Читать книгу Selling With Noble Purpose - McLeod Lisa Earle, Lisa Earle McLeod - Страница 29

CMIT Solutions is a franchise organization that provides managed IT services for small businesses. When CEO Jeff Connally took over the business in 2006, he began to shift the team from hourly billing to a managed services, fixed‐fee model.

Most of CMIT's franchisees have a technical background. They were used to being on call and billing their time for client requests. Few of them had any sales experience.

When asked to describe themselves, they typically say, “We provide IT service.” Yet our interviews with their most successful franchisees revealed that CMIT does much more than simply provide IT services. The best franchisees were advisors to their clients; advisors who alleviate and prevent some of the biggest headaches in business: system problems. Their team landed on an NSP that reflected their aspirations for their customers: We help make small businesses more successful.

Connally says, “When we went from ‘We sell IT services’ to ‘We help make small businesses more successful,’ it changed everything. That seemingly simple reframe pointed our team in an entirely new direction. Now our guys feel like the white knights of the IT world. They're going after new business with a zeal they never had before.”

CMIT launched their Noble Purpose during the recession. Despite a tough economy where clients were cutting back on outside vendors, they grew sales by 35% the first year. Changing their focus from the services they provide to the impact they have on clients created a shift in the way their team approaches customers. Connally says, “Our people are technical, so their tendency is to jump right into the tech stuff. Now, instead of [taking that approach], we take a step back and address the situation from a business perspective.”

He continues, “We pulled our NSP to the front and center of everything we do. It helped move our franchisees from simply being IT providers into a trusted advisor/partnership role.”

Post‐recession, CMIT held fast to their NSP, using it to drive exponential revenue growth. In a world where organizations aspire to increase earnings by 10x, CMIT's earnings have increased by a multiple of 36x. They're driving outsize earning because they're attracting and holding on to the right franchisees.

CMIT's franchise churn rate has gone from 39% when they launched their NSP to below 4%—an almost unheard‐of number in the franchise world, where anything below 12% is considered very good. The team went from selling franchises to awarding them. They've now become the largest managed services provider in the mid‐market space.

CMIT

We help make small businesses more successful

Earnings increased 36x

Franchise churn down 35%