We recently connected with David Chaumette and have shared our conversation below.

David, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear how you think where to draw the line in terms of asking friends and family to support your business – what’s okay and what’s over the line?

The nature of sales has changed with the advent of the internet, and most of us are beleaguered, with people pitching us the latest thing. In that environment, if you are constantly approaching your friends and family and trying to sell them something, people will literally start to avoid you. I know I do. For what it’s worth, this is the opposite of the best approach for strangers.

Instead the key is to pour into others — provide value on topics and in areas where the other person needs it. This leads to a better (more welcoming) sales environment for you with your product. Your target (be they friend or family) will seek you out for more information and they will ask what it takes for you to sell to them.

David, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My career has had a number of twists and turns. More than thirty years in, the main constant is change. For me this is ideal because I am very curious about everything. My colleagues know that I am notorious for saying: “My name is David Chaumette and I have questions.”

This mindset has made me more aware of subtleties — topics that are not being addressed, positions that are not being considered — and that, in turn, allows me to give my clients an advantage in their markets because we are always looking at new approaches, innovations to help them differentiate themselves in their markets.

Can you talk to us about your experience with buying businesses?

Over the years, I have been involved with the purchase of several businesses across numerous industries. Several themes emerge in terms of the challenges.

On the seller’s side, there is almost always the interesting conflict of business valuation. The seller must realize that they are probably overvaluing their business and, ironically, one of the main problems in their valuation is that the owner is too involved in the business. In other words, owners who are not as involved in the day to day operations have more valuable businesses. That’s counterintuitive to some.

On the buyer’s side, it is important to be deliberate and measured in your actions. Years ago, a client bought a business paying everything in cash upfront after I had suggested payments over time with a consulting contract for the owner, so that he would remain involved for a short period. Well, once the seller had his money, he vanished and the business struggled with the new owner. It was an unforced error by the buyer that made the transition more difficult than it should have been.

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

Managing a team well is another job on top of the business of the business. It requires focus and attention from the business owner and building high morale takes time.

It starts with the hiring process. For most jobs, having a personality is often more important than the requisite skills for any position. Interviewees are often so focused on telling you about what they have done but they don’t focus on who they are. And that’s usually what I am looking for. Depending on the exact position, I might be looking for empathy or attention to detail or charisma. Those three are very different traits and are rarely seen in the same person. But they don’t need to be.

Once you have people onboard, I like doing personality tests like MBTI or DISC — but not because those tests are somehow determinative about a person. Rather the tests when done together provide an important tool for discussing issues in the workplace. It can also help the owner decide initially who should be assigned various tasks. Like I said, these tests are not predictive 100% of the time, but they are often a good start.

It is also important to foster communication in the workplace. This can be tricky because the owner needs to manage the when of communication in addition to the what. Running up to the owner while she is focused on one of her tasks is not advisable or productive. However, the owner has to create time and space to hear and address issues from the staff. It is admittedly a delicate balance but the good news is that, in my experience, your employees will give you the benefit of the doubt if you (as the owner) are making the effort.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.chaumettesolutions.net
• Instagram: https://Instagram.com/chaumsol
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dchaumette/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidchaumette
• Twitter: HTTPS://www.x.com/chaumsolutions
• Youtube: https://YouTube.com/chaumettesolutions

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