Business is tough as it is but when things happen outside of your control, life can get even tougher! So here are some quick reference points for growing a business in tough times, regardless of whether you want to buy a business, or sell….
- Recessions
Look at ways of reducing all unnecessary expenditure.
Don’t become inactive.
Make more phone calls to meet clients.
Attack the problems!
2. Change
Change produces negative reaction, the element of fear – are you going to be worse off?
Need to develop a customer led, Sales Driven Culture.
Make more use of more opportunities available for businesses eg:
- Better communications
- Better Technologies
- Better Marketing Techniques
- Adapt to change and do things better.
Companies should have:
- Excellent Product Knowledge
- Training for Skills
- Positive & enthusiastic Attitude
Companies will not achieve their full potential with a negative attitude and without expecting the best. Difficult to achieve a positive attitude in a negative world with difficult or declining markets!
3. The TWO main ways to grow a business….
- Organic Growth by increasing number of customers, increasing number or transactional values & frequency of purchase.
- Growth by Acquisition by buying a business, customers & market share
The greatest Asset in any organisation is PEOPLE, followed by CUSTOMERS.
Develop a Business Plan to work out what you want to achieve, how and when.
4. Selling
Nothing happens unless Selling takes place.
Companies go bust because they can’t sell or get the money in.
People like buying but don’t like being sold to.
Strike a balance between Weak Sell and Hard Sell – a Professional Sell, is in the middle.
Business is achieved with people we like, not companies.
People buy people – sell yourself!
To be interesting, all one has to do is be interested.
Greatest skill is asking the right questions.
Don’t sell the products – sell what it will do! What are the Features and Benefits?
How are your customers going to BENEFIT from your Products & Services?
Customers are only interested in “what’s in it for them”.
Give at least 3 main benefits that customers will benefit from your Products & Services.
Benefits should be the bedrock of all advertising.
We get born to win but conditioned to lose.
Brain is fearful of the word “No”.
Remember that a Customer who says No! is only No! at that moment in time – circumstances are constantly changing.
“No, not today customers” can be built upon as “customers for tomorrow”…!
Selling is a numbers game, get the Activity UP!
Aim to provide customers with Value for Money and tell them.
Good business is Win/Win situation for both the Company AND the Customer.
Remember that Profit is Sanity, Turnover is Vanity.
Concentrate of Selling, Customer Care & Attitude.
Returns policy is Risk Reversal – if not satisfied you get your money back.
Be proud of your prices and rates.
Discounting is the quickest way to go out of business unless it’s carefully budgeted for.
Raise the invoice IMMEDIATELY – the most important activity in the Company!
Don’t go out of business because someone owes you money.
5. Marketing
Design your business to become a multi-level marketing machine.
Most businesses only rely on 1 or 2 forms of marketing, some have none at all!
Top 1% of businesses do things differently and use 6 to 10 different forms of marketing.
The goal should be to find 6 to 10 different methods of marketing.
You must test all of your marketing – no one will know which are the best forms unless you test.
Test & measure all forms of marketing. 80% of marketing doesn’t work- find the 20% that does!
Use the internet and email marketing effectively.
Most Companies haven’t a clue about email marketing and don’t use it effectively.
10 to 14% of the Public only buy the cheapest.
1% of the Public only buy the most expensive.
80% of customers will pay a higher price for greater value.
Most traditional advertising doesn’t work.
If the adverts are not working, stop them and move on.
Create a blueprint for reaching new customers.
Develop a “back-end” of products & services – services that follow on from the initial sale.
Drop the concept of a marketing budget – 99% of businesses don’t do it.
A marketing budget limits what the Company can do as the business grows.
Decide how much you are willing to spend to create a NEW CUSTOMER.
Aim to provide customers with Value for Money and tell them.
Returns policy is Risk Reversal – if not satisfied you get your money back.
Be proud of your prices and rates.
Discounting is the quickest way to go out of business unless it’s carefully budgeted for.
Raise the invoice IMMEDIATELY – the most important activity in the Company!
Don’t go out of business because someone owes you money.
6. Customer Care
Look after your customers, tell them about your products and services
Business is about TALKING, not just about brochures and marketing.
Back up with a phone call.
You don’t have to have the best products – Outstanding Service will lead to Outstanding Performance.
Don’t expect Customer Loyalty – it has to be earned.
“We give good service” – everyone says that!
Service is the ADD-On!
7. Attitude
Don’t re-live the past, it’s gone.
Don’t do what your competitors do or what everyone else does – be different!
All about tomorrow.
It’s about YOU, your STRATEGY & MINDSET
STRATEGY wins the BATTLE, MINDSET wins the WAR!
It’s not the direction of the wind – it’s the set of the sail.
“Difficulties mastered are Opportunities won” – Winston Churchill
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