Posted by SteveSmith on June 8, 2010 under Business Coaching, Management | 
Most business owners today aren’t happy with the amount of revenue their business is generating. They’re working longer hours, applying greater effort, spending more for marketing and receiving lower revenue. So what’s going on?
If this is happening to you, it’s important to remember that those results are in direct proportion to the actions you’ve been taking? If you want different results, then you MUST take different actions.
So if that’s all that’s required, why don’t business owners just do that? The answer may shock you. They can’t stop repeating their past patterns of behavior. Their past patterns have become ingrained into their subconscious mind and have established themselves as habits.
How This Works:
Have you ever listened to art experts accurately identify a recently discovered painting as belonging to a specific artist such as Rembrandt? How can they tell who painted that picture? Patterns… that’s how. Even though the painting may look completely different than all the others that artist painted, his or her patterns, sometimes referred to as their “style,” continuously comes through with each and every painting.
The exact same thing happens to business owners as well. All of us have been mentally conditioned to perform our daily activities in a certain way. These activities have become habits through constant and daily repetition. The problem is that the majority of these habits… more than 80% of them… are non-productive. They simply don’t contribute to the generation of revenue for your business.
Imagine Your True Potential!
Imagine what would happen to your revenue if you could reduce that 80% down to 60%. If you replaced that 20% with revenue producing activities, you would DOUBLE your income? Do you know how easy it is to reduce that 80% down to 60%… or even down to 40%… which doubles revenue again? Exciting, isn’t it?
So, what is the cost to you and your business if you fail to change this behavior? What if you could devote more time and take action on more revenue producing tasks?
What if you could remove the mental barriers that may be sabotaging your success?
What if you could get laser-focused on your highest revenue -producing activities?
How can you learn to do all of this? Join me on my upcoming webinar ‘Change Your Game in 2012’ and have your best year ever! I’m going to show you what to look for that’s holding you back and preventing you from having the kind of business success you truly deserve. I’m also going to show you how to establish a systematic way of running and growing your business so 2012 doesn’t end up being a repeat of 2011!
Why am I doing all this and not charging for it?
My past 25 years of management, marketing and sales in some of America’s most successful companies has given me a wealth of experience (and hard knocks) on how to effectively and profitably build a business and sharing it with committed business owners is the least I can do to support the small business community.
If you want to participate, simply follow this link http://bit.ly/ChangeYourGamein2012 and register. I can only accommodate a certain number of people, so sign up today. Additionally, you will receive my e-book on the 17 tops ways to grow your business just for registering for the webinar.
Originally posted 2011-12-16 00:27:54. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Posted by PeterMitchell on under Uncategorized |
As a consultant to businesses, I used to ask for a referral at the end of each project when I was finishing work with that particular client. This always gave me a fair number of referrals to contact people that they were prepared to recommend me to. Now I have adopted a completely different strategy which has produced a much better result. It goes like this. On my first meeting with a prospective customer after I have list listened long and hard and got all the information that I require, I launch into this sort of script. “Mr. Prospect, I was interested to note that you heard from me from Mr. Brown and he gave you my number. Would you be interested in finding out how I have operated my businesses successfully for the last 30+ years with out any expensive advertising? “ Normally the answer is positive.
“I get clients through word-of-mouth using a nontraditional method. At the beginning of the relationship with the prospective client just like the situation with you, I explain that we don’t advertise and rely totally on referrals. Every subsequent meeting I have with the client I bring up the subject of referrals in a positive manner. On the bottom of my proposal to them, I include the fact that we get 97% of their business through referrals. This is repeated on our literature and on our invoices . During our relationship, I find that I get referrals from this existing client on a regular basis. My record is 12 referrals over a 10 month period. Of the 12 referrals 9 prospects signed us up for work.” Basically, what I’ve done is to set some expectations for referrals, it’s as simple as that. For more valuable business information of this sort go to PL Michell.com
Originally posted 2010-06-10 07:33:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Posted by SteveSmith on under Business Coaching, Marketing |
When we think of finding and attracting customers, we tend to think of the relationship from our own perspective. 
After all, it’s what we offer that makes them want to do business with us, right? Wrong! Consumers today have more choices of whom to do business with and what to select from than ever before. And with everyone holding on to their money so tightly these days, the usual marketing approaches have become mostly ineffective when it comes to attracting customers that want what you have and are willing to pay you your asking price.
Attracting Customers is an Age Old Problem:
Since commerce began, entrepreneurs and business owners have resorted to a variety of sales tactics and promotional gimmicks to lure potential customers to their place of business. Not surprisingly, consumers eventually figure out these methods and become indifferent to offers of special discounts, creative pricing strategies, frequent shopper programs, and other limited time offers. Add to this, the sheer number of merchants doing the same thing and you have a consumer that grows numb because they simply don’t see the need to purchase or feel they really want what you sell at the time you want to sell it.
Viewpoint is a Big Part of the Problem when attracting customers:
Small business owners are a proud and resilient bunch! Most have worked very hard and sacrificed enormously to have the business that many times bares their name, regardless if it’s deemed a success or not. They therefore, tend to view all reasons for doing business with them from their point of view: ‘We’re honest’; ‘We’ve been in business 30 years’; ‘Our customers love us’: ‘We have the lowest prices’, etc., etc. While all these statements may be true, they have little effect on enticing people to decide to patronize a particular business. The reason? All these statements are features that benefit the business owner. As an example, ‘We have the largest selection anywhere’, doesn’t speak to anything in particular that a customer may really want.
It comes down to Wants vs. Needs:
When I meet with new business owners, I typically ask them what they do and who their ideal client is. Most will tell me that ‘anyone’ can use their service or ‘everyone’ needs what they have. Here’s reality. Not everyone wants what you have to sell. In fact, people will buy what they really want before they buy what they need. And since ‘Wants’ are driven by emotions, trying to sell people with general feature based statements will not move anyone to purchase anything.
Attracting customers requires understanding how they make decisions:
In the face of numerous choices, people will do one of two things. They either defer the decision all together because
they are too overwhelmed with choices to consider or they will find something specific to make the decision on. What they choose as a differentiation point is unique to what is important to them. For some, it could be convenience; for others it could be variety. But for all, there has to be a specific reason for selecting one business over the next when multiple businesses serve the same purpose. In the event that none of the choices have any particular benefit that the consumer values and the consumer ‘needs’ to make a choice- i.e. a non emergency repair, they will most likely focus on price as all choices appear to be the same.
Marketing to the masses is a huge waste of time and resources:
If you are one of the Fortune 500, you can afford to advertise to the world. Often times, these companies are working on brand or company image. Other times, it’s a simple matter of staying visible as in the case of Coke vs. Pepsi. Here is a factoid that will make your hair curl; it takes approximately $100 million to establish a national brand in the US today. The small businesses that are successful in today’s sea of marketing overload have focused on a particular niche. Niche marketing does not have to be geographically based. In fact, the more specific your client profile is and the better you match up to them with a unique offering they value, the more profitable you will be.
There is no major pill for attracting customers in today’s marketplace:
Like any proven method, successfully attracting customers requires a systematic approach that clearly focuses on what you do that is unique and the benefit your customers will receive by doing business with you. They will buy what they want well before they buy what they need so marketing to their ‘wants’ trumps broad-based advertising every time. They will buy from you if they see a clear reason why you are a better choice than your competition. People are not just looking for products and services, they are looking for solutions. Show them that what you have is the perfect solution for what they want and you’ll never have to ‘sell’ again!
It’s an investment worth making:
If this kind of strategic marketing approach has not been something you’ve thought about or feel you can implement for your own business, get help from a professional small business advisor, preferably one that concentrates on marketing strategy. The investment will far exceed the time and money you could waste trying to figure it out on your own. And when it comes to opportunity costs (the revenue you are not getting now because of what you are not doing to get it) doing the same things over and over is not a successful way to attract the customers you really want.
Originally posted 2010-04-22 18:42:08. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Posted by Cash Miller on under Accounting, Business Planning, Management |
Running a small business often involves creating a number of different plans and projections to see where you plan to go and how you’re going to get there. But an often overlooked method of planning is what is sometimes termed as revenue planning. To help explain what I’m talking about I’ll start off by telling you what revenue planning is not. It is not financial forecasting and it is not an estimate of future cash flow. Revenue planning is in a category all by itself.
Now I’ll explain what revenue planning is at least as I see it and to make it easy I’ll provide an example. At one time I ran a manufacturing business that catered to the needs of casino’s and restaurants in Las Vegas, Nevada. We had a large established clientele with a constantly evolving work schedule. At any one time we had dozens of job orders that needed to be fullfilled. Being that I am a very visual person I have always used multiple white boards to help me keep track of things. If it’s in front of my face I’m less likely to forget something. Typically I had 3 or 4 white boards always hanging on the walls of my office and one of them was always dedicated to my monthly revenue.
Every month I had two number I worried about the most. The total value of the work orders we had lined up and the amount we actually were able to bill or clients by the end of the month. The first number told me if we had enough work lined to reach our sales goals and the second was our finals sales for the month based on work we had completed. The first number though represented our revenue plan.
So our revenue plan was the total amount of potential billings we had for a certain period of time and also where the work was coming from. On my white board I would write our monthly goal at the top. Underneath I would list each client that we had a work order from and the amount in dollars of work we were projected to do for them and at the bottom would be the total of projected work we had lined up. This was a running total that would usually change on a daily basis. But what it always told me was how much our final sales for the month could be if we stayed on schedule.
This was our revenue plan or revenue projection. For a manufacturing or service business it can be a good way of keeping track of your potential billings. You set your monthly, quarterly or yearly goal and then you see if you can determine exactly where the sales are going to come from. If you’ve been in business for a couple of years and have an established clientele then you’ll have an idea of how much each client spends with you each year. This information will help you project your revenue using solid figures and not just assumptions.
For myself this was always a worthwhile exercise as it helped me make sure we stayed on track and we were more easily able to hit the goals we had set for the business.
When revenue planning ask yourself a couple of questions.
1. What is my goal financiallt for the month, quarter, or year?
2. What work orders do I already have lined up?
3. How much is each of my customers worth?
4. How many of these work orders can we reasonably expect to fulfill during the current month?
5. And how much is my current work load worth?
Trust me when I say that this little exercise will help you tremendousley when it comes to hitting the financial goals you have set for the business.
Originally posted 2010-04-08 05:44:12. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
Posted by SteveSmith on under Business Coaching, Marketing |
This week, I met with 2 very determined business owners that could not understand why their company was not making money. The bad news was showing signs of trouble for almost a year, yet they forged on continuing to do the things they had always done. When I asked them why, they told me that their ‘hope’ was if they ‘waited’ long enough, the economy would turn around and lift their business to profitability. As they sat in front of me, however, they were now faced with closing down if things did not get better in the next 2 months.
TWO MONTHS! They waited almost 12 months thinking that what they were doing was enough to right the ship. Now as they are taking on water, they decide to reach out and get the help they need in hopes that it is not too late.
Our latest economic typhoon is not the first our country has ever experienced and it won’t be the last. In terms of severity, it definitely has been rough. Just about all mainstream businesses have been hit with declining revenues, loss of customers and a steady stream of financial blood oozing out of the front door. Not every business, however, is doing poorly. The fact remains, over 90% of all small businesses fail before their 5th year in business regardless of the economy. It’s not what you think you know that keeps you moving forward, it’s what you take action on.
In my role as a small business coach, I see this scenario played out over and over. Business owners that do not engage in the most effective revenue generating activities, i.e. sales and marketing will eventually lose to those that do. But it is not necessary that you know how to do they things well, just that you realize you need to do them. My two acquaintances had never stopped to think that because they really did not need to market themselves 5 years ago, they could get away with it today. Indeed, the business owners who have always participated in marketing now find themselves totally confused by the changes in the marketplace and the way to effectively market them.
So why do so many people who clearly need the help and are losing money every month that they don’t get the help, so willing to wait in hopes that things improve on their own! It has to do with ‘gradual decline’. When your circumstances change rapidly, the shock will usually get you to take action to rectify the problem- ex. your house catches fire! But when the change comes on slowly, people tend to acclimate to the change while they ponder what to do about it. Sometimes the problem goes away; sometimes you perish with the problem.
Growing any business requires a strategy. Everything you do needs to be clearly defined, well thought out and focused on specific goals that deliver the results you want. If this is not your strength or you find that the game has changed so much that you no longer know what to do, don’t ‘wait’ and ‘hope’ for the surroundings to change- initiate the change yourself.
Let’s put in terms that most business owners understand. Let us say that 2 years ago, your business was pulling in $20,000 per month on average. However, over the last 18 months, the monthly declines have now put your business at $12,000. You are losing $8,000 each month. This is actually very common right now. What would you do or spend to get that $8,000 back? If you knew your business was capable of doing $20,000 a month and there were similar businesses doing this much, how long would you wait to start working your way back to the level you once had?
You can also make the case that with some business segments going away; you may have new opportunities for growth. If you think that are opportunities to grow by $10K to $20K per month, would you be willing to get some help to get there?
It all depends on what you want and what you are willing to put up with if you can’t figure it out on your own. One of the biggest growth industries today is adult education. Displaced workers and managers are spending thousands of their own dollars to get more education in ‘hopes’ of landing a job. Business owners who are struggling now should be doing the same thing to maximize the business investment they have worked so hard to create.
If ’Hope’ and ‘Wait’ are part of your current business strategy, stop and think about what it’s getting you. Then, take some action and get the help you need. The investment will do wonders for the equity in your business.
Originally posted 2010-04-21 03:24:09. Republished by Blog Post Promoter
