Attracting more business

Attracting more business

Despite an eventful year 2009 with Financial Crisis, Recession, Scams, Ups & Downs of Financial Markets, we saw GROWTH also in 2010

A Common resolution for every year would definitely be: “Attracting more business” and being much more successful


Let’s see, what we can target for greater business:

• Work out who is your target market. If you have a niche by industry, location or demographic, you can be very specific in your marketing.

• Develop a large database, it will be crucial for successful marketing and lead generation.

• Never stop marketing. No matter how busy or how successful you are at any point in time, systematically market on a consistent basis. Let me repeat: especially when you're busy.

• Do not prospect for business. Cold calling is for chumps and is an utter waste of time, energy and self-esteem.

• Promote how good you are via the results your clients achieve. Use case studies.

• Test your pricing points

• Service existing clients well enough and invest enough time in developing yourself even if you are too busy doing "work".

• Invest in your People - it's hard to find exceptional people, and even harder to ensure they stay with you

Let’s go ahead with more profitable business

Strategies for Success: It's a matter of Marketing

Strategies for Success: It's a matter of Marketing

It's December 2009 and we need to be convinced of what we will be doing right in 2010. There are two things we need to concern ourselves with in regards to marketing:

• Position - How is the product, Service, Company or Individual 'positioned' in the market?

• Generating Business Leads - Generating enquiries from proactive methods so that people seek you out.

You generate enquiries to create the potential of transforming those enquiries into sales.

Sales has two components which impact upon our business:

• Process - What are the sequential steps that happen after an enquiry is generated?

• Conversion - What percentage of those enquiries translate into real business?


Under each of the four areas above, there are a many techniques, tools and strategies you can employ:


Positioning

• Pricing strategies

• Branding

• Uniqueness

• Public relations

• Newsletters

• And more ...

Generating Leads

• Networking

• Referrals and recommendations

• Teleseminars & teleconferences

• Public speaking & seminars

• Direct mail and email

• And more ...

Sales Process

• Managing the database

• Qualifying leads

• Using a sales coordinator

• Pipeline management

• Following up immediately on leads

• And more ...

Conversion

• Purposeful proposals

• Consultative selling style

• Focus on the client's wants and needs

• Follow-up

• Ask for the business

• And more ...

What have we done? What needs to be done? Will we do it? When?

The New Years are known for new, renewed and refreshed agenda, resolutions, strategies etc… 2009 is not going to be any different from 2010.


It’s not the New Year that work wonders but our new, renewed and refreshed thinking, where we pause, visualize the positive outlook, and move ahead to hope a brighter future


Never stop Marketing. No matter how busy or how successful you are at any point in time, systematically market on a consistent basis.

Let me repeat: especially when you're busy

Strategic Success by Eliminating Execution Failures

Strategic Success by Eliminating Execution Failures

Almost without reservation, businesses have had to face one of their most difficult times in modern history due to the Global Financial Crisis. And, politicians have never had it so easy to explain away inadequate performance.

Now is the time for organisations to be seriously setting their future strategy for 2010-2013. Setting strategy is neglected by many business owners and CEOs because execution failures have given the process of a negative stigma.

Through observation of many organizations around the world over many years, the most frequent and obvious reasons for failure are identified below. Avoid these mistakes and you will be far more successful.

1) Where's your research? Numerous times while consulting to organizations, we find that the most current research on their target markets, customers, competitors, suppliers and alike, are out of date or even worse, doesn't exist. Obtaining factual research for your planning is vital. To not get it, can be fatal.

2) Failing to challenge the data. Be certain to carefully question and debate the conclusions you draw from the data collected. Imperfect analysis will be just as harmful to your strategy as inaccurate data. Build your strategy on firm ground.

3) Not enlisting the best people. Leaders must recruit the best and most appropriate people for strategic projects and for strategy execution. Not infrequently, I've witnessed managers nominate names for a strategic project that were obviously inadequate. The reason being those managers don't want to take their best people out of the field or off the floor. Strategy is too important not to afford the best people.

4) Lacking Involvement. Strategy is always best served when created in consultation with the people who have to execute. Having the CEO/business owner in a closed room with the CFO and a consultant write a strategic plan and then disseminate this to the management team is destined for disappointment. Involve those that matter such as: sales, warehousing, distribution, HR, IT, accounts, and marketing in the process. There is an enormous depth of talent already residing in your organisation.

5) Too little for too many. Having too many initiatives on the board at any one time will dilute attention and the propensity for success. Move a few things forward a mile rather than a thousand things forward an inch. Prioritize your strategic projects. If there are not three "stand-outs" to focus on, brainstorm some better ideas!

6) Resource-lack. All execution plans for strategic initiatives must necessarily include specific resource details. Resources such as: people, time, infrastructure, capital equipment and money. The resource details need to be explicit, encompass all relevant business units and the managers of those units must have buy-in prior to launch.

7) Mis-alignment. Get everyone personally behind the corporate objective. Having developed a purposeful pricing strategy for a new service or product offering is not assisted by sales people who are pitching discounts in the marketplace. This is not the fault of the sales team or their manager. It is witnessed that this is happening because sales bonuses are paid without considering the consequences on the strategic initiative.

8) Mis-communication. Or even worse, no communication. People tell how they admire leaders who share the vision and paint a picture for the future. Communicate with clarity, passion and sincerity the strategic initiatives to everyone, regularly.

Side bar: Bullet points in the company newsletter doesn't cut it!

9) Failure to check the instruments. Good pilots understand that even though they have submitted their flight plan, run the pre-flight checks, taken-off in the right direction and have engaged the auto-pilot, they must diligently check their instruments to ensure that the flight is proceeding as planned and on course to reach their destination.

Leaders in business need to constantly check and measure progress. Review the strategy monthly or quarterly with management and ensure that milestones are being met along the way

10) Unwillingness for the 3 A's. Adopt - Adapt - Accept. Shift happens, change is constant and you must be agile in coping with this.

Adopt a philosophic mentality where you cope with the reality that from time to time the best laid plans go awry. Uncontrollable events intervene in the successful achievement of your goals.

Adapt to the environment and accept a new set of challenges by modifying your strategy.

11) Uncommitted leadership. When the owner/CEO places the bound strategic plan in the bookshelf, so does the team.

Strategic initiatives must be passionately driven from the bridge by the captain in charge of the controls. You must be so convinced of the strategy that it is obvious to everyone you are committed to it and you will maintain persistent focus until it's successful.

Strategy Formulation - Know Your End Results

Strategy Formulation - Know Your End Results

The process of strategic planning, is not that difficult so long as you have the right people coming together, to achieve the same objective, with the mission as the basis for the appropriate questioning by the facilitator.

The results of applying the process of strategy formulation are:

A clear statement of strategy that can be easily retained
A shared understanding and commitment among top managers to this common direction
A vehicle for communicating strategy throughout the organisation
An approach to implementing and managing the strategy
A basis for simplifying and managing long-range an short-range planning
An understanding of the strategy process that can be re-applied
Sometimes, few strategic misconceptions get in the way.

The obvious one is: "Return/Profit must be our Driving Force. That's why we're in business."

Profit is essential, no doubt. Profit is also a key indicator of success by which organisations measure their effectiveness. But it may not necessarily be your Driving Force.

3M has long been known for its excellence in management and high profit earnings. But Return/Profit is not it's Driving Force; Innovation and Products Offered is.

Coca-Cola is known for its worldwide marketing capability, but this is not its Driving Force; Products Offered is.

Gillette has been very successful and continues to make generous profits and generate substantial revenues. But its Driving Force is its Markets Served.

New strategy brings with it, the thrust for future business development, such as taking your current products (or services offered if you are a PKF - Professional Knowledge Firm) in your current markets and injecting them into Extended Markets and even New Markets.

Review the current markets that you are serving and introduce modifications of your existing products and completely new products.

This is what will then drive the Return/Profit for your organization

Are you prepared to succeed?

If your voice mail greeting is longer than 20 seconds, or offers more than two menu choices, you may confuse yourself with multiple choices. Keep it simple.

There's rarely a legitimate reason not to return a phone call in 24 hours or an email within 48 hours. You can have an automatic email notice if you are away for prolonged periods, but a laptop is not a luxury, it's a business necessity.

Refuse to panic. Because a prospective client has not gotten back to you does not mean that you should contact them with a reduced fee, a cheaper alternative, or an offer to check the oil and tyres. Retain your dignity and be willing to walk away from work. Rejection isn't personal. They reflect those buyers who were too dumb to appreciate your value. Don't belittle yourself. Find smarter clients.

If you're not efficient with words while working, the chances are you're not efficient with prospective buyers either.

Move a few things forward a mile rather than a thousand things forward an inch. We all have limited time and energy ... and attention spans. Prioritise your top projects and drive them forward relentlessly. It's about success not perfection.

Have you fulfilled your Mission?

How many times have you heard: "We tried that 10 years ago and it didn't work"?

But you know that if they applied your advice in the way you propose that it would work because it works for your other clients. But this prospective buyer's mindset is holding them back because:

It's a strongly held belief in their mind
It really feels true to them
There is an attachment to that belief because they identify with it
And, disagreeing with them frequently triggers negativity and even animosity
Their mindset correlates with both actions and avoidance
When some of the clients are suggested to increase their fees, we get the same responses:

"We can't raise our rates in this economy."
"We prefer to be mid-stream with our competitors on rates."
"If we raise our fees we will lose business to our competitors."
Mindsets (not circumstances) shape performance and results. Everything you experience is based upon your mindset. Thoughts, opinions, attitudes, innovation, the lot.

Do you have a restrictive mindset or an expansive mindset?

An expansive mindset sees new possibilities and opportunities. An expansive mindset is not defensive but curious, interested in how to make things happen. Better performance and results come from an expansive mindset.