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32 • JANUARY 2014 • WORLD FENCE NEWS Raising the level of professionalism continued from page 30 serves as an advertisement for the company, and automatically raises the status of your employees to the point of elevating their meaningful involvement in the process. It also eliminates class distinction as to who can or can't afford clothes, thus raising morale which gets a boost as a bonus. Following along that same line, there is nothing wrong with considering caps, hard hats, jackets, etc., for your crews, as well. The more things you can create to provide a bond with your workforce and raise company identity and loyalty the quicker you will develop and maintain a much easier way to work together as a viable unit and partnership. Now I want to spend a moment talking about the salespeople who represent you in calling on both prospects and customers alike. Let's start with the possibility that you, as the owner, are the sole salesman for your company. This is a lot more common than you might realize. For those of you to whom this applies, I realize how difficult it is to coordinate your other roles and add salesman as well. However, you, more than any- one, must realize the need to not only make a professional appearance by dressing appropriately, but also the need to make an appearance at a prospect's home or customer's home or office with a clean car or pickup truck. Remember, the vehicle is the first thing a passerby sees, and often they might make a judgment based on that as to whether to consider your company for future work. You will recall I mentioned earlier that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. How true is this for you, calling on a prospect or customer? I know how tough it is to continuously be "up" for everyone. However, it is critical to do as much as possible since we don't know when we'll be making that first impression. Now on to the salespeople other than yourself. You must do everything in your power to make sure that they are aware of the need to be professionally dressed and driving a clean car, and that they bring their A game to each and every prospect they will call on. They not only represent you and your ideals, but they also represent the company as well. It may be some- what easier for them to be conscious of these needs since their income is directly affected by their success. I hope some of these thoughts will serve as a refresher for you and for those of you who haven't worked at this idea prior to this presentation. I hope you will find something of value in them and work toward implementing them for the upcoming 2014 season. I believe that this season will call for everyone to use everything in their power to constantly present their A game in order to give yourselves every chance to succeed in what may be a difficult year. As always, I wish all of you success this coming year and hope that you will find something to help you realize that PROFIT IS NOT A DIRTY WORD!™ World Fence News contributing editor Jim Lucci is president of Management Motivational Associates of Freeport, N.Y., and for many years has written a monthly column on business management and issues which affect fence company owners and managers. He is a major contributor to the Fencer's Field Report which appears monthly in World Fence News. See the ad for Management Motivational Associates in this month's issue of World Fence News. Isn't It Time to Put the Strength of the Gorilla to Work for Your Business? Fast Installation, Water-Shedding Designand Now ICC Compliant... From its patented interlocking design to its incredible water-shedding technology, nothing beats the durability and strength of a Gorilla Deck® by Homeland Vinyl Products™. Now, both our Gorilla Decks and six railing styles are ICC compliant making them one of the most attractive decking systems in the industry today to sell and install. Call now and add the strength of a Gorilla to your business now featuring ICC compliance (ESR-1657, 2003 IBC and IRC). Gorilla Decks feature: • UV stabilized vinyl • Strong interlocking design • Unique water-shedding surface • Concealed fasteners • Easy and fast installation See Us At FENCETECH Booth No. 865 MEMBER Patent No. 6,324,796 Phone: 205-854-4330 Toll Free: 800-999-6813 Fax: 205-854-3677 www.homelandvinyl.com