Outdoor Power Equipment

March 2017

Proudly serving the industry for which it was named for more than 50 years, Outdoor Power Equipment provides dealers who sell and service outdoor power equipment with valuable information to succeed in a competitive market.

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or have they been shot down so many times that no one wants to suggest anything to you anymore? You have an idea of how things should be run and you want it to be a certain way, but sometimes showing a willingness to accept and try an employee suggestion can be a win-win situation for you and your employees. Maybe not every suggestion is worthy of being undertaken, but letting your employees see that you are open to suggestions is a good thing. I am in favor of rewarding employees who make suggestions that produce positive changes with gift cards or monetary rewards. The more you open the communication channel with your employees, the better off your business will be. You really need them to be your eyes and ears, especially if something is going wrong. Don't make this mistake; it can be a huge detriment to making your business better. #4 Not letting go employees who are not working out I've worked with some dealerships where employees who really don't work effi ciently continue to be employed for years. I think most of those owners have given up thinking they can fi nd good employees, so they just continue with the current staff. If you make this mistake, your business really plateaus because there is no incentive to get better. All of the employees perceive that this is the best they can do, and you as the owner, expect nothing better. I can tell you that letting go employees who are not producing or are doing exactly what you don't want them to do is a signal to the rest of your staff that you are looking for results. Obviously, you want to work with people to help them improve and accomplish the goals set for them, but when that does not work, you need to be willing to let them go for the good of the business. You need to be confi dent that you can fi nd a better replacement, and I have written several articles on how to do this in OPE magazine over the years. Don't settle for an OK or less-than-OK employee. Look to fi nd employees who can make your business better. As an OPE dealership owner, you have a diffi cult job. You are not just leading with your long-term vision of the business, but you have to be a day-to-day manager at the same time. Sometimes, day-to-day management can be hard because it calls for you to be more involved with employees and their personalities, but the payoff is that you can help them see your vision by having good, very direct interactions. I like the following perspective from Tom Peters: "Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing." You want to lead, but you can't forget to manage at the same time. You have to help your employees understand their place in the business and how important they are to your overall success while making sure they know what that means to your business each and every day. Don't give up on doing your best, and please avoid these four mistakes. They can cause a good business to have problems that can take a long time to fi x. Manage through your leadership, and you will be successful. Jeff Sheets is the founder and owner of OPE Consulting Services. Whether a business is thriving or struggling to survive, Sheets' rich experience in both the corporate and not-for-profi t sectors allows him to partner with business owners to customize unique strategies for their needs. For the past 11 years, he has worked extensively with hundreds of outdoor power equipment dealers to create best practices in business structure, personnel management and fi nancial profi tability. For more information, he may be contacted at opeconsultingservices@gmail.com or (816) 260-5430. You can also follow him on Twitter @opeconsult, connect with him on LinkedIn, and visit his website at www.opeconsultingservices.com. OPE or have they been shot down so many times that no one wants to suggest anything to you anymore? You have an idea of how things should be run and you want it to be a certain way, but sometimes showing a willingness to accept and try an employee suggestion can be a win-win situation for you and your employees. Maybe not every suggestion is worthy of being undertaken, but letting your employees see that you are open to suggestions is a good thing. I am in favor of rewarding employees who make suggestions that produce positive changes with gift cards or monetary rewards. The more you open the communication channel with your employees, the better off your business will be. You really need them to be your eyes and ears, especially if something is going wrong. Don't make this mistake; it can be a huge detriment to #4 Not letting go employees who are not working out I've worked with some dealerships where employees who really don't work effi ciently continue to be employed for years. I think most of those owners have given up thinking they can fi nd good employees, so they just continue with the current staff. If you make this mistake, your business really plateaus because there is no incentive to get better. All of the employees perceive that this is the best they can do, and you as the owner, expect nothing better. I can tell you that letting go employees who are not producing or are doing exactly what you don't want them to do is a signal to the rest of your staff that you are looking for results. Obviously, you want to work with people to help them improve and accomplish the goals set for them, but when that does not work, you need to be willing to let them go for the good of the business. You need to be confi dent that you can fi nd a better replacement, and I have written several articles magazine over the years. Don't settle for an OK or less-than-OK employee. Look to fi nd employees who can make your business better. As an OPE dealership owner, you have a diffi cult job. You are not just leading with your long-term vision of the business, but you have to be a day-to-day manager at the same time. Sometimes, day-to-day management can be hard because it calls for you to be more involved with employees and their personalities, but the payoff is that you can help them see your vision by having good, very direct interactions. I like the following perspective from Tom Peters: "Management is about arranging and telling. Leadership is about nurturing and enhancing." You want to lead, but you can't forget to manage at the same time. You have to help your employees understand their place in the business and how important they are to your overall success while making sure they know what that means to your business each and every day. Don't give up on doing your best, and please avoid these four mistakes. They can cause a good business to have problems that can take a long time to fi x. Manage through your leadership, and you will be successful. Jeff Sheets is the founder and owner of OPE Consulting Services. Whether a business is thriving or struggling to survive, Sheets' rich experience in both the corporate and not-for-profi t sectors allows him to partner with business owners to customize unique strategies for their needs. For the past 11 years, he has worked extensively with hundreds of outdoor power equipment dealers to create best practices in business structure, personnel management and fi nancial profi tability. For more information, he may be contacted at opeconsultingservices@gmail.com or (816) 260-5430. You can also follow him on Twitter @opeconsult, connect with him on LinkedIn, and visit his website at www.opeconsultingservices.com. OPE www.outdoorpowerequipment.com OUTDOOR POWER EQUIPMENT MARCH 2017 17

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