Merge

In business, we try to build systems and processes that work consistently.

Like a web site for instance. If your need is lead generation, you want your web site generating good leads week in, week out. When it works, it's a beautiful thing. When it doesn't, well, then it's just a website.

Last week Merge's sales system worked. We did some great work in the past, got a referral, Merge's Matt the Rainmaker went to meet with the prospect and brought Suzy the Extraordinaire along on the second trip to help come up with the solution to close the deal. All along, Matt was carefully executing Merge's sales process.

The result? Bam. A sale. Done by two great people, but also by a whole slew of processes to help make it happen -- from the quality control process that created the website that wowed, to continual marketing to make us top of mind to the person who referred us, to our own website working as the 24/7 salesperson to the sales process that kept us on tract so we could come up with the right solution at the right time. It also doesn't hurt to have some great people behind those processes as well.

And that's the last thing I'll say which is cool about this--it wasn't only Matt or Suzy that made the sale (although they will get the majority of the credit most of the time--and well deserved). But it was all of Team Merge that made it happen.

Bottom Line: The essence of a business is when the entire business works as it is intended--no one person, thing or individual makes it happen. Instead, the business consistently operates because The Team is executing the processes that are in place to deliver the business' products or services. I love it when a plan comes together.