Here’s a few facts:
60% of our clients have 1 or more team members.
30% or so of those clients have 7 or more team team members.
100% of these clients have struggled to have their team truly engaged in their business.
So what’s the problem here?
I call it the Independent Contractor Conundrum, although unfortunately, it’s just as likely to happen with many hourly employees.
- Signing clients in
- Making sure they’re properly equipped for class
- Checking in with where each client is emotionally as well as physically so they can bring their client the very best they need today
- Providing basic sales
- Addressing the minor frustrations that clients express before they become major problems
- And, this list goes on and on and on…
The fact is in studios across the country we have a significant problem with teams that assume their sole job is to provide their service {and be paid upwards of 75% to do so}.
We dealt with this problem head-on about four and a half years ago in our own businesses. I was exhausted dealing with employees {yes, employees} who showed and ran, and clients who never got the exact level of service I wanted {which admittedly is really high}.
It’s how these Pillars came to be.
They’ve evolved over the years, but they’re the primary foundation of our team’s scope of work, schedule A’s and entire basis for how we work together.
And, they’ve changed what teams meant in our business, moving our staff from “show and go” to true teams that unite together to do great things in our community, our client’s lives, and our business itself.
Pillar #1: My primary goal is to provide my customers an extraordinary experience {aka make their day}.
Pillar #2: My primary service is not my training, teaching or the service itself. It’s the inspiration and encouragement I bring my client.
Pillar #3: If I confront a problem, I should actively solve that problem.
Pillar #4: My job begins when I walk through the door and ends when I leave {and it includes far more than my individual service}.
Pillar #5: It’s not enough to provide a service. I must understand and adapt emotionally to the clients placed before me.
Pillar #6: The client is paying for their personal experience, not my life story. I have to leave my experience, life and struggles outside the studio.
With grit + gratitude,
Lisé