Home Field Advantage: How to Lead from the Front
In all major team sports, home field advantage is real, significant and measurable. Most teams have better win/loss records when playing at home than when playing away. Although several factors are at play, the biggest reason I see for this advantage is the enthusiastic cheering from hometown fans. The pure energy that emanates from thousands of fans seems to lift the home team players on their shoulders and helps them take their game to a new level.
Every day, Diamond Certified companies are lifted on the “quality shoulders” of the Diamond Certified program. Each Diamond Certified company is presented on the most popular quality pedestals in Northern California: a full-page profile in the annual Diamond Certified Directory; an extensive Diamond Certified Report on diamondcertified.org with animated graphics displaying research results, in-depth articles and a high-definition video profile; the list of top-rated companies in several local newspapers; and on the popular www.facebook.com/diamondcertified.
These quality pedestals act as home field advantage for Diamond Certified companies. You’ve probab
ly seen home field advantage lift our World Champion San Francisco Giants on many occasions. When the Giants are playing a home game and Cody Ross steps to the plate in an important situation, 41,000+ fans are on their feet, chanting, “Cody! Cody! Cody! Cody!” Think about the positive energy Cody feels from the fans at that moment. How can you translate that type of energy to your team?
Employees First: Take Your Team to the Next Level
Picture a full ballpark where all the fans sit stone silent for the entire game. There’s very little energy helping the players. That would be equivalent to a company earning Diamond Certified but not using it extensively. If they don’t use it, they don’t get home field advantage!
How to Create Home Field Advantage
First, build a “hot center.” Diamond Certified companies are able to share every research report with every employee, as well as researched articles, a Diamond Certified Video profile, a full-page profile in the Diamond Certified Directory and the large Diamond Certified ad in local newspapers.
Second, lead from the front! Living it is always better than talking about it. Your staff members take their cues from you. Diamond Certified companies that use Diamond Certified Tools every day and are committed to customer satisfaction demonstrate Who They Are, and that’s emulated by their teams.
Prospective customers seek signals to help them decide which company to choose. These signals can be as standard as staff appearance or as specific as the time it takes to return a phone call. Since they don’t really know your company, they overvalue the signals it gives off to make their decisions. Something I read years ago stuck with me. The author wrote, “If a man sits down in his seat on a commercial airline, and when he pulls the tray table down sees coffee stains, he thinks the airline is not doing proper maintenance on the engines.” Signals, indeed!
Every Diamond Certified company has very powerful signals for communicating with prospective customers. They’re able to use their Diamond Certified status to demonstrate that their team delivers on its promises and that it’s highly likely the prospective customer they’re talking to will be very satisfied with their performance.
By: Jim Stein, Founder/CEO of American Ratings Corporation, creators of the Diamond Certified Program.
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