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ISSUE #52
June, 2003
Things are beginning to build again after my vacation last month. The new Business Growth Group is taking shape, I have several very exciting new clients and I'm pleased to report that the system for the membership database is ready. Now I just have to finish the rest of it. I'm working with a great web developer and have just hired a VA, but there's still a lot no one can do but me.
I've decided to take my own advice and prioritize my activities so I can stay at peak performance. Giving myself negative talk only puts up additional barriers to get through. Since we all face that sometimes, I think you'll enjoy June's Roundtable Guest Expert, Dan Schaefer, Ph.D. Dan is a performance trainer, to athletes, entrepreneurs and executives. He's going to share "The 8 Keys to a Competitive Edge". I know you're going to enjoy this one.
Our Feature article this month, "How to Create a Strategy: A Case Study", uses a case study of a client who has agreed to share how he redefined his Strategy. Strategy is the first step toward achieving your Goals. Read the article and you'll see how it all works together.
There was such a great response to last month's Roundtable on E-mail Marketing, Jane Tabachnick has created a series of one hour Workshops so she can share more of her extensive knowledge and experience with you. The planned sequence is as follows:
- Auto Responders: When and How to Use Them
- Lists: The Most Valuable Resource for Growing Your Business
- Content Workshop: E-Zines, Website, General Promotion
- Technology Options: Permission (Opt-in) and Privacy
- E-zine Content Strategy Workshop: Creating an Editorial Calendar
- Campaign Creation: Testing and Measuring
See below for details and how to register for one or more of these value-packed Workshops.
I'm always eager to hear what you want to read about as well as topics for the Roundtable. Do take a minute to drop me a note.
To your success,
Marian Banker
Publisher
Small Business Leader
mailto:marian@primestrategies.com
http://primestrategies.com
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FEATURE ARTICLE:
How to Create a Strategy: A Case Study
Some people don't understand the concept of Strategy. It's a lot easier than you might think. Strategy fits into the process of going from the most abstract (your Business Vision) to the most concrete (your Financial Statements),
The steps are Vision, Mission, Goals, Strategy. The reason for the sequence is that you want to base your Strategy on your Goals. Having used your Vision and Mission to develop long and short term Goals, you now need a Strategy to lead you toward your Goals.
Strategy asks the question, "how do you plan to reach your goals?" We're looking for the big perspective to provide answers like:
- identify and develop an untapped market (based on observed trends);
- provide staff training and coaching (to strengthen customer service)
- redefine our brand (to fit our revised market)
Developing a clear Strategy is critical because you're going to base your Plan on your Strategy. As you know, it's the activities you carry out in your day-to-day operations that produce the results you see at the end of the month. It is likely that you will have more than one Strategy because you'll have several Goals. There may be more than one Strategy for each Goal. An example might be to "create a contact database" and "hire a part-time assistant to manage your database". You're not actually at the Plan level until you determine the steps you're going to take to hire that assistant (employee referrals, network word of mouth*).
*By the way, word of mouth hiring is also a good way to get the word out about what your business is doing.
Bill Sipes, CPA, is founder and CEO of a community-based Accounting Business, which provides Tax Management, Write-up, Financial Services, Financial Support Systems and Business Valuation. He sees opportunities to add even more services and products and has decided to take on the persona of a Financial Advisor. I'd like to share the story of how he recently developed his Strategy for this business because it clearly exemplifies the process.
Bill's business has started to really feel the results of local economic problems. So Bill decided he needed a new Strategy that would "turn his clients into cheerleaders" and boost his bottom line. He decided to find out where his business had been coming from in the recent past. He grouped his new business sources into 8 categories and found out he got most business from 3 sources: mailing to professionals, new business/product mailing, and new sales to existing clients.
He called together his staff to discuss his findings and to ask for their help in determining a new Strategy. Following the meeting he sent out a summary of "what he heard" and asked for their continued thoughts. The staff were acknowledged and given a role in the process.
Here's Bill's memo to staff.
"Thanks to all. I think this is the most important meeting we have ever had. This is what I heard.
1. We need to separate ourselves from the other CPA firms.
2. Several ways to do this were mentioned. Speed of service was one. Another was building relationships.
3. We are going to develop a system of building relationships with our clients. Jane is going to write a rough script to follow whenever we get with a client.....The Moment of Truth.
4. I am going to ask Annette to print a few banners that say.....The Moment of Truth.
5. Jeff is going to check with the software people about Telemagic and Act.
6. We are going to spend more time "showing our face" in the community and to our clients.
7. When with a client always ask......How are we doing?
Thanks again for a great meeting......which I am sure will lead to a great system that will turn our clients into cheerleaders."
Bill thinks in systems mode, so he calls it a system. It may help you, also, to think of Strategy as a system or a framework or matrix. Every business activity can be classified into one of the many segments of the whole system.
Here's Bill's Strategy.
- Offer new services and continue to cross-sell existing clients
- Continue to use Marketing Assistant to carry out marketing campaign
- Make Customer Service visits with our commissioned software salesman to cement relationships and try to cross-sell.
- Hire a commissioned insurance sales rep with a benefits background to sell Long Term Care Insurance.
- Redefine our "brand". Develop our new image to support our updated profile.
He's building his new brand on "trusted relationships". The staff is very enthusiastic and willing to support each other's efforts. He also plans to have "Moment of Truth" banners made up to keep the staff focused on what's important.
Bill is utilizing a Strategy that's based on research into information about his own business and he has buy-in from his staff. He not only knows where he's going, he knows how he's going to get there.
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ACTIVITIES:
E-Mail Marketing for Entrepreneurs and Executives
The April Roundtable on E-mail Marketing was such a success that Jane Tabachnick, our guest expert on the call, has agreed to share with you the rest of her expertise and secrets. She has created a brand new series of six (6) one hour telephone Workshops covering everything you need to know about effective E-mail Marketing.
Each Workshop will focus on a different and unique aspect of E-mail Marketing. The format will be similar to the Roundtable.
Here's the schedule for June and July. Full details and the schedule for all Workshops are available at http://www.primestrategies.com/business_leadership/special_programs
Auto Responders: When and How to Use Them,
Tuesday, June 24th, 1 - 2 p.m. EDT
Lists: The Most Valuable Resource for Growing Your Business,
Tuesday, July, 8th, 1 - 2 p.m. EDT
Content Workshop: How to Create Content for your E-zine, Website and Promotion,
Tuesday, July 22nd, 1 - 2 p.m. EDT.
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June Lunchtime Telephone Roundtable
Topic: "The 8 Keys to a Competitive Edge"
Date: Thursday, June 19th, 1 to 2 p.m. EDT
Moderator and Discussion Leader: Marian Banker, MBA, Business Leadership Coach
Guest Expert: Dan Schaefer, Ph.D., Personal and Business Performance Coach. Dan works with Executives, Sports Teams and Professional Athletes from around the world. He focuses on enhancing performance to achieve that "competitive edge". His Mind Game System was created to accelerate the process.
Dan will cover the mental aspect of performance from the depth he has experienced and uses with his clients. He'll emphasize performance in business and make the connection to performance in sports. You'll hear his perspective on power communication, tactical networking, influencing with integrity and strategic planning. Dan has a wealth of experience and knowledge and he's making it available to you in this Roundtable.
Bring your questions, share your experiences and learn from the interaction that takes place at our monthly Roundtable events. Be there!
To register and receive the call-in number, send an e-mail to
marian@primestrategies.com with the Subject as Roundtable.
Here's just one of the many positive comments from a previous Roundtable...
"Thanks for an informative Roundtable session. As soon as we hung up, I added my tagline to my signature file." Arlene Rosen, Alternate Response Associates
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QUOTE:
"The Marketing Blind Spot"
From: "Coached to Success" by John G. Agno, www.CoachedtoSuccess.com
After working with inventors and entrepreneurs for several years now, one major failing keeps surfacing -- too many have a fatal marketing 'blind spot'.
The entrepreneurs thoroughly understand the technology basis for their products and services. They may well be on their way to mastering the engineering and operational issues involved in delivering their product or service. Yet they persist -- often until it is too late -- in believing that the marketing issues are relatively simple -- because everyone will surely love their new product or service as much as they do.
Only after that product or service is 'ready' -- or worse, after early sales attempts have bombed -- will someone like me get a call. Of course, at that point most of the money's gone. Sometimes huge amounts! There's neither time nor money to do a competent marketing plan, let alone execute it -- and the venture fails -- needlessly.
In my experience, this marketing 'blind spot' is the single most common cause of business startup failures -- in fact, I'm starting to believe, more common than all others combined.
The most important piece of advice that I can give entrepreneurs is to get a marketing 'reality check' early on -- like at the beginning, before you even know that your technology will do what you're hoping it will do.
Hire an independent professional to take a look at your intended market. Is it really there? Can it be developed by a startup company and what's likely to be required to do so? This is just a 'look'. It doesn't have to be an expensive, complicated project. In fact, at this point, it shouldn't be. But it's absolutely certain that it will be much less 'expensive' than if it's done downstream.
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TIP:
HOW TO SAY "I DON"T KNOW"
From the May 27, 2003, issue of SellingPower.com Presentations Newsletter, http://www.sellingpower.com
Saying you don't know the answer to a question your audience raises during a sales presentation is not only okay, it's vastly better than trying to waffle your way through an incorrect answer or - worse yet - outright lying. But saying I don't know by itself is not enough. After telling the audience you don't know the answer, you then need to tell them what you'll do to find it and when you'll get back to them.
A better response than I don't know is: I don't know, but as soon as we finish up today I'll get on the phone to our systems engineer and get the answer. I'll have it to you by the end of the day. When you follow through as stated you've not only delivered the information the customer needed, you have demonstrated you're a conscientious sales rep who delivers on promises - and that may be enough to clinch the sale.
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ARTICLES:
PERSPECTIVE ON ANGEL INVESTORS
If you're seeking capital to grow your business, Alan Hamor's article in SmallBizWorthy offers a succinct perspective on the what, when and where of looking to angels for your capital.
http://www.smallbizworthy.com/cc2/news/articles.asp?id=601&catid=33
SMALL BUSINESS OPTIMISM INDICATOR
Factors creating optimism among small business owners have caused the biggest surge in the monthly National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) survey of small business economic trends since right after the Gulf War in 1991. The smallbusinesscomputing. com staff report.
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/news/article.php/2207821
LEARN FROM THIS BILLIONAIRE
Daryl Harms focuses on creating a strong business model and solid cash flow from businesses that others have overlooked. He's tapped the cable TV, cell phone and now waste recycling industries to put himself in a league with the likes of Warren Buffet. Ed Welles' article explains.
http://www.fortune.com/fortune/smallbusiness/articles/0,15114,444690,00.html
SMALL BIZ TECH SUPPORT
Small Business Computing showcases the services of LiveRepair.com, a PC support company that provides computer users with online repair and support services regardless of location or computer proficiency level.
http://www.smallbusinesscomputing.com/biztools/article.php/2210901
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ABOUT THE PUBLISHER:
Marian Banker has been publishing Small Business Leader since January, 1999. Her focus is on bringing to the busy entrepreneur a quick look into the current world of small business from the perspective she's gained from coaching, consulting and training entrepreneurs in both service and product based businesses.
Marian offers individual coaching, business support groups, seminars and workshops on topics of critical interest to small business owners. Her monthly Lunchtime Telephone Roundtable has proven to be a popular way for business owners to come together around a specific business topic without leaving their office. See notice about this month's topic in the content above.
To learn more about her services, visit http://primestrategies.com.
FEEDBACK:
Your feedback is always appreciated. Please write to marian@primestrategies.com.
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COPYRIGHT 2003 SMALL BUSINESS LEADER
A publication of Prime Strategies
http://primestrategies.com
Notice and Disclaimer:
Of course, I'm open to your including my content in your publication with proper credit. You must, however, obtain my written permission first. Thanks!
Content in the SBL is for information purposes only and should not be construed as specific advice.
