Building a Business with a Beat by Judi Sheppard Missett

Author:Judi Sheppard Missett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: McGraw-Hill Education
Published: 2019-03-02T16:00:00+00:00

The entire decade was not without its bumps, however, as anyone who recalls the 1990–91 Gulf War recession with its spiking oil and gas prices, stock market crash, and ballooning unemployment will affirm. It was during and just after this uncomfortably bumpy ride that I discovered the magical power of “Why not?”

The President’s Club: Into the woods, and out again

The impact of the 1990–91 recession on our most productive franchisees—significantly reduced class attendance and income—was painful. Many of them had joined us in the ’70s, were aging into their forties and fifties, and though fit, were suddenly talking about retirement. There was increasing chatter about the “good old days” of the ’70s and ’80s when “all you had to do was post a flyer about a new class and a hundred new customers showed up!” In the throes and aftermath of the recession, times were suddenly, uncharacteristically tough and money was tight.

Our regional administrators (upper level management team) were getting an earful in person, and I could read their emailed complaints loud and clear. Effort and enthusiasm among our top producers was flagging. Negativity was rampant. My gut was telling me that we needed to find a way to turn things around and reenergize them, quick.

To that end, I convened a powwow of top management for a weekend retreat at my cabin in Idyllwild, a small community surrounded by tall pines and fragrant cedars in Southern California’s San Jacinto Mountains. “We can, and we will figure this out,” I told them. “No idea is off the table.”

Gathered around the cabin’s table, sitting by the fire, sharing a walk in the woods, our thoughts were wide-ranging but, to my mind, not immediate enough. After 36 hours of near-constant discussion, most of us arrived at one simple idea. What if we jump-started our franchisees with an incentive plan that supported and rewarded good performers with immediate rebates off their franchise fees?

Margaret Stanton, our always conservative COO, was the lone dissenter. “Why would we do that?”

“Why not?” I asked.

“Well, for starters,” she said, “we’d have to invade our reserves.”

“What are reserves for if not to help us all get through tough times?” I insisted.

Called the President’s Club (because, essentially, I was taking potential profits out of our corporate pocket and putting them back into theirs), the tiered program proved to be a huge and immediate motivator for existing and new franchise owners, who achieved bronze, silver, gold, or platinum performance levels. “The better you perform, the bigger your rebate,” I explained. In 1994, the first full year we implemented the program, President’s Club rebates totaled $505,197, and sales jumped exponentially. The program proved so popular and productive that, even after things improved, we elected to keep it going. Over the past 25 years, the total amount rebated through the President’s Club now exceeds $33 million. Our franchise owners appreciated feeling supported and being rewarded for growing their businesses. And, of course, we appreciated them, since it meant we continued to grow and expand our mission right along with them.

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