5 Avenues To Beyond. David M. Fellman On a scale of 1-10, how successful is your business right now?

Transcription

1 5 Avenues To Beyond On a scale of 1-10, how successful is your business right now? On the same scale of 1-10, how happy are you with the state of your business right now?

2 Let s talk about want to and need to Here s a fundamental truth: Improvement requires effort and effort requires motivation! 10 Areas For Improvement 1. Be More Visible In The Marketplace 2. Build A Better, Stronger Team 3. Get All The Value From Your Customers 4. Take Advantage of Technology 5. Put Some Work into Networking 6. Put Some Measurement Into Management 7. Don t Be Afraid To Negotiate 8. Plug Your Profit Leaks 9. Plug Your Time Management Leaks 10. Don t Be All Business 1. Be More Visible In The Marketplace Advertising Traditional Signage Not-So-Traditional Signage Good Citizenship Explore Every Avenue

3 Advertising: The action of calling something to the attention of the public, especially by paid announcements Good Advertising creates visibility by telling people what you sell, and why they should buy it from you! Another term for good advertising is branding. Let s talk about that!

4 There are four categories of people on the buying side of your sales equation: Suspects Prospects Customers Maximized Customers The suspect message: Are you in any way interested in what we sell? The prospect message: Please give us a try!

5 The customer message: Please buy from us again, and while you re at it, please try some of our other products and/or services. The maximized customer message: Thank you! Winston Churchill once said: If you have an important point to make, don t try to be subtle or clever. Use a pile driver. Hit the point once. Then come back and hit it again. Then hit it a third time a tremendous whack!

6 My recipe for effective advertising: 1. Establish what s for sale 2. Add a reason to buy it from you 3. Add some creativity 4. Review to make sure that it s still clear what s for sale 5. Review to make sure that the reason to buy it from you is still clear 6. Bottom Line: Don t let the core message get lost in the creativity! Where is the best place for all of this advertising/branding to happen? 1. Your website 2. Your personal interaction with suspects, prospects, customers and maximized customers 3. Anywhere/everywhere else Plusses and minuses of common advertising media options Print media Printed media Broadcast media Social media Direct mail The Internet

7 Print Media newspapers, magazines, directories, etc. + Broad distribution - Potential to get lost in the sheer volume of other ads Printed Media Catalogs, brochures, etc. + Self-publishing - Potential for waste tied to currency of information Broadcast Media Television, radio, billboards + Spoken word vs. written word - Cost vs. demographics

8 Social Media Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, etc. + Self-publishing, low cost - Potential to get lost in the noise! Direct Mail Targeted postal mail, EDDM, targeted + Self-publishing, targeting - Perception of junk mail The Internet Your website, opportunities on other websites + A very broad canvas - Attracting people to your site

9 1. Be More Visible In The Marketplace Advertising Traditional Signage Not-So-Traditional Signage Good Citizenship Explore Every Avenue 2. Build A Better, Stronger Team Peter Drucker wrote: The results of all this team-building have not been overly impressive. Baseball Team (Assembly Line) Football Team (Symphony Orchestra) Tennis Doubles Team (Jazz Combo) Baseball Team/Assembly Line The players play on a team, but they do not play as a team Fixed positions Competent to All Star performance

10 Football Team/Symphony Orchestra Fixed positions...but a much greater element of interaction and support Without the play the plan! a football team is a collection of mass and energy without direction, which is not a recipe for success. Tennis Doubles Team/Jazz Combo Primary rather than fixed positions The element of partner Anticipation and understanding How To Build A Better, Stronger Team Evaluate Skills and Attitudes Training and Attitude Adjustment Leadership Addition by Subtraction

11 On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the performance of your best employee? Skills and Attitudes 1. Job Skills 2. Initiative 3. Dedication to the Company 4. Dedication to the Team 5. Work Ethic 6. Like Factor 7. Trust Factor 8. Potential for Advancement 9. Communication Skills: Verbal 10. Communication Skills: Listening Skills and Attitudes (Sales) 1. General Knowledge of Industry 2. Specific Knowledge of Product Line 3. Ability to Work The Program 4. Willingness to Work The Program 5. Overall Understanding of the Value Proposition 6. Ability To Present the Value Proposition 7. Questioning Skills 8. Listening Skills 9. Team Skills and Attitudes 10. Reporting and Recordkeeping Skills and Attitudes

12 What comes next? Training Attitude Adjustment Leadership styles The Quiet Leader The Visionary Leader The Cheerleader The Quiet Leader I want you to watch the way I work the way I deal with customers, suppliers, and other employees and I want you to measure up to my standards! Works best with a well-documented management structure: written job descriptions, an emphasis on training, and defined standards of behavior and performance.

13 The Visionary Leader I know where we re going and I want you to go there with me but you have to help! Works best when the vision is clearly understood by both the leader and the employees! Rules and procedures can be less formal because the vision provides the overall framework for making on-the-spot decisions. The Cheerleader We re all in this together let s all have fun and let s get the job done! Works best with a group of employees who are themselves eager and enthusiastic. Rules and procedures can be fairly informal because the cheerleader is never far from the action, and always available to answer a how-should-wedo-this question. Build A Better, Stronger Team Evaluate Skills and Attitudes Training and Attitude Adjustment Leadership Addition by Subtraction

14 3. Get All The Value From Your Customers An Important Understanding All of your customers are prospects to become maximized customers! 3. Get All The Value From Your Customers The value of what they re buying now Customer Service Customer Contact 3. Get All The Value From Your Customers The value of what they could be buying Customer Contact Customer Education

15 3. Get All The Value From Your Customers The value of influence Testimonials Referrals 10 Ways To Make Your Small Business More Successful 4. Put Some Work into Networking Traditional networking (Chamber, BNI, etc.) Social Media Networking Opportunistic Networking 10 Ways To Make Your Small Business More Successful Guiding Principle: All commerce is ultimately about people! Levels of traditional networking Referrals and introductions Is what you do social media really networking? So this salesman walks into a bar

16 5. Plug Your Time Management Leaks Connect every task to a person Prioritize people, not tasks! Blocks & Hats Dealing with interruptions Be good to your tomorrow man (or woman) 10 Ways To Make Your Small Business More Successful 6. Reality Check! You can t snap your fingers and make all of this happen immediately. You can make a plan, based on your wants and needs and priorities, with specific goals and timelines. You can (probably) make your business more successful the only one who can stop you is probably you!