During the early years of business, I kept hearing about the importance of developing team. I didn’t quite capture why it was necessary for someone just starting out. However, the basics were in place such as accounting, bookkeeping, and availability of legal advice.
The next big picture advice heard was to establish a succession plan. Again, just having begun my business, I thought the need for this was very far off into the future. But time has a way of advancing, goals and directions change, and new needs arise. It has become obvious that the people preaching the advice were right on target.
Team success
Today I was congratulated on the number of followers I enjoy on Twitter but I couldn’t take all of the credit. I attribute the phenomenon to the once thriving community that taught the better practices for this site. A virtual assistant was taking the same classes and researched additional information. I eventually hired her to help me grow a like-minded following on a couple of the social media sites. Those of us that were in the community began to collaborate formalizing an online team. By promoting one another we grew our followings even further.
Just as I was reviewing the concepts of creating team and succession, a good friend emailed me with her news. “Julie” built a successful women’s organization with chapters in major cities in the United States. She also developed chapters in foreign countries, and adopted schools in Africa to send some of the proceeds to help educate the children.
Team growth and achievement
Julie and I began business about the same time, and we always seem to be having similar thoughts simultaneously. She wrote to say she is very glad that her team was built from the start. Everyone who works with her has full knowledge of her intentions for business, and are trained well on how to do their job. In addition, they are given decision-making power. Over the years, her team formed a close network. Turnover is next to non-existent. Her team and teamwork have paid off greatly in every respect including loyalty.
On the very same day as I was reviewing these concepts, Julie was advised to step away from being CEO. She is to hand the reigns over to someone on her team who is well groomed for the position. Julie will now become the Founding Member and Platform Speaker. When she speaks, Julie is both inspirational and motivational able to move audiences to new heights. I exclaimed it was brilliant advice.
In her new capacity, Julie will be able to further showcase her company and attract additional sponsors to empower the giving portion of her business. By stepping away from being CEO, a path is also being built for her to one day sell the company to another with a very strong foundation in place.
The moral of the story is to envision the final outcome of your business. How will you step out? Will you sell, hand it over to the next generation or simply walk away? Time passes quickly but your personal brand has the capacity to live on for many generations to come. Make your plan today and make it a Smooth Sale!
Author:
Elinor Stutz, CEO of Smooth Sale, LLC, (800) 704-1499, was honored by Open View Labs with inclusion in their international list of “Top 25 Sales Influencers for 2012.” Elinor authored the International Best-Selling book, “Nice Girls DO Get the Sale: Relationship Building That Gets Results”, Sourcebooks and the best selling career book, “HIRED! How to Use Sales Techniques to Sell Yourself On Interviews”, Career Press. She provides team sales training, private coaching and highly acclaimed inspirational keynotes for conferences. Elinor is available for consultation.
