
It is not always convenientbecause he is so busy and
obviously we have cars that needto be on the road, but this guy
(04:02):
is just a straight shooter,does not try to upsell you and
really just does a great youknow great job for a great price
.
You know, obviously, localbusiness like that.
I mean, we got that localreputation.
So if that's the localreputation that you're talking
about, then that is great.
(04:24):
I would almost offer or offer upto say get online.
I don't know what your onlinepresence is doing, but you
definitely need to have Googlereviews, yelp reviews anywhere
you can get reviews where yourcustomers can go and spread the
word to a mass audience.
I think that that is going tohelp your business out.
So again, don't know if you'reonline already, but I would
(04:45):
definitely get on there.
Encourage your customers toleave you a review.
You know, if they did have anegative experience, try to nip
that in the butt very quickly soit doesn't get out online.
But yeah, I say, go online.
That's where a youngergeneration is looking.
Anyways, let's see what elsecould we do.
(05:06):
You know, I mean I think that alot of businesses are adapting
to Instagram Reels, tiktok,things like that.
You know, again, I think thatit's a little bit of a strategy,
right, we are business owners,we don't have time to be
full-time content creators andthings like that.
But I think that you could putconsistent content out there on
(05:28):
maybe your social media, maybefriendly tips of how often
you're supposed to have your oilchange or your tires rotated.
Come through all of thesedifferent repair things that you
deal with transmission fluids,windshield wiper, all of these
different things and createcontent that you deal with
transmission fluids, windshieldwiper, all of these different
things and create content thatyou can consistently engage with
(05:52):
your audience.
Now I wouldn't, you know, justthrow out a random post and
start posting it.
You want it to be, you know,genuine.
I think, with you know thesequick 30-second, 60-second
videos that are coming out.
I think that there is a nichefor you.
So don't go on there and justdraw something up on Canva and
put out a tip.
Engage with your audience.
(06:13):
So, if you don't mind gettingin front of a camera, pull out
your cell phone.
Get a cheap little microphoneoff of Amazon that connects to
your cell phone it will greatlyhelp that audio and shoot a
quick little 30 second video ofhey, this is what's going on
with you know, this car that I'mworking on, and if they would
have come to me sooner withmaybe rotating their tires, I
(06:33):
would have been able to savethem, maybe replacing their
tires or whatever it is.
So I think that if you do that,watch how quickly you build a
little bit of a market there.
In our area we do have somecontent creators, if you will.
So I think with social mediayou've got these like mega
(06:54):
influencers, and then you alsohave these almost these like
micro niche influencers andmaybe they have 5, 10, 15,000
followers, but they're specificto an area or a product and
typically, typically thoseclients convert more.
So in our area we actually havea couple micro influencers, if
you will, that specifically goout and make content with local
(07:14):
businesses and that gets highengagement.
That is all super hyper local.
So, right, doesn't matter if avideo gets a million views
throughout the United States,it's all about getting maybe
1000 views or 500 viewsspecifically in your market or
your area and people are sharingand engaging that content.
So maybe hook up with a microinfluencer.
(07:35):
You're gonna have to go onInstagram, you're gonna have to
go on TikTok, facebook, look atthese different sources and see
who's engaging in your community.
But I think that could be agreat way to engage with a
younger crowd, and then I don'tknow what you're doing for Fleet
, but you know.
I figure I should just say thiswhile we're talking about your
question.
But I don't know again whatyour fleet looks like if you're
(08:00):
taking fleet accounts.
But for me auto maintenance hasbeen such a struggle With so
many different vehicles on theroad.
Taking those vehicles out ofrotation is hard, especially
when you have almost practicallya tech or an employee assigned
to each vehicle and they've gotto go out every day.
(08:22):
The weekends are a greatdowntime for us.
So for me, being able toschedule weekend work having it
dropped off on Friday, worked onSaturday and then we can go
pick it up first thing Mondayand also being flexible, like I
said, if we have a service thatneeds to be done, we'll schedule
it out with our local autorepair shop that we use.
(08:42):
But sometimes things break andthey don't start and he is
flexible at getting out there.
But yeah, so I would say adapt afleet market too, you're going
to have really good customers.
I mean, we, at the end of theday I wouldn't say we're
massively high paying customers,right, we want a discount, we
want a good service, but at theend of the day we just want a
good price.
(09:02):
I don't want to bait and switchevery time I go in there.
I don't want to send my guys infor an oil change and we end up
getting up-selled on a ton ofdifferent things.
So I think that there's acouple suggestions for you on
the younger market, but also tryFleet out if you have not been
into the fleet market.
Okay, so we have anotherquestion Again.
Bundling all these questions atonce, this is super cool.
(09:24):
Thank you so much for engagingand shout out.
David.
Thank you for listening to thepodcast.
Please send me a follow-upquestion if you have anything
else.
Next question goes to Sarah.
Sarah is a founder of alandscaping company.
So, sarah, again, thank you.
Don't know how you stumbledupon the podcast, but thank you
(09:44):
for listening.
Really, do appreciate it.
She says hey, jonathan, mylandscape business has been
growing steadily, but I find ithard to manage cash flow,
especially during the off season.
Do you have any tips formaintaining financial stability
year around?
Cash flow issues is everybusiness owner's practically
(10:08):
business partner right.
I think that we all deal withit at some point, you definitely
being in a seasonal business.
I mean, again, I'm here inbeautiful California, but
temporarily I did live in Texas,it was very interesting to see
that you know you only had yourlawn mowed for, you know, six
months out of the year Obviouslythe winter and things like that
(10:30):
the grass didn't grow, thingsdidn't need to be done.
So it was kind of interestingto see that.
You know these landscapebusinesses had to adapt to that.
So this suggestion that I'mgoing to give is just kind of a
suggestion off of what otherguys were doing in that area.
That I thought was prettycreative.
Again, being a native toSouthern California, our
(10:51):
landscape guys come all yearround and I'm sure that they
don't really have ups and downsand they have nice little
upsells that they can throw ontree trimmings, bush trimmings,
things like that.
So yeah, let's jump into that.
So, maintaining financialstability, so obviously, so
you're talking about, I wouldthink, the decrease in the work
(11:13):
volume that you get, you know,from not having work.
Maybe you're in a place likeTexas.
So landscape companies outthere, during November,
christmas, january, I did seelandscape companies ironically
heavily investing in hangingChristmas lights.
Now in California we prettymuch hang our own Christmas
(11:36):
lights.
I would say there's probablysome random services that I've
seen that go out and do hangChristmas lights.
But wow, in Texas it was abooming and thriving market.
So I don't know if that wasjust Texas or if that is other
parts of the United States.
Hit me up in the comments, guys.
Let me know if people installChristmas lights around your
(12:00):
neighborhood or your town andspecifically where you're out in
the United States.
But going back to your question, I think that that was a great
avenue for these landscapers toadapt.
Now obviously there comes withhigher risk.
Your employees have to betrained, they have to be willing
to do those things right, getup on roofs, get up on ladders,
(12:21):
not scared of heights.
So there's definitely more riskto the business, but I think
that that would be a greatlittle added bonus during the
slow times that you could add on.
Another landscaping businessthat I saw had offered tree
cuttings all year round.
So they obviously they wentaround and took down trees.
They had a little lay down yard, obviously.
(12:42):
They went around and took downtrees.
They had a little lay down yardand this landscape company
actually provided me with thisin the winter months as well,
but it was firewood.
So they would go around andcharge these customers money
right to cut down trees.
They would remove the trees,take that back to this lay down
yard, cut it up, let it dry out,and then they would sell it in
(13:03):
the winter or the following year.
What a great business model,right?
You're getting paid toessentially remove your product
and then, instead of disposingof your product, they were
holding onto that product andthen selling it to people in the
colder months.
So I don't know what yourcurrent business model looks
like, but I would absolutely belooking at Christmas tree
(13:26):
hanging or, excuse me, christmaslight hanging, if that's
something up your alley.
And on the flip side, I wouldalso look at possibly that
firewood.
I really like that more thanthe Christmas lights.
I think that everybody needsfirewood around that time and if
you're positioned well in themarket, I think that you could
dominate that.
And then another thing thatcomes along is sprinkler systems
(13:49):
.
Sprinkler systems in coldermonths need to be weatherized.
Sprinkler systems break.
Things happen.
So I think that, as you'recoming out of maybe colder
months, maybe that spring wherepeople are getting back into the
routine of maybe watering theirlawns or their landscape and
now it's starting to grow back,right before you get busy, maybe
pivot into doing sprinklers.
(14:10):
I know when I was in Texas, Ihad to have a sprinkler guy come
over and again he didlandscaping and mowed lawns in
the summer months and when I metwith him he was extremely busy
and wanted to schedule out someof the repairs that I wanted
done in the colder months.
So pretty unique businessstrategy.
We did ultimately go with himand he went in and just
(14:34):
completely redid our sprinklersystem.
So I think that there's acouple things there to help you
generate some more cash flow,hopefully ultimately helping
your overall cash flow for yourbusiness.
So, sarah, thank you.
So, to help you generate somemore cashflow, hopefully
ultimately helping your overallcashflow for your business.
So, sarah, thank you so muchfor that question.
A really good question.
All right, I think I'm gonnapick one more.
(14:54):
I actually have three morequestions, but I don't wanna get
too tied up on this episodewith questions.
But I really think that this iscool.
Let me know what you think.
Maybe I should stack all thesequestions and do an episode
where it's just questions.
Let me know what you think.
So let's see, we have Jessica.
She is the owner of Jessica'sPet Grooming.
(15:16):
Okay, so she says Jonathan,I've built a loyal customer base
over the years, but I'mnoticing a plateau in growth.
How can I expand my serviceswithout losing the personal
touch of my customers' love?
So, jessica, thank you for thequestion.
(15:36):
Let me get a sip of water realquick.
So pretty cool, jessica.
I mean a little, uh littlebackstory in between me leaving,
uh, my job years ago after therecession and before I got my
(15:56):
job at Walgreens.
I actually helped out as a doggroomer for all of probably
about a month.
That dog grooming business wasowned by none other than my
mother and she had had thatbusiness for over 15 years.
So pet grooming is something Iam familiar with and I just want
to go into some suggestionsthat I gave her.
I don't know if this really isgoing to apply to your business.
(16:18):
I don't know what type oftechnology that you've worked in
, but I can definitely speak onsome of the frustrations she
dealt with.
So I do know with dog grooming,it is a very labor-intensive
business model, right, and askilled business model.
I've noticed the reliability inemployees is hard, as you need
(16:41):
solid people in there to do whatthey're trained to do, which is
dog groom, and not a lot ofpeople have the taste to do that
.
So I do know that employeemarket is hard.
So for a lot of dog groomingowners they do rely on
themselves to do a majority ofthe work and then hire
accordingly.
But you see stores likePetSmart, petco, they obviously
(17:03):
have something figured out,there is a model that they've
been able to turn onto a largerscale and a larger volume.
But you do lose that customerapproach and customer love.
So I think that one justembracing that you're a small
business and that you are alocal pet grooming shop does
speak wonders to people.
(17:23):
You're always going to have thepeople that go to the big box
chains and at some point they doget tired of that.
Maybe there was somebody inthere that did something wrong.
And those frustrations comeinto your shop and you're able
to resolve those.
So I mean I would probably sayyou're going to want to be maybe
more of the face of the company.
I don't know if you're in thebackground grooming the dogs or
(17:45):
not, like my mom was.
I actually have a friend thatalso dog grooms.
They're in the dog groomingshop quite a bit.
I would say get in front of theaudience.
So again, I know that theemployee aspect is really hard
and it is tough and challenging.
I can totally relate there.
I remember the stories.
But I really think if you'reable to make up for that on you
(18:09):
being the face of the businesswith these customers, as you're
checking in and checking out thedogs, you also have control of
the upsells.
What we noticed in her doggrooming business was a dog
would come in completely mattedthat's where their fur is
completely just.
It's really hard to work withand there was always an
(18:29):
additional charge for that.
Well, anytime an employee waschecking them in, they would not
tell the customer that and thenafter the fact the customer
would not pay that because theyweren't told the charge.
So I think you as the businessowner ultimately have control in
your pricing and your upsells.
A couple of things that Isuggested to my mother.
She was very old school, sowrite appointment book penciled
(18:53):
in.
This dog is coming here.
I know that there's another dogthat I know of.
Now they do embrace socialmedia.
They've got a great following.
But they'll say, hey, I've gota couple bookings here or we're
no longer taking bookings.
They'll do that on their socialmedia.
I think social media one is agreat tool, but set up an
automation.
I know you know— these peoplethat have dogs love their dogs
(19:16):
and their dogs aren't goinganywhere.
So they want them groomed, theywant them looking nice, they
want them taken care of right.
So go in and create anautomated system.
And there is programs.
I did look and do research sothere is automated programs that
you can take and put on thecomputer if you don't already
have that.
But I would really invest inthe time of setting up the
(19:38):
reoccurring appointments andservices and work on your email
list and text message list,because if you're having a slow
day you can send out a nicebanging deal where it's going to
drive some traffic into thepeople that don't necessarily
want to be on appointments.
So I hope that that helped yourquestion out.
(19:58):
Necessarily want to be onappointments.
So I hope that that helped yourquestion out.
Thank you again, jessica, forasking that question.
I think that's all the time wehave today for questions, so let
me switch back over into theepisode.
All right?
So the importance of soft skills, communication and leadership
(20:20):
in business.
There is a joke that goesaround my business, my
restoration business that I am avery tough person to work for,
(20:42):
to work for, and it's comingfrom the employees that did not
work for me at the time that Iwas a very, very tough person.
But some of those employeesthat were around for those tough
times when I was a very toughbusiness owner, growing my
business very, very strict oneverything I wanted to do and
see with my business, thatmessage is still true to this
(21:03):
day and even the other day Iforget what it was, but I was
talking to my operations guy andyou know I checked in with my
employees and everybody was okayand for whatever reason it was
a question that nobody wanted toask me and they were scared to
come and ask me and I justlaughed because I've really
(21:24):
positioned myself to be superapproachable over the probably
past six or seven years.
But it's so funny that thefirst three or four years that
kind of that drive that I had isstill within my business.
So I think importance of softskills we'll get into that.
But my personal story isabsolutely you do need to be
(21:46):
soft and I have adapted throughthat through the years.
I was a very tough person towork for.
That was learned in my trainingat my former employer.
I had had a manager that wasvery strict, very cross every T.
Nobody liked her, but I learnedunder her management and when I
(22:07):
started my business that is themanagement approach that I took
in my business.
Not only did I hold myemployees to that standard, but
I held myself to that standard.
So I mean, if an employeedidn't come in with the right
belt, I'd send them home for theday and say, hey, come back
tomorrow with the right belt.
So I was very strict on theappearance that I wanted.
I was very strict.
(22:27):
I remember having businesscards made and I think we went
through probably 20 differentrevisions and then when they
actually got printed, theyprinted up wrong.
And I remember having like50,000 business cards of just so
many different additions ofthem because they kept coming
(22:48):
out wrong and I was such astickler on absolutely not.
This is the way it needs to beIn business.
I still deal with customersthat are very hard to work with,
as I was back in my early days,and that has definitely helped
me change and become much moreof a softer communicator.
(23:09):
I take time to really workthrough issues and understand
what somebody's going through.
That has helped me on myemployee side, but it's helped
me on my customer facing side aswell.
So my guys and again I'msomewhat distant from my
operation, it definitely runsitself.
(23:30):
But when I do need to getinvolved as the business owner
or step up, that is where I canbe the refreshing soft person,
where maybe my guys have beenworking through an issue and
they're completely frustrated.
I can be the refreshing softperson where maybe my guys have
been working through an issueand they're completely
frustrated.
I can come in and be that softvoice.
So yeah, I don't know,definitely you got to figure out
(23:51):
your.
You know the way you handleyourself around your employees
and your customers.
So let's see here.
So again, I remember in my lastepisode, or a couple episodes,
I jotted everything down.
I'm trying to go off of this.
I'd like to stay on topic here.
(24:11):
I felt like my first coupleepisodes I was going off topic.
So forgive me if it seems likeI've typed stuff out, but I've
totally typed stuff out anddefinitely want to process it
and talk to you about it.
So first up is going to beunderstanding the value of soft
skills.
(24:45):
I remember this particularemployee that I had, real hard
worker, really really good guy,really really good guy, and for
whatever reason, if you gave himany feedback, he would really
take it to heart.
I mean, I mean really reallytake it to heart.
(25:07):
I mean I remember one day hislike polo was like stained and I
said, hey, if tomorrow youcould show up in your other polo
, that would be great.
Um, I remember seeing him go tohis car and cry about that.
Those are the times that youstart to realize that you, as a
business owner, you are kind ofa figure to these people.
(25:29):
Right, you're their employer.
You've got to remind yourselfthat they're in the backseat and
you're the one driving the carand they're helping you drive
the car.
Maybe they're in the back seatand you're the one driving the
car and they're helping youdrive the car.
Maybe they're giving youdirections or they're helping
you out, but at the end of theday it's somebody that they're
looking to for direction in thatbusiness and you don't want to
(25:52):
be known as the guy.
That was super harsh, superharsh.
I remember years ago somebodywas explaining one of their
bosses that they were a sticklerin the toilet paper that they
used in their bathrooms andwould literally come out and
yell at people if they used toomuch toilet paper.
(26:12):
That makes for bad business.
Overall, you're going to haveemployees that do not truly
believe in your brand or messageand they are truly coming in
just for a paycheck and I'vetalked about this in past
episodes and we'll talk aboutthis in future episodes but
employees that are coming injust to collect a paycheck and
(26:36):
nothing else could be sodetrimental into ruining your
business.
Now there are a lot of peoplethat just want a job and then
want to clock off and go homeand live a nice life, right.
But you also don't want theperson that really loved their
job and then became lukewarmabout their job and no longer
(26:57):
puts in any effort into that andjust shows up for those checks.
Those people will ruin yourbusiness, they will rub off on
other employees, they will ruboff on your sales, they will rub
off on your customers and youwill be known as this business
that is just lukewarm andcustomers will choose other
businesses over yours.
(27:18):
So I think being able to engageyour employees and your
customers with a soft tone orsoft approach going back to that
polo example, could there havebeen a different way?
I could have approached that atthe time, absolutely, even
though I was super short, andmove on right.
(27:41):
Hey, if you could show up nexttime with a cleaner polo.
I can completely understand howthat has come across.
So is there something else Icould have said Absolutely?
Should I have said absolutely?
So, whatever you're dealingwith, I would say, take a step
(28:02):
back and realize your audience.
Your audience may look up toyou.
You may that be that figurethat is working harder than
they're working right.
I mean, sometimes we clock inhours before them and hours
after them and they want to seesomebody that appreciates their
hard work too.
So in that polo example, maybeI could have said hey, I don't
(28:24):
know if you noticed you've gotsomething on your polo, can I
get you a new one?
That would have been a betterapproach than just being a
little bit harsher.
I've noticed that through mytime in adapting the softer
skills.
I do like to mix jokes in.
That is something that I oftendo.
I'll joke around, but I do goout of my way to accommodate my
(28:45):
employees and my customers.
So the soft skills veryimportant.
Know your audience, know whoyou're talking to.
Remember we're all people, weall make mistakes, we all have
bad days.
Don't be super harsh on peoplethat you don't need to be harsh
on.
The impact of communication inbusiness.
(29:07):
So effective communication isat the heart of every business
interaction.
And that is so true, right?
You show up to a project.
If you don't communicate whatyou're going to do on that
project or sell yourself on thatproject, then you're not going
to get that project.
So effective communication isabsolutely essential in business
(29:31):
.
It's not just about talking.
Now it's so weird that all I'mdoing is talking on this podcast
.
I wish I had somebody else here, because I don't like just
talking.
I like to be able to listen.
I don't know if you could tell,but the listeners sending in
(29:52):
those questions is me getting achance to now listen to your
business, me getting a chance tonow listen to your business,
and I feel like I'm more engagedwith that.
Rewind the episode, see whereI'm more engaged.
I really do appreciatelistening to people.
So communication is not justabout talking.
It is totally about listening.
(30:14):
If you have that upset customer, this is where your soft skills
need to come in.
Don't point the finger and say,hey, this is your fault.
This was done like this, forexample, maybe a paint color
came out.
Different Client picked thecolor.
You painted a sample Clienttold you to move on.
(30:36):
Then you moved on, painted theroom and they absolutely don't
like it.
You could totally have theskills of.
Well, you get what you paid for.
Here it is.
You picked the color.
We did a sample.
This is what it is Effectivecommunication.
You want their referral.
You want them to be happy,right referral.
(30:57):
You want them to be happy,right.
And I'd probably go to sayeight times out of 10, that
customer knows they made themistake and would be willing to
pay you to fix that mistake,because everybody can pick up a
paintbrush, right.
We choose that.
We don't think we're skilledenough or we don't have the
skills or we just don't have thetime.
(31:17):
So we are paying somebody to doit.
So you picked out a bad paintcolor.
I am so sorry that this isn'tto your expectation.
I'd be happy to paint this overagain, but unfortunately this
is my labor.
I do have to pay people to dothis.
Maybe I can work you out alittle bit of a deal.
Maybe we could do a biggersample area next time and let it
(31:39):
dry, but there is going to bean additional cost.
So soft skills you have to knowhow to use them.
But communication is absolutelykey in every successful
business, get another sip ofwater for, for me, developing
(32:13):
soft skills for yourself andyour team, skills for yourself
and your team.
Years ago I had this employeethat would come in, the
friendliest guy.
I mean.
He was like the life of theparty, right, good guy.
Everybody could talk with him.
Customers loved him andprobably once or twice a week he
(32:38):
would come in and he would justbe in a horrible, horrible mood
.
He'd be difficult to work with.
You know, fortunately for us,customers never saw it.
(32:58):
He was always, always was ableto separate himself from that in
front of the customers, but hedid not separate himself and his
attitude from us right, hiscoworkers and ultimately, his
employer.
This guy was good, friendly guy, liked him, worked for me for a
couple years.
I sat him down in the office oneday after so many complaints
(33:19):
and I had to do something aboutit and I sat this employee down
and I said look, I really likeyou, I like the work that you do
, I like that you show up.
No complaints there.
My complaints are your attitudeand we've briefly have talked
about it in the past or it hadsmall sit downs, but this time I
made it very serious.
I said look, I can't have thisattitude anymore with these
(33:47):
coworkers or myself.
There's too many complaintshere.
And he understood it.
He was in a very positive moodthat day and I said look, I have
to give you an ultimatum.
I really need you to work onthis.
Or help me, help you work onthis, or there's the door.
(34:09):
You're not going to have a jobhere.
And he said look and I willmeet you.
And I will say that if myattitude creeps back up like
that, I will expect you to getrid of me that day and fire me.
And for about a week I had anexcellent employee, back to
(34:30):
normal, great guy, excellingwith everybody, and then one day
just snapped at some of thecoworkers, brought him in, cut
him his last checks and see youlater.
About six months goes by and hecomes back asking for a job.
(34:51):
He got into a different fieldand realized that people weren't
going to put up with him,realized that he needed to do
better and actually got intosome therapy.
He was dealing with some issues.
So right, like we go through somany different things, these
are our employees.
They go through things as well.
So I let him back on and forabout two and a half years I had
(35:12):
a outstanding employee back.
Those original issues were nolonger and he did a great job
until he left to go into adifferent career field.
So in that situation for thatemployee, it took him losing his
job, going to another industryand then figuring out hey,
(35:35):
there's something deeper I'vegot to work on, and he was able
to work on that.
Hey, there's something deeperI've got to work on, and he was
able to work on that.
For me to develop my soft skills, I just slowly just started
realizing, hey, if this taskisn't done today, or if somebody
shows up with the wrong belt,is it really the end of the
(35:58):
world?
Is it really the end of theworld and anytime?
I asked myself that and it cameback no.
Then I chose to be a littlesofter and approached it a
little differently.
And as I started to approachthese a little softer, a little
differently, a little bit morecareful, that helped me with my
(36:18):
communication and my soft skillsdevelop into what they are
today.
Now don't get me wrong If mybusiness needs a bulldog, I am
the bulldog.
So there is a time and placefor you to be able to put your
(36:39):
skills elsewhere right.
Put your soft skills, use them,but also you're gonna need to
set them aside and be thebulldog when you need to be a
bulldog.
But remember your audience,remember who you're talking to.
I think that, regardless,anytime you talk to an employee
or anytime you talk to yourcustomer, you should always have
(36:59):
respect for them, the samerespect that you would have for
your family.
You should definitely have withthem.
Nobody is ever below us at anypoint in our lives.
We are all humans on this earthtrying to make a living and
trying to live a successful life.
So so I think that wraps it upfor the soft skills.
(37:23):
I hope that you were able toget some quality skills out of
that, or at least some qualityadvice.
I hope that you were able toget some quality advice, maybe
out of the questions earlier.
Maybe some answers that wereprovided hopefully added some
clarity on, maybe, something youare dealing with in your
business.
As business owners, we areconsistently challenged with so
(37:45):
many different things, and mygoal with this podcast is just
to be a friendly voice that youcan check in with and maybe work
through something you might beworking on or experiencing a
challenge with.
So thank you again for takingthe time to listen to the
business guide.
That's all I have for today,guys.
(38:05):
I really appreciate thecomments coming in.
If you have any questions orjust want to say hi, drop me a
line.
There's a little box that youcan send a text message, or, if
you're watching it on a platformwhere you can leave a comment,
little box that you can send atext message, or if you're
watching it on a platform whereyou can leave a comment, leave a
comment.
I look at those.
I truly love to see thefeedback, so please give me a
(38:27):
thumbs up on those platforms aswell, as we get those kind of
off the ground.
Again, everyone, thank you.
My name is Jonathan Wagner andthis has been another episode of
the Business Guide.
I hope that you have a greatday and continue to succeed in
your business.
We'll see you on the nextepisode.
Hey everyone, what's going on?
It's Jonathan Wagner and I wantto welcome you back to another
episode of the Business Guide.
Today we are going to be divinginto a topic that is often
overlooked by most businessowners but is absolutely crucial
in business, and that is theimportance of soft communication
(00:21):
skills.
Yes, sometimes we need to takeit down a tone and often when
marketing or talking to acustomer but more importantly,
your employees and how yourmessage comes across sometimes
you need to bring out the softskills.
So today's episode we're goingto be talking about, yeah, just
mastering communication skillswith your employees, your
(00:46):
customers and other businessowners.
So let's dive in First.
Again, we're still kind of inthe first season of the podcast.
I figure the first season isgoing to be me testing a bunch
of stuff and trying to figureout what I like and what I don't
like.
So today's episode I'm going tostart a little differently.
I have a couple of questions.
(01:07):
Pretty cool.
I've brought some questions inthe past up just one question at
a time, but as they started toflow in, I documented them and
took a couple down.
So I want to spend a couple ofminutes going through some
questions and, yeah, I get that,I'll see, get that answered.
(01:28):
So first up we have David.
David owns an auto repair shop.
First up, thank you forlistening, david.
I don't know how you stumbledacross the podcast, but thank
you for your time listening.
So he says, jonathan, I've beenrunning my auto repair shop for
over a decade.
Congratulations, you've hit thedecade.
That's a milestone right there.
(01:52):
Okay, let me get back into it.
So I've been running my autorepair shop for over a decade
and while I've got a solid localreputation, I'm struggling to
attract younger customers.
What are some modern marketingstrategies that I can implement
to appeal to a youngerdemographic?
I mean, I would probably sayyou know, just kind of thinking
of your auto repair industry.
(02:14):
Right, I don't know, I'm kindof choking on this.
You don't deal with new cars,you deal with used cars and,
primarily, who has used cars.
Now, a lot of people have usedcars, but primarily the market
is going to be a youngergeneration.
The newer cars I would saywould probably be for maybe
somebody that's got a careerfigured out or whatever.
(02:36):
It may be Not saying that otherpeople don't have used cars,
but I do think that a youngergeneration is going to have more
of a market for used cars.
I forget where I saw this, butI think, like AutoZone and
O'Reilly's all those auto repairstores where they sell service
car parts I've heard that theyare having record years and the
(02:59):
next decade is going to be arecord for them.
As well, as the cost of newcars have gone up and
affordability with houses andthings like that, people are
investing more in keeping theirolder cars.
So I think you're in a marketthat is not going anywhere.
I think you're in a market thatyou have a ton of room to grow.
(03:19):
So congratulations there,congratulations there.
Gosh, what are some modernmarketing strategies that you
can implement to a youngerdemographic?
So one thing I go back to isalways make sure that that you
know says you have a good, solidlocal reputation.
Is that a local reputation fromyou doing a good job?
(03:41):
I know that I've got a repairshop down the street from me
that we use, and he came word ofmouth after a few auto repair
shops didn't work out for us andnow we continuously take our
fleet there.
It is not always convenientbecause he is so busy and
obviously we have cars that needto be on the road, but this guy
(04:02):
is just a straight shooter,does not try to upsell you and
really just does a great youknow great job for a great price
.
You know, obviously, localbusiness like that.
I mean, we got that localreputation.
So if that's the localreputation that you're talking
about, then that is great.
(04:24):
I would almost offer or offer upto say get online.
I don't know what your onlinepresence is doing, but you
definitely need to have Googlereviews, yelp reviews anywhere
you can get reviews where yourcustomers can go and spread the
word to a mass audience.
I think that that is going tohelp your business out.
So again, don't know if you'reonline already, but I would
(04:45):
definitely get on there.
Encourage your customers toleave you a review.
You know, if they did have anegative experience, try to nip
that in the butt very quickly soit doesn't get out online.
But yeah, I say, go online.
That's where a youngergeneration is looking.
Anyways, let's see what elsecould we do.
(05:06):
You know, I mean I think that alot of businesses are adapting
to Instagram Reels, tiktok,things like that.
You know, again, I think thatit's a little bit of a strategy,
right, we are business owners,we don't have time to be
full-time content creators andthings like that.
But I think that you could putconsistent content out there on
(05:28):
maybe your social media, maybefriendly tips of how often
you're supposed to have your oilchange or your tires rotated.
Come through all of thesedifferent repair things that you
deal with transmission fluids,windshield wiper, all of these
different things and createcontent that you deal with
transmission fluids, windshieldwiper, all of these different
things and create content thatyou can consistently engage with
(05:52):
your audience.
Now I wouldn't, you know, justthrow out a random post and
start posting it.
You want it to be, you know,genuine.
I think, with you know thesequick 30-second, 60-second
videos that are coming out.
I think that there is a nichefor you.
So don't go on there and justdraw something up on Canva and
put out a tip.
Engage with your audience.
(06:13):
So, if you don't mind gettingin front of a camera, pull out
your cell phone.
Get a cheap little microphoneoff of Amazon that connects to
your cell phone it will greatlyhelp that audio and shoot a
quick little 30 second video ofhey, this is what's going on
with you know, this car that I'mworking on, and if they would
have come to me sooner withmaybe rotating their tires, I
(06:33):
would have been able to savethem, maybe replacing their
tires or whatever it is.
So I think that if you do that,watch how quickly you build a
little bit of a market there.
In our area we do have somecontent creators, if you will.
So I think with social mediayou've got these like mega
(06:54):
influencers, and then you alsohave these almost these like
micro niche influencers andmaybe they have 5, 10, 15,000
followers, but they're specificto an area or a product and
typically, typically thoseclients convert more.
So in our area we actually havea couple micro influencers, if
you will, that specifically goout and make content with local
(07:14):
businesses and that gets highengagement.
That is all super hyper local.
So, right, doesn't matter if avideo gets a million views
throughout the United States,it's all about getting maybe
1000 views or 500 viewsspecifically in your market or
your area and people are sharingand engaging that content.
So maybe hook up with a microinfluencer.
(07:35):
You're gonna have to go onInstagram, you're gonna have to
go on TikTok, facebook, look atthese different sources and see
who's engaging in your community.
But I think that could be agreat way to engage with a
younger crowd, and then I don'tknow what you're doing for Fleet
, but you know.
I figure I should just say thiswhile we're talking about your
question.
But I don't know again whatyour fleet looks like if you're
(08:00):
taking fleet accounts.
But for me auto maintenance hasbeen such a struggle With so
many different vehicles on theroad.
Taking those vehicles out ofrotation is hard, especially
when you have almost practicallya tech or an employee assigned
to each vehicle and they've gotto go out every day.
(08:22):
The weekends are a greatdowntime for us.
So for me, being able toschedule weekend work having it
dropped off on Friday, worked onSaturday and then we can go
pick it up first thing Mondayand also being flexible, like I
said, if we have a service thatneeds to be done, we'll schedule
it out with our local autorepair shop that we use.
(08:42):
But sometimes things break andthey don't start and he is
flexible at getting out there.
But yeah, so I would say adapt afleet market too, you're going
to have really good customers.
I mean, we, at the end of theday I wouldn't say we're
massively high paying customers,right, we want a discount, we
want a good service, but at theend of the day we just want a
good price.
(09:02):
I don't want to bait and switchevery time I go in there.
I don't want to send my guys infor an oil change and we end up
getting up-selled on a ton ofdifferent things.
So I think that there's acouple suggestions for you on
the younger market, but also tryFleet out if you have not been
into the fleet market.
Okay, so we have anotherquestion Again.
Bundling all these questions atonce, this is super cool.
(09:24):
Thank you so much for engagingand shout out.
David.
Thank you for listening to thepodcast.
Please send me a follow-upquestion if you have anything
else.
Next question goes to Sarah.
Sarah is a founder of alandscaping company.
So, sarah, again, thank you.
Don't know how you stumbledupon the podcast, but thank you
(09:44):
for listening.
Really, do appreciate it.
She says hey, jonathan, mylandscape business has been
growing steadily, but I find ithard to manage cash flow,
especially during the off season.
Do you have any tips formaintaining financial stability
year around?
Cash flow issues is everybusiness owner's practically
(10:08):
business partner right.
I think that we all deal withit at some point, you definitely
being in a seasonal business.
I mean, again, I'm here inbeautiful California, but
temporarily I did live in Texas,it was very interesting to see
that you know you only had yourlawn mowed for, you know, six
months out of the year Obviouslythe winter and things like that
(10:30):
the grass didn't grow, thingsdidn't need to be done.
So it was kind of interestingto see that.
You know these landscapebusinesses had to adapt to that.
So this suggestion that I'mgoing to give is just kind of a
suggestion off of what otherguys were doing in that area.
That I thought was prettycreative.
Again, being a native toSouthern California, our
(10:51):
landscape guys come all yearround and I'm sure that they
don't really have ups and downsand they have nice little
upsells that they can throw ontree trimmings, bush trimmings,
things like that.
So yeah, let's jump into that.
So, maintaining financialstability, so obviously, so
you're talking about, I wouldthink, the decrease in the work
(11:13):
volume that you get, you know,from not having work.
Maybe you're in a place likeTexas.
So landscape companies outthere, during November,
christmas, january, I did seelandscape companies ironically
heavily investing in hangingChristmas lights.
Now in California we prettymuch hang our own Christmas
(11:36):
lights.
I would say there's probablysome random services that I've
seen that go out and do hangChristmas lights.
But wow, in Texas it was abooming and thriving market.
So I don't know if that wasjust Texas or if that is other
parts of the United States.
Hit me up in the comments, guys.
Let me know if people installChristmas lights around your
(12:00):
neighborhood or your town andspecifically where you're out in
the United States.
But going back to your question, I think that that was a great
avenue for these landscapers toadapt.
Now obviously there comes withhigher risk.
Your employees have to betrained, they have to be willing
to do those things right, getup on roofs, get up on ladders,
(12:21):
not scared of heights.
So there's definitely more riskto the business, but I think
that that would be a greatlittle added bonus during the
slow times that you could add on.
Another landscaping businessthat I saw had offered tree
cuttings all year round.
So they obviously they wentaround and took down trees.
They had a little lay down yard, obviously.
(12:42):
They went around and took downtrees.
They had a little lay down yardand this landscape company
actually provided me with thisin the winter months as well,
but it was firewood.
So they would go around andcharge these customers money
right to cut down trees.
They would remove the trees,take that back to this lay down
yard, cut it up, let it dry out,and then they would sell it in
(13:03):
the winter or the following year.
What a great business model,right?
You're getting paid toessentially remove your product
and then, instead of disposingof your product, they were
holding onto that product andthen selling it to people in the
colder months.
So I don't know what yourcurrent business model looks
like, but I would absolutely belooking at Christmas tree
(13:26):
hanging or, excuse me, christmaslight hanging, if that's
something up your alley.
And on the flip side, I wouldalso look at possibly that
firewood.
I really like that more thanthe Christmas lights.
I think that everybody needsfirewood around that time and if
you're positioned well in themarket, I think that you could
dominate that.
And then another thing thatcomes along is sprinkler systems
(13:49):
.
Sprinkler systems in coldermonths need to be weatherized.
Sprinkler systems break.
Things happen.
So I think that, as you'recoming out of maybe colder
months, maybe that spring wherepeople are getting back into the
routine of maybe watering theirlawns or their landscape and
now it's starting to grow back,right before you get busy, maybe
pivot into doing sprinklers.
(14:10):
I know when I was in Texas, Ihad to have a sprinkler guy come
over and again he didlandscaping and mowed lawns in
the summer months and when I metwith him he was extremely busy
and wanted to schedule out someof the repairs that I wanted
done in the colder months.
So pretty unique businessstrategy.
We did ultimately go with himand he went in and just
(14:34):
completely redid our sprinklersystem.
So I think that there's acouple things there to help you
generate some more cash flow,hopefully ultimately helping
your overall cash flow for yourbusiness.
So, sarah, thank you.
So, to help you generate somemore cashflow, hopefully
ultimately helping your overallcashflow for your business.
So, sarah, thank you so muchfor that question.
A really good question.
All right, I think I'm gonnapick one more.
(14:54):
I actually have three morequestions, but I don't wanna get
too tied up on this episodewith questions.
But I really think that this iscool.
Let me know what you think.
Maybe I should stack all thesequestions and do an episode
where it's just questions.
Let me know what you think.
So let's see, we have Jessica.
She is the owner of Jessica'sPet Grooming.
(15:16):
Okay, so she says Jonathan,I've built a loyal customer base
over the years, but I'mnoticing a plateau in growth.
How can I expand my serviceswithout losing the personal
touch of my customers' love?
So, jessica, thank you for thequestion.
(15:36):
Let me get a sip of water realquick.
So pretty cool, jessica.
I mean a little, uh littlebackstory in between me leaving,
uh, my job years ago after therecession and before I got my
(15:56):
job at Walgreens.
I actually helped out as a doggroomer for all of probably
about a month.
That dog grooming business wasowned by none other than my
mother and she had had thatbusiness for over 15 years.
So pet grooming is something Iam familiar with and I just want
to go into some suggestionsthat I gave her.
I don't know if this really isgoing to apply to your business.
(16:18):
I don't know what type oftechnology that you've worked in
, but I can definitely speak onsome of the frustrations she
dealt with.
So I do know with dog grooming,it is a very labor-intensive
business model, right, and askilled business model.
I've noticed the reliability inemployees is hard, as you need
(16:41):
solid people in there to do whatthey're trained to do, which is
dog groom, and not a lot ofpeople have the taste to do that
.
So I do know that employeemarket is hard.
So for a lot of dog groomingowners they do rely on
themselves to do a majority ofthe work and then hire
accordingly.
But you see stores likePetSmart, petco, they obviously
(17:03):
have something figured out,there is a model that they've
been able to turn onto a largerscale and a larger volume.
But you do lose that customerapproach and customer love.
So I think that one justembracing that you're a small
business and that you are alocal pet grooming shop does
speak wonders to people.
(17:23):
You're always going to have thepeople that go to the big box
chains and at some point they doget tired of that.
Maybe there was somebody inthere that did something wrong.
And those frustrations comeinto your shop and you're able
to resolve those.
So I mean I would probably sayyou're going to want to be maybe
more of the face of the company.
I don't know if you're in thebackground grooming the dogs or
(17:45):
not, like my mom was.
I actually have a friend thatalso dog grooms.
They're in the dog groomingshop quite a bit.
I would say get in front of theaudience.
So again, I know that theemployee aspect is really hard
and it is tough and challenging.
I can totally relate there.
I remember the stories.
But I really think if you'reable to make up for that on you
(18:09):
being the face of the businesswith these customers, as you're
checking in and checking out thedogs, you also have control of
the upsells.
What we noticed in her doggrooming business was a dog
would come in completely mattedthat's where their fur is
completely just.
It's really hard to work withand there was always an
(18:29):
additional charge for that.
Well, anytime an employee waschecking them in, they would not
tell the customer that and thenafter the fact the customer
would not pay that because theyweren't told the charge.
So I think you as the businessowner ultimately have control in
your pricing and your upsells.
A couple of things that Isuggested to my mother.
She was very old school, sowrite appointment book penciled
(18:53):
in.
This dog is coming here.
I know that there's another dogthat I know of.
Now they do embrace socialmedia.
They've got a great following.
But they'll say, hey, I've gota couple bookings here or we're
no longer taking bookings.
They'll do that on their socialmedia.
I think social media one is agreat tool, but set up an
automation.
I know you know— these peoplethat have dogs love their dogs
(19:16):
and their dogs aren't goinganywhere.
So they want them groomed, theywant them looking nice, they
want them taken care of right.
So go in and create anautomated system.
And there is programs.
I did look and do research sothere is automated programs that
you can take and put on thecomputer if you don't already
have that.
But I would really invest inthe time of setting up the
(19:38):
reoccurring appointments andservices and work on your email
list and text message list,because if you're having a slow
day you can send out a nicebanging deal where it's going to
drive some traffic into thepeople that don't necessarily
want to be on appointments.
So I hope that that helped yourquestion out.
(19:58):
Necessarily want to be onappointments.
So I hope that that helped yourquestion out.
Thank you again, jessica, forasking that question.
I think that's all the time wehave today for questions, so let
me switch back over into theepisode.
All right?
So the importance of soft skills, communication and leadership
(20:20):
in business.
There is a joke that goesaround my business, my
restoration business that I am avery tough person to work for,
(20:42):
to work for, and it's comingfrom the employees that did not
work for me at the time that Iwas a very, very tough person.
But some of those employeesthat were around for those tough
times when I was a very toughbusiness owner, growing my
business very, very strict oneverything I wanted to do and
see with my business, thatmessage is still true to this
(21:03):
day and even the other day Iforget what it was, but I was
talking to my operations guy andyou know I checked in with my
employees and everybody was okayand for whatever reason it was
a question that nobody wanted toask me and they were scared to
come and ask me and I justlaughed because I've really
(21:24):
positioned myself to be superapproachable over the probably
past six or seven years.
But it's so funny that thefirst three or four years that
kind of that drive that I had isstill within my business.
So I think importance of softskills we'll get into that.
But my personal story isabsolutely you do need to be
(21:46):
soft and I have adapted throughthat through the years.
I was a very tough person towork for.
That was learned in my trainingat my former employer.
I had had a manager that wasvery strict, very cross every T.
Nobody liked her, but I learnedunder her management and when I
(22:07):
started my business that is themanagement approach that I took
in my business.
Not only did I hold myemployees to that standard, but
I held myself to that standard.
So I mean, if an employeedidn't come in with the right
belt, I'd send them home for theday and say, hey, come back
tomorrow with the right belt.
So I was very strict on theappearance that I wanted.
I was very strict.
(22:27):
I remember having businesscards made and I think we went
through probably 20 differentrevisions and then when they
actually got printed, theyprinted up wrong.
And I remember having like50,000 business cards of just so
many different additions ofthem because they kept coming
(22:48):
out wrong and I was such astickler on absolutely not.
This is the way it needs to beIn business.
I still deal with customersthat are very hard to work with,
as I was back in my early days,and that has definitely helped
me change and become much moreof a softer communicator.
(23:09):
I take time to really workthrough issues and understand
what somebody's going through.
That has helped me on myemployee side, but it's helped
me on my customer facing side aswell.
So my guys and again I'msomewhat distant from my
operation, it definitely runsitself.
(23:30):
But when I do need to getinvolved as the business owner
or step up, that is where I canbe the refreshing soft person,
where maybe my guys have beenworking through an issue and
they're completely frustrated.
I can be the refreshing softperson where maybe my guys have
been working through an issueand they're completely
frustrated.
I can come in and be that softvoice.
So yeah, I don't know,definitely you got to figure out
(23:51):
your.
You know the way you handleyourself around your employees
and your customers.
So let's see here.
So again, I remember in my lastepisode, or a couple episodes,
I jotted everything down.
I'm trying to go off of this.
I'd like to stay on topic here.
(24:11):
I felt like my first coupleepisodes I was going off topic.
So forgive me if it seems likeI've typed stuff out, but I've
totally typed stuff out anddefinitely want to process it
and talk to you about it.
So first up is going to beunderstanding the value of soft
skills.
(24:45):
I remember this particularemployee that I had, real hard
worker, really really good guy,really really good guy, and for
whatever reason, if you gave himany feedback, he would really
take it to heart.
I mean, I mean really reallytake it to heart.
(25:07):
I mean I remember one day hislike polo was like stained and I
said, hey, if tomorrow youcould show up in your other polo
, that would be great.
Um, I remember seeing him go tohis car and cry about that.
Those are the times that youstart to realize that you, as a
business owner, you are kind ofa figure to these people.
(25:29):
Right, you're their employer.
You've got to remind yourselfthat they're in the backseat and
you're the one driving the carand they're helping you drive
the car.
Maybe they're in the back seatand you're the one driving the
car and they're helping youdrive the car.
Maybe they're giving youdirections or they're helping
you out, but at the end of theday it's somebody that they're
looking to for direction in thatbusiness and you don't want to
(25:52):
be known as the guy.
That was super harsh, superharsh.
I remember years ago somebodywas explaining one of their
bosses that they were a sticklerin the toilet paper that they
used in their bathrooms andwould literally come out and
yell at people if they used toomuch toilet paper.
(26:12):
That makes for bad business.
Overall, you're going to haveemployees that do not truly
believe in your brand or messageand they are truly coming in
just for a paycheck and I'vetalked about this in past
episodes and we'll talk aboutthis in future episodes but
employees that are coming injust to collect a paycheck and
(26:36):
nothing else could be sodetrimental into ruining your
business.
Now there are a lot of peoplethat just want a job and then
want to clock off and go homeand live a nice life, right.
But you also don't want theperson that really loved their
job and then became lukewarmabout their job and no longer
(26:57):
puts in any effort into that andjust shows up for those checks.
Those people will ruin yourbusiness, they will rub off on
other employees, they will ruboff on your sales, they will rub
off on your customers and youwill be known as this business
that is just lukewarm andcustomers will choose other
businesses over yours.
(27:18):
So I think being able to engageyour employees and your
customers with a soft tone orsoft approach going back to that
polo example, could there havebeen a different way?
I could have approached that atthe time, absolutely, even
though I was super short, andmove on right.
(27:41):
Hey, if you could show up nexttime with a cleaner polo.
I can completely understand howthat has come across.
So is there something else Icould have said Absolutely?
Should I have said absolutely?
So, whatever you're dealingwith, I would say, take a step
(28:02):
back and realize your audience.
Your audience may look up toyou.
You may that be that figurethat is working harder than
they're working right.
I mean, sometimes we clock inhours before them and hours
after them and they want to seesomebody that appreciates their
hard work too.
So in that polo example, maybeI could have said hey, I don't
(28:24):
know if you noticed you've gotsomething on your polo, can I
get you a new one?
That would have been a betterapproach than just being a
little bit harsher.
I've noticed that through mytime in adapting the softer
skills.
I do like to mix jokes in.
That is something that I oftendo.
I'll joke around, but I do goout of my way to accommodate my
(28:45):
employees and my customers.
So the soft skills veryimportant.
Know your audience, know whoyou're talking to.
Remember we're all people, weall make mistakes, we all have
bad days.
Don't be super harsh on peoplethat you don't need to be harsh
on.
The impact of communication inbusiness.
(29:07):
So effective communication isat the heart of every business
interaction.
And that is so true, right?
You show up to a project.
If you don't communicate whatyou're going to do on that
project or sell yourself on thatproject, then you're not going
to get that project.
So effective communication isabsolutely essential in business
(29:31):
.
It's not just about talking.
Now it's so weird that all I'mdoing is talking on this podcast
.
I wish I had somebody else here, because I don't like just
talking.
I like to be able to listen.
I don't know if you could tell,but the listeners sending in
(29:52):
those questions is me getting achance to now listen to your
business, me getting a chance tonow listen to your business,
and I feel like I'm more engagedwith that.
Rewind the episode, see whereI'm more engaged.
I really do appreciatelistening to people.
So communication is not justabout talking.
It is totally about listening.
(30:14):
If you have that upset customer, this is where your soft skills
need to come in.
Don't point the finger and say,hey, this is your fault.
This was done like this, forexample, maybe a paint color
came out.
Different Client picked thecolor.
You painted a sample Clienttold you to move on.
(30:36):
Then you moved on, painted theroom and they absolutely don't
like it.
You could totally have theskills of.
Well, you get what you paid for.
Here it is.
You picked the color.
We did a sample.
This is what it is Effectivecommunication.
You want their referral.
You want them to be happy,right referral.
(30:57):
You want them to be happy,right.
And I'd probably go to sayeight times out of 10, that
customer knows they made themistake and would be willing to
pay you to fix that mistake,because everybody can pick up a
paintbrush, right.
We choose that.
We don't think we're skilledenough or we don't have the
skills or we just don't have thetime.
(31:17):
So we are paying somebody to doit.
So you picked out a bad paintcolor.
I am so sorry that this isn'tto your expectation.
I'd be happy to paint this overagain, but unfortunately this
is my labor.
I do have to pay people to dothis.
Maybe I can work you out alittle bit of a deal.
Maybe we could do a biggersample area next time and let it
(31:39):
dry, but there is going to bean additional cost.
So soft skills you have to knowhow to use them.
But communication is absolutelykey in every successful
business, get another sip ofwater for, for me, developing
(32:13):
soft skills for yourself andyour team, skills for yourself
and your team.
Years ago I had this employeethat would come in, the
friendliest guy.
I mean.
He was like the life of theparty, right, good guy.
Everybody could talk with him.
Customers loved him andprobably once or twice a week he
(32:38):
would come in and he would justbe in a horrible, horrible mood
.
He'd be difficult to work with.
You know, fortunately for us,customers never saw it.
(32:58):
He was always, always was ableto separate himself from that in
front of the customers, but hedid not separate himself and his
attitude from us right, hiscoworkers and ultimately, his
employer.
This guy was good, friendly guy, liked him, worked for me for a
couple years.
I sat him down in the office oneday after so many complaints
(33:19):
and I had to do something aboutit and I sat this employee down
and I said look, I really likeyou, I like the work that you do
, I like that you show up.
No complaints there.
My complaints are your attitudeand we've briefly have talked
about it in the past or it hadsmall sit downs, but this time I
made it very serious.
I said look, I can't have thisattitude anymore with these
(33:47):
coworkers or myself.
There's too many complaintshere.
And he understood it.
He was in a very positive moodthat day and I said look, I have
to give you an ultimatum.
I really need you to work onthis.
Or help me, help you work onthis, or there's the door.
(34:09):
You're not going to have a jobhere.
And he said look and I willmeet you.
And I will say that if myattitude creeps back up like
that, I will expect you to getrid of me that day and fire me.
And for about a week I had anexcellent employee, back to
(34:30):
normal, great guy, excellingwith everybody, and then one day
just snapped at some of thecoworkers, brought him in, cut
him his last checks and see youlater.
About six months goes by and hecomes back asking for a job.
(34:51):
He got into a different fieldand realized that people weren't
going to put up with him,realized that he needed to do
better and actually got intosome therapy.
He was dealing with some issues.
So right, like we go through somany different things, these
are our employees.
They go through things as well.
So I let him back on and forabout two and a half years I had
(35:12):
a outstanding employee back.
Those original issues were nolonger and he did a great job
until he left to go into adifferent career field.
So in that situation for thatemployee, it took him losing his
job, going to another industryand then figuring out hey,
(35:35):
there's something deeper I'vegot to work on, and he was able
to work on that.
Hey, there's something deeperI've got to work on, and he was
able to work on that.
For me to develop my soft skills, I just slowly just started
realizing, hey, if this taskisn't done today, or if somebody
shows up with the wrong belt,is it really the end of the
(35:58):
world?
Is it really the end of theworld and anytime?
I asked myself that and it cameback no.
Then I chose to be a littlesofter and approached it a
little differently.
And as I started to approachthese a little softer, a little
differently, a little bit morecareful, that helped me with my
(36:18):
communication and my soft skillsdevelop into what they are
today.
Now don't get me wrong If mybusiness needs a bulldog, I am
the bulldog.
So there is a time and placefor you to be able to put your
(36:39):
skills elsewhere right.
Put your soft skills, use them,but also you're gonna need to
set them aside and be thebulldog when you need to be a
bulldog.
But remember your audience,remember who you're talking to.
I think that, regardless,anytime you talk to an employee
or anytime you talk to yourcustomer, you should always have
(36:59):
respect for them, the samerespect that you would have for
your family.
You should definitely have withthem.
Nobody is ever below us at anypoint in our lives.
We are all humans on this earthtrying to make a living and
trying to live a successful life.
So so I think that wraps it upfor the soft skills.
(37:23):
I hope that you were able toget some quality skills out of
that, or at least some qualityadvice.
I hope that you were able toget some quality advice, maybe
out of the questions earlier.
Maybe some answers that wereprovided hopefully added some
clarity on, maybe, something youare dealing with in your
business.
As business owners, we areconsistently challenged with so
(37:45):
many different things, and mygoal with this podcast is just
to be a friendly voice that youcan check in with and maybe work
through something you might beworking on or experiencing a
challenge with.
So thank you again for takingthe time to listen to the
business guide.
That's all I have for today,guys.
(38:05):
I really appreciate thecomments coming in.
If you have any questions orjust want to say hi, drop me a
line.
There's a little box that youcan send a text message, or, if
you're watching it on a platformwhere you can leave a comment,
little box that you can send atext message, or if you're
watching it on a platform whereyou can leave a comment, leave a
comment.
I look at those.
I truly love to see thefeedback, so please give me a
(38:27):
thumbs up on those platforms aswell, as we get those kind of
off the ground.
Again, everyone, thank you.
My name is Jonathan Wagner andthis has been another episode of
the Business Guide.
I hope that you have a greatday and continue to succeed in
your business.
We'll see you on the nextepisode.
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