SBD Business Tips Blog

10 New Year's Resolutions for Business Owners

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 23:44:00 GMT

In my latest blog, Planning for Success in 2012, I shared a simple process that can help you think about the importance of taking time to prepare and make a start for the New Year. If you’ve read that, I bet you’ve already planned and set new goals and objectives for your business. But if you haven’t started and are having trouble getting ideas, I should tell you that one of the best ways to start is by setting New Year’s resolutions.

Why New Year’s Resolutions?

As everyone may already know, New Year’s resolutions are commitments made at the beginning of the year to reach certain goals or projects in life. Usually, a resolution is geared towards a personal objective such as reforming a habit, but it can certainly be used in a business point of view because of the enormous amount of effort and a high level of commitment people exert for it.

With that said, did you set any New Year’s resolutions for your business? If not, here are some you should highly consider.

Set Targets for 2012

As business owners, it is crucial for you to set targets for 2012. This is to increase productivity and performance, to provide context, focus, etc. for decision making and strategy development. The direction your business takes this year will very much depend on your targets. And as the leader, it is your responsibility to set these goals as early as now.

Give Back

Get involved in a Community Organization or Charity and donate your time to make a difference. It is amazing what this will do to for your confidence and sense of well-being which will have flow-on effects for your business. As the saying goes, it is better to give than to receive.

Build Your Team

Devote 20% of your time to building your team especially in times like these where many leaders have lost the art of developing and growing their teams. Don’t be like most modern managers that manage their teams with pressure and fear. Go back to the basics. Be a great mentor and coach your team to success. Build skills, knowledge and change behaviors when necessary.

For more ideas on how to build your team, read my recent blog – The Lost Art of Management.

Stop Doing Things

You can never do everything by yourself which is why this year you should pick out at least 3 things that you will "stop doing." This will free up available time to do some of the other activities on this list. Depending on what kind of activity you’re going to stop doing, you can choose to do 3 things: cease the activity, delegate it to someone in your business or family, or outsource it.

Get Physically Fit and Active

As the business owner, it is important for you to have enough energy to be up and running. Use a Personal Trainer or go to the gym, that is, if you’re disciplined enough. Cut out refined carbohydrates, have alcohol-free days. This will help with energy levels and your body as well as your business, will thank you.

Get Mentally Fit

Buff up your mind too by turning off the TV and reading a business book or biography instead. Set a target for books per annum and read it. If you don’t like reading, get audio books. Make the most of your time in your car – turn off the radio and listen to podcasts or audio books (free from iTunes) that are related to your field of business or your expertise. Use an iPod or something similar.

Be Decisive

Make decisions and stick to them. Don’t vacillate. Do your research and do your thinking. Make a good decision and implement it.

Get Your Priorities Right

Think of the 3 most important things you must do for your business or for yourself as a business owner in 2012 – no excuses? Take note that these things should be large in scope and must have a large impact on your business. Getting your priorities right will give your business the right start it needs for the New Year.

Make Time for Family & Friends

Focus on your life balance and aim to correct any imbalances. This may mean that you will need to dramatically improve your time management or "stop doing” things more. Find a balance between your family, friends and your business.

Formalise Your Support System

Make sure you formalise your personal Support Team. These are the people who support you and help you (usually not employees). This can be your spouse/partner, Business Coach, Professionals, Mentors, friends, counselor, priest, AA sponsor, etc. Define who they are and let them know that you will be working with them to help you achieve your goals.

You might say, after reading all this that it’s tough to get these resolutions done. It may be at first, but I say it’s doable. The important thing is to set your mind to achieving these resolutions and remember that you’ve got the whole 2012 to do it! Good luck!

Regards,

Russell

Planning for Success in 2012

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

There’s no better way to start the year than by thinking about your plans for your business in 2012. With that said, I want to take you through a simple planning process that will help you make a start, and to help you get it going with a rush.

The model we’re going to talk about most importantly is the Now, Where and How. This is one of the most basic models in planning and problem solving. When creating a plan, it is really important that we have a look at where we are now, where we need to be (which is probably the most important component of all), and then finally, how are we going to get there? Where are we NOW?

Talking about the NOW means looking at where your business right now. It's time to sit back and take stock of your business. Take a good hard look of what you’re doing. I get my clients to think about doing this in 6 key headings.

Profits

This is about your finances, your profitability and those sorts of things. Just use it as a general heading to think about and write down some dot points such as:

How profitable has your business been?
Where are you in terms of sales, costs, profits, debts?

Customers – Who are they?

The next heading then is Customers. This is where you think about:

Who your customers are?
How they’ve been going?
What sorts of customers do you have?
What sorts of customers do you attract?
What sorts of customers would you like eventually?

Products and Services – How have we performed?

The third thing to think about then is your Products and Services. If you’re a service business then you won’t have products maybe. But anyway, things to write notes about under this heading are:

What do you deliver?
Who do you deliver to?
What is the quality of your delivery?
How do you compare against our competitors?

Core Processes & Systems

After establishing points for our products and services, talk about the Core Processes and Systems being used to deliver your products to your customers. Talk about your core processes – what are they and how do they operate in your business?

Our People & Teams – Internal and External

In order to deliver your products and services to your customers and then collect some cash, along the way you need to have engaged your team (internal and external). Make sure you have a great, quality team to work with - start thinking about your people and write down some comments about them.

Promotions

The final heading would be Marketing and Promotions. Write down some notes about how well your marketing and sales programs are working.

So that’s a quick summary of the NOW. You don’t need to spend a lot of time doing it, but I suggest that you do. Then the next thing I’d like you to spend some time on is the WHERE.

Define the WHERE – Explore your future

Use the same six headings we used for the NOW and be aspirational.

For Profits, set some targets – financial targets, for what you would like to achieve in the coming year. You might be planning for a longer period but just start with 2012.

What level of sales would you like to have?
What level of profitability you would like to have?
What sorts of volumes would you like to do?

Same with Customers – think about what sorts of customers you would like to acquire in 2012. Do you want to maintain your current client base, do you want to grow them or get some extra ones? Think about those things.

For Products and Services, think about what you need to do about these – how do you change them in 2012?

For Core Processes, again, think about what you need to do with your core processes. Be more efficient and more effective.

Then, think about your People. They are the enablers of your business and they are absolutely critical. What are your retention policies on people? How are you going to retain good quality people? How are you going to attract them and recruit them? These are really important.

And then lastly, it’s very important that you think about your Marketing and Sales because this is the engine that drives your business from the top end. It is really important to put some time and some thought into your Marketing and Promotional activities.

So there, we’ve done a quick summary for the WHERE to determine where you want to be. Now you have to think about how you’re going to get there.

The HOW – How will you move from NOW to WHERE?

The HOW is all about understanding what’s required to move from where you are now to where you want to be. What are the things you want to do?

Here are the things I would like you to do:

Think about the barriers – what are they? Thinking about the barriers will help you focus on some of the priority actions you need to take.

Brainstorm and come up with 3 or 4 MUST DO’s that you need to do in the next 12 months if you’re going to achieve your targets. These are "big chunks" like moving to bigger customers or launching of a new product or service.

So think about the MUST DO’s, about 3 or 4 normally, any more than that you start to get a bit out of focus. Remember it’s a 12-month time frame.

Break up your MUST DO’s

Then for each of those MUST DO’s, I’d like you to put some timelines. Start to break them up into when you need them delivered, who’s going to do them, what are the priority actions? Start thinking about those and then group them up into 90-Day Actions.

What are the 90-Day Actions?

The 90-Day Actions refer to the things you need to do within the next 90 days if you’re going to achieve our 12-month goal? Focus on those, set some Project Teams up for your business if that’s what you need to do. (These are small teams that are focused on actually delivering outcomes for you). So set up some Project Teams and make it happen.

Okay, so that’s the HOW part.

To summarise your plans, I suggest you use a One Page Plan tool, there’s actually a template for this online on my website on the blog, so you should be able to download it. If you can’t, just please contact me through the blog and I’ll send you a copy.

The One Page Plan is really simple. It contains a quick summary of the NOW, WHERE and some of the targets you want to hit. And then down the bottom, the strategies and the must do’s and then the action plans – the 3 or 4 things you need to do to get things moving.

So that’s the basic process. Work out where you are NOW, work out WHERE you’re going to be in the future and then lastly, plan HOW you’re going to get there. Summarise it all into a neat plan, set yourself some 90-day actions, be really clear on those actions and get you and your team motivated and off to a successful 2012.

Now is the time to get in and develop a plan for 2012 before you get too far down the track. Just do it - for most people this is a 20 min to 30 minute exercise.

All the best for 2012,

Russell

ZMOT - How Can You Use This in Your Business?

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 17:38:00 GMT

Marketing has always played an important role in the success of businesses. It is one of the essential processes and is the major driver of future sales and profitability.

But what does marketing really mean?

Marketing is the process where businesses - whether for products or services - promote and position their goods in the market so that consumers will choose them over all the existing and similar products or services available.

Originally, marketing is best described in a 3-step model - stimulus, shelf and experience; where:

1. Stimulus refers to the point when a consumer gets stimulated or persuaded to buy a product because of an ad or a TV commercial;

2. Shelf, which is also known as the First Moment of Truth (FMOT) refers to the point when a consumer goes to his favorite store and selects the product with the help of visuals such as ads, displays and/or a salesperson, and;

3. Experience or the Second Moment of Truth (SMOT) is when the consumer actually uses the product, usually at home, after buying - it is the after-purchase experience with the product.

This model explains the basic steps in marketing until now. But ever since the internet, smartphones and other mobile devices have become part of our daily lives, a new step in the marketing process has been introduced.

This new step is called the Zero Moment of Truth or simply ZMOT ("zedMOT" in Australia!). It has been studied and presented by Google's Managing Director of US Sales & Services and Chief ZMOT Evangelist - Jim Lucenski. He says "ZMOT is the critical new moment between Stimulus and the First Moment Of Truth."

What is ZMOT?

As Dina Howell, CEO of Saatchi and Saatchi X puts it - ZMOT is the future of marketing. And in today's internet-able world, it happens every day. It is that moment when after being stimulated or encouraged to purchase by an ad or a TV commercial, a consumer grabs a smartphone or a laptop and searches for information, reads about reviews and opinions about the product he or she is wanting to buy.

The days for using the traditional 3-step mental model for marketing are no more. Today’s model now consists of 4 equally important steps - stimulus, ZMOT, FMOT and SMOT.

ZMOT happens online and in real time. For most people today it is the defining moment in the buying process. Consumers of all products and services are now doing their online research prior to calling or dropping into your business. This means that business owners need to be doing the basics well.

How You Can Use ZMOT in Business

Businesses can benefit from taking advantage of ZMOT in a lot of ways. But first, it is crucial for them to make themselves present in the virtual world. How?

One option is to put up a quality Website with good rankings for keywords in Google. With the popularity of free tools like Wordpress and cheap hosting (Hostica.com) there is no reason why every business can’t have a simple website presence. This is a MUST have.

However, as consumers become more digitally adept they expect to see more information about you online. They want to see more than your self-generated content (website and traditional marketing).

They want to see how you interact with others and what other people have to say about you.

This is where Social Media becomes important. It’s not important which tool you use: Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Youtube, etc. It’s important that you select one that resonates with your target market and begin to use it regularly.

Take the time or invest some cash with a good professional (I recommend David Ligtenberg from Itag Media - www.itagmedia.com) to ensure that your presence fits with your target and the image you wish to present.

Consumers nowadays are smart and want to be well-informed before actually buying. ZMOT helps them become the consumer they want to be. Where are you when your consumers or clients have their ZMOTs? Are you there?

If you haven't integrated ZMOT into your marketing strategies yet, then now is the time to do so. Start reaping the benefits of ZMOT by following Jim's seven smart ways.

1. Put someone in charge

2. Find your Zero Moment

3. Answer the questions people are asking

4. Optimize for ZMOT

5. Be fast

6. Don't forget Video

7. Jump In

To find out more about this amazing new step in marketing, I suggest you download and read Jim's ebook - ZMOT. It's free! I learned a lot from it and I know you will too.

Best, Russell

Are Meetings Dead?

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 12:57:00 GMT

Meetings are an important part of communication in most businesses but it is a poorly understood discipline. For many people, a meetings is that it is something that is boring, takes a lot of time and has little value.

I suspect many people would say that meetings are dead or unnecessary, especially in a small business. Maybe it’s because many of us have been too exposed to traditional type of meetings which usually drag on for hours and seem to have little or no purpose.

I still believe that meetings are vital to improving communication and feedback throughout the business. However, we need to change the structure, timing and composition to suit our needs and help us become more productive, and the business more profitable. But we need a new paradigm for the humble meeting.

What do we need to do in order to create a new "meeting" paradigm?

The first thing we need to change is the name - MEETINGS. The mere mention of this name conjures all the wrong images in our minds. My suggestion is that you call your "new meetings" something else like: discussions, catch ups, toolbox talks, huddles, etc - anything but "meetings". This will change the mindset right from the start.If you have any good alternative names then please post on the blog at the end of this post.

Get the structure right

Second issue to address is the structure. By this I mean 3 key elements:

• Agenda;

• Duration

• Attendees

AGENDA: Take the time to understand the purpose of the "meeting". Why are we bothering? What are our expectations? Once you understand this, you can then create a simple agenda to meet these needs. Keep it tight and focused. Document only agreed actions arising from the meeting. The meetings should be about making decisions.

A simple Agenda could cover topics like: What's going well? What's not? How are we tracking on key KPI's? What do we need to change? What is news? Previous actions. Agreed actions from this meeting.

DURATION: My advice, the shorter the better! Set tight timeframes for discussions on topics. Give everyone a chance to contribute within agreed timeframes. Don't allow "time fillers" to waffle on. Establish rules around what and when a topic gets taken off-line from this meeting. (My general rule is anything that doesn't involve 3 or more participants/departments should be taken off-line). You are better off to have more short, sharp, focused meetings with the right people on board than fewer, longer, less productive meetings.

ATTENDEES: This is a tricky one as you run the risk of bruising egos. However, if your business is to grow and develop you will need to address these issues at some point. Attendees need to be people who will add value and/or will be directly responsible for actions generated in the meeting. There should be no-one with "Observer" status. If you are part of the meeting you are expected to contribute.

FREQUENCY and TIMING

With today’s fast-paced lifestyle and dynamic businesses, most business owners say they haven’t got the time to meet formally, but will consider chatting over a cup of coffee periodically and hope that that will be good enough. They also use other forms of communication such as email and SMS in lieu of a quality meeting (not that these aren't good tools for the right situation).

The problem is, although these people think they are saving time and money by having a fleeting meeting now and then, in reality they are wasting more than if they sat down with a proper agenda, and conducted a well-thought through meeting.

The basic rule for frequency is that – the bigger the challenge ahead of you and the quicker you need to deliver on that challenge then the more frequently your team needs to communicate. Meetings are certainly an important part of that communication process as they allow for fast fine-tuning of direction and activities to keep everyone on track to meet your business goals.

Set the frequency of your meetings to fit with the rate of change and the challenges being confronted.

Remember we are talking about short, sharp focused meetings not the rambling gatherings of old! You are better to meet more frequently for short periods than longer and less frequent.

Change your paradigms

Meetings of old are no longer relevant. Business and communication tools have changed but quality meetings are always an important part of business growth.

It’s time to upgrade to well-structured and short timeframe meetings (20 minutes or less) – short and sharp with clear outcomes and action plans. This way you get far better results, far better time efficiency and far better participation rates.

Make the change - you'll be pleased you did!

Russell Cummings

How to create iPhone apps - no programming knowledge required

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 20:18:42 GMT

The number of people that I talk with who have a great idea for an iPhone app is incredible. The challenge for most of us in how to make it happen.

Too many of the online resources are superficial, high in hype and low in detail or aimed squarely at people with a high level of IT skills and experience. Most of the people I talk with are like me and have no programming skills and lack the time, drive and aptitude to develop them.

Despite my lack of skills, I have developed a 2 iPhone apps (Force Field Analysis and Competitor Analysis - both business apps) and have another 4 apps in development.

The process to get my apps developed was convoluted and challenging. Along the way, I have made plenty of mistakes but also found heaps of tools, tips and tricks. I have pulled all this together into a new 260 page eBook that explains the 9 Step Process of developing and marketing an iPhone app - in great detail.

The eBook also includes a listing of over 205 resources that you can use to develop your own iPhone application.

Follow the link for more information and get your copy of this new eBook

http://www.howtocreateapps.net/

Must have business technology for the mobile Exec

Wed, 18 May 2011 16:51:00 GMT

As a business coach working closely with business owners and managers in a wide variety of settings, I am frequently out of my office and "on the road". In the last few years, I have found some great technology that has revolutionized my work.

Most of this has been fueled by increasing connectivity due to wireless broadband Internet, cloud based computing and integrated communication devices.

The tools of trade that I can no longer be without are:

SMARTPHONE: I use an iPhone as it seamlessly connects with my Mac and iPad making a truly integrated system. However, I have friends and colleagues with Blackberry and Android phones that provide the same evel of service.

Key elements are obviously the phone plus internet and email access. In addition there are a variety of apps that I use on my iPhone and iPad that are excellent. I also carry a set of headphones (standard Apple model) for making hands-free calls and listening to music on the phone.

My Smartphone allows me to quickly check emails and text messages between meetings and I can even respond with simple replies on my phone (big fingers and lack of fine motor skills restrict usability).

I synchronize my CRM (I use a Mac based CRM Daylite but you can use outlook, etc) so that appointments and contact details are maintained on all devices. I will discuss some of the key apps that I use below, but they are an essential part of being mobile.

Battery life on the iPhone often struggles to meet demand, so I carry a USB charge cable and a quick charge battery pack which is about the size of a box of matches (they still make them - don’t they?)

iPAD 3GS: since purchasing my iPad about 6 months ago, I wonder how I ever got on without it.

Previously I would cart my laptop plus assorted cables and chargers and a USB Internet connection with me all day. I had a large computer bag to carry my computer, peripherals and client books. This usually weighed more than 4kg hand luggage limit on our local commuter airline meaning that I would often have to have my equipment (I always kept my laptop in hand) in the hold of the plane - another inconvenience.

With the iPad, all I carry is a USB charging cable (same one as the iPhone) but I rarely have to use it as the iPad has excellent battery life. For overnight trips I will take the wall charger but this is a very small unit so it's not a drama. I also carry an adapter cable that will let me plug my iPad into a monitor or data projector for use with presentations. This plus the Livescribe pen and writing pad (in a leather folio) fits into a small leather briefcase rather than a large computer bag.

While the iPad is not a full laptop replacement it does 80% of the things I require when on the road. I can type simple documents (actually I'm typing this blog in a cafe on my iPad), use simple spreadsheets, edit and deliver simple PowerPoint presentations, check my email, surf the web, update social media sites (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter), complete skype calls, use my CRM and various other apps.

The screen based keyboard is not ideal but is passable for most of my needs - however, I’m about to upgrade to an iPad 2 and will look for a very portable wireless Bluetooth keyboard to match it - I'll keep you posted on progress.

2011 will see the release of a number of competing products for the iPad and sure many of these like the Android phones will be quite good. I am an unabashed Apple fan – the stuff just works!

But whatever brand you choose, make sure that each of your devices is very compatible with the others - it just makes life easier.

LIVESCRIBE SMARTPEN: (www.livescribe.com) possibly the best investment I made in 2010 was this innovative smartpen. It is a literally a small computer in a pen and has fundamentally changed the way I work with my clients (actually the product works so well that many of them now have Smartpens oftheir own).

The Smartpen is an electronic biro. You use it on custom stationery, although you can print your own. The pen uses an infrared camera and "invisible markers” on the stationery so that it knows in what book, what page and where on that page you are writing.

It records every pen stroke and allows you to upload a copy of the page to your computer. You can then share your notes with others via PDF, Evernote or uploading the website.

You can also record audio with the pen and it will sync the audio and writing so that when you play it back you can see what was being said (recorded) at the time you were writing. Great for lecture notes and seminars.

I use it to record my meetings with clients, then when I return to the office, I upload to my desktop (there is no iPad app) and then send a copy, usually PDF, to my client. If necessary, I will also need a copy to my VA for typing.

Stationery is available in a variety of sizes and formats and is reasonably priced.

It is a great idea that works really. The pen is a little chunky but after using it for a while I don’t find it a chore to write with.

So that is the technology that is really working for me.

What technology are you using and how does it give you leverage?

The Lost Art of Management

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 18:09:00 GMT

You know, I think that over the last few decades that "business” has lost the art of managing their people. (I say "business” because obviously there are some great managers out there – but, in general, management is a lost art!)

We’ve managed to pull through the GFC ("Global Financial Crisis”) and have emerged into a market that is very competitive, with tighter margins and that is far more globalised than ever before.

There are also significant opportunities for businesses that are have the capacity and capability to embrace them. But here lies the challenge…

I am finding that most businesses do not have the necessary "middle- management” skills and personnel to pull it off.

Why is this so?

Well, in an effort to become more efficient, we have "exised the fat” and removed layers of middle-management by pushing more and more responsibility down the "chain of command”.

"Delegation and empowerment” have been the buzz words of the first decade of this century. Now, this was fine when economies and businesses grew at unprecedented rates and that being an effective sales person meant that you were quickest to the fax to collect new orders when they came through.

In the 1980’s and 1990’s, high profile CEO’s ("Chainsaw” Al Dunlap, etal) made a big impact with their "razor gangs” laying off hundreds of thousands of people, mainly middle managers, in the search for improved profits.

I believe this was short-term thinking and that the long-term effects were camouflaged by the huge economic growth from the late 1990’s to 2008.

"Money can paper over a lot of cracks” has been my mantra and since 2008, when the cash vanished, the cracks have been laid bare.

My colleague, Mike Boyle – the Sales Scientist (Mike is a leading sales consultant and if you’re having any issues with sales in your business – you need to contact him at www.banjargroup.com.au ) – has found similar issues in Sales Management and has expressed it beautifully.

Mike says "If managers are seen as by managing by results, they are actually managing by fear.

If they are seen as managing by activities, they are managing by pressure.

Neither of these management strategies will grow the capabilities of the team to meet future challenges.

They should be placing a large proportion of their time in developing and coaching their sales team to lift skills, improve knowledge and change behaviors” and he has the data to prove that this works.

I agree wholeheartedly with Mike. In essence, we have lost the art of coaching and mentoring our team members.

We are often very good at measuring the numbers and "cracking the whip” on activities but not very good at coaching our team to build skills, knowledge and change behaviours.

I believe it will be exacerbated in our changing workforce, as the "experience" of the Baby Boomers leaves the workforce and is replaced by the "enthusiasm" of Gen Y who have not been coached and developed to the same extent.

For me, this raises a couple of fundamental questions:

What are your managers doing to "grow” their people?

How will you move from a management culture based on fear and pressure to one based on mentoring and growth?

Your answers will be critical to your long term business success.

What are the barriers to developing an iPhone app?

Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:25:00 GMT

The Apple App Store is an amazing marketplace that has changed the way we interact with technology and how we purchase and deliver software solutions. It is a great business model. The strength of this model is in the way Apple has encouraged others to build product specifically for their devices.

As many of you know, I have recently developed a couple of iPhone apps for business users (Force Field Analysis and Competitor Analysis) and have become intrigued by the concept. The exercise is going well (I could always do with a few more sales!) but I'm not going to give up my day job just yet!

When I released my first app, I had so many enquiries asking "How do you develop an app as I have some ideas?" that I decided to write an e-book about my experiences and the knowledge I picked up along the way. The book is 75% complete.

I can honestly say that building an app "blind" (no knowledge or skills) was really challenging but I have learnt a lot along the way. The internet is full of resources that are applicable if you have some programming (coding) knowledge but pretty light on if you are technologically inept like me.

However, what I'm interested in is if so many people have so many ideas for apps - why don't they just dive in and make it happen?

What are the barriers that are stopping you from developing a smartphone app?

You can comment below or send me an email or respond to my posting directly. I'd love to hear from you.

Russell

6 April 2011

RSS - What is it? How do I use it?

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 21:12:00 GMT

RSS Feeds – What are they? How can I use them in my business?

In this day and age, internet and mobile technology play a big role in everyday life. This is especially true for those of us who constantly search for new and efficient ways to disseminate information to our network of friends, customers and clients. Aside from the usual web tactics, RSS feeds make this possible.

What are RSS Feeds?

RSS ("Really Simple Syndication”) is a group of standardised data formats for news and headlines, blogs, audio and video. It is identified by name or symbols like this:

These formats, also known as "feeds,” allow publishers to publish content automatically via web, desktop and mobile RSS readers. Once published then content can be easily and automatically accessed by groups or individuals.

RSS also allows those who are interested to subscribe to the feeds that they like. These feeds are then delivered automatically to your RSS reader. There are stand alone RSS Readers but they are now built into the main email programs like Outlook, Netscape and Apple Mail.

The main benefit of using RSS to access the content that you like is that it is aggregated for you in one place – you do not need to visit a heap of websites to view the content that you like.

How can I use RSS in my business?

RSS is usually integrated as one of the basic functions of a website. It helps fuel traffic. And although it isn’t the only function that can generate traffic for your site, reaching as many people and getting them to subscribe to your feeds is one of the top ways to produce buzz and increase your site’s ranking and authority on the web. At the same time, you can connect and gather related info from people who think the same as you.

RSS feeds help spread the word about anything - for free. And it is for this reason, that a business owner—especially one who has taken his business online—should take advantage of it. Compared to sending emails or regular newsletters to clients or customers, RSS feeds are more effective as they are customized and specific. RSS subscription ensures that people get a hold of feeds that are only of their interest.

For businesses, RSS feeds are efficient forms of promotion and marketing that works in two ways. Aside from being a quick-share tool by supplying credible content to your subscribers on their computers and mobile phones in seconds, it also helps when business owners subscribe to or exchange feeds and gather info from related sites.

How do I subscribe to RSS feeds?

To subscribe to an RSS feed, you should have two things—an RSS reader and the URL of the feed’s website you wish to subscribe to.

RSS readers also known as "news aggregators” are free to download and easy to use. Almost all sites with RSS feeds offer links to where you can get one. But you can also choose to use a free web-based reader like Google Reader, My Yahoo or My MSN that features feeds that you’ve subscribed to in your browser’s homepage.

As mentioned above, most mail programs also include RSS Reader capabilities. There are plenty of RSS Reader apps for your iPhone, iPad, Blackberry or Android smartphone as well.

After downloading an RSS Reader, click on "Add RSS Feed” and copy the URL of the RSS then paste and add it into your reader. RSS readers allow users to customize the frequency of updates for feeds—daily, weekly or monthly.

Alternatively you can just click on the RSS icon on the blog or website that you would like to follow.

In summary, RSS feeds are truly effective info-sharing tools for businesses that will thrive and continue to find opportunities in the Internet era. They are also great tools for keeping up to date with blogs and websites that you are interested in.

Russell

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To subscribe to this blog via RSS, follow the link and click on "Subscribe in Mail” or click on the RSS icon next to "All Categories". The RSS Feed URL for this blog is

http://www.sbdbusiness.com.au/systems/rss.aspx?pg=112&c=en-US

To tweet or not tweet...

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 17:54:00 GMT

To Tweet or Not to Tweet

Social networking has indeed changed the world. Since its introduction, this modern phenomenon, which is also referred to as social media, has provided a new and faster way for people to connect, interact and go about with their daily lives.

Social networking may have started out as a fad, but its massive appeal has transformed it to something even bigger. And today, almost 50% of the world’s IT literate population, under 30 years old, is on social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and more.

Social networking has affected almost every person in the world in one way or another—good or bad. In fact, many people’s personal lives have changed because of it. Research shows that 1 out of 8 US couples have met through social networking sites. With things like this happening because of social media, the question is, is it only good for personal life? Or are there opportunities that businesses can take advantage of?

Social Media and Business

One of social networking’s strong points is that it gets news across—whatever it is—to millions of people—wherever they are—in real time. Gone are the days when people had to take time to find out about what’s going on in the world. These days, news is fed to people via social networking in minutes! This feature is one of the best opportunities businesses can and should definitely explore and take advantage of.

Another opportunity that social networking presents to businesses is its attractiveness or appeal to people. Aside from having a large proportion of the world’s population on it, studies reveal that social networking sites, especially Facebook, have topped other forms of media such as TV, radio and other popular internet sites like Google. This percentage ensures that business people who invest time and money to market their products and companies in social networking sites are sure to get the exposure and quotas they’re aiming for.

But with so much hype on social networking, many consider that the social media bubble is about to burst. The notion has been formulated by economists who think that all things that reach a peak will soon fall. And with this speculation, business owners ask whether investing in social media is still worth it or not?

Social media is here to stay

People might say that the reign of social media will soon end, and although it may be true, businesses should still take the opportunity to use it for marketing purposes because the social networking technology will be here to stay.

Yes, it is possible that Facebook and other popular social networking sites may become obsolete in a few years but it will only be replaced by something much more advanced.

Social networking sites, as the term implies, thrive on people’s natural instinct to socialize, to communicate and to interact with each other. So long as there are people in the world, social media, in whatever form will stay as a powerful tool to reach out, sell and convey a message.

Social media is relatively inexpensive

With the global financial crisis, finding alternative solutions to high costs is essential for businesses to survive. And with that said, another reason why businesses should consider utilizing social networking is because it is inexpensive.

Most social networking sites are free to access by anyone, anywhere in the world. With no financial cost, businesses are able to build a profile in whatever way they want their brand to be introduced and made known to the market. But don’t be fooled. Social networking may be absolutely free, but in order for businesses to excel in this new media, hard work and patience is required.

Social networking makes businesses more vulnerable to the public eye. Just as in the "physical world”, establishing solid customer relationships and providing sincere customer service are important for business growth - they are just as important online. If businesses fail to invest the necessary time and effort in reaching out to their customers - they’re bound to fail in social media, as well.

Anecdotal evidence suggests that businesses that treat their social networking like any other physical networking opportunity are winning work from it. This requires a consistent focus and attention to the network. It will involve participation in the network, communication with other members, responding to posts, joining special interest groups and discussion forums. All things you would do in a physical networking group like a Chamber of Commerce.

Selecting the right network for your business

Obviously, selecting the right social media platform for your business is important. Facebook, although the dominant player in the market, anecdotally appears to be more for Business to Consumer relationships than some other options.

LinkedIn on the other hand is one the larger Professional/Business networking sites and is much more suited to building Business to Business relationships.

Twitter, is a "micro blogging” network that seems to have appeal across both business and social networks. Some of the networks, like LinkedIn, allow you to interact with other social media like blogs, Twitter, etc such that a posting on your blog can automatically feed to LinkedIn which can then on feed a comment to your Twitter account. In this way, one activity can service multiple contact points and networks.

Choose the network that suits your business and concentrate your effort on this. This should give you a greater return for effort than spreading yourself too thin.

Countering the dangers of social media for businesses

Like all things, social networking also has its disadvantages. One of the dangers of social media for businesses is also one of its strongest points—social networking delivers news, good or bad, in an instant. For this reason, businesses should be wary of what they say about their products and be very careful of their actions.

According to some studies, people are prone to believing what they’re friends say more than what they see on advertisements or press releases. A bad company or product reputation will easily spread via social media.

Another thing that business owners should keep an eye out for when investing in social networking sites is the possibility of having copycats. Competition can encourage anyone to do just about anything, and because social media sites are mostly free, it’s easy to copy and create false and rep-destroying profiles against a competitor. Because of this, social networking as a marketing tool is dangerous by itself.

Integration is the key

Social Media is not the only platform for your marketing – it is one of many. And it should be integrated into traditional media and other marketing strategies such as word of mouth, relationship building and contact programs.

It is crucial for businesses to integrate social media activities with their existing marketing programs because the objective of using social media is to build relationships via an online community, just as much of your other marketing is about interacting with the physical community.

Overall, the advantages of social networking as a business tool outweigh its disadvantages. With larger proportion s of the business community involved in social media in one way or another, it is a strategy that business owners should definitely take advantage of.

So, TWEET!

Getting some balance in your life!

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:56:00 GMT

One of the key issues that impacts on most business owners and managers is the issue of Life Balance.

This issue is relevant at all times in our lives and if the area has not been reviewed recently, is an invaluable exercise to undertake when life-changing events such as retirement are contemplated.

One of the tools that can be used to assist us to answer the question "How do I know if I am successful?" is to undertake a review of Life Balance. There is no definitive answer as to what constitutes success and each person needs to define the key elements for themselves however the model that we use contains 6 key areas:

Family
Health
Social Life
Money
Mental
Personal Philosophy

Success in each of these area is important however is more important that success be balanced between all areas. If these are considered to be segments of a wheel, that wheel won't be able to turn unless that balance exists.

You will note that we dont include Work as one of the elements but consider it the road that this Wheel travels along, and which can provide many of the Life Balance elements.

Imagine a zero at the centre and a ten on the circumference and then subjectively score where you stand in each segment.

If you score very well in some segments but low in others it indicates a need to develop strategies to lift your score in those areas to bring the wheel into balance.

Don't score yourself based on the time involved but rather the quality of each area. If for example you did not score well in the area of Health, what action plans can you put in place?

A Medical Checkup
Sign up with the local gym
Commence a Diet
Regular walking program
A combination of any of the above

It is up to you to select something that you are comfortable with. Why not involve a friend or family member? Not only does it provide a wonderful support mechanism, it also means that you can work on two Life Balance areas at the one time.

It is important though that specific measurable targets be set. Deciding that I will exercise more is likely to be of little help. Set a specific measurable target. I will walk for 40 minutes at least 4 times per week. At the end of the week it is easy to know whether or not you have achieved your objective. Why not chart your progress? Remember it takes about 12 weeks to form a habit.

The One Page Plan

Sat, 14 Aug 2010 17:35:00 GMT

The One Page Plan covers the key elements of a Business Improvement Plan by summarising the NOW, WHERE and HOW.

In the NOW Summary, you need to pull out the key points of your current position, remembering that you only have room for about 10 short points (3 to 4 words per point).

In the WHERE Summary, you need to include a short summary of your Vision, your Business Statement, your Sustainable Competitive Advantage and your Objectives. In the HOW, we need a summary of each of your key strategies and your action plans.

To keep the plan to one page, you can always print on both sides of an A4 sheet. In this way you can have the Plan on one side with the budget (financial projections) or detailed action plans on the other side of the sheet.

It is suggested that elements of the plan are supported with detailed information as required. This may include:

Strategy Documents
Marketing Information
Budgets and Financial Projections

This will mean that your total business plan could be 8 to 10 pages in length (it could be longer) but that it is summarised onto a single page. The ONE PAGE PLAN then becomes your management document and is used to drive the development of your business. It is a great tool for achieving this as it is flexible, short, concise and easily updated.

The One Page Plan concept is so powerful that we use it develop One Page plans for a whole range of activities including:

Marketing
Customer Service
Recruiting
Personal Development

Within the one business you may have different divisions or sections – you can develop a One Page Plan for each Division! Each Team and/or staff member can have their own One Page plan. The Plans can cascade down from a Company level to an individual level with as many levels in between as are appropriate.

There is no end to the uses for the One Page plan concept!

Why plans fail

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:47:00 GMT

There are several other reasons why business managers don’t plan:

Traditional business plans are too complex
Traditional business planning fails to address many of the current issues in our business
They often only focus on the future
Traditional business planning assumes that management will develop and implement the plan
Traditional business plans are too inflexible to be of any use
(How can a 100 page document be reworked quickly to meet changing market conditions?)
Traditionally business plan usually doesn’t provide a mechanism to prioritise the key issues
How do you can determine which issues are to be dealt with first?

Are these some of the reasons why you haven’t developed a plan for the future of your business?

For a Business Improvement Plan to be useful, I believe it must:

Be simple and easy to adjust
Be flexible
Maximise our change potential
Be based on Best Practice tools and techniques
Allow you to prioritise your activities
Involve your whole team in development and implementation
Include problem solving routines to develop action plans

Why don’t traditional plans meet this criteria?

In many cases, the business planning format has been adapted to meet the needs of advisers, financiers (bankers), government agencies providing assistance and accountants. For these external advisers, the Business Plan provides evidence that the Manager/Owner has thought through all the issues and the plan provides a comprehensive overview of the business.

However, a traditional business plan often fails to meet the needs of the Business Manager and his team because it has been designed to meet external rather than internal needs.

Dont get me wrong there are plenty of times when a traditional business plan is required and is warranted. Examples would include: new business start-ups, taking over an existing business, extensive business expansion, introduction of new products lines, major capital expenditure, etc.

Feedback from my clients is that for many businesses, developing a traditional business plan is time consuming and appears to be an insurmountable hurdle that Managers will only attempt when they are pressured to by outside forces like the Bank.

This is a great shame because as we discussed above having a great plan with vision is one of the key elements of maximising your change potential.

So is there a better way? YES! The One Page Plan.

Getting the right people

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:42:00 GMT

Like so many other areas of good business management getting the right plan in place for management of your human resources can increase profits dramatically if implemented correctly. Getting the right equipment for the job is accepted as essential if consistent quality production is to be maintained and it is with this same philosophy recruiting the right people into your organisation should be viewed.

This applies particularly to business sectors where we often hire fewer permanent employees but seem to have an endless parade of casual employees. Can we improve this situation by having a better plan? Yes!

The Mindshop recruitment process has been tested over many years, in a variety of industries and companies. It provides a simple yet comprehensive system for farm businesses to get the right people the first time. Consider the following: -

Person Specification

What type of person are you seeking? Do they need to be innovative, responsible, good with machinery or stock, or self-motivated? How will you test this at the interview?

Advertise

How are you going to attract the best applicants and discourage inappropriate ones? How can you use the advertisement to encourage your existing employees rather than de-motivate them? If you are not formally advertising then develop a statement that explains the sort of person you require and the qualities they must have. This is better then asking around the pub if anyone knows of anyone looking for work!

Interview Project

A way of minimising the risk of a recruitment mistake is to get the final applicants to undertake a project. An applicant for a storeman's position can demonstrate their skills in the loading docks.

Reference Check

No one produces a reference or a referee that does not say what the applicant wants it/them to say. How can you use the reference check to find out the truth about the applicant?

Induction

Don't throw your new employee into the deep end. Induction maximises the start up performance of a new employee. A little planning and a simple checklist is all that is needed.

The key to finding the best person is locating the person with the most appropriate core values. An advertisement in a USA paper for hotel said we don't train our people to be nice we just hire nice people.

There is an imperative to bring out the core values of an applicant however in doing this through the normal recruitment process's can create a number of traps

Solo Recruiting

Too often people recruit on their own. It's very difficult to manage your own performance, plus, watch the reactions of the person you are interviewing. Never recruit on your own.

Lack of Preparation

People never make the time to effectively prepare for their recruitment interview. Part of the reason for this, is that they have done so many before, they have tricked themselves into believing they are good at it. Preparation is the key to success in any business activity, particularly recruitment.

Halo Effect

This occurs when your applicant makes mention of something you feel good about. Perhaps they are a member of a similar sporting club or group to you. As soon as you hear this common ground, then everything they say is biased in your mind. Be careful about the halo effect, it can lead you astray!

Lack of Follow Up

Too often, people ignore some of the basic business requirements of reference checking, offer letters and induction. The follow up in a recruitment process is as important as the initial planning and interviewing phase.

People assume that recruitment is an easy process, when in fact, it's quite difficult to develop the key skills required to be effective in the recruitment process. This is especially hard when you only recruit once in a blue moon. Consider engaging the assistance of a professional to assist you in the process. They will charge a fee but it is usually money well spent.

However, a good system for recruitment coupled with sound implementation will go a long way to giving you the competitive edge that comes with having the right staff.

Reducing waste in your business

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:26:00 GMT

Waste in most organisations accounts for between 15% and 30% of the total operating cost of the business and is often higher than this in service industries. Therefore if your business has costs of $1.0 million per annum then you could expect to find between $150,000 and $300,000 of waste and inefficiency in even the best run businesses.

What are your total annual costs? ______________

Multiply your total costs by 0.2 (20%). ____________

This is an estimate of the cost of inefficiency and waste in your business.
Can you afford to leave this waste in your business?

But where does it come from?
In most businesses there is an element of waste that has been designed into the business from the start. It was introduced by the original owners who started up the business and is usually part of the way you do business. This is because most businesses begin life as a small business, where there is a great deal of multi-skilling of staff and where processes are evolved rather than purpose designed.

Waste is often accepted within your business because the employees (and you) have stopped "seeing" the waste around them.

Waste in your business is not a sign of poor management and should not reflect badly upon current and past management as it is a systemic problem of the business that is usually well hidden. However, now that you are aware of the potential waste lurking within your business there is little or no excuse for not addressing this problem immediately!

For example: Porsche, the maker of magnificent motor vehicles, lowered assembly time from six weeks to three days and still cut its level of mistakes by 55%. An incredible increase in productivity and quality! Inventory levels also dropped from 17 days to 3.2 days improving the cash flow of the organisation dramatically. Similar levels of improvement are possible within your business.

THE SEVEN WASTES
The following are the Seven Wastes in a business. These waste areas are based on a process developed by Toyota for improving business efficiency.

Overproduction: What are you overproducing? Look for a build up in stocks, work in progress and resources
Waiting: Where do goods and services wait? What activities are adding value ? Which are not?
Transport: Where do things move? Look at moving goods, paper, people and machines.
Inappropriate Processing: Are you using the right machine for the job? Are you using the right person for the job?
Inventory: Where are you storing value? Look for waste in the piles of raw materials, finished goods and services (WIP), bank accounts and debtors.
Motion: Look for wasted movement. Check the ergonomics.
Defects: Where are the mistakes occurring? De we have rework or significant levels of product returns?

THE WASTE AUDIT
Mindshop has developed a waste audit process that enables you to identify and prioritise the waste in the organisation. We recommend that you involve Project Teams in the identification and elimination of the waste. The teams need to have involvement and commitment to the selected issues. If this is not in place it is very difficult to maintain the process.

MINDSHOP TEAMS
In removing the waste from your business we recommend that small groups are trained in the basic Mindshop tools of Mindmapping, Pareto, and Force Field Analysis. The teams are asked to formally report to management after an eight week cycle. Key performance indicators are established to measure the success of the process.

SAVINGS ACHIEVED
The experience is that the waste reduction process is self funding right from the start. The savings from the waste reduction more than off set the cost of any training, or a facilitator, if required, and the time required for the team process.

As discussed above, the potential savings will usually be from 15% to 30% of your costs. In many businesses this is enough to double profits! The process is simple and extremely effective.

Regular Training Programs
SBD On-Line conducts regular training programs in how to reduce the level of waste in your business. These seminars are currently delivered in Newcastle, Sydney and Canberra and will teach you how to remove the Waste from your business.

Getting the Structure right!

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:50:00 GMT

People: Some people want to change, others resist it. Its sometimes necessary to admit that some team members have become a liability. If such people form the major part of a team, the team is doomed for failure. For this process to work the teams must be formed by the people who want change. In a family owned or small business selecting the right people can often be very difficult.

Products: The Pareto Rule is relevant here. "Twenty" percent of your products provide "eighty" percent of your sales. Twenty percent of our products provide eighty percent of your profit. Removing non performing products is essential if you want the right structure. Flexibility in production systems and an ability to diversify are critical to success in agriculture.

Customers: Again the Pareto Rule applies. Which twenty percent of your customers provide your sales, profit and repeat business? Which twenty percent provide eighty percent of your problems? Why invest time in these? Why not remove them? How many managers actually think about who they sell their products to?

Experience indicates that many businesses sell to customers who are tardy with payment (or even worse are "known" non-payers) or people that change the terms after delivery. Why do we sell to these people ? Select your customers wisely and build strong relationships with good customers that will stick with you in good times and bad. Do you have a customer care program to build relationships with your key customers? If not, then Why not?

Processes: The processes used in most businesses are rarely reviewed. Inefficiencies and waste creep in. To have the right structure, your processes need to be effective. Do you know what the key processes are in your business? How do they interact? Where are the inefficiencies? Where is the waste? Where are you under-utilising labour and resources? Where are you wasting inputs?

Processes also refer to the management processes in your business (not just the sales or production functions). Do you have an effective business planning process? How do you develop your marketing strategies? What are you Human Resource Management policies and strategies? These background or support processes are often more important than your production processes.

Price: A key structural element is pricing. Many businesses know how to cost, most dont price correctly. The wrong price can mean lost sales or lost profit. Correct pricing is a key success factor. How do you determine the correct selling price for your product? What is your selling strategy? How can you maximise the market price for your commodity? These are important questions that need to be answered.

But where to start?

This is a common question from managers and owners. - Where do I start? How do prioritise working on my people, products, prices, processes, etc? Where do I put the most effort?

There is no unique answer to this question although many "consultants" will tell you exactly where you need to apply your focus. In reality, depending on your individual situation, you may need to address all of these issues.

Our recommendation is that you develop a one page strategic plan for your business. YES - ONE PAGE!!

This simple, innovative planning process will help you to take stock of your current situation, work out where you want to be and help you prioritise the actions and strategies that will get you there.

The key to success is in this last step - PRIORITISE THE ACTIONS. The MindShop process that drives the development of the one page plan is unique and so simple to implement.

The one page plan will focus you on the actions you need to take to get your business or organisation moving. It will help determine whether you need to focus on people, prices, products or processes issues. It will also help you easily develop solutions to complex problems by providing you with a logical problem solving process.

3 stages of improving your business

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:34:00 GMT

The 3 stages are illustrated in the diagram below.

Stage 1: Structure.. Most people are aware the first stage in a business improvement process is to get the business structure right. The right structure means the right customers, the right products, the right prices, the right processes and the right people.

The structure involves dealing with the "visible" elements of the business. We dont usually look for the hidden wastes, costs and drivers at the structural level. involves dealing with the "visible" elements of the business. We don't usually look for the hidden wastes, costs and drivers at the structural level. involves dealing with the "visible" elements of the business. We don't usually look for the hidden wastes, costs and drivers at the structural level. involves dealing with the "visible" elements of the business. We don't usually look for the hidden wastes, costs and drivers at the structural level.

Most managers don't realise that once the structure is mostly in place, they should move to Stage Two which is to get the "waste" out of the structure or improve your efficiency. They continue to keep working on structural issues!

In Stage Two – Waste there are seven key areas of waste or inefficiency: overproduction, waiting, transport, inappropriate processing, inventory, motion and defects. We have developed processes to help you identify these wastes and inefficiencies easily and quickly. Experience indicates that waste usually accounts for 15% to 30% of your total costs. There are huge savings to be made here!!

Once both the structure and the waste (inefficiencies) are largely addressed, the biggest issue in the organisation can be addressed, Stage 3: Belief Systems of the people.

If a person believes that they are not worthy of success then they will prove themselves right. If they are an employee or family member (or you) then they will probably use your business as the vehicle to prove themselves right!

Showing a person how to develop a belief system of being worthy of success will result in them proving themselves right using, again using the organisation as a vehicle. Both the individual and the organisation wins.

It usually takes several years to work through each stage, the last stage requiring the most time.

The NEAT Analysis

Sun, 08 Aug 2010 20:14:00 GMT

NEAT Analysis
We have developed a simple methodology for looking at our marketing and business development options and have called it NEAT, which stands for:

Number of Customers
Efficiency %
Average Sale $
Transaction Frequency

Now, N x E x A x T = Profit

You can look at NEAT from a whole business perspective or on a business unit basis, if required. It is usually done on an annual basis.

Number of Customers simply stands for the number of Active Customers in your business. In most businesses active customers will be those that have purchased off you in the last year or two. In high turnover businesses , eg. NewsAgents, active customers could be those that have purchased off you in the last 3 months. In the building industry, it could be people that have purchased off you in the last 5 to 10 years.

In any case, count or estimate the number of active customers in your business. You can usually get this information from your bookkeeping systems although in a retail environment this maybe difficult, so estimate the number.

Efficiency is usually measured as Net Profit/Sales and expressed as a percentage. For example: if you make $100,000 Net profit on $500,000 worth of sales then your E is 20%.

Average Sale. This is an important measure because it looks at the average $ spend per sale. To determine what this is, look to your records eg. bookkeeping systems or cash registers. From a bookkeeping system, simply divide the Total Sales by the number of Invoices and cash sales. From your cash register, record the total sales $ for a period and count up the number of actual sales in the same period and divide. So how much are your customers currently spending each time they do business with you?

Transaction Frequency. Quite simply, how many times do your customers buy from you in a year? To work this out divide the number of invoices or sales calculated above by the number of active Customers. If you are in a high frequency business, this could be a number between 50 and 100 (once or twice a week) or a low frequency business eg. building this transaction figure could be 0.1 (once every 10 years).

Working out the NEAT Values for your Business
As mentioned above, multiplying your NEAT components together should give you a measure of your profit. If we break down the basic components we can see the components of sales and efficiency.

N x E x A x T = Profit
(N x A x T) x E% = Profit
Sales x Efficiency% = Profit

( Customers x Sales x Transactions) x Efficiency % = Profit ( 1 Transaction Customers )

Now, complete the calculation using the figures for your business: For example: if we have: 200 customers, sales of $1,000,000pa.; Net Profit Margin of 15% of sales; 5,000 invoices (transactions) per annum, then your NEAT calculation would look as follows:

N = 200 Active Customers

A = Average Sale
= Sales/Transactions = 1,000,000/5,000 = $200/ Sale

T = Transaction Frequency = Transactions/Customers
= 5,000/200 = 25 per Customer per annum

E % = Efficiency % = 15%

Check that: N x A x T = Total Sales (200 x $200 x 25 = $1,000,000)

Check that: Sales x E% = Profit ($1,000,000 x 15% = $150,000)

This is all very interesting but how do I use it?
Once you have your NEAT components, you can start to analyse your business. There are 6 easy steps:

Step #1: Start with N (Customers). How many active Customers do we have? What proportion of our total customer list are active? For example: if we have 1,000 Customers on file over the last 10 years, but only 200 are active then only 20% of our Customers are active. How can we rejuvenate the 80%? How can we attract more Customers? How do we stop the "churn" in Customers? How many of our active customers are "A Class" customers? How many are "C Class"? How will you find more A Class? Brainstorm your actions and look at the impact you could have on N. Write down the new N number.

Step #2: Improve Efficiency %. Efficiency % is calculated by profit over sales. The difference between sales and profit is composed of costs. What can we do to reduce our costs? How can we become more efficient? How can we reduce our Variable Costs? What can we do about overheads and finance costs? How does your business compare with other businesses in the same industry? Brainstorm your options and calculate the impact these will have on your efficiency %. Write this number down.

Step #3: Increase Average Sale. Look at your average sale. How does this compare with what you thought your average sale was? Most businesses over-estimate their average sale figure. How can we improve this figure? Look at adjusting your pricing? What would have to change about your goods and services for you to command a higher price? How can you package products and services to add value? How can you up-sell to better quality, higher margin goods? Can you cross-sell and introduce additional items with the sale (eg. "Do you want fries with your order?")? Brainstorm your options and estimate your new average sale figure. Write this down.

Step#4: Increase your Transaction Frequency. How can you increase the number of times your customers will buy from you in a given period? How can you bring them back to your business on a more frequent basis? How can you keep in contact with your clients? Do you have a contact program? Why not - it is the most effective way to ensure that you are in contact with your customer base? Do you collect contact details? Do you have a loyalty program? Again, write down your options and estimate the impact on the number of transactions.

Step #5: Calculate your new NEAT. Simply multiply your new N x E x A x T to get an estimate of your potential new profit. How does it compare to your current profit levels? Is it worth an investment of time and resources to grow to this level?

Step #6: Prioritise and Action Plan. Given that most business have limited resources of capital and labour, you won't be able to do everything on your NEAT lists. What are the 3 most important things that you need to do based on the NEAT Analysis? Select the 3 that will have the biggest impact and develop action plans to implement the solutions.

Next Steps
Do the NEAT Analysis. This is simple to do. Even if you don't have accurate figures use the NEAT concept as a basis for improving your figures.

Develop a Contact program for your Customers and prospects as a matter of priority. This is an essential tool for any business and usually has a very quick payback period and develops long term relationships with your customers.

Contact your MindShop facilitator if you need to ask any questions or need some assistance in developing a NEAT view of your business.

Marketing for tough times

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 20:03:00 GMT

What is Marketing?
Marketing is a term used to define a whole range of functions within a business and is expressed in a whole range of contexts. So exactly what is marketing?

If we pare back the rhetoric, marketing is simply the strategies we employ to move our products/services from us to the client profitably. Marketing is the process of converting prospects to customers.

It is much more than just advertising and promotion. Marketing also includes: understanding who is your target market; what is your competitive advantage; what are your product, pricing and distribution strategies as well as promotion & advertising. It is the combination of these factors that determines the effectiveness of your marketing programs.

If we think in these terms it becomes obvious we need to review and expand effort into these strategies during tough times.

The Sales Conveyor Belt
In order to survive we must maintain momentum with our sales. Think of the sales effort as a long conveyor belt of "prospects" being loaded one end and sales unloading (completed) at the other. There are some losses along the way so that not every prospect becomes a customer.

The more raw material (prospects) we can load the more opportunity we have to create sales. In some cases the more prospects being delivered the more selective we can be about whom we want to convert into a sale.

If we stop loading the conveyor belt with prospects, even for a short period, how long must we wait before the next batch are loaded and arrive to us ready for conversion into sales?

It will vary greatly from one type of industry to another however the research is clear and cites five times as the average number of contacts that need to be made with a prospect before they are likely to be getting close to conversion. And this figure relates to prospects who actually need the service anyway!

A prospect is quick to say "No!" which to the seasoned sales person actually means "not yet". The industry averages are that the average sales person stops selling after 2 "No's" and the average customer will buy after 5 offers or contacts.

So the loading of the conveyor must go on, especially in tough times.

This however can be difficult when profit and cash flow figures are constantly moving our focus toward expenditure reductions rather than expansion. This environment provides us the opportunity of being creative with our strategies to maintain volume prospects and therefore sales conversions in tough times.

How diverse is your promotions strategy?
Advertising is expensive and alone is not the most efficient way to secure prospects. So where can we boost our promotional or prospect gathering efforts without necessarily increasing expenditure?

Rule one in business, and therefore marketing, is to attack with an integrated plan.

This means that any promotional activity you plan must leverage off another. For example if you intend running an industry seminar as a means of adding value to your customers while raising your company profile, what support activities will you engage to maximise the effect? Advertising, direct mail, press releases? What will be the next major activity you will use to leverage off the success of the seminar?

Develop a Contact Program
Even a simple contact program woven into your promotional plan will greatly assist in maintaining volume onto the conveyor.

What is a contact program? It is a simple system for maintaining the profile of your company in the mind of the client and prospect. There are 5 simple steps to creating a contact program:

Group your customers into A, B and C class customers by defining the characteristics that make a great customer and scoring each customer against this criteria. It might include: Spending level, fit with your strategic direction, fit with your Company culture, length of relationship, potential for growth in sales, etc. A Class are your very best customers and is where you should be focusing your internal marketing efforts.
List all the potential contact activities that you could have including: visits, phone calls, mailings, newsletters, special offers, etc.
For each Customer class decide what level of contact you will have for each activity. For example: All customers will get your newsletter. A Class customers will get a visit once per annum. B Class customers will get a Customer Service call once per annum. Only A & B Class customers will get access to special offers. A Class customers will get invited to a special event at your business.
Check that you have met the 90 day rule. This is a basic business rule that says that each contact needs to be contacted every 90 days at a minimum. Letting contact lapse later than 90 days will mean that you will disappear from your customers conscious thought. This is a basic rule that should never be broken. At a minimum maintain the 90 day rule with your A class customers.
Systematise your contact program. Lock it into your annual program and plan ahead for items like newsletters, offers and special events.

How do I create a contact system?
You can buy all sorts of Contact Management Software or it might be as simple as creating a client/prospect card with that persons details. By creating a 1 to 12 file each card can be filed according to the month of their next contact. Make sure you record all details and that you set up systems to collect Customer details in your business.

Because you have recorded the type of contact made previously you can easily pickup on what was discussed or send something that hits to previous conversations. This way you are adding value to the client while achieving your goal.

Your type of contact can be as diverse as your imagination and might include such things as birthday cards, industry stats, tender opportunities, client referrals.

Once a contact is made you nominate the time ahead for the next contact and simply file the card into that month.

Every month you can select the cards from the corresponding month and make contact. Its that simple. It can be useful to start a collection of information and ideas that can be used as part of your contact program.

Of course technology allows you speed up this process however for me the manual system is great as my 1 12 card box with Contact Program emblazoned across the front sits on my desk staring at me so I dont forget the importance of continually loading the conveyor.

If you would like to investigate some of the software options for Contact Management or CRM (Customer Relationship Management) then some of the more popular software titles are: ACT!2000, MAUS CRM, and Maximiser.

Conclusions
Marketing is as diverse as the many definition surrounding it suffice to say that no sales equals no business so think creatively about ways to boost your efforts in tough times.

Tough economic times provide the opportunity for the focused to put distance between themselves and their competition. Revisit your strategic plan, crank up your promotional effort and get that conveyor humming with prospects.

by Ross Holding

Next Steps

Review your Marketing Plan. Convert it to a one Page plan so that you can manage it effectively.
Develop a Marketing Plan. If you don't have a Marketing Plan (or you really need to give it a "big rework") - Develop a plan now! Don't wait until its too late! Our on-line Marketing & Sales Training program will help you develop and apply a marketing plan to your business in less than 8 weeks. Click here for more information. Alternatively, contact your MindShop Coach.
Develop a Contact Program to keep feeding your Sales conveyor. This is a relatively simple task. Contact your Mindshop Facilitator for more information or enrol in our on-line Marketing & Sales Training Program.

Lifting Sales Performance

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:51:00 GMT

For many businesses, the period of strong growth that has preceded the downturn, meant that sales skills and management did not get the attention that they deserved. As the economy slows, competition for scarce resources increases and sales are no back on the agenda - the shoe is now firmly on the other foot!

Selling in difficult times It is worth noting some key points raised by Neil Rackham (of SPIN Selling fame) in his article: "Selling tactics for difficult times"

Only 50% of sales people have sold in difficult times - if you have a young sales force then this proportion will be much higher.
In an economic downturn, sales cycles (from start to close) are typically 40% longer;
Many people believe that in tough times, customers buy on price - this is a fallacy as most customers will buy on value, not price;
Research has shown that during difficult times, customers will buy safety i.e.. the offering with the lowest risk. Often the perception is that the lowest risk option is to stay with the "status quo" i.e.. the current product, service and/or provider;
Committees are often involved in making economic decisions in difficult times and group decision making usually favours lower risk;
Buyers also realise that their decisions will come under more scrutiny in tougher economic times.

This means that businesses and sales people will need to adjust their strategies in order to compete effectively and to survive in a depressed economy.

Sales Survivors
Rackham's research indicated that many sales people struggle to adjust to the "new rules" of the downturn (just as many business owners and managers struggle). There is also a group that will adapt and survive (even thrive) in an economic downturn.

In his article, Rackham outlined the key characteristics of "the Strugglers" and "the Survivors" based on research undertaken in previous downturns. This is summarised in the table below.

Strugglers	Survivors
More calls, more demos	Focused on best opportunities
Poor planning	Good preparation and planning
Just a "talking brochure"	Asks good questions
Shorter calls	Longer/deeper calls
Nervous/ rushed	Confident / In control
Low sales conversions	High sales conversions

Interestingly, research has shown that a key factor in the buying decision for customers was the "confidence" of the sales person.

Mike Boyle (sales guru from www.banjargroup.com.au) calls this "Sales Swagger" and it is an essential ingredient for good sales performance. Are your sales people confident when they sell? How can you help them to build confidence in themselves, your pricing and your products and services?

Improving your sales force
In a second article, Rackham expouses 5 top tips for building a world class sales force:

Sales Supervisors are the key to success - lift the level of supervision not the level of sales person. You don't need better sales people - you need better sales supervision.
Fewer accounts = more sales - Research has shown that dramatic improvements in sales can come from reducing the number of opportunities that a salesperson will focus on by up to 30%. It's the quality not quantity approach!
Create Value - Your sales people must become "value creators" or "problem solvers" rather than "talking brochures".
Coaching brings results - ensure that your team has support at all levels from manager to supervisor to sales person. Effective coaching can often provide that external sounding board and third party accountability that can help to improve results.
Integrate marketing and sales - There are usually 2 camps in most businesses: Marketing and Sales - and they are often at war! As they are both involved in revenue generation (at least that's the plan!) to have them working independently is a great loss. Spend the time to set common targets, integrate teams and improve communication.

However, in my experience, in many businesses there is only one camp because "marketing" is usually missing - not because they are integrated. Often businesses have a "marketing department" but it doesn't do any marketing (apart from a Yellow Pages ad and new business cards) because their primary role is sales, not marketing. By not calling "a spade, a spade", there is no focus on sales and performance usually suffers.

In conclusion, now is the time to look hard at your Sales Team. Are they "Sales People" or "Order Takers" ?

Make the changes necessary in sales management and systems and especially make sure that you and your team become "Problem Solvers" and sell the value behind what you do.