“ Do not EXPECT what you don ’ t INSPECT .”
they , the staff , dragged their feet and slow-walked the implementation , he would eventually lose steam about the idea and “ pop ,” abandoning it . Yes , gross , both in the visual you can ’ t help but see , and its also disgusting that someone who was a toppaid leader of this org had total disrespect for the person paying him and encouraged the staff to do the same . Sadly , this is more common than not .
In my org , I know that if I don ’ t FORCE an issue — meeting weekly or sometimes daily about something I want DONE , documenting what “ done ” is , asking questions , requesting proof of progress , saying “ Show me ,” meeting frequently to get status updates — it won ’ t get implemented correctly or at all , or will be done so slowly it will lose all steam and have zero impact . As the saying goes , do not EXPECT what you don ’ t INSPECT .
Recently , a client who is a very sharp owner of a multimillion-dollar MSP asked for a meeting with me regarding his SDR ’ s ( appointment setter ’ s ) performance and his overall declining results from marketing . I asked him to go pull the numbers of dials , connection rates , scripts , mailers , etc . In preparation for the meeting , he discovered the SDR wasn ’ t making anywhere near the number of calls he was supposed to be making , the letter that was supposed to be going out wasn ’ t , and the script was definitely NOT being used at all .
Our consultation turned into “ how to hire and manage better ” rather than “ how to fix my marketing that ’ s not working .” Obviously , the response was down , but that was mostly because he turned his back for a minute , trusting that the people he was paying to do a job WERE ACTUALLY DOING IT . That IS how it should work but rarely does .
Here ’ s what you have to know : NOTHING in business stays functioning and “ good ” for very long without a diligent , watchful eye .
People say they don ’ t like to be “ micromanaged ,” but most people NEED that level of oversight to ensure they ’ re doing their jobs correctly .
Even long-tenured staff who ought to know better stray from what works , what the standard is , what the manual says , what “ good ” is . No warning , no excuse . They just drift . When it ’ s discovered that they strayed from the formula and you point it out , asking why , they just shrug and apologize : “ Oh , I ’ ll get right back to doing it that way .” It ’ s maddening .
But that ’ s what we signed up for as business owners . All you can do is try to hire better , fire faster , and make sure YOU aren ’ t doing it too . Document conversations and goals so that not only are your employees and vendors aware of what needs to get done but as a reminder to YOU so you don ’ t get busy and forget . Run projects to deadline and require them to hit those deadlines and standards . If they consistently fail to , they get fired . Develop a reputation as a “ dog with a bone ,” not “ the zit .”
As the Russian proverb goes : trust , but VERIFY .
Robin Robins is the IT industry ’ s most in-demand marketing consultant , sales trainer , and direct response marketing consultant who specializes in developing strategic marketing , sales and lead generation systems for MSPs , VARs and IT services companies .
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