Culture:  The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution, organization or group.  –Wikipedia

A workplace culture can be a magical thing.  Consider Google, with its “20%” rule (called Innovation Time Off) which fosters personal growth, innovation, and new product development.  Zappos is another well-referenced example of a strong organizational fabric woven from pairing the right person to the right job, and allowing employees the freedom to be human with customers.

Culture and Reputation are Tied
Google and Zappos are but two examples of companies daring to do business differently than our fathers did. That’s to say, while there’s an underlying framework of personnel expectations, accountability, and minimum requirements (they’re for-profit businesses, after all), the top-down view of these areas is more broad. It’s not all skirts-must-hit-the-knee  or  more-than-four-hours-of-PTO-used-counts-as-one-day.  These companies recognize that their people are their greatest asset, their most effective and far-reaching advertising network, and that they represent the front lines of customer interaction.  Employees embody the brand consumers and partners come to know.  Is your staff putting their best foot forward every day? If not, it could be because they lack good examples.  That’s right – you may be failing a little bit every day.

Following these company’s examples, it’s easy to understand how establishing and cultivating a strong culture (along with other key ingredients) can drive a company’s reputation online and off. A culture that’s an ingrained part of a brand personality – complete with attributes and complexities and processes – can influence outside perceptions, talent recruitment, competitive positioning, and sales.  How you treat your employees (and how they see you conduct business and make decisions) will in fact determine your reputation.  How can I suggest that? Because I believe the success of a product (with all of its inherent qualities – quality, pricing, relevance, promotion, positioning) is really a long-tail outcome of culture.

Practice Now, Lay Claim Later
A strong culture doesn’t build itself; “just add water” hasn’t worked since Sea Monkeys.  Leave the grand statements and gestures for later (you know, those sweeping statements printed on parchment placed in heavy frames hung under artistic lighting), after you’ve walked the walk awhile.  Don’t bother with the PR consultant; a righteous company (like yours) will get noticed just by delivering as promised. Besides, you’re not in it for the glory. Just the self-satisfaction of a job done right.

Ways To Build A Culture and Lead An Industry

1. Make a few hard/fast rules your mother would be proud of.  Never deviate, even for a minute.
2. Keep commitments.  If you have an employee review scheduled but something unexpected comes up, park it. You can bet someone’s anxious about that review, and a delay could send the wrong message.
3. Set an example. Arrive prepared and on time for meetings. Disallow complainers and passive-aggressive types any air time.
4. Try on employees shoes for awhile. It demonstrates approachability and an appreciation for the contributions of everyone. Plus, there’s valuable hands-on insight to be drawn from the experience.
5. Accept responsibility when you miss the mark. Saying you’re sorry opens up lines of communication and demonstrates vulnerability that will allow others to take calculated risks.
6. Transparency deters gossip, evens playing fields, and allows others partial ownership of solutions. Just be careful that sharing and involving doesn’t cross the line. When given information “above their level,” some folks become uncomfortable with knowledge they aren’t in a position to process or act upon.
7. Remember your vendors are part of your customer base, too. Sure, they perform a service (or deliver a good), but in turn you remit an agreed-upon sum. Delaying payment (for any reason, despite length of relationship) is a cardinal sin that must be avoided. Can’t afford it? Don’t buy it. Or be forthright and work out alternate terms in advance.  Sure, there’s a leak risk. But news about being lean is far less damning than news of untrustworthiness.
8. Listen closely. I once worked for an agency where the CEO said there were no “CLQ’s” (career limiting questions).  It may not be prudent to act on every suggestion you’ll ever be given, but you’ll engender loyalty and build job satisfaction if you give everyone a chance to be heard. Let voices be heard through in-person discussion, email, and blind submission box.
9. Treat employees like people, not like indentured servants. Make supplies accessible (down with heavily scrutinized request forms, I really do need my Sharpies), ensure my desk and chair height are comfortable, make water freely available, and don’t expect me to wind up my laptop power cord at the end of each day – give me an extra one for home use.

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About The BtoBblogger: Heather Rast is an integrated marketer, driver of insights, and passionate business change agent. She looks for the intersection of relevance, differentiation, and needs fulfillment to help craft holistic strategies that deliver organizational value and nurture consumer affinity. Follow her on Twitter or read her blog at www.insightsandingenuity.com.

Of course you are. You have an insatiable appetite for new business.

You know your products and services, features and benefits and unique selling propositions.

The meeting was pre-qualified, you know your competition’s weaknesses and you’ve done enough homework to know the prospect’s needs. You have Alec Baldwin’s “Always Be Closing” speech echoing in your ears. You know it all.

Put the coffee down. You don’t know nearly enough.

Satisfy your hunger this way and you’ll make more sales:

Go into every sales opportunity full of questions, not full of yourself.

You may have all the answers, but hold your powder. Lead your prospect to those answers with great questions first. Quit pitching and listen. Even if you have to count to three, let there occasionally be a few seconds of silence while you think (or at least appear to think) about their answers.

1…2…3 Go. Your response is now personalized and targeted. Your timing is perfect. Your customer is now really listening to you. And you, my friend, are about to close that sale.

Now this little lesson of mine is no Dale Carnegie course, but it’s keeping our B2B marketing agency well fed with new business, so I know it works.

This approach doesn’t come naturally for me. Ask any of my partners, staff or clients and they’ll tell you that I love to talk. Thankfully, I also love to ask questions. I ask a lot of questions. Some are spur-of-the-moment and others are premeditated.

One of the things I like to hear most in a meeting is “Good question.” I actually hear that a lot.

Good questions lead to great IDEAS. And I’ve learned to accept that all the great ideas don’t have to come from me (as much as I’d like them to).

When we’re meeting with a client or prospect, whether we ask the question or have the answer that leads to a great idea, the sale is often a done deal. Then we get busy making the idea work.

What’s your approach to selling? Go ahead, I’m listening.

About The B2Bblogger: Billy Mitchell is the president and creative director of Atlanta-based B2B marketing firm MLT Creative. Located on the east side of Atlanta, GA, with a Northeast office in Rhode Island, Mitchell co-founded MLT Creative in 1984 along with partners Craig Lindberg and Glenn Taylor.

Known as the Idea Launch PadTM for B-to-B marketers, MLT Creative’s services include strategic planning, positioning, brand development, advertising and sales promotions for business-to-business clients.