You’re Not Special and The Rules Do Apply To You

The rules do apply to you. You’re not special enough that you don’t have to obey the laws or follow the rules.

You will get referrals through dependability. It’s your work ethic clients are hiring.

Customers hire maids and they expect reliability, compliance, consistency, and teamwork. They want satisfaction guaranteed and they want you to show up on time. The rules do apply to you and if you follow rules you will never lack for work.

Listen: You’re Not Special and The Rules Do Apply To You

Watch: You’re Not Special and The Rules Do Apply To You

You are not special and the rules do apply to you. What? I know, we’re going to talk about this today.

Now, I do a lot of one-on-one consulting and one of the customers that I’m working with right now, she’s a house cleaner, she’s super bright.

But she’s trapped in this weird headspace that she thinks she’s special and the rules don’t apply to her. It’s so weird. I’ve never seen anything like it.

The Rules Do Apply To You When You’re Driving

She got caught speeding at a hundred miles an hour, it was actually 101 miles an hour, in a 65 mile an hour zone.

When the police officer stopped her, he said, “Do you know why I stopped you?”

And she said, “Yeah, because I was speeding.”

He said, “Why were you speeding?” She said, “Because I felt like going fast.”

And he said, “But do you realize I could write you a ticket for that?” And she goes, “But you won’t.” And he said, “Why won’t I?” And she said, “Because the rules apply to everyone else. You’re not going to write me a ticket.” 

And he said, “Oh, yes I am.”

And so she freaks out that he wrote her a ticket because somehow she thought the rules don’t apply to her.

The Rules Do Apply To You When Running a Business

Now, she has a house cleaning company and she refuses to use worksheets. It’s one of the most peculiar things I’ve ever seen.

When the customers call her up and they say, “Hey, we’re not sure what you did today. Can you give us a little bit of a rundown?”

And she says, “Oh, just go look around your house because you’ll be able to tell.”

They’re like, “No, I can’t tell what you did today that’s why we called you.”

There’s no accountability. There’s no, “Here’s what you can call me back for the satisfaction guarantee.”

Your Satisfaction Guarantee Comes from Accountability

Instead of saying, “Well, I’m going to come back and I’m going to reclean that,” or, “I’m going to fix that for you.”

She says, “Well, I’ll just take some money off your next check. I’ll give you a $20 discount next cleaning.” 

Okay, well that’s not how it works in the industry. Every house cleaning company everywhere has a customer guarantee.

If you don’t do a good job, they call you up, and you come back and re-clean it or they give their money back.

You don’t give you part of your money back on a later future cleaning. Right? That’s not how that works.

You Don’t Get To Make Up Your Own Rules

So, she’s made her own rules and the people are like, and it upset a lot of people. It’s not how it’s ever worked with any of the house cleaners that they’ve ever hired.

But these rules don’t apply to her. And she has all these problems and she can’t figure out why she keeps getting fired.

So, she’s good at what she does. She’s an excellent cleaner. But here’s the catch. She has no time sensitivities. She’ll tell people she will be there at nine o clock in the morning, but instead shows up at ten forty-five.

Then the customers are like, “Where have you been?” She’s like, “I’m still going to clean your house. It’s no big deal.” Yeah, it is a big deal because I stayed home from work to let you in.

She’s So Special She Keeps Getting Fired

So she keeps getting fired, which makes her have to create the whole sales cycle all over again.

And she has to go out and find new customers. She gets to do a whole new walkthrough and build rapport and build trust. It would be easier to just follow the rules. Or, keep the promises she made.

So, the reason I’m telling you this today is not to harp on her because she already harps on herself. Yet she won’t change because in her head the rules do not apply to her. She’s special.

The reality is this yes, she is special and so are you. But if you run a business and you make your own rules you have to follow them.

Confidence Comes From Consistency

When you follow the rules you’re saying “I’m consistent and you can count on me.”

When customers can count on you here’s what happens. People call their friends and they say, “Wow, she’s reliable, she’s consistent. You can count on her, you should hire her.” But when you’re not consistent, they don’t know what to expect. They’re not going to refer you to their friends.

She gets no referrals, and she’s great at what she does when she does it. But she sometimes shows up and she sometimes doesn’t.

And she sometimes has family emergencies and cancels, and just leaves people hanging.

The Rules Do Apply To You Or You Have to Reinvent

So, the reality is she’s reinventing her business all the time. This has been going on for years. But the problem is she keeps reinventing the first part of her business again and again. And she can’t figure out why she can’t scale and grow her business.

She’ll hire new employees and then they come in to clean, but she’s unreliable with them. When customers need a reclean they race back to serve the customer.

She’s like, “You don’t have to worry about that. We’ll just give them $20 off their next cleaning,”

And she doesn’t enforce the rules because the rules don’t apply to her just everyone else.

You Always Lead By Example

And then all the people in her organization that she’s hired are like, “Oh, so we don’t have to follow the rules because it’s no big deal.”

There’s no punishment, there are no consequences, there’s no nothing.” So she has three or four people working for her at a time and they just run amok. And then she has to fire them and hire a whole new group of people. Do you see where I’m headed with this? It’s a nightmare for a company. And yet she’s still somehow in business.

Breaking Rules Affects Everybody

So, the reality is this, it’s great to think you can drive 100 miles an hour down a 65 mile an hour zone. But there are actually consequences. You put other drivers in danger, you put passengers in danger, you put pedestrians in danger.

And so there are consequences that come with making up your own rules and not following the rules.

So the truth is this, if you are a business owner, you’re not special and the rules do apply to you. You have to create a culture for yourself and your employees to follow the rules.

Remind yourself, “I’m a business owner, I chose this profession. I have certain requirements that I have to follow to stay in business. Rules make my business flow and get me referrals.

I must follow the rules.”

Your Employees Will Do What You Do

When you do that, all your employees see you doing it. They go, “Oh, in this company, we got to follow the rules.” They fall in line and they follow the rules as well. You set the example.

So, it’s kind of a trickled down domino effect.  Everybody either follows the rules or they don’t. But it is your choice as the boss. And so be clear about what message you’re sending to your clients. Are you someone that says, “I’m special and the rules don’t apply to me?”

Or, are you the kind of person that says, “You know what? I’m just like everybody else. I’m just like every other house cleaner out there. I follow the rules because I want your business and I’m willing to do what it takes to get that business and to keep it.

I will show up on time and will follow a checklist. I will follow a satisfaction guarantee and will bill you on time.” All those things, right?

So, the option is yours. If you are going to survive, you got to follow the rules.

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