Archive for October 23rd, 2009

Control Costs, Win And Keep Customers

October 23rd, 2009 Linda Mattacks

More than 40% of small firms want more support to survive the recession, according to research by Lloyds TSB Commercial.

  • Two thirds of firms put advice on controlling cost top of the agenda
  • 60% want advice on attracting customers
  • 44% want help on how to keep them

So we had a quick look around the guides on website and watched the customer video.
And it’s the Lloyds TSB customer (business owner) input that’s really down to earth:

  • Keep your name out there
  • Bring the customers in
  • Look at your sales figures weekly not monthly or quarterly
  • Keep in close contact with everyone to avoid nasty surprises: Bank Manager, Accountant, Suppliers, Customers
  • Provide value for money: Maintain quality and standards
  • Don’t be too inward looking
  • Keep a keen eye on budgeting, planning and cash flow
  • Tighten credit management – it’s often not necessarily bad debt but too slow payers
  • When you get your customers look after them: Understand their problems

We’ve picked up on the final point we’ve listed from the video and the fact that many small firms want help on how to keep customers.

Lloyds TSB has a Guide on Market Research. They’re right to have it up there yet we believe they’re wrong not to put it into perspective as, in our experience, small firms tend to see this is as questionable expenditure in good times, let alone in a recession.

Focus groups need an experienced facilitator and should probably be outsourced to a company that knows its stuff – once you’ve decided on what the purpose is and that focus groups are the best way to achieve it.

On the other hand, telephone market research is something many small businesses can do themselves with a little thought and preparation. And the good news is, if you provide good products or services, you should find that your customers are happy to help you.

Posted in Business, Finance & Accounting, Market/Marketing Research, Marketing, Sales Tags: , No Comments »

Is your business booming?

October 23rd, 2009 Linda Mattacks

We’ve said before that your business isn’t your life. Yet if it’s taking up a large part of your waking (and maybe even sleeping) time in this crazy economy, it ought to be contributing to you leading the best life you can.

If you wake up every day raring to go about your business that’s great – maybe you’d like to share some tips here!

If you’re more often dragging yourself out of bed, dreading the day ahead, ‘shoving the reasons under the carpet’ won’t help. Here’s your chance to be honest with yourself and give them an airing:

False bravado won’t get a business through this recession and if what used to work doesn’t anymore it’s time to get creative!

  • What one, two or three things would you change about your business if you could?
  • What one, two or three things would bring back your enjoyment and help make your business soar?

Don’t worry for now about whether or how you think you could bring these about – that’s likely to stop you in your tracks – just concentrate on the ‘whats’ for now.

The ‘hows’ come later and are for us to work towards together – if you want to.

What we’re aiming for here are the biggest issues and blocks that are holding businesses back.

Once we’ve identified them we can set about systematically removing them.

Put your responses up here in the comments or, if you prefer, send me an email privately.

Posted in Business, Finance & Accounting, Market/Marketing Research, Marketing, Sales No Comments »

What’s in a name?

October 23rd, 2009 Linda Mattacks

Quite a lot, it would appear!

Our Selling For Business sales and marketing communications skills course is well established. Yet it has always been a Big Thing for the owners of micro and small businesses (that it’s aimed at helping) to take on board and commit to somebody in the company doing.

So we thought long and hard, talked to customers, business associates and fellow networkers to get their input.

As soon as one of them pointed out the fact that our training is always designed to be within the comfort zone of any delegate, it was as though a veil had lifted. The working title for that course was originally Comfort Zone Selling. We only changed it because we were transfixed back then (as was almost everyone doing any amount of their business via the Internet) with having a dot com address, which we couldn’t get. We still kept the comfort zone approach and our company name, CoZo, came directly from that

We also finally accepted that there are some people who will never be comfortable with the idea of selling, no matter how simple and pain-free we know we can make the activity.

What’s more, we now knew that those people could make huge leaps forward in their business profitability without ever overtly selling. People who take the Selling For Business course have told us they have done so even before they reached the modules on the more traditional sales communication skills.

As the result of practising what we preach, (listening to the market needs and wants and responding to them) admittedly somewhat belatedly, we now have two new courses:

Comfort Zone Soft Skills Training and Comfort Zone Selling

And guess what? People relate to them easily, see immediately what each is about and can choose which one is more relevant to their situation, their market and their needs.

Our company name now also makes a lot more sense…

If you’re having a problem with any obstacles that are making it difficult to gain acceptance from your market of something you know will help, don’t keep trying to push a snowball uphill, instead learn from our mistakes, talk to your market and sort it out sooner rather than later!

All the best

Posted in Business, Market/Marketing Research, Marketing, Sales, Telemarketing No Comments »

Just do it!

October 23rd, 2009 Linda Mattacks

… is a line that appears in our Build Firm Foundations course because we think Nike have got it right.

Yet it applies to anything in your life or business that you know isn’t right and needs fixing.

You’ll always be able to think of a thousand reasons (excuses) why it’s not quite the right time for you to improve your sales and marketing skills:

  • You’re too busy servicing (sometimes unprofitable) existing customers
  • You have more quotes to get out to potential customers
  • The payroll needs to be done
  • The VAT needs to be done

The list is potentially endless. Then you wonder, six months or a year down the line, why you’re in much the same position as you were, yet your competition, whom you believe in truth to be no better than you, is charging ahead.

Well maybe your competition just got smart and decided to invest a little time learning how to better position itself so that it demostrates its understanding of the target market’s problems and pains and has the best solutions for them.

Unlike my partner’s son’s line of business, this (and other areas of sales and marketing) isn’t rocket science. And you don’t need a high priced consultant to show you how to do it. Do you remember Portia Nelson?

You are the only impediment in your progress, not the demands of your customers, the quotes for potential customers, the payroll or the VAT man. If you’re not completely happy with your company’s performance isn’t it time you figured out how to fix it?

Once you start and see how it all fits neatly into place, you’ll wonder what on earth took you so long!

Posted in Business, Market/Marketing Research, Marketing, Sales, Telemarketing, Training Courses No Comments »

Why you should reward referrals

October 23rd, 2009 Linda Mattacks

Forgot to mention this in the previous post, yet it’s important:

You should always know how a new customer came to you as you will either have been making contact with him or her or you will have asked how they heard about you.

So, when a customer refers a potential client to you, you’ll know who should be thanked and can do so straight away.

(If you neglect to do this don’t be surprised if that’s the first and last referral you get from that quarter. The customer may not mention anything to you but he or she may well to others.)

If you convert that introduction to business you may decide that more tangible appreciation in the form of a gift is appropriate.

Posted in Business, Market/Marketing Research, Marketing, Sales 1 Comment »

Check your business progress – Step 2

October 23rd, 2009 Linda Mattacks

Moving on from Step 1 last week we start with the basic premise that:

  • What you’re doing is decent, honest and legal
  • You have the product/ service/ solution knowledge to underpin your business growth activities
  • You know you need to learn how to use ethical sales and marketing skills more successfully to increase your company’s performance

    • You’ve had a week to mull over Step 1 and now you probably need to take a pace back and get physically away from the daily hassles of running your company.

    So why not take yourself off somewhere quiet and devote time to some big picture strategic thinking. It can be at the weekend or over a couple of evenings if you can’t yet be spared during the working week. We’ll pick up from the earlier soul searching with some more ideas to focus your thoughts:

    • What is your business really about?
    • Is your original core business still viable or does it need rethinking?
    • What direction do you want it to head in?
    • Where do you want the business to be?
    • How about a timescale – By when do you want it to be there?
    • How about your existing resources?
    • Is everyone in your company a positive asset that will help the achievement come about? – This can be a very difficult question to answer, as loyalty, while a tremendous virtue, tends to get in the way of impartial judgement
    • Conversely, are there skills in your team that currently aren’t being utilised? Once you acknowledge that we human beings only use 5% of our brainpower, that’s not as unlikely is it may at first appear!
    • What practical steps can you take that will help get you where you want be?

    Are you getting excited about what you could achieve or are you thinking: “I’ll never find the time to do what needs to be done”?

    Don’t be like the chap in Who runs your business? The worst thing you can do now is nothing.

Posted in Business, Marketing, Sales No Comments »

Sales, marketing, research: What do you want?

October 23rd, 2009 Linda Mattacks

Hi there

I know you’re visiting (from the stats and because you tell me so when we speak terrestrially) but many of you are not interacting online.

Is it just because you’re reserved or shy? Or do we need to focus more on certain areas to provide you with the help you need to successfully grow your business?

Now’s your chance to shape the way this blog site develops:

  • What do you enjoy reading or learning about?
  • What do you want to see more of?
  • What would you like to know more about?
  • How do you believe we could help you become more successful?
  • What information or skills would help you grow your business?

Don’t just sit on the sidelines – Join in!

Give me your comments and suggestions – I look forward to receiving them and acting on them.

Posted in Business, Market/Marketing Research, Marketing, Sales, Telemarketing, Training Courses No Comments »
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