5 Essential Manuals Crucial To The Success Of Your Louisiana Business

Manuals
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U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data indicates that as many as 20% of small businesses fail within their first year. This figure increases to about 50% by the fifth year. Some of the key reasons for this failure stemmed from employee and sales issues. Business planning here in Metairie can help more businesses get through their first year of operations. If you need manuals printed near Metairie, give Ameriprint a call.

Here are some different types of printed manuals that can be useful in boosting the chances of your success.

1) Employee Handbook/Manual

A handbook provides a detailed introductory guide to every employee on what the mission and vision of the business are. It ensures all employees are on the same page as to what policies and procedures they are expected to follow. It also outlines their responsibilities, benefits, and rights, while clarifying what legal obligations the business.

  • Explains the workplace culture, values, mission, and vision
  • Informs employees of their general obligations and workplace procedures and policies
  • Advises employees on their federal and state-mandated entitlements and how to access them
  • Highlights benefits employees qualify for and how
  • Defines employee entitlements and obligations as per state and federal law
  • Clarifies organizational policies that employees are expected to familiarize themselves with
  • Provide guidance on how employees can get work-related assistance from management
  • Protects against employee claims by confirming they have read and understood company policies

2) Human Resource Manuals

HR manuals are an effective way to clearly define work-related policies and procedures. They address issues such as:

  • Employment and work policies and procedures
  • Work schedules and leave-taking
  • How performance evaluations are conducted
  • Guidelines on salaries and benefits

HR policy should make clear how the employer-employee relationship works. This means what the duties and responsibilities of each party entail. It should also detail expected codes of conduct concerning common activities and responsibilities like work schedules, health and safety, and conflict resolution.

Whatever policies and procedures that are laid out need to comply with applicable state and federal laws. This limits the problem of corporate liability and employee litigation. HR manuals should also provide guidelines for supervisors and management on what authority they have and how to address employee work-related issues.

3) Sales Manuals

A sales manual is a how-to for sales teams on how to create leads and turn them from prospects into paying customers. This guide is important in ensuring your team can achieve conversions that will be the key source of your revenues. It should be used in conjunction with hands-on training and kept confidential.

This document should be regularly updated to keep up with the latest trends, policies, and procedures. It should be as brief and comprehensive as possible to allow employees accessing it to quickly find the information they need and understand it. Sales manuals should include:

  • Product details including inventory size, product features and specifications, wholesale and retail pricing, potential hazards, warranties, and return policies.
  • Target market details. This includes demographics on potential leads such as age, income level, lifestyle, expectations, and potential to convert.
  • Sale procedures and methodology that equips sales teams to convert leads. Should include resources on how to identify leads and how to interact with them. If using e-commerce, should also instruct on how to guide clients to products they are interested in online.

4) Sales Procedure Manuals

As the main frontline staff in handling customers, sales teams bear much of the burden in ensuring customer satisfaction. Sales procedure manuals help guide them on how to exploit these interactions as a means to closing sales. They provide a framework through which they can nurture leads into becoming satisfied paying customers. It should include:

  • An overview of the sales process
  • Outline the sales funnel that walks a prospect into becoming a paying client
  • How to identify leads and manage outreach
  • How to identify the needs of users that can be matched to products the company offers
  • How to present solutions to leads and tackle objections
  • Doing follow-up that leads to closing the sale
  • Detail all that is involved in the execution of the sale
  • Guidelines on how to resolve issues both within and with other departments to improve workflow
  • How to maximize sales opportunities by cross-selling and upselling to existing clients

5) Training Manuals

Training manuals are designed to be a standardized plan on how to keep employees informed of their roles throughout their employment. Businesses can use this engagement to ensure their employees are more successful at their jobs. It can also help new hires more easily adapt to the company culture by addressing many details on how to perform their duties. This document must be tailored for key roles within the organization. Some tips to creating this manual include:

  • Using visual aids to make information sharing easier and understandable
  • Keep content clear and concise. This makes the manual less intimidating and finding answers to common queries easier.
  • Invite contributions from team members on what they feel all employees should know when joining.
  • Make use of FAQs, quizzes, and learning checklists at intervals to enhance comprehension of the material.