Does your staff follow your command?

The following is based on one of The Covenant Group’s clients. All of the names and telling details have been changed.

Jason Lenato, a financial advisor for sixteen years and a die-hard peace activist, was chagrined to learn that a little piece of military strategy was the secret to unlocking the potential in his practice. We helped Jason identify periodic reviews as a major internal marketing strategy that could dramatically impact his revenue. We have seen advisors increase revenue with their A and B clients by 20% to 40% by simply adding a periodic review strategy to their marketing and service efforts.

Jason had targeted over a hundred A and B clients for the campaign but had only managed to conduct a dozen or so reviews. We were surprised by the low number of appointments. Jason ran through the approach he took and added, “I did exactly what you told me. So what am I doing wrong?”

“The problem is that Shelly, your assistant, did exactly what you told her to do.”

“I don’t get it,” Jason said, “if she did exactly what I told her to do, why didn’t it work?”

“It’s what you didn’t tell her that made the difference.”

“What’s that?”

“You asked her to call on all your A and B clients and book an appointment, but did she know the purpose of the appointment?”

Jason hesitated before answering, “Maybe.”

“Jason,” we explained, “the Marines use a concept developed by the Prussian general Von Moltke. It’s called Commander's Intent, and its purpose is to empower people to take action based on local conditions.

“Let’s say you’re the commander of a troop trying to defend some territory. You order a group of soldiers to blow up a bridge. Upon arriving at the bridge, the explosives agent is killed. The soldiers, unable now to complete their assigned mission retreat, allowing the enemy to cross the bridge.”

“That was foolish.”

“Of the commander, yes, but not of the soldiers. They were following orders. But let’s imagine that instead of simply asking your soldiers to blow up the bridge, you tell them the intent is to stop the enemy from crossing the river. Even if the explosive agent dies, the soldiers will stay and do what they can to prevent the crossing.

“Entrepreneurs often don’t see results from their marketing efforts because they fail to communicate the Commander’s Intent to their staff. When Shelly called your clients most of them said they were busy and asked to be contacted later. Neither the client nor Shelly knew enough about the purpose of the appointment. To make the campaign work, Shelly has to know your intent. Knowing that the campaign is part of your strategy to market to existing clients allows Shelly to respond to the situation. If your client expresses doubt about the value of meeting with you, Shelly could say something like, ‘You are one of our most valuable clients. As such, Jason believes that it is important to meet with you on a periodic basis to review your financial situation. This will give you and Jason the opportunity to make sure that you are on target for achieving your financial goals and dreams. Jason will look at your long-term plans as well as deal with any shorter term or pressing issues you might have.’ If Shelly had done that, do you think you would have had a better response?”

Jason agreed. With renewed enthusiasm, Jason returned to the office and sat down with Shelly and the rest of his staff to communicate the intent of his periodic review campaign. Within a few weeks, Shelly managed to book three reviews a week and Jason increased revenue by 25% simply through uncovering cross-selling opportunities during the review.

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The Covenant Group is referred to by many as where entrepreneurs go to become Business Builders. They are considered to be thought leaders and authors of the best-selling books, The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople, The Entrepreneurial Journey, and The Business Builder.