For Profits, Manage Your Growth at the Right Pace

 

Entrepreneurs frequently try to rush their business growth. Certainly, growth is great but if you scale too fast, you’re looking for trouble. The key is to prepare.

Note: You aren’t ready to grow if you haven’t developed a business model that will enable you to attract customers – at less cost – than what they pay you.

How do you get there?

Success comes after you develop habits that will help you build your brand, develop sound business operations and successfully deal with people.Habits that lead to success:

1. Develop viable goals. It’s OK to dream long term, but you must develop a foundation for growth with short-term goals. You can alleviate uncertainty with eight best practices.

Think profits, not revenue, in order to create wealth, meaningful jobs and business sustainability. Use the right strategies to create pricing power.

2. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. Socrates is famous for “Know thyself.” He was right. You need to know what you don’t know and plan accordingly. Anticipate challenges. Half of them involve your employees.

So prepare. That includes motivating your staff when you’re facing adversity, delegating, maintaining high morale to propel profits and motivating them to offer profitable ideas.

3. Monitor your improvement. Make the best investment to sustain your career and find a mentor familiar with your sector. With the mentor’s coaching, measure your progress at frequent intervals – each week is ideal – to make certain you’re on schedule.

4. Schedule your time. Many entrepreneurs find themselves trapped into fighting proverbial fires and get easily thrown off track.

By Thursday afternoon, you should know your schedule for the following week. But, of course, allow for flexibility.

5. Network with others. Find a group of people with whom you can trust to share your concerns, problems and goals.

6. Keep learning. Do what you have to do for continuous learning. That might mean voraciously reading, or attending classes and workshops.

7. Be discerning. Don’t chase every opportunity just to make revenue, but be careful before turning down new business.

8. Continually scout for the best talent. Hire enthusiastic people who will complement your talents to help you realize your vision for success. Give particular consideration to hiring key employees and top salespeople.

Once your habits are ingrained, start thinking seriously about growth. Plan to grow your business at the right pace.

Here’s how:

1. Anticipate how your cash burn rate will be affected by growth. Your burn rate is how much money you spend.  Understand how much cash is needed to grow. Learn to manage your inventory costs and continually strive to increase your cash flow. 

2. Use caution in hiring. You’ll need more employees, but beware of the costs – recruiting, hiring, paying and retaining. Consider outsourcing wherever feasible.

3. Plan your milestones. Focus on your goals with pragmatic timelines, and increase enough cash to finance your acceleration and goals.

4. Create the right systems. Make certain to have the right systems in place – from solid operations checklists to financials and debt collection. 

5. Strategize to stay in the black. Because scaling requires cash, know what drives your profit. If you think you’re ready to grow, first anticipate your break-even point. 

From the Coach’s Corner, additional tips:

• When there’s No Cash, 8 Tips to Organically Grow Your Business
• Insights to Grow Your Business by Franchising
• When Should You Develop an Exit Strategy? Now…Here’s How 

“I don’t want to do business with those who don’t make a profit, because they can’t give the best service.”

-Richard Bach

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry. 

 

Best Practices for New Women Entrepreneurs to Stay Focused

 

The keys for business women are to plan well, create the right balance, persevere and have the right support system.

Good news: It isn’t commonly known, but women entrepreneurs inherently have stronger skills than men in key areas. A longtime business advisor associate in Washington state once told me that women are more organized than men in financial and other administrative matters.

However, he cites a typical weakness for many women. Generally, women are too empathetic to customers. That’s according to Neil Delisanti, who retired as a counselor with the Small Business Development Center www.tacomabusinesscenter.org, and as a business professor at University of Puget Sound and The Evergreen State College.

Here are 11 strategic and confidence-building tips:

1. Evaluate your personal and professional talent. This requires the ability to look objectively at your skills and interests.

“Tell women entrepreneurs they’ll encounter major competition,” added Mr. Delisanti. “Advise them to assess their strengths and weaknesses to determine their competitive advantages, and to develop operating strategies.”

As for his latter point, you can find dozens of strategies for operations here.

2. Find a successful woman to mentor you. This will be an important part of your support system. A great mentor is the best investment you can make. Successful people know they can’t hold onto their success if they don’t give away information by sharing.

In the best-selling book, “The Millionaire Mind,” by Dr. Thomas J. Stanley revealed several traits of millionaires. One important statistic from his study of millionaires: They were successful largely thanks to supportive spouses who help in work-related stress.

3. Choose something you love. If you’re passionate about an idea, it won’t feel like work to you. You’ll love waking up to your business operation every day. You’re more likely to strive as much as required for your business to succeed.

But don’t allow paralysis to creep into your analysis. If you have a great idea, don’t get stuck in first gear.

4. Trust your gut instincts but use due diligence. Certainly by now you’ve developed enough strategic information, and you’ve had enough life experiences to make important decisions, especially if you’ve had the competitive advantage of a great mentor. It also helps to keep an open mind.

However, be forewarned: Launching a new business just might be the most challenging experience you’ll ever face. And you’ll encounter a roller coaster ride – there are ups and downs in business, and you’ll have decisions to make.

There are nine dos and don’ts for best decision-making, which  are applicable in three ways: Whether you have difficulty making the best decisions, engage in self doubt after making one, or are gun shy because some of your decisions have failed you.

That often includes when and how to cut costs – so you need to avoid making reactionary decisions.

5. Write a business plan. You don’t want to launch a business without good planning. Depending on your business, you might not have to write a complete business plan. A vision plan will suffice.

You will have to write a business plan if you’re really ambitious and will be seeking funds. Banks don’t lend money for startups and they won’t for existing businesses just to fund their operations expenses. Here’s what no one tells you about raising investment capital.

Perhaps you’ve heard about crowdfunding, which is a vehicle to help entrepreneurs raise money.  However, crowdfunding is remarkably similar to venture capital funding.

Whatever your entrepreneurial dreams, focusing on the right details is a skill conducive for setting goals strategically. However, if you don’t ponder enough on action-oriented details, goals are difficult to achieve. That’s really true in our new economy in which ever-increasing change makes for surprises in a dynamic marketplace. To set goals, you will alleviate uncertainty with eight best practices.

6. Be tightfisted with cash. Cash flow is the dynamic that leads to the failure or success of a business. Whether your new company’s performance is stagnant or you’re growing quickly, cash flow will always be paramount. There are 11 ways to increase your startup’s cash flow.  

It makes sense for you to organically grow your startup. You probably don’t have another choice. In other words, assuming you don’t have an angel investor or you’re not independently wealthy, or are able to purchase an expensive franchise, bootstrapping is your likely remianing option. Here are eight tips to organically grow your business.

7. Learn business budgeting for maximum performance. For entrepreneurs, often the most difficult part of launching a business is preparing financial projections. It may not be the most enjoyable task, but budgeting is imperative for maximizing performance.

“Eight out of 10 companies fail in the first two years due to insufficient cash,” warns esteemed financial consultant Roni Fischer. Check out her budgeting basics for a micro business.

Focus on pricing – don’t make the mistake of trying to sell at the lowest price – you won’t be successful. Know what drives your profit.

8. Stay focused on your niche by targeting the right customers. Learn their needs and wants and provide the right products and services.

But do it economically. Consider the wisdom of Theodore Roosevelt: “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” Note the eight best practices in small business marketing.

9. Build key relationships. Whether you hire someone to perform certain tasks or you buy products to sell or for use in your business, consider such people as “centers of influence.” Spend time in sales and networking to build strong relationships.

They should be part of your strategies to get top results from your marketing plan.

10. Leverage the power of the Internet. As you no doubt know, the digital age has brought new challenges and opportunities. Best practices are critical to optimize your brand and manage your Web reputation.

11. Continually seek ways to be universally known as empathetic. To attract the right attention, look for people who need help. It will require an investment of time but not necessarily cash.

For example, introduce people to help each other or volunteer, and remember two important trends:

• Branding and selling your business as green
• Cause-related marketing can increase sales by double digits

From the Coach’s Corner, more tips:

• Tips for Moms Who Want to be an Entrepreneur from Home
• Communication – You Can Train Yourself to Stop Stressing
• Small Business Tips to Protect Your Bank Accounts
• When Should You Develop an Exit Strategy? Now…Here’s How 

“Innovation distinguishes between a leader and not a follower.”

-Steve Jobs

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

4 Ways to Solve 6 Uncertainties in Project Management

 

Seemingly negative surprises have often been perceived as insurmountable, but that’s not always the situation in project management. By innovatively spotting opportunities in uncertainties, the results often exceed initial expectations in budgeting, quality and scheduling.

That’s the lesson according to an academic report.

“Challenging Classic Project Management: Turning Project Uncertainties into Business Opportunities” was authored by Thomas G. Lechler, Stevens Institute of Technology; Barbara H. Edington, St. Francis College; and Ting Gao, Stevens Institute of Technology. The publisher is the Project Management Journal, vol. 43, no. 6. It was summarized by Booz & Company at strategy-business.com.

The researchers delved into 20 major projects that encountered at least three negative surprises. They ranged in duration from eight months to three years with budgets between $500,000 and $69 million.

More than 50 percent focused on IT or product development.

Others included:

• Business realignment projects
• Clinical trials
• Construction
• Feasibility studies
• Market prediction models
• R&D

Researchers concluded there are six types of surprises to confront:

• Contextual turbulence: external changes set off by shifts in the markets, for example, or new legal or regulatory rules
• Stakeholder fluctuations: shifts in the fortunes of customers, vendors, investors, and others
• Technological uncertainty: factors that can affect the functionality of products in different markets, among other challenges
• Project uncertainty: unrecognized complexities that crop up after a project has started
• Organizational uncertainty: ripple effects from unexpected corporate mergers or spin-offs, for example
• Malpractice: significant deviations from accepted project management standards

According to the authors, project managers evaluated the surprises in these ways: Were they used as positive developments or not? What were the unexploited opportunities?

Sixty percent of the project managers dealt effectively with 75 percent of the surprises for strong results. They “led to a redefinition of a project’s initial baseline,” wrote the researchers. Fifty-eight percent identified positive financial returns.

The benefits included: Spotting new initiatives, developing new process and applying new technologies.

Four types of opportunities

For a “broader range of potential opportunities,” the researches recommend focusing on four groups:

1. Technical innovation. When negative surprises rear their ugly heads, don’t give up. Look for new testing solutions to save money that will also serve as an inexpensive model for future initiatives.
2. Implementation processes. In the event of a surprise, don’t panic. Develop a less-complex method to save money and time. Research showed post-implementation problems decreased by 75 percent.
3. New business. In one case study, a sponsor retired which led to lack of interest in the project. So, the project managers rolled up their sleeves and networked their way to a new sponsor. The new backer facilitated an opening to a larger audience, which meant new business opportunities.
4. Future projects. Once you solve a problem in a department, look for ways to apply the solution in different departments. One of the businesses solved a challenge in implementing software, and used the process for other successes.

Again, the project managers weren’t successful in all cases. For example, one situation lacked a tracking system. A second case led to an unfortunate conclusion because of a surprise merger that resulted in staff duplication of effort.

Senior management’s role

For success, the authors said “exceptional and innovative decisions” necessitate involvement of all stakeholders, especially senior executives.

“In these situations,” wrote the authors, “project managers should take the role of champions and use their communication skills to bring these opportunities to the decision-making level.”

Agreed. It’s important for project managers to manage the boss for better performance.

The researchers also discouraged traditional risk-management thinking by senior managers.

“In situations of uncertainty,” concluded the authors, “the adherence to a baseline that was defined without the knowledge of uncertainty could lead to neglected opportunities, forsaken value opportunities, and consequently the potential for project failure.”

True, there are eight best practices in setting goals to alleviate uncertainty.

Things aren’t always as they seem, so look for ways to benefit from adversity – even the apparent obstacles to success in project management.

From the Coach’s Corner, recommended reading:

• Leadership and Planning Tips for Successful Project Management
• 18 Tips for Productive Behavior to Win in Office Politics
• How You Can Eliminate Destructive Conflict for Better Teamwork

“We will either find a way, or make one.”

-Hannibal

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

Strategies, Precautions When Expanding into a New Market

 

So you see opportunities by expanding into a new market. Whether you’re expanding across town or into a different region, there are risks to anticipate in alleviating any uncertainty.

Even it doesn’t seem risky, due diligence is required and certain precautions are imperative for success.

Here are key reminders to keep in mind:

Do your research. Investigate the culture and buying habits of the prospective customers you desire. Study the competition, local customer sentiments and learn how to attract the best local talent.

Don’t make assumptions without facts. Start by querying anyone you know and trust. Ask for referrals to others with whom to chat.

Repeatedly –test, test and test. Consider all ideas. Examine all nuances in the new market and take precautions to minimize negative surprises.

Create your plan. Develop and implement a strategic action plan.

Keep an open mind. What has worked for you before might not be appropriate now. Instead of starting from scratch, it might be best to acquire an existing business.

Hire local talent. They will know more than you about the market.

Consider legal ramifications. That might include registering your business with taxing authorities, adhering to the regulatory requirements, and complying with environmental factors.

Use an integrated approach. That means local advertising in broadcasting, the Internet, newspapers, public relations and social media. Be sure to identify and partner with community influencers.

Listen. Peter Drucker provided great wisdom: “Arrogance is being proud of ignorance.” Listening is the first step in developing great relationships.

Look for speaking opportunities. Here’s how to get more opportunities as a guest speaker. And be sure to obtain the most profit from speaking opportunities.

Brand your key representatives. Remember fans and customers are greatly influenced by what they perceive about spokespersons and employees.

Remember community involvement. You’ll increase your chances to create fans with community service and participation. Cause-related marketing pays dividends.

Stay focused. Concentrate on your core strengths. When necessary continue to fine tune your approach.

From the Coach’s Corner, avoid 14 key mistakes to win your major marketing campaign and include the marketing plan essentials for best results.

“Stay committed to your decisions, but stay flexible in your approach.”
-Tony Robbins

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

10 Basic Tips — Leadership For Business Profit

 

In the new economy – a former Great Recession that seems to linger and linger – companies will succeed by being a leader in generating capital. Unfortunately, this economy has become a zero sum game for many businesses.

They stay alive by taking market share from their competitors, not by innovating. At some point to dominate the competition, it will be best to create new opportunities for growth.

This will only be accomplished if a company’s culture is positive and every employee acts as a team member. That requires leadership.

For a positive leadership quotient, here’s a quick checklist:

1. Budget time for “blue sky” planning. Imagine how the company can become a market leader.
2. Review your strategic mission and plan, set priorities and communicate them. The biggest single complaint that employers have mentioned to me – their employees fail to see the big picture. Find ways to communicate your values on a regular basis. Explain to employees how their roles contribute to your company’s overall success.
3. Make certain your supervisors know the differences between leaders and managers. Don’t be one of the companies ripe for EEOC complaints.
4. Be authentic. Be open in your communication, create a climate for honesty to deal with mistakes, and listen. Drive clarity and promote accountability. Position yourself to profit from employee respect.
5. Bring your employees together for collaboration. Invite them to contribute their perspectives. It’s amazing how many problems are solved and profits are created by listening to workers – where the “tire meets the road.”
6. Simplify processes. Nurture your employees. Understand their desires, passions and talents. Give them confidence to accept challenge and to reach their full potential. They will propel you and the company upward. Further, remember that there’s a definite link between financial performance and succession planning.
7. Create a fun environment. Keep focusing on the positive.
8. Keep yourself moving forward. Learn the 10 characteristics of a successful CEO.
9. Stretch and grow by understanding how and where you need to mature personally to become a Ninja innovator.
10. Keep fine-tuning your culture. Keep an open mind. Look for ways to evolve and innovate.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are seven tips for a young professional to become a CEO.

“No institution can possibly survive if it needs geniuses or supermen to manage it. It must be organized in such a way as to be able to get along under a leadership composed of average human beings.”

-Peter Drucker

 

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

Lagging Profits? Year-End Is Ideal For Reflection, Planning

 

Year-end is a perfect time for reflection and planning for your business.

Yes, you are busy and overwhelmed. You can’t do much about the negative macro-economic developments but you can do something about your company. Even if you’re a retailer scrambling to make your numbers from holiday sales, it’s fitting that you start reflecting about next year.

Start with an attitude of gratitude – make a gratitude list about what is working well. If you’re still operating as a business, you do have some blessings. Consider your customers, employees, family and close friends. All deserve your gratitude, time and attention.

If you’ve been feeling beleaguered, chances are you’re focusing on the 10 percent that needs correction instead of the 90 percent that’s working well in your professional and personal life. Consider these 23 tips to reduce stress, and work Happier for top performance.

Now that you feel better from a more positive perspective, think about what is needed for a better 2012 – Reflect on your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

If you need a complete turnaround, here are13 steps you can take;  plus, these 12 tips for profits to keep your business dreams alive.

Here are 31 New Year’s Resolutions to Recover from the Great Recession.

Otherwise, consider:

• Start with your role. Have you performed at a high level as a boss? Did you know there are 10 key differences between leaders and managers?
• Finances and cash flow – analyze your profits and expenses. Don’t forget to review your break-even point. Plan to make any needed changes.
• Regarding employees, decide what is needed in performance appraisals, salary reviews, training, and corrective action.
• Check your online customer service reviews. Write responses for negative reviews, but strategize on the internal changes you need to make to prevent more complaints. If you don’t have enough reviews, give an incentive to each of your best customers to take a moment to write a favorable review.
• Identify what you need in technology and make an investment to innovate for profits. That includes a strategy for a Web site update, online mentions and social media – LinkedIn, Facebook, Google+ and Twitter. Get your employees involved.
• If you’re frustrated in looking for new business, soften your approach.

Here’s to your serene holidays and a prosperous New Year.

From the Coach’s Corner, continue to fine-tune your strategies as events occur. But remember to think 1930s for business success. Consumer attitudes are changing. Maybe you should, too.

“I am still determined to be cheerful and happy, in whatever situation I may be; for I have also learned from experience that the greater part of our happiness or misery depends upon our dispositions, and not upon our circumstances.”

- Martha Washington

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

12 Tips for Profits to Keep Your Business Dreams Alive

 

Most businesspeople agree the economy continues to be challenging. Signs of a lingering downturn are everywhere. Business activity is slow. Governments at all levels report low tax revenue and are restructuring, and not spending. Customers want you to cut prices.

With a high level of oversupply in many industries, high unemployment and reduced customer spending, many businesspeople face a highly competitive environment.

To keep your dream alive in this downturn, you must find ways to adapt and do it quickly. That means re-examining business plans, strengthening risk management initiatives, retaining top talent, and making internal changes and restructuring to increase efficiency and profitability – all while looking for new opportunities for growth.

How to improve your business position:

1. Be defensive. Protect your turf by taking the best possible care of your best customers. You can invigorate sales with customer retention strategies. Find out what they think of your company, and make necessary improvements. You might consider jettisoning high-maintenance customers. Upon careful review, you might find they’re not profitable for you. You don’t want to be in a position where you’re just moving money around.
2. Expand your customer base. By surveying your best customers, you’ll probably get some compliments. That’s a perfect opportunity to ask for referrals. Find low-cost ways of rewarding them for referring their associates, relatives and friends to you. Here are sales and networking strategies to build strong relationships.
3. Invest in your future. Keep your productive marketing going. Train your workers. Take advantage of innovations in technology. Consider the 11 strategies to keep your business floating above water.
4. Develop an employee-loyalty program. Make it a fun working environment. Even if you can’t give raises, learn how other businesses are successful in retaining their best employees.  Learn which employees are most-likely to quit. Be transparent with them. Explain your challenges and how they can help, especially in processes and with customers. Note the strategies if a valued employee wants a raise, and money’s tight.
5. Fine-tune your branding. Use the eight best practices in small business marketing. The key to remember – customers want value. Think 1930s for business success. Consumer attitudes are changing.
6. Give back to the community. Did you know that cause-related marketing can increase sales by double digits?
7. Review your pricing strategy. Determine how to get more return on your sales. There are eight simple strategies to give you pricing power.
8. Use best practices in managing your financials. If you’re struggling, here are the step-by-step solutions for a company turnaround.
9. Be creative in your receivables. If collections are a challenge, here’s how to ease debt-collection headaches.
10. If you’re small, make it work for you. Remember size doesn’t matter but image, professionalism count.
11. Do your best for the environment. Eco strategies work with customers. Here’s a checklist for branding, selling your biz as green.
12. Become an innovator. You must constantly evolve. Here’s how successful companies innovate. Once you are running on all cylinders, consider buying your competitors – providing, of course, you can manage them.

From the Coach’s Corner, if you’re really in a survival mode, here’s a six-part series with tips on “Surviving Economic & Industry Downturns” for your Downturn Survival.

“Nobody talks of entrepreneurship as survival, but that’s exactly what it is and what nurtures creative thinking.”

-Anita Roddick

 

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

Do You Want to Be a Ninja Innovator? Here’s How…

 

Every company wants to be successful in this worldwide downturn. But to achieve lofty goals, certainly innovation is the key in our new economy.

To become an innovative leader and to participate in turbo-charging the economy, it’s vital to continually evaluating your organization and strategizing for success. It takes involvement by members of your entire operation, and in most cases cultivating a new culture.

That means identifying your company’s assets, processes, resources and skills.

In a nutshell, here are the main points to consider in your analysis:

Human Resources – Completely review your capabilities in human resources with a focus on your competencies and weaknesses. Determine your abilities to achieve a competitive advantage.

Consider your recruitment process, training and development, and compensation systems.

Assess the strengths and weaknesses of your organizational culture, especially your leadership capabilities.

Products and services – Evaluate your offerings in terms of breadth and mix, quality and reliability.

Marketing – Take a hard look at your image, research, development, distribution channels, brand equity, sales personnel, customer-service quotient and market share.

Query your customers. What are their viewpoints? Evaluate your customer base to see if they meet your goals for growth.

Examine your potential marketplace with a focus on socio-culture – demographic trends and tastes, economic trends from interest rates to inflation.

Operations – Evaluate your productivity, quality controls, facilities, supply chain, technology, information systems, and management strengths and weaknesses.

Financial performance – Keep an eye on profitability. Forecast your revenue growth. Assess your asset utilization, debt-leverage position, liquidity and equity position.

Competition – Compare the missions, strategies, and competitive advantages of the competitors? 

Following your analysis, there are six steps to take. 

Here’s a checklist: 

1. Using your analysis, develop a big-picture strategic action plan.
2. Make sure you have a comprehensive human resources program that encourages collaboration among teams. That means maximum delegation, empowerment, training and succession planning.
3. Encourage blue sky planning sessions.
4. Continually evolve. Leverage the insights of your devil advocates with an eye on your company’s potential. Ask the right open-ended questions for optimal creativity.
5. Practice the “Principle of Contrary Action.” To learn how to keep an open mind, keep a mental note of all your activities but use a different approach each time. For example, even when driving to the neighborhood store, take a different route to-and-from each trip and alter your shopping habits inside the store. Dare to be bold. Consider all alternatives.
6. Keep chipping away.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are related resource links:

• Developing Trends, and Solutions for Manufacturing Success
• Study: Why Lean Manufacturing Principles Often Don’t Work
• Link between Financial Performance and Succession Planning
• Management Strategies for a Successful Turnaround

“When planning for a year, plant corn. When planning for a decade, plant trees. When planning for life, train and educate people.”

-Chinese proverb

 

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

15 Quick Tips for Profitability in the New Economy

 

First, it’s important to accept the facts. The new economy – challenging times – is here to stay.

A business should perform like a championship sports team. That means protecting your turf while aggressively pursuing new opportunities, and making full use of technology.

For new or existing businesses, here’s a checklist of strategies:

1. Evaluate your strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats – including yours, key employees and the mission of your business. Consider a SWOT analysis at every level. You need to understand your talents, and your special niche. 
2. Study your marketplace. Your customers want to anticipate how your products and services will work for them. 
3. Develop a new marketing approach to differentiate your business from your competitors. Design a unique message with a minimum of five value propositions, a branding slogan and logo that demonstrates value. Use the right verbiage. Increasingly, customers favorably respond to words that connote security, convenience, good, new, proven, results, community involvement and green or environmentally safe. 
4. Write a vision plan, strategic action plan or a business plan, which is even better. Determine clear, pragmatic goals and how you will achieve them for the short and long term. 
5. Get the right advice. At the least, get a mentor who is successful and understands your business. Additionally, a network of business advisors will work. 
6. Monitor your expense and eliminate unnecessary costs. 
7. Leverage the insights of financial, legal and insurance professional, whom you can trust. 
8. Determine where your most profitable customers are. Get to know and understand their concerns and needs. Provide exemplary service. 
9. Recruit and hire the best talent. Look for attitude, education and soft skills. Pay them well. Be mindful of their lifestyles and family concerns. 
10. Continually look for multiple revenue streams and new product lines that make sense for your business. 
11. Don’t become a low-price leader. Be careful in using loss-leader pricing, and remember coupons only attract price-conscious customers. They will not be loyal and become repeat customers. 
12. Be pro-active, which means doing the footwork, and making old-fashioned cold calls. 
13. Nurture your relationships by sending greeting cards, thank you notes, special offer notifications, and an occasional visit or phone call to just chat and not sell. 
14. Make certain your small business voice is heard – vote, and make your business concerns known to lawmakers. 
15. Develop a succession plan and exit strategy, especially if you’re approaching retirement. 

From the Coach’s Corner, here are more resource links:

• 10 Scholarly Solutions for Selling More Products
• Marketing Essentials on a Shoestring Budget
• Management and HR for higher performance

“If your goal is anything but profitability – if it’s to be big, or to grow fast, or to become a technology leader – you’ll hit problems.”

 -Michael Porter

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

Consultants / Service Firms: Why Hourly Billing Isn’t Best

 

One of the first lessons I learned in business-performance consulting was to sell results, not my time.

During the tail end of the 1990 recession, I had purchased a five-year-old print-marketing firm. Quickly, I realized I was overlooking opportunities for growth. My newly acquired company soon evolved into a full-service management consulting firm, which I incorporated into a vision plan.

Technically, it didn’t become a pure consulting firm, it was more of a hybrid – consulting and management services. Some clients required more than my advice and information. They needed some heavy lifting.

Here’s a case study:

One of my early clients was a big office-furniture retailer, which grew too big without proper planning. We did the retailer’s print-marketing projects, but in client meetings after the owner complained bitterly to me about his sales staff, I offered to set up a sales-management program.

It was an highly chaotic situation. The whole sales and customer-service culture had to be fixed.

Initially, my outsourcing services were labor intensive as the sales staff was dysfunctional, and it got away with a lot of nonsense, which was hurting profits.

For example, salespeople were desperate to make sales to indecisive customers. Often, a salesperson arranged for free delivery of an eight-foot mahogany conference-room table to the customer’s business for a 30-day trial look-see – without payment or any safeguards for the retailer. Half the time, the table was returned – with a big scratch. The sales-opportunity costs were enormous.

Therefore, in addition to showing the client how to conduct meetings, I literally had to provide ethics, communication, sales and management training.

Valuable lessons

But I quickly learned I hadn’t initially set boundaries with the client.

After solving the major issues – getting his staff to work better – I was anxious to turn my attention to other clients. But my client was so accustomed to my being there every day, he expected it indefinitely.

He also didn’t understand why I only trained and advised him so he didn’t have to fire anybody, which would have increased his payroll even higher. He didn’t get why I didn’t have legal authority and why I always used my own materials.

So, the lessons prompted me to use a different upfront process – to sell results with benchmarks, to train the client about how I deliver results, and to explain how I’m paid and the timeline to expect.

It’s a relationship that requires trust by both parties.

To facilitate the relationship-building process, I changed my focus with strategies to build trust with clients.

Businesspeople want strong results that include:

• Efficiency
• Information
• Innovation
• Objectivity
• Productivity

This means projects are completed on schedule, within budget, and with measurable results.

To be able to accomplish such objectives, I had decided against hourly billing – I had to charge enough for my time to cover my business expenses, but some prospective clients had sticker shock from hourly rates.

Sometimes, the prospective client didn’t value some services as others. They thought I should provide them with a multi-tiered billing depending on the services. I had to get it ingrained in my mind that my time, consideration and energy were just as valuable whether I was training a class, mentoring one-on-one or writing advertising copy. All services had the same value.

Value pricing

So unless it was a big prospect who insisted on hourly billing, I began to talk to each prospect about investing in projects for strong results. I saved a ton of grief and time by charging retainers. I began to work off the retainer without nickel-and-diming clients for miscellaneous charges. Only on occasion would I bill for miscellaneous expenses, after getting approval in advance.

In contrast, professional service firms like hourly billing. They use software to track time. Candidly, if I hired a CPA or attorney, I insisted on knowing in advance what their total charges would be. I had heard horror stories. For example, the timer wouldn’t be stopped when the professional ducked into the lunchroom for a cup of coffee or took a phone call – or the hourly increments would be rounded up.

Further, whether I was hiring a professional-service firm or quoting a project fee, I wanted the focus to be on the work at-hand. I didn’t want to hire someone to get paid for tracking their time. As a consultant, most businesses have never hired me unless they had challenges they couldn’t solve. So I wanted to spend my time on providing results, not watching the clock.

In other words, my reputation depended on my ability to prevent negative surprises, so I’ve always offered value-pricing based on a retainer. Oh, and I stopped spending my valuable hours on penning proposals. The prospect and I will chat about the situation, and I’ll present a short letter of agreement, but I won’t incur any sales-opportunity costs to write proposals.

Remember, clients don’t want to pay for your time.

From the Coach’s Corner, here are 60 ground rules for effective client service.

“Hiring consultants to conduct studies can be an excellent means of turning problems into gold; your problems into their gold.”

-Norman R. Augustine

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Author Terry Corbell has written innumerable online business-enhancement articles, and is a business-performance consultant and profit professional. Click here to see his management services. For a complimentary chat about your business situation or to schedule him as a speaker, consultant or author, please contact Terry.

 

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