Can You Build Your Business in Half the Time?
I had an unusual coincidence happen last week. Speaking to prospective new members of The Alternative Board (TAB), I wound up with three CPAs in the same meeting. They were from three different smaller firms, and all three identified their current concern as a struggle to develop new business. The idea of participating in TAB is to set aside time each month to work on, not in the business. When I asked if they might find benefit in doing so starting today, they looked at each other and then at...more
A Return to the Handshake?
There are five words that strike fear into the heart of every business owner. They are "Let me call my lawyer." I'm not talking about threats. If I had a nickel for every person who threatens "I'm going to call my lawyer" I'd be very rich. I've found that to be a tactic used by those who really don't understand how to talk through a problem. Something goes wrong in a business deal. Someone has a fixed idea of what the problem is, and what the solution just has to be. When the other side demurs...more
Trimming the Customer Tree
Anyone who has shopped for a live Christmas tree knows the drill. They have some on display, but none look exactly like what you want. You start looking through the trees that are still bundled up. If one looks promising, you have the lot guy cut the twine and spread it out for your examination. The bottom branches are never as nice as the top branches. They get less sunlight, and the branches closer to the trunk are brown and thin. The vendor doesn't like to trim the bottom, since he is usually...more
The Man (or Woman) Who Knew Too Much
Most businesses need salespeople. Most salespeople need to know what they are selling. This leaves many owners on the proverbial horns of a dilemma. Should they hire a great salesperson and teach him the business, or should they take someone who knows the business and teach her how to sell? When I have this discussion with clients, they often seek a third way- finding a competitor's top salesperson; one who knows the business, and whom they can steal away. That tactic comes with a big price tag...more
Credibility in the Lobby
I typically visit over a dozen businesses a week. Only a few have media articles about themselves in the lobby. When I ask the others, they typically answer "Oh sure. We were written up a few years ago. I have it around here somewhere." Attention from the print media is infrequent, but it can have a very long shelf life. I have a front page article about my business in our lobby. It is ten years old. No visitor has ever mentioned the age of the article, although many have read it. Regardless...more
Big Brother is So 2000, but...
Big Brother is Old News This could easily be a post about technology invading our lives. How we are watched and examined and manipulated through out electronic connectedness. But why? If you aren't aware of the erosion of your privacy and risk to your financial security by now, this blog isn't going to help you. I wanted to mention some really cool, or really worrisome (depending on your viewpoint) uses of tracking technology that I've discovered recently. I may be on the trailing edge when figuring...more
Why Business Owners Shouldn't Cold Call
The Owner as Salesperson If your business employs salespeople, then you've probably had them bring an account challenge to you. "You need to talk to this customer, Boss. You can (fill in the blank) better than anyone else." The fill-in-the-blank part may be convincing, explaining your product, negotiating or being tough. Whatever is needed, it's likely that your employees think you do it better than they do. In most small businesses, the owner is the best salesperson. Why is that? In some companies...more
Service Needs to be a Defensible Territory
The UN air strikes against Gaddafi's forces raise an obvious question. Why Libya? Although we believe Qaddafi is a really bad guy, there are plenty of other players in North Africa and the Middle East that have to rank somewhere near him on the Bad Guy Scale. Why could the United Nations get support (or at least abstentions from China, Russia and Brazil,) against Libya, when other despots are also killing their own protesters and defying international opinion?I think the answer has a lot to...more
Sales Comp III: Hunters and Farmers
Sales people break down into two subgroups- hunters and farmers. The purists will argue that in fact, only hunters are sales people. I can buy that. The farmers are more likely to be called Customer Service Representatives or Account Managers. Both types, however, are frequently compensated by how much the customer buys.Hunters are what we usually think of as "Salesman" with a capital S. They are ADD, with the hyperactive focus that ADD folks have. (I know- I R one.) They track the...more
A 35K guy is a 35K guy...
I had breakfast with a client this morning. He was planning a new training initiative for his sales team."How much do the make now?" I asked. "About $30,000 to $35,000 a year." he replied."What are you trying to accomplish?""I want them all to get up to between $50,000 and $60,000 a year.""Stop," I said. "You are wasting your time."Now I expect all those who specialize in sales training and motivation will send me emails telling me that I'm all wet. I'm sorry. I've watched sales people for 40 years...more
Sales Comp II: Are You a Supplier or a Vendor?
The next question to consider when you are designing sales compensation is: "Are we a supplier or a vendor?"Without wasting time on the differences or similarities of the dictionary definitions, here are mine:A supplier provides goods or services (collectively "products" throughout these discussions) as purchased by the customer when they are needed. The products are available from other suppliers, and there is little difficulty for the customer to purchase them from another source or multiple sources...more
The Rhythm of the Sales Process
With so many of our clients trying to boost sales in a tough environment, we've been having lots of discussions about sales incentives. It's surprising to me how many business owners create incentives that don't fit their business, simply because a concept like "straight commission" or "straight salary" appeals to them.I've worked on sales incentives for years, and find that if they don't fit your business they are inevitably doomed to failure. By "fitting" the business I mean that the rhythm of...more
Another Swimming Metaphor
"Only when the tide goes out, do you discover who has been swimming naked." This classic bromide by Warren Buffett has come to mind several times in the last few weeks. As the economy hits dead low tide (coming back according to Bernanke, stuck there according to Buffett) we are seeing some sales departments finally, finally just run out of momentum.These are folks who were making a living by answering the phone. They are in relatively small companies that serve really big customers, so the phone...more
"Only Dead Fish Go with the Flow."
That quote, by Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, is one of the best I've heard in a while. While she wasn't commenting on entrepreneurs at the time, she hit the nail on the head regarding small business success.There are times when you have to go with the flow. Small businesses don't have the resources to battle upstream all the time. Like Salmon, you jump an obstacle, then rest. You push for a sales goal, then rest. You make an uncomfortable termination or focus on a critical hire, then...more
Advertising Effectively
I've heard it three times in the 24 hours since returning from my vacation; "I'm spending a lot of money on marketing, but I don't know how effective it is."The problem goes back for as long as there's been paid advertising. John Wanamaker, the retail giant, said "Half of the money I spend on advertising is wasted. If I only knew which half."In New York City on vacation, my son and I decided to stand on line at the TKTS booth in Times Square for some last minute ducats to a show. Hawkers worked...more
With My Apologies to Ray Davies
"Sooo tired, tired of waiting. tired of waiting for youuu."For those of you who weren't weaned on British Invasion Rock'n'Roll, Ray Davies is the lead singer and songwriter of The Kinks. One of their earliest hits was "Tired of Waiting."The song occurs to me often lately, because I hear the lyrics paraphrased by just about every business owner I talk to. As one said to me last week; "I'm still in the black, and we're still doing business. It's just so damn much harder than it was a while ago."Most...more
Planning for the Strategic Triple Threat
1. The new need for multi-level strategyOver the last 4 months, I've been devouring information on the recession and economic crisis. I have come to the conclusion that small-business owners are faced with unprecedented complexity in their planning process. In order to secure their livelihood, entrepreneurs must be positioning for not one or two, but three scenarios simultaneously.These scenarios will occur over a time continuum, but by their nature will blend in a way that makes the end of one...more
