Nick Powills: It’s Not About Closing the Sale, It’s About the Open

Shame on business. We celebrate the sale more than we do the work, the journey, and the relationship.

Want to know why client turnover exists? It’s exactly because of this model—the model in which the celebration lives and dies with the sale, versus the journey. This is short-term thinking—when really, the sale is just the beginning.

I think about this as it relates to our business. One of my core focuses this quarter has been on improving our onboarding and journey content so that our clients know where they are in the process—and feel as if they are gaining steam versus being handed off and not treated with concierge-level service (a new core value for us this year). We want the clients to love the journey, not just the sale.

In franchising, it seems as if this is a potential gap, as well. Franchise sales teams are rarely involved past the signing. They get their commissions and are on to the next deal (partly because of the pressures of the business to sell franchises). But what if a few things changed?

What if they received a bonus (not commission) when franchisee X hits X in sales?

What if they are bonused when a franchisee expands their portfolio?

What if the entire organization was bonused when a franchisee expands—since that is clearly a collective?

What if franchisees were incentivized in a much bigger way when they brought on another franchisee?

Another thing I have noticed is that sales and openings are rarely celebrated as a team. Sure, some of this comes naturally in how teams are salaried and paid, but organizations that ring the bell and celebrate together seem to be stronger. If the organization doesn’t rally around growth, then why would they care about it?

What would your business look like if you changed the celebration from landing a sale to celebrating milestones along the journey? Would that change motivation? Would you bring in better prospects? Would you have a mindset built around keeping clients for longer?

Think about it.