From learning the power of saying no to empowering her team with trust and vision, Natasha Reid from Office Evolution offers valuable lessons for dealers navigating today’s competitive landscape
This is a distilled piece, taken from our interview with Natasha in the September 2024 issue of Dealer Support Read the Full Interview
On Why It’s OK to Say No
Years ago, we had local competitors that were going in at ridiculous rates, fixing them for five years – and it’s not sustainable. It’s not good business. So, when we started out, we were quite keen to do business for anybody. We would think it doesn’t matter, as long as we’re making a return and we’re covering ourselves. Now, we’re in a position where it’s okay to say no.
On Knowing Your Value
We give a service and a product, not just the product. From our perspective, we look for the clients that understand that we’re not going to be the cheapest, but we will give you the best value. It’s a case of ‘we’re not going to be where you need us price wise. But thank you for engaging and your time – and feel free to keep an eye on our website.’ It’s always a positive interaction. I have a saying that I like to use – business isn’t personal. It’s personable, but it’s not personal. You can’t let things get under your skin.
We don’t cast ourselves as salespeople – we’re account managers. I think that instantly puts people at ease, because they don’t feel that they’ve just got somebody selling to them. It’s about getting to know the client, getting to know their ethos, getting to know their spend and where we can help, what we can pick up and suggesting it in a nice way.
On Inspiring Autonomy
A lot of it is about positive reinforcement for the team, but also letting them know if they make that decision, then I’ve got their back 100%. Teams need that idea of the bigger picture, and we need to give them the confidence and insight to see it – making sure that you’re sharing the knowledge that they need to make those decisions themselves. We’re going from strength to strength, and we need a strong team to reflect
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