10 Easy Business Rules That Apply to Everyday Life
The Power of OTFD: How Speed, Accountability, and Quality Built a $100M Brand Success
A $100M company was built around a simple business mantra based upon OTFD (Out the Fucking Door). If you find that offensive, you likely worked at one of our so-called competitors.
We preferred to consider them as pretenders. “Just Like BCD,” my ass. We excelled at delivering quality-assured, guaranteed solutions purpose-built for the specific demands of each site, worldwide, in ten days or less.
At the time of my retirement, BCD had a quarter of a million devices, pristinely recording video from over four million cameras in ninety-one countries. Plus, the two in outer space!
This never happens without the buy-in of all team members, committed to the exact cause, and all with the same hop in their step and smile on their face. Everyone at the company felt a part of something special, because they were… a HUGE part.
Although OTFD was the DNA of the company, it was never just about delivery speed. It was about quality and raising the bar. We were a “now” business.
We made time commitments and challenged ourselves to beat them, while constantly maintaining our focus on quality. OTFD did not put pressure on us; it made us better. OTFD was our value-added offering, and our customers thrived on the buzz surrounding it.
That was our back-end engine. Now all we needed was our front end to deliver on that philosophy. They, too, needed to be accountable. To the customer, to their team members, and especially to themselves.
This laid the groundwork for one of the most successful, if not the most successful, OEM manufacturers of large-scale video surveillance recording devices in the security industry.
We continue to record everywhere, from Lord and Taylor to the Pentagon, to Wimbledon. Reputation surely matters for the company, and especially its staff.
That said, here are my “Ten Commandments for Business Success,” written not on tablets, as Moses had delivered, but on an HP Spectre x360 Laptop. Close enough!
Ten Business Commandments Every Entrepreneur Should Live By
- Know Thy Customer
Do your homework first. This can be as simple as examining the customer’s website, from the brands they sell to their service offerings and mission statement. Nothing lost me more than getting a first-time call and being asked, “What does BCD do?” What, do they not have the internet where you live?
- Know Thy Competition
Same as above, but in this case, look for your rivals’ weaknesses. Try to identify their Achilles’ heel and find a way to make that play into your strengths by leading with that strength – without ever mentioning the competitor or their weakness. The customer will figure that out on his own.
- Sales is 99% Confidence and 1% Bullshit
Knowledge isn’t king; product knowledge is! Speaking matter-of-factly and confidently about your company, your products, and what makes you unique will be contagious to the person at the other end of the conversation.
- Shut Up and Listen
The more the customer shares about their business, what’s working, what needs work, and where they are trying to get to, the more opportunity you will have to learn their pain points, which you can remedy. By listening, they may even divulge their competitor. Please remember not to thank them for the sales lead.
- The Customer’s Perception is YOUR Reality
The customer is always right, even when they are wrong. Just take the hit and find the fix. Share that fix with them and ask their opinion on whether they think the same. Their inclusion on the remedy forms a bond of trust.
- Trust Your Gut
Do not overthink things; that will only clutter your brain. Trust your instincts; if you wind up breaking even, that is still a win because you are in the game the next time. Sure beats the sidelines!
- First Get the Deal, Then Worry About It
Too much time is wasted on trying to prepare to fulfill a deal that you may never get. Go get the deal, then everything should fall into place, including profitability.
My mentor once won a multimillion-dollar, three-year Texas state contract to supply a product from a manufacturer we did not carry. “We will now,” he told me. He was right. Considering it was 1980 and we were based in Illinois, that win made it that much more deeply ingrained in my psyche.
- Make Yourself into the Customer’s Trusted Advisor
Make their business your top priority. Many salespeople attempt to sell a product by emphasizing its potential without fully understanding what the customer is looking for. It’s better to be the answer to the question the customer is asking, thus providing a solution to the problem they have.
If you cannot supply what they are looking for, point them in the right direction. They are going to find it with or without you, anyway. Trust me, they will be back.
- Love What You Do
Have fun earning your living by being yourself. Customers will equate your enthusiasm with that of the company.
- Hold Yourself Accountable
Raise the bar on yourself. The people around you will follow, as will the company. The customers will appreciate you more as well. Taking accountability turns you instantly into a stand-up person. Everybody screws up. Own it.
Most importantly, if YOU realize you screwed up before the customer does, don’t wait around and hope they don’t catch it. Among the phrases I’ve coined, known as my Jeffisms, is “Fess up when you mess up.” It raises you in the customer’s eyes.
Why Culture and Confidence Are Your Keys To Success
Success wasn’t just about hardware; it was about building a buzz-worthy brand with a culture of trust, hustle, and heart that customers could feel and employees could own.
When I look back at how we built a $100 million company, it all started with a simple but powerful mantra: OTFD—Out the F*cking Door. It wasn’t just about moving fast. It was about doing things right, holding ourselves accountable, and creating a culture where everyone felt part of something bigger.
That energy fueled our success.
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To learn about this entire journey, pick up a copy of 𝙄𝙩 𝙒𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙈𝙚: 𝙈𝙮 𝙇𝙞𝙛𝙚 𝙎𝙚𝙞𝙯𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙊𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩𝙪𝙣𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘽𝙪𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙎𝙪𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙨𝙨 today!
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