Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Company culture determines employee retention, satisfaction, and customer relationships for businesses in every industry. For business equipment vendors, a strong company culture can lead to a positive workplace with motivated salespeople and high employee retention. And when vendor salespeople and support staff members feel valued and motivated to do their best work, the level of customer service increases, which helps drive sales and profits and generates long-term customers.
There is no all-encompassing company culture playbook, as every business is unique with its mission statement, value proposition, brand attributes, target audience, and products or services. This Balboa Capital blog post discusses company culture related to equipment vendors. It explains why company values are important and how equipment vendors can build a great company culture. It’s a worthwhile read if you are a business equipment vendor.
What is company culture?
Company culture is the shared beliefs, attitudes, and values that define how a business interacts with its employees, customers, and third-party resources. As a business equipment vendor, your third-party resources include the equipment manufacturers and financing companies you work with.
A good corporate culture can help create a more productive workplace by encouraging collaboration between team members and creating an atmosphere where everyone feels influential and respected. An excellent corporate culture is recognized and appreciated by customers, too. They are more likely to purchase products or services and become repeat buyers if they have a great brand experience.
Craft a mission statement.
The first step in building a great company culture is crafting a clear mission and vision statement for your equipment vendor business. It helps define your business’s core values, goals, and objectives and provides direction for employees. A well-written and compelling mission/vision statement inspires and motivates everyone on your staff — salespeople, administrative staff, etc.
To give you an idea of what a mission statement is, we came up with one for a fictitious heavy equipment vendor:
Our mission is to become an area leader by offering top-quality heavy equipment with competitive prices and exceptional customer service to construction business owners and contractors.
Set goals and expectations for your team.
Setting employee goals and expectations is essential to running a successful vendor business, particularly regarding sales performance. It helps to ensure that everyone is working towards the same sales objectives and that performance standards are maintained. Goals also help to motivate salespeople and support staff and give them something to strive for.
This will also help create a culture of accountability, as each employee will know what is expected of them. Furthermore, it will provide a framework for performance evaluation which can be used to reward high performers and identify areas where improvement is needed.
Lead by example.
Think of the jobs you had before starting your equipment vendor business. If you had a CEO or manager who exhibited trust in your abilities and inspired you to do your best, chances are you remember it. That’s because the best business owners and managers lead by example and demonstrate the values they want their employees to follow. So, ensure you and your management team do this daily.
Doing so can create a positive, rewarding corporate culture at your vendor business, where everyone works together and contributes to company achievements and success.
Encourage open communication.
Nothing is more discouraging to employees than lacking the confidence to mention new ideas that may improve how a vendor business is run. Maybe it’s suggesting a new sales technology or make or model of equipment that is gaining popularity in the market. Or it’s just wanting to talk to the boss or management team to offer a solution to a particular problem. Whatever the case, open communication can significantly benefit your vendor business.
Open communication helps build trust between employees and management, encourages collaboration, and allows quicker problem-solving. Additionally, it will enable you to get insight into how your salespeople and support staff feel about specific topics or processes.
Leverage technology to streamline workflow.
To be competitive, your equipment vendor business needs to offer more than a good selection of brand-name equipment at favorable prices. It also requires tools and technology that lets your salespeople and support staff work smarter, not harder, and helps enhance the customer experience. These include inventory management software, accounting software, and a customer relationship management (CRM) system.
And being in the sales business, the sales tools you and your salespeople use are essential. For example, if you can run custom quotes for customers and offer them financing options, they are more likely to move forward with their purchase. If not, they might be price shoppers who leave your showroom or lot without buying, only to visit a competing equipment vendor.
Consider partnering with a lender that specializes in equipment vendor financing. This is a value-added service that your customers will appreciate because it’s convenient and saves them time. Plus, you and your salespeople can move more inventory when you offer customers custom financing plans.
Conclusion.
By creating a positive work environment with good company culture, your vendor business is well-positioned for increased productivity, sales, and customer satisfaction. In addition, good company culture can help your vendor business attract and retain the best employees and ensure their success in the future. It also helps foster a sense of loyalty among employees so that they stay with your vendor business for the long term and avoid seeking employment elsewhere.
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.