What goes around comes around

We want to save the world don’t we? Of course, I mean we all do the green talk and the save the planet speak and make noises about conservation and stuff...and then we carry on in our own little world doing basically jack to help!

And it’s hardly surprising really when our so called leaders are so blatant in their double standards...a G8 summit to tackle developing nations problems – amongst them hunger, and they squander thousands of pounds on a 13 course sumpptious banquet! Or our own dear government that is talking green and adding all sorts of psuedo green taxes on ‘gas guzzling’ vehicles – but then in it’s infinite wisdom even considering the re-opening of a colliery in the north of England!

We get a wave of public opinion that says “save the planet, cut carbon emissions and look at renewable energy sources” but then protests everywhere around the country saying “no wind farm in my backyard”!

I hope you’ve had a great summer and are now planning your sales and marketing activity for the rest of the year.

One of the highlights of my summer has been the Olympics. Why? Because, there’s no better example of how the human spirit can overcome pain, disappointment and disadvantage to achieve phenomenal success.

Let's not have anymore bad news

TV and Media are creating a slowdown because they are persistently promoting bad news. They only print and show news stories that are of a negative nature. Lets lobby together and get some good news broadcasted.

Here is a link to a good news story: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/olympics/article4380551.ece

Lets spread the good news, send us your good news stories.

Salty Oats

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink, right? Wrong. You CAN! All you’ve got to do is make the horse thirsty. So how do you do that? Simple – just put salt in its oats.

If you’re wondering why your latest advert or sales letter didn’t get much response, ask yourself this: “Did I give my potential customers the water or the salty oats?” Chances are it was the water.

Now, if your customers don’t think they’re thirsty, absolutely nothing will get them to drink - so you need to find out what makes them thirsty.

To do that you need to understand more about them. You need information about their business and knowledge of their issues and problems. It will take time and effort to gather this data and it won’t always be easy – but you CAN do it!

Then, once you know their thirst points, you can start adding the salt. And then guess what will happen? When you finally offer that wonderful ice-cold water i.e. your product or service, they’ll be more than ready to drink.

Who's fault is it?

What would happen if you entered a competition and didn’t win a prize for your entry fee?

What about if you went into a purchase arrangement and thought you’d got the deal of a lifetime ( but honestly deep inside you feel it’s too good to be true)…and then found out that it didn’t quite end up as the deal of a lifetime, in fact you’d been ripped off slightly!

Or have a drive in a rather exuberant manner along a country lane and as you were going too fast you lose it on a muddy corner and ‘ditch’ your car?

You see for many amongst us our ‘common sense’ first comment would be “Oh well never mind”, ‘daft bugger, learn your lesson’ or similar…but is that the case in today’s legislative environment. Is it true that there is such a thing as common sense?

In the Name of Progress

We developed fancy food processing that prolonged the shelf life of foods and made foods look just glossy and perfect and ‘shopper friendly’ and we pack things into cans and add chemicals that all are supposedly harmless in the quantities deployed …but the scientists who first tested smoking said it was harmless because the ingredients were of so low a level that no harm could be caused. ….but we now see that that was blatantly wrong and it is killing us by the hundreds of thousands and half killing millions more.

Could it be that we are in danger of seeing the same type of thing emerge in the future of such food processing questions?

I don’t know about you but I am really disillusioned about many of our so called leaders. In theory we are supposed to be lead by men of honour who lead with principles and guide us along the twisty path of truth and righteousness towards a better tomorrow. In reality we have a bunch of two faced cheats who live by the motto “do as I say don’t do as I do”.

In USA we see a state governor campaigning for years alongside presidential candidates about cleaning up the city and war on vice…who is then found out to be investing his hard earned cash in some dubious nocturnal pursuits with ladies of ill repute. In Africa we have a reign of corruption, swindle, land theft and everything that goes with it blatantly supported by our own government -Mugabe is a criminal who it appears the British government wish to allow to remain in power, AND then here at home God Bless our speaker in the commons who has only had to make do with a meagre £1.7million over the last couple of years to decorate his home!! Most of us would love a £1.7million home worthy of that sort of repair!! Not forgetting of course our ‘honest to goodness on your side serving the community and stand up for what is right’ average politician who manages only to pass off a hundred grand a year on much needed expenses!! Bless them!

We’re being lead by a bunch of self absorbed dual standard hypocritical sharks!!!
Ok that might be a bit harsh…sharks deserve better!

Shell and British Gas announce record profits!

British Gas announced that they were going to rise prices by 35% and on the same day declare record profits. Who’s lining their pockets? You see, I don’t mind anybody making a profit, in fact, that’s exactly what I stand for. Profit is good. The wonderful thing about our free enterprise system is that we all have the opportunity one day to become like British Gas.

The thing that gets me, British Gas, for the last 2 years we have had to put up with energy price hikes because of some “spin” telling us about shortages of oil or the cost of exploration or some other balony. Then we find that a company that takes all this extra money off us is really just banking it and taking all the extra profits. Now that pisses me off!! Make profit, that’s fine and good, but don’t do it on the back of half baked excuses and political spin.

A link to the ITN website with the story is: http://itn.co.uk/news/01a5da5adea08b668194a9c46af890f3.html

HInts and Tips

This last month with the ‘credit crunch’ and the ‘slow down’ being main topics of news media it is very possible that our focus on the future has taken a slide south. Unsurprisingly there is then a ripple of more negatives when the topics of more conversations become ‘slow down’ and ‘possible recession’. So, here’s an idea…every time you hear someone begin to talk about a slow down or you hear yourself mention credit crunch ripples as possible reasons why you aren’t buzzing with new sales around your offices…try immediately switching the conversation to the opportunity that each slow down presents.

It is in fact true that many millionaires are made in the slower periods of so called recession. They say “one man’s meat is another man’s poison” and it’s also true that when one industry slides others can boom. So try asking “what can we benefit from as others slow down?” Ask questions that stimulate a fresh perspective of thought instead of allowing dwelling on negatives. It is so simple and many might ridicule – but the truth is that it is the simple things that we all can do but most don’t that makes the difference between winners and also-rans. Success is often about looking for opportunity not just waiting for it to come marching up to you and ask your involvement. So if you have a questioning attitude then looking is more natural.

Indeed think about it…if there is a shortage of something someone makes lots of money supplying that which is deemed to be in short supply...supply and demand scenario. Take this principle then and expand it by asking “What might people be ‘short’ of that we can give to them to benefit us?” If there is a slow down that means people need to make all of their resources count…so instead of allowing them to say no to your offer because they are holding back, twist the offer of yours into a MUST have because your offer will prove to be invaluable when there is a slow down and money needs to be conserved. Your offer in fact conserves money doesn’t it? Your offer actually helps them doesn’t it? Indeed far be it that you allow them to walk away surely when things get tough that is all the more reason to justify investing in your product or service?

Obviously every product or service serves a slightly different market and each will view themselves ‘differently’ – but I promise that if you take a step back and think slightly differently for a moment then asking a question that empowers your positive thought will create an air of optimism and probably an angle that could prove productive.

Have a fabulous day, awesome week and ask “Where can we twist this economy view to our advantage? Here’s to the next million!

Go Large - Sales Tips

Would You Like To Go Large?

“Extra fries or a side order with that sir?” an everyday question and one that we mostly allow to pass us by without even giving a thought to the significance of the words. Well, pause for a moment and think about how we might adapt these words or at least the principle to our business. We live in a world where ‘add-on sales’ are often quoted and glibly understood words but I wonder how often practised by most of us.

Imagine how many millions of folks go into a fast food outlet having told themselves prior to ordering that they only wanted a burger…and then end up both eating and spending more than they planned. It’s an amazing percentage! And truthfully this is extremely likely with most of us if only we are asked! Nearly all of your clients will actually buy more if only slightly encouraged.

So here’s a simple idea for this next couple of months...try looking at all of the opportunities in your daily business life where you can increase order values and add sales with simple sentences like the above. Do not be like too many business operatives that when a customer asks for an item they merely serve it and tell the purchaser how much money it is. Ensure that they are asked if they want at least two or three other items with it. Just make sure that everybody is asked every time purchases are made. Ensure that they are asked if they want at least three other items, and DON’T ask simply “would you like anything else with that?” because the way our mind works it isn’t anywhere near as effective.

Direct them to choose between specific items. .. there is a high probability they will choose one of them especially if the items suggested are in theme with the one purchased For example in a gents clothing store when a purchase of a shirt is made ask about a tie and show a couple that match, ask about cufflinks and ask about trousers, belts and socks!

If this principle is applied you will 100% see more sales. Try it, and have an awesome couple of months!

Cashflow Challenge

So, running a business in 2008..is it a bit tough at times? Does it challenge the grey cells and stretch your pressure valves?

Constantly I hear business owners grumble about similar things…not enough time, staffing issues, legislation and red tape issues, cash flow issues and lead generation marketing issues to name but a few. It is a tough old world out there but is there anything we can do to make it better?

I’d like to touch on one of these struggle points very briefly …lets look at the cash flow issue for a moment.

Cash Flow isn’t a magic black art. It isn’t the realm of the rich and fortunate - even they sometimes have similar challenges, it’s more the way the challenges are perceived and dealt with. Essentially mastering cash flow is a personal challenge in much the same way as time management is. Indeed my approach to adding business improvements is to re-engineer the thinking and help the business owner or manager with the way they think and act. You see, cash flow challenges come about as a result of two main actions: firstly spending money that you haven’t yet got and secondly losing sight of the prioritisation of the sales process to generate the cash in the first place.

Now, I can hear you arguing that some times there is a need to spend that is forced upon you such as an IT meltdown that cannot wait because you need IT to function – this I appreciate, however by and large the majority of businesses struggle with cash flow almost all of the time and when this is the case it is always because of a lack of one or both of the two reasons I cited.

We live in a world where there are always new services, new gadgets and new demands that pressure us into the spending of money. We’ll meet with a branded goods supplier and they will convince us and show us that spending on mugs and pens and the like will transform our business. Then we’ll speak with a service provider who tries to sell us PR services or advertising that they say will solve al of our lead flow problems. Later still we’ll meet a provider of print who will convince us that a new brochure shores up our image and then we speak to a web site builder who convinces us that the Internet can become our be all and end all if only we invested another chunk of cash with them….and so it goes on. We are never short of reasons and the providers are never short of justifications…but bluntly the old adage of “if you haven’t got the money you cannot have it” needs listening to. STOP spending!! It doesn’t really hurt! It wont kill you! The world wont stop spinning!
I fully empathise with you that it isn’t ideal and Yes there are reasons that justify often the spending in advance but very, very often we get carried away on a rosy glow that leads us to buy when it isn’t yet necessarily urgent.

Coupled with this though is a very, very real need to place a lot more emphasis on selling. Time and time again I examine businesses and when pulled apart they devote very little time to actually selling and very little devoted resource. Be honest, how much of your time is devoted to actual live selling and the generation of sales results? If its not down to you because you have a team hired than ask how much of a priority that department is given? Does the sales team lead all other activity? Or is it a poor relative to your admin process? Usually cash flow is better helped by improving monies in…far better in my opinion to raise revenue by 50% than cut costs by 10%. Obviously cutting costs where possible is always a good idea but what I ask you is “what is better to focus attention and time upon, raising results by upwards of 50% or even more or possibly cutting costs by max 15%? Are you focussing attention on minor changes or major possibilities?

So my suggestion to improve cash flow is to adjust priorities and focus. Really examine how much preference in time, money and peoples attention you give towards selling. Look for ways to add, improve and refine. Study it! Learn ways of enhancement instead of simply believing you do it the best way it can be done…there’s always a better way. Invest possibly I some critical tools such as CRM software and that really is an investment that when used properly gives a huge investment return.

Cash flow challenge is not a given. You do not have to suffer and you can do something about it to improve. Ask always How Can I Do it Better? And together we’ll have the year we want!!

How to make the most of exhibitions

Exhibitions seem to be pretty much the rage again these days. The recent years have seen a shift in attitude towards exhibitions from those a few years ago when they were frankly seen as a jolly up for the boys and rightly de-prioritised when things got a bit tight cash flow wise…however in the last couple of years there has been somewhat a resurgence of exhibiting and especially on a localised basis.

As the shift in employment demographic continues towards a ‘self employed/small employer’ structure, then the make up of a working community is localised into fragmented business rather more than the more regional or national structure in this country 10 or so years ago…thus to have localised exhibitions makes perfect sense for many smaller businesses.

Exhibiting therefore should be a part of our arsenal when developing a business in this new century. Mindful of the ‘jolly-up’ mentality that tainted previously along with the shortage of huge budgets to allow this, there needs a different approach to ‘make it pay’. So, what can we do?

Firstly, plan comprehensively. This includes so many things not merely putting the exhibition date in the calendar. Such inclusions as what exactly are you aiming to achieve from the show (and ‘more business’ isn’t specific enough), who is going to man the stand (and this should allow for the right personality or people person not merely just the ‘manager’) and what exactly are you going to say that might be specific to the visitor to the show (not simply ‘do as you normally do’ when you have a very different environment especially time wise). Planning should include time for following up afterwards and time for rehearsing prior to the event…so often overlooked and the ‘wing it’ mentality leads to poorer performance on the day. ‘Proper Planning’ as they say, ‘Prevents Piss Poor Performance’.

Secondly, refine the art of exhibiting itself. This is rarely properly done…and I, as you, have been to hundreds of events in the last two or three years and well over 70% of the exhibitors are just so poor at attracting me and interesting me it is hardly surprising that they report badly on the show. My belief is that you get out what you put in and blaming the show for a poor performance is wrong. Exhibitions with only a very poor visitor rate can still produce good returns when dealt with properly…but are you good enough to stand out?

You MUST have an attraction system. You need to attract me as the visitor to the stand and invite me to talk to you. Simply standing there hoping with a polite and awkward smile that I shall be polite enough to enquire and thus lead you into a pitch…this just doesn’t cut it today. You have to be proactive not reactive. You have to be interesting not expect me to be interested. Exhibiting gives you the chance to show yourself, off so shrinking politely back doesn’t work…and if you aren’t that type of person who boldly approaches everyone that walks past then you should plan to have with you a person who can. You absolutely need an attraction system - so think about competitions, special guests or look-a-likes and artists such as magicians. Powerful attraction methods even if on the surface appear to be considerable cost, can make all the difference between a superb bounty of leads and the odd one or two.

In addition, think about where you stand…because you are there to open your stand to visitors not guard against them! Too often you’ll see a chap on the stand stood almost like a Bouncer on the perimeter with his arms folded! Without consciously thinking about it they are in fact saying keep off with their body language! AND heaven knows the number of times I have seen staff on a stand talking on the mobile phone, eating a sandwich or just so busy talking between themselves that visitors have wandered aimlessly past… So stupid! The one that walked past might have been the ideal client…but they don’t know it yet and you didn’t invite them to se it. So, behaviour on the stand is so paramount and yet so often poorly delivered.

You can make more of exhibitions – there’s no such words as can’t remember, but put a little more effort in before hand and more attention to detail on the day.

Above all else, remember that you are NOT at the exhibition to sell. Your job at the show is data capture…lead gathering only. No matter how tempting or interested the prospect appears to be you do not get flowing into a sales pitch on the stand. A Golden Rule is that you do NOT spend 20 minutes chatting with an interested party…you spend 5 minutes and arrange a follow-up call to make the sale…and then get back to capturing all of the ones that otherwise would have walked past whilst you chatted for another 15 minutes to that interested party. Except in very, very rare circumstances where a visitor has gone out ‘shopping’ the person you are talking to is only interested and you’ll need time to do justice to a sale potential. If you think that by spending 15 or 20 minutes you are warming it up or preparing it for a easier sale then my suggestion is exactly the opposite…you are giving them just enough ammunition to avoid your follow-up call because they will more often than not reply that they ‘have enough knowledge for the time being, and will call you when nearer the moment’. A little knowledge, as they say, is a dangerous thing…it destroys the potential and negates the follow up. Please capture data for following up on and direct all of your staff to do the same when on the stand.

Lastly, the critical part of exhibition success is following up on the enquiries after the event. Amazingly almost 70% of exhibitors when asked admit that they don’t really do this adequately. At best it’s a phone call a week later and a letter sent en masse…but if these ‘miss’ and no return is forthcoming then nothing is done! It’s crazy to spend that much money…or any money at all, if you don’t focus on return on investment. You need to schedule follow up time prior to the event not hope to slot it in afterwards depending on how many there is! You must have pre-written letters and hopefully diary time allowed for face to face visits to convert into sales. Whichever way you do this you should have a target expectation and structure the week or two after the event to make this happen. Not doing so is exhibiting on a poor unprofessional basis merely hoping that some people will be so turned on by your offer that they will wander over to you of their own accord when exhibiting, ask for a visit afterwards and then politely reach for their cheque book when you want them too…and of course pass referrals to you of their sister the Tooth Fairy and their brother the Easter Bunny!! It ain’t gonna happen!!

In summary though if planned executed and followed up correctly exhibitions are a MUST DO as part of your strategy for developing your business this year. Whatever the perceived level of investment and your fear when looking at the cost…it is always possible to return the investment with a profit if you are geared towards doing so.

So, go on…make an exhibition of yourself!

Focus on the money!

Have you ever been in an environment where there was a goal identified or a target set…maybe a sales team or a workplace department. Did the ‘target’ often or usually get achieved? Did the goal become more real and attained by making it large public and bringing it to everyone’s attention?

Probably.

You see we all recognise the power of setting targets but I shall share a thought with you gleaned from visiting hundreds of businesses…most do not make this visible or public or prominent and I believe they are holding themselves back.

You see there is an incredible power in bringing thoughts or desires out into the consciousness of the physical presence. If you make it public and visible you make it ‘real’ and by this very act you can make it real in the truest sense ie achieved. Why do I say this?
Truthfully there is much research into the power of the subconscious mind. There is evidence that you get what you focus upon…and so I suggest that focussing more openly upon the desired goals will make it more likely to happen.
So a key suggestion would be to get yourself a large white board and probably two and place them in prominent places in line of vision with both yourself and the team as applicable. Large white boards or dry wipe boards are an invaluable ‘must have’ fitting in your office. It will gradually become a first glance almost without being aware of it…and this glance constantly imprints on the mind that which you have written. The mind then will run around keeping to its task of attaining that which it has been directed to get.

So get yourself a white board and write clearly upon it exactly where you are at in respect to targets – especially financial targets ie sales achieved and sales needed for the existing or current month or quarter. I promise you that this will be hugely, massively effective. Put it in front of the team or all of those in your company who will help you drive towards the sales needed.

And whilst we are talking together…many, many times I ask a business owner what his target is and they will often say “ as much a s we can get”. I then follow up with “ok how much are you on this month and how much more do you need?” and get answers that clearly reflect that they don’t know or at least not accurately.

Well it is paramount as business owners and leaders that we know where we are and where we want to be on a month to month basis. Get a white board now and clearly write this months aimed for target at the top and every time a deal comes in write it down underneath with a decreasing target/ still to get figure.

Yes it’s true we live in a world of Excel spread sheets or accounting software and that in theory or indeed in practice this is available at the touch of a button…the point is this isn’t constantly in front of the eyes and thus going directly into the brain. Only when it is constantly going into the mind can the mind get the message with sufficient intensity to drive the attainment of it. Simple daily message input several times a day as you look at it will direct your mind without any conscious effort.

Focus much more clearly, openly and frequently upon simple targets such as the sales volume needed to hit monthly goals and you will have greater success. I suggest that you have a discipline of setting a large target figure in red and then each sale as it comes in written underneath and the decreasing red figure showing that which is still to get. You might also include a deposit figure to show new cash flow if that suits your business model or you might show numbers of leads and then numbers of sales to show your ‘hit’ rate. You can use this discipline in any department to keep the team focused and provided you steer the usage in the first few weeks to make sure it gets embraced you will find it becomes a habit and the mind stays focussed on money…which lets face it is pretty paramount in small business land these days!

You could then use it as an outlet for your ideas and use it as a project board too. Every time you have an idea or something that you want to do this can get written too possibly on the right hand corner of the board and again you can add to this as the idea ferments and matures in your mind…every time you have an added thought on how to expand the core idea you scribble the progression thought down too even creating flow chart type diagrams which again help the brain to engage and remember and act upon your wishes.

Indeed a white board is also a visible message board which can also be massively useful in any business these days as people traffic flows in and out at different times and mobile phones whilst being excellent are still liable to flat batteries lost chargers or poor signal areas.
So just a thought or tip! Focus visibly much more on the money

How do you write a Business Plan?

A key component of success and an underlying discipline in any success story is that of planning. There is a widely held recognition that unplanned usually equates to poor…or worse, disaster. We accept that planning is vital if we care about the journey or the result.

Indeed we know this as we all generally appreciate the need for a business plan when starting a business and especially when we are looking to raise funding.
So why is planning such a pre-requisite for a funding exercise? What is it that they are looking for in the planning and how can this help you in business? AND why does a business need a plan even once it’s running and has been for some time?

Every month I am fortunate to meet with and talk to a lot of business owners and very often the subject of planning is raised. It’s understood at a level of ‘recognised discipline’ but rarely embraced and acted upon as a required action. The business once running is being managed and steered and there is little time to do much else! There is pretty wide ‘reactive’ style in the operations and many hundreds of business owners complain that there business is different because their particular client facing or interaction environment is unique and requires the set of reactive actions that they are trapped into as a mandatory set of actions.

I beg to differ.

Why? Well I have seen and been involved with businesses of all types and whilst they all can fall foul of the same challenges and ‘reaction urges’ some of them have decided to make a clean brake from that world of stress and with a determined and planned effort have made a new modus-operandi and enjoyed once again their business. The key being that it was deliberate and planned and it didn’t just happen…but that it did happen when it was planned and acted upon. Even businesses that specialise in the support or back up environments where they are primarily called in an emergency or breakdown can improve their ‘lot’ by as much as 50% when activity is planned and clients are involved in the planning process from their perspective…prevention being better than cure.

So, in your business right now let me ask you, is there a written and current business plan? If the answer is ‘No’ then not to worry…but please let us do something about that.

When asked why a plan isn’t available the most common answer is ‘they haven’t got time to sit down and do that’…because the assumption is that it is to require days and reams of paper to come up with an ‘all singing all dancing’ conclusive report fit for lending cash against.

The second answer, though often not so forthcoming, is that actually they aren’t sure either how to write one or what good it would do them when they have written one…ie how they could use one effectively.

So for a few moments lets have a look at those thoughts…how to write one that is effective for you to use.

First and foremost let me state then that if you are in business I believe a plan is paramount – but not the sort that you might expect to take to the bank. I believe that you need a business growth plan. A plan that tells you how to go forward from where you are – not one that tells everybody everything about your team, your marketplace and your strengths and weaknesses. (These are not useless pieces of knowledge however and you should know them…but I don’t believe they are required from an on-going planning directive perspective). So a business growth plan is a little different and sensibly it is designed to be shorter more to the point and thus less time consuming to create. Indeed it is a very different document and one that I design to keep as an on going and constantly amended and updated document. Your business growth plan should in fact become a bit like ‘Triggers Broom’ over the years! When you look at it in 5 years time it will have none of the original parts in it…it’ll still be there, still be effective but not the same as the original.



I suggest that you simply write a few key questions down as a template or starting point and then let the answers flow as they would if it were a conversation. In fact literally allow the document to be created as out of a conversation with yourself or your team as to the answers to the questions…and even the questions themselves you’ll find will come out of the team and be refined and added to. For example I might create a simple outline for a plan as follows:
Where are we now? – a brief snapshot of the current status quo…how busy, how much money, state of order book, future prospects known about, staff roles and any potential downfalls
Where do we want to go in the next 2 or 3 years? – what sort of work do you want to attract, from where, from whom,
What might you need to get that? -what staff , any premises change, machinery, web, training ,
What can we do in the next year to achieve this? – how big do we need to grow, what preparations might we need to embrace
What can we do then as an action list (to make progress towards these goals) in the next month? – who do you call, when, what might you ask or say, who might you work with, what might you be required to create physically for gathering or attracting work in, what exposure to markets can you create or generate, who is going to do this.

Literally these simple questions when properly thought and talked through will give you and your team a basis for a plan that is simple to produce, quick and easy to compile and yet is good enough to keep as a working document or a business growth plan. It will tell you what you are all doing this next week and this next year and where this will lead you…and provided you started with an end that you desire and worked back in sequence then it will be a very helpful process. Remember you cannot get where you want to go if you don’t know where you want to go and haven’t planned a route. You just drift and hope not to crash!

Too many businesses are drifting and hoping they don’t crash!!

What do you do with it once it is written? How do you use it and make it effective?
Well again lets not get all ‘degrees and scholarships’ here…common sense tells you that if you put it into a draw and it never sees the light of day it ain’t gonna be very useful to you! Better just keep it on your desk and every week make a determined effort to pick it up review what has happened and what you have done in the last week and see if it aligns. Better still have a simple meeting with your team and allow discussion along the lines of ‘we said this last week, how have you got on?’

The truth is that the planning process allows for points to be raised that would otherwise have gone un-noticed. Questions for example, when a business complains that everything is very reactive, such as “How might we try to get our orders and bookings a month ahead so that we are less immediate and hand to mouth?” Questions allow for the possibility that something better might be achieved instead of the lack of questioning and assumption that nothing can be done about it. Questions that can improve your business are un-earthed when openly discussing and planning…and this is a supreme benefit of the process.

Another excellent benefit is that it is one of the rare times when you actually sit and think about your business and hear or see some other perspectives...instead of the usual ‘nose to grindstone’ approach that keeps you in a rut and feeling like life is monotonous. You might just see it from another angle and challenge yourself to once again be fired up and drive it!

In short, planning your business on a regular basis with a business growth plan is an invaluable exercise. Questioning where your new leads are going to come from, how many you might try to convert and what you can do to possibly break into new markets or add new products. All of these are powerful and ultimately make the difference between a business that is progressive and enjoyable to drive and one that is constantly challenging, rarely exciting and always reactive and worrying possibly about next month.

Make planning a simple exercise and focus on simple but strong questions. Make it a team involvement perhaps and then get your comments or ideas reviewed independently by someone whose opinion and input you can respect, and then you future in business especially if we are to experience a ‘slow down’ in the economy is brighter and more enjoyable. It’s not War and Peace that is required. It isn’t rocket science or magic. Its application of simple basics that often sets the winners from the ‘also-rans’.

Surviving the Credit Crunch

Currently with the ‘credit crunch’ and the ‘slow down’ being main topics of news media it is very possible that our focus on the future has taken a slide south. Unsurprisingly there is then a ripple of more negatives when the topics of more conversations become ‘slow down’ and ‘possible recession’. So, here’s an idea…every time you hear someone begin to talk about a slow down or you hear yourself mention credit crunch ripples as possible reasons why you aren’t buzzing with new sales around your offices…try immediately switching the conversation to the opportunity that each slow down presents.

It is in fact true that many millionaires are made in the slower periods of so called recession. They say “one man’s meat is another man’s poison” and it’s also true that when one industry slides others can boom. So try asking “what can we benefit from as others slow down?” Ask questions that stimulate a fresh perspective of thought instead of allowing dwelling on negatives. It is so simple and many might ridicule – but the truth is that it is the simple things that we all can do but most don’t that makes the difference between winners and also-rans. Success is often about looking for opportunity not just waiting for it to come marching up to you and ask your involvement. So if you have a questioning attitude then looking is more natural.

Indeed think about it…if there is a shortage of something someone makes lots of money supplying that which is deemed to be in short supply...supply and demand scenario. Take this principle then and expand it by asking “What might people be ‘short’ of that we can give to them to benefit us?” If there is a slow down that means people need to make all of their resources count…so instead of allowing them to say no to your offer because they are holding back, twist the offer of yours into a MUST have because your offer will prove to be invaluable when there is a slow down and money needs to be conserved. Your offer in fact conserves money doesn’t it? Your offer actually helps them doesn’t it? Indeed far be it that you allow them to walk away surely when things get tough that is all the more reason to justify investing in your product or service?

Obviously every product or service serves a slightly different market and each will view themselves ‘differently’ – but I promise that if you take a step back and think slightly differently for a moment then asking a question that empowers your positive thought will create an air of optimism and probably an angle that could prove productive.

Have a fabulous day, awesome week and ask “Where can we twist this economy view to our advantage? Here’s to the next million!

Hints and Tips for Doing Better Business

Do you feel that although you’re always busy you’re not seeing any tangible results? If so, you’re probably focusing on the wrong activity. From our experience it’s an extremely common occurrence, so take heart – you’re not alone! And you CAN do something about it!

Here are a few things to think about:

· Get a diary
· Ask yourself what you are doing with your time. Question each activity. Is it the best use of your time?
· Identify your most profitable and unprofitable tasks. Be ruthless.

Then:

· Write down your business goals. Ask yourself where you are going and why you want to go there. You will be surprised how many people drift along with no defined route. Please don’t be one of them.
· Write down a plan to ensure you fill your days with the right activity. This might include sales calls, networking, marketing communications – whatever it takes to identify, reach and manage your customers. Be specific.
· Continue to work your plan. Measure and monitor performance against the plan and adjust your plan to ensure you stay on track.

Follow these simple steps and you’ll be several steps closer to achieving your business goals.



“If it was worth planning it is worth working”

Ben's Tip of the Day

Ignore It, It’ll Go away!

Often in business it is the simple things that make the biggest difference…like life I guess. So as a quick hint or tip this issue have a go at the following:

To prevent you feeling under pressure…and I want to clarify this…pressure is always an internal representation. It is what we perceive we must be feeling usually when we focus negatively upon a list of to do’s that still need doing! So recognising that it is always an internal issue – therefore one that we control, here’s my idea…

When you see a pile of paper on your desk and tell yourself that it represents more work that you haven’t got around to and thus your are lagging behind and under pressure to do more…when you get that feeling pick up the offending pile of papers and as a whole put them out of site and into a draw or a box!

Now I appreciate this will feel weird and you’ll resist the urge to move them and you’ll internalised and feel fear that if it doesn’t get done the world will cave in!! but honestly the truth is you’ll look then at a clean desk everyday and tell yourself that it is all alright with the world and that you arte coping…and then after a week of looking at a clean sheet and reducing that nagging feeling you should realise that what was bugging you – by not being done didn’t cause a catastrophe…the world didn’t end and therefore the thing or pile of things that you allowed to create pressure for you was not actually worthy of the pressure power you gave to it. It didn’t matter that much!!

Try this please…it isn’t a permanent solution to your time challenge or a total answer to problem pressure…you cannot keep ignoring things we must address the cause...but often the cause of pressure is accepting tasks that either should be left to other people or don’t really have that much critical relevance and therefore shouldn’t have been accepted in the first place! For now though, take away the mental reminder and have a great few weeks without pressure!!

Networking Successfully

Success when networking –surely it’s down to the group?!

Today’s business world is filled with an awareness of the need for networking. Business networking, in it’s formal sense, appeared for the first time here in the UK in the mid nineties as BNI (Business Network International) migrated across from the USA. Based on the simple and time favoured basis that we all prefer to buy from someone we know (provided we know them to be reputable!) the simple structure allowed business men and women to meet regularly, get to know each other, and thus feel confident about passing business to and fro.

The old stereo type story of ‘business being done on the golf course’ epitomises the theory and the concept rapidly took hold. Only a decade later we have a plethora of networking groups in every region of the country and many of us spend hours each week engaged in this activity. Indeed, added to the organised physical groups are many ‘social networking’ groups that base themselves in cyber space and allow virtual networking to facilitate the same end goal…relationships that are conducive to fiscal business.

So, you know about them, you actively visit anything that even slightly resembles the theory and you are swamped with so much work and such a volume of enquiries every week that you can’t cope right?

Sadly No!
Indeed, to many, the returns from diligent attendance hardly covers the cost of the cold fatty breakfasts!

Why is that? What makes the theory and the practice so very far apart? How did the idea seem to drift away from the reality? What can you do to justify all those early morning starts, lengthy lunches and sparse buffets in the evening?

Well obviously there are groups and there are groups. Plainly numbers dictate the odds and if the group has only 5 or 10 members then one might argue that there is a lower chance of enquiries being passed to you. But I’ll throw in a counter argument…surely if the idea is that it is based upon relationships then with fewer people to ‘get to know’ you will develop better relationships and the ratio is compensated for with closer friendships?

Ok, whilst you ponder on that, try this: some groups are more active than others and therefore not all groups perform the same…

But then again all groups are made up of business owners and all of them are people looking for the same thing so how can they possibly be any different?

Well, maybe we can share a different perspective…maybe we can look instead at our own actions and particularly words and see whether or not lack lustre results are the justified return for not so startling performance.

You see, my suggestion is that the language and presentation style we use is the key to enquiries received. Simply put, much of what is said by way of 60 second intro’s and 10 minute presentations etc is poor and does not resonate with the audience. Guests appear to be looking and listening but in fact turned off their ears after the “My name is John and I am an Independent Financial Advisor…” (and for the record this is NOT a dig at IFA’s it is 100% merely illustrative!!).

A little language refinement can go a long, long way.

In order to grab leads you have to first grab attention…and merely introducing yourself isn’t going to wow them…especially if you have already been there a few times. No, you must be a lot more creative…

Try firstly putting some effort into preparation and coming up with an interesting story. Something that illustrates what you do instead of telling them what you do. Use cartoon characters or children’s TV or even real life scenarios if you like, but tell a story and you will find them listening more…because they will want to find out what happens in the end (curiosity gets the better of us all!)

Indeed go one step further and ask a question right up front…grab there attention by asking for example, “Do you want your children to live with foster parents after you die?” …going on to explain “ If you die intestate and are not actually married to your partner then all sorts of complications can happen with children and the state…if that isn’t what you want then you must give me a few minutes and allow me to give you a cup of coffee and some valuable help” (As an example for a will writing service!)

Another powerful technique is to use ‘props’. For example, if you do construction site work or are involved in health and safety take a hard hat in with you. If you are a legal service take in hand-cuffs or if you are a photographer either take large prints or a camera and shoot at them! The fact is if you stand out you will be listened to and remembered and both of those dramatically improve your chances of getting leads…even in poor groups or small groups.

Finally another idea – swap your language with theirs. Do not slip into your jargon, your abbreviations and your terminology…use common vernacular. (what?!!) Exactly…use simple words!!

If you sell software that’s makes tasks easier on a pc tell me what it makes easier and how it makes it easier don’t tell me what you do!! If you sell accountancy don’t tell me you do year-end returns, bookkeeping and business advice tell me that you can show me how to legally take great big chinks of cash out of my business without paying tax on it!

We are all simple creatures you know! You and I have stresses, families, mortgages and stuff - and we just want to know if you can help me make it easier and me richer!

Tell it how it is. Show me with props because my brain isn’t really alert first thing in the morning - and then talk my language after engaging me with questions. Do this and networking whether in a small group or a large one will result in you connecting with those present and enjoying a full flow of enquiries.

Go to it, good luck!