Know-How Exchange : Taglines/Names

I need to know who you are targeting, and what successes you have had. Your being in business for ten years speaks of results and your taglines don't. Changing the business approach because of an arbitrary date is neither here nor there: if you are going to change, your communications need to be better.

To be honest, I would want to know how you unleash safety capabilities - I did it by waving the cheque book and mentioning pay stoppages. Believe me, the effects were magical. So: what norms do you interrupt and how much will it cost your clients when they are interrupted? What actions, bold or otherwise do you inspire through interrupting them?

Okay ... not very positive but you did ask ;-)

I recently declined a client who was involved in marine safety. All of the safety features means costs that the suits sitting in their air-conditioned offices in Hong Kong or Sydney do not want to know about. The reasons I took action was because we were a small family-owned business and the buck stopped with me. With a suit, they can always blame someone else, or a lack of correctly followed procedures (a common problem in dangerous industries where cost cutting has reduced the worker's abilities to follow the proscribed procedures).

So let's put this all on its head. Who are you speaking to and what can you offer them that is concrete and guaranteed either to save them from worry or will reduce their costs? What have you done for clients over the last ten years that have seen their business flower? What did they say about you when you did these remarkable things?

After all, a new client isn't going to be very happy if they find your business is very different from what your tagline led them to expect of you.

Thanks for your considered response. Okay, here are some answers to your questions:
We are targetting high hazard, large companies in Oil, Gas, Mining and Power. These guys have done all the basics in safety (safe equipment, internationally accredited systems, up to date procedures, good risk management procedures) and they are looking for what next.
We work on the people side of safety - the human component of what drive behaviour, why dont people always follow rules, what drives values, attitudes, beliefs and behaviour.

We provide educational services in the soft skills of safety leadership - both training, coaching and advise.

HOW we do it - we apply leading edge techniques which combine neuroscience, psychology and Neuro Lingustic Programming fused with practical processes. We get inside of peoples head to explain the why of behaviour, we get inside their heart to emotionally connect them with their personal reason for doing what they need to do at a concious and unconcious level and we train them in what to do. The what to do is based on ten years of validation research which identifies the top five critical safety leadership behaviours which provide greatest leverage for change. These are:
1. Emotionally engaging people
2. Interrupting at-risk behaviour
3. Holding people Accountable
4. Overtly communicate safety expectations
5. Demonstrate before you declare

Results we've achieved include:
Significant improvement in saftey performance 65 to 80% over three years
Saving companies Millions of dollars through reduced workers comp
Improving relationships between managers and staff and therefore breaking through sub standard safety practices, people feeling confident to stop the job if its unsafe
Increased ownership - % actions closed out shows major improvement, improved quality of personal risk assessments.

The other tagline I came up with include:

"Transforming Safety Cultures. Unleashing Safety Leadership Effectiveness"
"Inspiring brilliance and passion in safety"
"Safety, a catalyst for care"

Your thoughts?

Firstly, I like your results and the fact that you can express them clearly.

I still need to know a few more details though. Which means I'm back to the start again! You say "and they are looking for what next"

My question is who are looking and why. What did they find first and why did they find it at all - my experience has been one of total disinterest.

My point is that in my experience many managers avoid safety issues rather than tackle them. In the Netherlands, safety standards on building sites are frankly deplorable - on one job where I was fore(wo)man I lost two guys because they'd trodden on nails. If you can believe that! Nobody here bends nails over, everybody says "Sh!t happens" and then wonders why their feet hurt. That is the other side of safety, to watch out for the dumb things experienced master craftsmen do here. To me, safety should come first as it tends to get uncomfortable when it doesn't!

Don't even start me on Germany ...

You can see that I have a bee in my bonnet about standards of safety and the consequences it can have for those who are unprepared for the consequences. Like not being able to go to a football match because you trod on a nail at work.

My point is that the safety aspects are one person's responsibility and paying for them is someone else's - which means one person isn't worried and the latter has no control. You need to get to the person who is senior to them both to have any effect - that is the case here in NL at least.

Once I need a little more on the people you're speaking to and how you "hook" them. That you already use techniques that go to the sub-conscious tells me that you will begin to see where I'm coming from on this - as this is the level at which you can attract a better class of clients before they even know you're there to help.

What's the name of your business?

Hi, we work on the high end of safety. Think I will try and work it out myself. I was looking for your impressions of the tag lines I suggested. Trying to explain what we do to companies that are just starting our in safety will take a very long time. We don't work with everyone. We are very niche. People come to us. Am after a simple tag line that captures essence of what we do. Will do more soul searching. Txs for your attempt to respond.

You did get my impressions, and if you are not prepared to divulge further information it is going to be hard to help you. Tagline or otherwise. Furthermore, I know from personal experience that doing this kind of thing for yourself is extremely hard.

As to explaining what you do to companies that are just getting interested is where you should start using your psychological insights - that's how I do it, and it is extremely effective.

Thanks Moriarty and Jay,
I have run conducted survey and run taglines our team workshopped past clients and employees. Interetingly, clients were drawn to the basic, obvious statement that spoke what we did and employees were drawn to something more inspiring which related to how we did it.

Taglines I proposed in previous emails were those that clients resonated with the most.