Big (AT AT) trouble

#bigtrouble #the6thsmoothstone #ATATwalker

#ONETeam #SNAPS #SageandNotableAdvisesfromPatrickSalazar

In one of my organizations, the head count was pretty steady at a few thousands across two Sites when I joined. They were having challenges acquiring new clients because the competition were well-established huge BPO companies located in Metro Manila and in strategic Provincial locations.

As a leadership Team, we had a workshop and designed our strategy. Just like the story of David & Goliath, as the smaller player, these were the 5 smooth stones we picked up for the battle ahead…

✔️It was a tough arena in Metro Manila. We decided to enter new Provinces who did not have BPOs yet or only had a small BPO size so we can get special support from the local government units (LGU) which resulted to a low price point advantage for us. The LGU executives themselves helped create a conducive business landscape for us. In one province, the Governor himself joins some of our important client visits.

✔️We optimized our Automation & Innovation Team who helped us develop various customized tools for our operations and also for clients which were either given for free as a proof of concept, we gave huge price discounts or has significant savings for our clients.

✔️We changed our incentive structure so our sales guys get a bigger commission to increase the business they send to us.

✔️Our solutions were personalized from scratch for each and every client requirement. It is definitely not starting from a copy-pasted baseline solution that is enhance or force-fitted later. Nope, not on my watch.

🏅If there was a 6th smooth stone… our Delivery Team performed really well. This gave us a great demonstration that we indeed deliver on our commitments. Our hard-working frontline Associates are the true heroes how we won over 25% of the 214 RFXs we handled or co-managed in those two years.

*About the photo

I was in Disney Hollywood Studios in Orlando Florida during my birthday week of 2017. I was lined up for a roller coaster ride when I saw this huge AT-AT (All Terrain Armored Transport) Walker on top of me. I can’t help but imagine what would it be like if I were part of the Rogue Squadron led by Luke Skywalker tasked to cripple the mighty AT AT Walkers during the battle of Hoth in the film Star Wars Episode V: the Empire Strikes Back in 1980.

✔️We carefully identified the provinces of our employees. We asked them who are willing to relocate back home to their provinces to be our Seed Team. We provided them with all the financial and infrastructure support they needed. We actively marketed these Provinces (Tier 2 cities) internally and to clients. We even had an Ambassador help us market 1 of our other Province.