Selling
Your QualitySelling
Your QualityWelcome to the QualityNews online Seminar on Selling Quality. It's Free.
This feature will include a weekly update with new methods to sell the idea of producing a quality product or service to your employees, and to convincing your customers and suppliers that you mean business. These ideas are taken from Dave Crosby's book "The Zero Defects Option." The book contains over 50 nifty ideas for you to use. You can get them all by ordering the book.
Quality Awareness Ideas:
All in the Family
Letter Home Paycheck Stuffer Office & Shop Signs Monumental Parking How am I doing? What's for lunch?
It's on your head, stupid! Whose that new guy?
Cub Reporter More Signs New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon New Idea Soon Family Involvement - Posted 9-12-08
Get employee's family involved with the importance of quality. There are many, many way to get and keep the family involved. You could run a poster contest dealing with quality. Be careful to divide things up by age.Select a winner by judges, or just have a drawing. Award a gift or gift certificate to the winner(s). Don't let anyone really lose; everyone can get something just for trying. Make a big deal of it. Lots of photos for the local newspaper or TV station. Put it on your web site.
Tie the awards in with a company open house or picnic. Conduct personalized plant or office tours for the winner. Make Mom and Dad proud. If you have a company newsletter, make sure your customers and suppliers get a copy.
Benefits: Family involvement will bring you many benefits. First, your employee gets a chance to showoff his/her job. The kids get a chance to show off their work and maybe win a prize. Dad/Mom must work for a cool place if the do stuff like this.
Another benefit is the type of publicity for your company you couldn't buy. If the local newspaper picks up on the contest, articles about it can find their way to suppliers and customers. You sound like somebody they would like to do business with.Product Awareness - Posted 9-21-08
You may be different, but many employees never get to see your product in use, and therefore are not aware of how important their work is to the customer. If you make some little fitting that fits on an auto, or airplane, or refrigerator, you might want to let your employees know about it. Ask your customer for photos of their product so you can show your people how they fit it. Maybe the customer will even display their product in your plant. That gets to difficult if you make parts for a 747, but you know what I mean. Airplane builders have models and advertising material they may give you..
One way to use this idea is to give a name to one part or assemble and then track it to installation in the customer's product. Use a simple flow chart. Make up "Press Releases." Give your employees information they can discuss with their family and their friends. Everyone wants their job to be important.
Return to TopBenefits: Knowing more about your product or service will build a sense of belonging and make the work more important. It also gives your customers a chance to participate.
Letter Home - Posted 9-29-08
You say Charlie in the machine shop does an outstanding job, or that Susan in accounting is always neat and accurate." Why not write a letter to Charlie or Susan's significant other--and kids if there are any. Let them know what a heroes and how important they are. You may even want to invite the spouse and kids to lunch and to see Charlie or Susan at work. Explain how important these employees are to the performance standard of Zero Defects. Sign the kids up in your ZD program.
Benefits: Your organization is a family. Members should feel involved and have a feeling of importance.
Return to TopPaycheck Stuffers- Posted 10-6-08
Do you deliver paychecks in an envelope? If you do, follow the example of the Gas, Telephone, Electric, and Credit Card companies. Stuff the envelope with advertising about the quality of your product or service. It's a good place to announce awards, contests, and other special events. If possible, give your employees a method to respond to the material. Also, make certain that your quality slogan is printed on the checks and the stub.
You say you direct deposit payroll money? Send the employee a deposit notice along with your message. One company I work with hands out a little ticket along with the paycheck. It has the employees quality rating and production score. The employees tell me that they like to check their score. Of course if you don't keep track of employee performance, this will not work.
Benefits: Your message will never be missed, and it will be delivered along with the message a paycheck gives.
Return to TopOffice and Shop Signs - Posted 10-14-08
Is one shop or office doing outstanding work? Give them a little recognition. Have a large sign made that says, "Best Quality" and hang it in the shop that has produced the most error-free work for the month. If you don't want your customers to see it, put one in the break room.
You can also use some kind of a rotating trophy. It would be nice if you handed out a little cash or a lunch to everyone in the winning shop or office. A notice in the paychecks would help.
Benefits: You must remind your people that zero defects is the performance standards and that they benefit from error-free performance.
Return to TopParking Spot - Posted 10-20-08
Some of the most valuable real estate in the country is that parking area in front of your building. The bigger your company is, and the lower the employee is on the food chain, the further the walk from car to work. Big shots and Visitors get the best spots. You know where this is going.
Set aside a few parking spots for outstanding people. You can identify them as "Reserved Parking for Outstanding Employees," but if you really want this to be important, add a small sign with the employee's name. Wow! Call it parking envy.
Benefits: The employee who gets the spot feels great. Other employees get the idea. Visitors get some insight into your company. Maybe you can even extend it to outstanding Suppliers... that's an idea.
Return to TopHow am I doing? Posted 10-28-08
Large Quality Data Charts that show the performance of a group are very popular. Everyone likes to know how they are doing. A big plus is that the group can put a goal on the chart. Charts that lend themselves to this idea are "attribute" charts... per cent defective, defects per unit, number of defects, etc. Make certain that employee understand the chart and know how to read it. If they are doing well, they will be delighted when people see the chart. This is a great thing when showing a visitor around.
Benefits: Your people will know how they stand, and the supervisor can discuss ideas about reaching the goal. This not only provides awareness, it provides involvement.
Return to TopWhat's for lunch? Posted 11-2-08
If you have a lunchroom, or cafeteria, run a "Zero Defects Special" once a week. Make Friday (or any other day) Zero Defects day. If you're served by a lunch wagon--sometimes called the roach coach--arrange for a special price or special meal. Local restaurants will usually go along with this idea and this give you a chance to advertise your quality to the public.
Whose the new guy? Posted 11-09-08New employees feel lost during their first few days on the job. They are desperate for information about their job and what's expected of them. It's critical that you get to them first with your Zero Defects message before they get the wrong message from someone who doesn't understand. You need to explain the importance of error-free work to the customer, the company, and to the employee. You need a formal New Employee Orientation program. With the projectors and computer software available now, you can produce a first-class program.
Assign a Mentor to each new employee.
While you're at it, run all of your "old" employees thrugh the program. As they say in the Navy, "Ten percent never get the word."Use your head! Posted 11-17-08
Use your hard hat for something more than protection. Have stickers made with the company logo and a Quality slogan. This could even be a form of recognition, with a stick for a job well done. Look at all those buckeye stickers on the Ohio State football payer's helmets. You say your company doesn't use hard hats. That could be a good thing. What would happened if the big boss walked in wearing a hard had with the slogan, Quality Starts Here?
Cub Reporter. Posted 11-24-08
You local newspaper is anxious to fill up all that space between advertisements. Assign one person to send out press releases about outstanding employees, new employees, employees swho have completed a training program, or have an unusual skill or hobby. Always mention Zero Defects.
More Signs. Posted 12-01-08
In order not to miss those shops and offices that are really trying, you can hang up a monthly "Most Improved Quality" sign. Let the people know what the did to get this sign. Whatever you do, don't put up worst quality or worst housekeeping sign.
Ideas to help you promote your quality program to both employees and customers are posted on this page every Monday morning. You can get over fifty ideas now by ordering "The Zero Defects Option" book. Check this page each week for more promotion ideas.
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