Aussies. Remember the iconic Godfrey’s ads? The ones with the vacuum holding up the bowling ball?
Now, add to this – BBQ’s Galore… Amart… Mathers…
John Hardy’s the Icon behind the years when these Aussie retailers thrived. And, the Icon behind the bowling ball.
Few others epitomize the ability to draw out the untapped value of struggling companies more than my latest guest on The Wisdom Of… Show.
Recently, I had the profound privilege of speaking with John Hardy, a venerated CEO and Board Member whose iconic 50+ year tenure at the helm of transformative growth and strategic turnaround for some of Australia and New Zealand’s most celebrated retail brands, including over 26+ years as the CEO of Godfreys.
Our conversation illuminated time-tested sales and success principles that are not only immediately actionable but deeply transformative.
Ready to unlock the hidden value of your company and amplify your ability to impact the world through your work? Watch the full interview with John Hardy now.
Embrace The Last 5 Yards
“Most businesses I’ve been involved in spend a fortune on the storefront, the website, and the point of sale system but don’t invest in the last 5 yards… the salespeople.”
This observation showcases the tendency of many businesses to overspend on the areas they think will increase profits while ignoring the needs of their salespeople, who, in actuality, are responsible for the vast majority of the revenue.
Often, this is as simple as listening to their needs and empowering them to do and be their best by equipping them with:
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Motivation: To inspire them to hit their targets and remind them of their deeper purpose in making empowered, beneficial decisions
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Culture: To embrace this motivation and positive energy throughout the team with healthy competition and performance incentives
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Tools: Trainings and resources to help them perform better on calls or software to assist them in doing their work more effectively
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Skills: Tangible and strategic advice that helps them nurture and close leads more effectively and empathetically (ie, objection handling, roleplaying, etc.)
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Incentives: To reward stellar performance and inspire others to meet certain goals with specific performance-based metrics
By embracing these “last 5 yards” and empowering their sales teams, entire companies can turn their performance around and change their trajectory from one of urgency to victory.
Become A Steward To The Business
Next, we explored his approach when taking the reins of companies that are not his own and how he thinks about the concept of stewarding the businesses he is brought on to assist.
When thinking about stewardship here, it is imperative to remember that when you take the helm of a business, you’re more than a steward of its capital; you’re also a steward of its resources, talent, infrastructure, time, mission, and reputation.
John noted that he most effectively stewards businesses by asking himself, “What would I do if this business were mine?”
He reflected on how this singular guiding question has allowed him to more deeply connect to what is truly best for the future of the business and more carefully consider his choices before making ones that would affect the trajectory of the company.
This alone has resulted in many of his most profitable decisions over his monumental 50+ year career as an icon of the Australian retail industry.
Gather Emotional Intel
Next, he argued that while more and more businesses are moving online and largely pushing out the “need” for in-person salespeople, the most value locked up in companies lies in the real, human-to-human conversations that happen on the ground.
Unlike online sales interactions, which largely forego the need for salespeople altogether, in-person interactions not only allow for the element of human touch and spontaneity in the sales process, but give the salespeople an opportunity to take on an advisory role to assist the customer in getting what they need most in real-time.
He painted the picture of a customer who comes into one of his stores and the ability of a salesperson in this situation to serve as an advisor to the customer, saying something along the lines of, “If I were in your shoes, this is what I’d look at and here’s why.”
This ability to give real-time recommendations and guide the customer without pressure to uncover solutions to their problems that they wouldn’t find otherwise helps the salesperson and the customer connect more deeply and both sides to leave happy.
The ability of in-person interactions to gather emotional intel is one of the most effective and overlooked advantages of in-person sales that can transform the experience of you and your brand that your customers have.
Deal In Invisible Currency
One of the most incredible points John made to me was when I asked about the advice he had concerning customer retention.
“Take when we were selling vacuums,” he began.
“The expected lifespan of a vacuum is 5.8 years, but every year, we offer our customers free maintenance. Not only did many take us up on it because it was free value for them, but many bought accessories and became loyal repeat customers of ours because they were in our ecosystem and saw us as a brand that was a fixture in their lives instead of a one-time engagement.”
He then went on to explain how when he started selling BBQ grills, while he couldn’t offer maintenance services, he came up with something arguably even more creative: cooking classes. After all, what’s better than having a brand-new grill and being able to use it effectively?
It goes without saying, it was a hit and just like before, they sold more grills as well as various seasonings, charcoal, and other accessories. This practice of finding ways to install recurring value into the businesses he took over also continued when he sold women’s shoes and offered $5 in store credit for every $100 spent.
Regardless of the specific promotion used, John’s clever use of referral campaigns revealed a very crucial truth: the real game is not the one you see on the surface but the invisible one.
In other words, it’s not really the money itself that is the greatest currency when it comes to retention, but the time and connection built between the customer and the company.
Only one question remains: how will you leverage this currency of time and connection to build lasting relationships and stratospheric wealth for your business?
Uncover Lower-Level Loyalty
The final piece of wisdom John Hardy shared was regarding the sales team and the missing element that makes the difference between average salespeople and exceptional ones:
Enthusiasm.
While most companies hire based on skills, “it’s the attributes that are unteachable,” John stated, reflecting on his decades of working with teams and turning their struggles into success.
We dove deeper into this concept and expressed how often it is the employees a few rungs down from the top or layers out from the center (not the top managers and C-suite executives) who tend have the most enthusiasm for their work.
“We can’t gauge the culture of a company by its management,” he added. Often, you have to consider things both from the top down and from the bottom up to get the clearest picture of an organization’s readiness and willingness to grow. Approaching companies this way allows you to more easily uncover hidden enthusiasm that’s buried under layers of management to reach those who are truly passionate about their work and the company as a whole.
So next time you’re looking to improve your company or that of another, try looking past the top management and look for those whose passion and love for the work is clear and uncorrupted. “Those are the ones who will move the business forward,” he said as the conversation neared its close.
These simple but profound shifts, when applied, can have a drastic effect on the loyalty of your customers and the longevity of your company, and I can’t wait to see how you put them to use for yourself.
So here’s my challenge to you: Watch this episode.
Then, apply the lessons for yourself and your team and watch these commonsense principles and gems of original genius elevate your business to unprecedented heights.
Watch the full interview with John Hardy on The Wisdom Of… Show
And don’t miss Simon Bowen’s transformative masterclass on unlocking your hidden genius. Your future self will thank you.
