A Conversation with the ASA Education Foundation…
You Know What They Say About Assumptions
Often when we’re very close to a particular subject, we take for granted that others feel the same way, and know what we know about that subject. We’re making assumptions, right? Well, we don’t have to tell you what they say about people who make assumptions.
Take wholesale distribution for example, which is likely to be the business you’re in. As an owner or senior manager of a supply house, you live and breathe the numbers and equations that drive your company’s success. You know what makes a sale profitable and you have an intimate knowledge of the big “Expense Monster” that must first be fed before you can call a sale profitable.
But do all of your employees, especially those who have face-to-face interaction with your customers, share that “live and breathe” intimate relationship with the company’s narrow profit margins? Do they understand how tenuous those margins are in the face of aggressive discounting, a lost sale, or a simple mistake? Are you assuming too much?
For answers, visit www.asa.net. and click on the “Training Tools & Resources” tab. Once you’ve graded your quiz-takers, consider following up with some training to address any areas they might’ve missed. Or maybe they got the answers all right, but the quiz has stimulated the need to address some hot buttons within the company.
For some suggestions on how to make this exercise really work for you, click here from January’s Supply House Times (or go to www.asa.net) to read our article entitled “Low-Cost or No-Cost Training Opportunities.”
Don’t be the victim of assumptions – especially not when the stakes are so big.
Often when we’re very close to a particular subject, we take for granted that others feel the same way, and know what we know about that subject. We’re making assumptions, right? Well, we don’t have to tell you what they say about people who make assumptions.
Take wholesale distribution for example, which is likely to be the business you’re in. As an owner or senior manager of a supply house, you live and breathe the numbers and equations that drive your company’s success. You know what makes a sale profitable and you have an intimate knowledge of the big “Expense Monster” that must first be fed before you can call a sale profitable.
But do all of your employees, especially those who have face-to-face interaction with your customers, share that “live and breathe” intimate relationship with the company’s narrow profit margins? Do they understand how tenuous those margins are in the face of aggressive discounting, a lost sale, or a simple mistake? Are you assuming too much?
Find Out What They Know
We’ve put together a very quick quiz that you can use to gauge how well your front-line team members, or even those behind-the-scenes contributors, understand how your business ticks.For answers, visit www.asa.net. and click on the “Training Tools & Resources” tab. Once you’ve graded your quiz-takers, consider following up with some training to address any areas they might’ve missed. Or maybe they got the answers all right, but the quiz has stimulated the need to address some hot buttons within the company.
For some suggestions on how to make this exercise really work for you, click here from January’s Supply House Times (or go to www.asa.net) to read our article entitled “Low-Cost or No-Cost Training Opportunities.”
Where to Learn More
All of the subjects that this quiz touches on are covered thoroughly, with a great, real-life approach, in our “Essentials of Profitable Wholesale Distribution” course. Check out this self-directed, 185-page course, and others like it, at www.asa.net.Don’t be the victim of assumptions – especially not when the stakes are so big.
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