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Archive for category Starting out in business

The business success points

Oct 26

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Franchising, Growth, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

Over time I come up with a list of business success pointers and change it, the order does not matter much I think all the points are usually of equal importance.

Then I think about it some more, weigh that up against things I see and arguments I have in my head about how things are and what I am seeing. So for now as at Oct 07 this is “The list”.

  1. Effective systems - Production – Management – Marketing – Risk management. No not systems to create a bueracracy but systems to create elegant flows of the right information and resources to the right place at the right times. Checklists, operational procedures etc.
  2. Excellent products and services – With the right ones in place the profit margins are easy to sustain and even build on. Think apple’s Ipod, it really was just another MP3 player, but the design and the hyoe compbined made it a stand out performer, everything else (generally cheaper) paled into insignificance. It is clearly No 1 in the market If you were able to produce stand out products and back it up with service second to none then you would clearly have a siner.
  3. Clear aims and strategies - Marketing – Operations – Management, from profit to HR issues clarity of the aims and strategies (the how to’s in the system) will (and does) make every bit of sense, your people will know what to do and when, and chances are you let them develop the aims and strategies and so they are hell bent on bringing them to fruition. Make sure innovation and leadership are a part of the aims and strategies, if not add them NOW, business requires organisations that can and do make positive use of these two.
  4. Clear mission and vision – And I don’t care how small or large the organisation is have something you can hang a mantra on, so you and your people can chant it silently and know it permeates everything your organisation stands for. Then imagine, what if each division had its own mission and vision… could be useful for larger organisations wanting to take teams to a fresh level.
  5. Growth and development strategies - This probably comes out of the mission and vision along with the aims and objectives, the aim in short to make sure the business is able to develop and grow in effective ways… It might be profit to begin with, then more staff to share the load… then, well its up to you, check out your aims and objectives, if they don’t fit to this area alter them now.
  6. Brand image – People, customers – suppliers – prospective and existing staff should be able to say they know the organisation and perhaps what it does by the brand image. Clarity of communication here will build pride all round and leave a professional image in their minds. Look at the logo, the slogan (if you have one) then all the marketing materials, signage adverts THE WHOLE SHEBANG and see if it’s a rock solid image that is being presented.
  7. Customer focus - No customers no business, so get vital about focusing on them, are they treated like royalty? Should they be? They bring $$ in to the Co… so go all out to make them feel fantastic, so much so they want to come back with their friends and buy all you have! Suggestion make it sustainable, there is no use to a focus that becomes fuzzy over time and is not sustained.

That’s the list, pull it apart, print it out and hang it on the wall, throw darts at it to figure out what to do next, I care not, I just know that this list of “stuff” works and will make a difference. date for implementation… NOW!

The impact of the “stages” of business

Oct 25

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchisees, Franchising, Growth, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

Describing business in terms of its stages, infancy, adolescence, maturity and so on is a great way to sum up the situation, but there are impacts and of course differences in each.

So in the development of the franchise from the start up infancy stage, through to maturity there are some different challenges to face that would not ordinarily show up. here’s an example, for some it will be starting out with an understanding of why they pay a franchising fee, then doubting its value when the chips are down, then up again as things turn around.

The question is will the franchisee ever fully regain the respect they had for the fee in the first place. Chances are no… Some of the edges may well have been chipped off. But its all part of the stages and this up and down attitude can happen multiple times in the course of each stage.

The challenge therefore is for the head office team and peer mentors to be able to recognise the situation and then be able to do something about it. Even if it is just a list of things to look out for, or a reminder list of what the franchisee fee covers, or even in the newsletter or Co blog it outlines more ways the franchisee fee gets used each month.

These sorts of reminders can go a long way to clearly showing the franchisees how they are being served and the value of that service.

For the non franchise business it may well be a case of looking out for challenges as they arise (e.g. why am I spending $x on insurance) then looking at the peace of mind that can bring and the potential hassles it can prevent, then move on from there.

In business there will always be stages to go through but its up to us to be able to handle the challenges within each.

Up the downhill or how to look at challenges.

Oct 24

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Franchisees, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

In a previous article I mentioned business being like a roller coaster with its ups and downs… This time lets look at some of the causes of this “uppsy downsy” situation.

1. I feel flat – This can be from a build up of things not going too well, everything else can be okay but the flatness you feel can cause your downhill attitude to rub off. Be aware of this happening and endeavour to keep the team in high spirits. One waqy to do this is to say “I feel a bit flat today, things have been busy and I’m a bit worn out, its not so much the team here but the workload, so guys, cut me some slack if I seem a little grumpy” This clearly states the situation so they don’t have to feel as though they are at fault.

2. $$ down you are up – You know the work load has been steady and the accounts go out at the end of the month, but the expenses are piling up and there will be too much month at the end of the money! You feel okay but the word is out that the $$ are short… the undercurrent hits the team like a dumping wave in the surf, they can hardly come up for air… In a one person business this can be a double edged sword, and who knows next month when you are flush for cash the work may well slide off the scale (the bottom ind of it!) Therefore aim to build your cash reserves to cover these situations, build a buffer between you and the bottom of the $$ jar.

3. Personal dramas – Your personal life is just that PERSONAL, so keep it that way, there are times when the “chips are down” and you want to “throw in the towel” Again this is like No 1. on the list, you can communicate to the team that things are not great for you right now, so they know its not them. Then get on with things…

4. Lack of skill – You want to do a job for a customer but you are not sure of how to go about it, so you sweat on it, lose some sleep and get yourself all knotted up… over what? Often its as simple as asking someone who has done this type of job before or doing some research to see what’s involved. If you still feel you can’t do it, ring them and say so… Better to walk away with your ego in tact than make a real mess of it working under pressure.

5. You are over it – Business seemed like such an idealistic dream at first… then reality set in, long hours, low pay (how did that happen!) and the rest of the hassles that can come with being out on your own. Take a reality check is business a long term thing for you or a short term hope for the best scenario. It’s okay to start a business, it’s also okay to close one down. To be good in business there is a lot that goes into it and sometimes the only way to learn that is the hard way.

6. Permanent bad attitude – Some people seem to be born a little grumpy, or maybe you just became that way. Acknowledge it and do some thing about it. The staff turnover will be enough to put you off being in business for too long if you have a bad attitude.

That’s the list for now, maybe you have a few things you can tell us about in the comments?

Uphill, down hill is there any in between?

Oct 19

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, Personal Development, Risk Management, Starting out in business | 1 Comment

The road we travel in business is a rough one at times, then it gets smooth and before we know it it turns to a dusty track with giant potholes.

I’m talking about the everyday challenges we face, be it in getting enough customers, having enough profit, ensuring staff are happy and the $$ are still rolling in…

For many in business it’s like a roller coaster and few things seem to placate this, just experience over time that tells you “here it comes again!”

Apart from experience the business operator needs to have a way of dealing with these situations to ensure they can come out on top, mentally, physically and emotionally (at least!) so to be prepared for these challenges consider a survival kit to help you on your way.

1. Get educated – If its marketing that’s a challenge? Find out how to do it better, If it’s leadership.. FIND out how to be a better leader. Get educated, take short courses, read books and implement it to make it work. I appreciate your time is precious but making time to get this one right will pay big dividends in the long run.

2. Get connected – Find a group of business people you can bounce ideas off, a business forum that provides an active place where ideas get ‘flipped about’ can be useful to help you see others are in a similar boat and there are ways out of it.

3. Hang Loose – Take some time out from your usual routine, go to a park, take a river walk… I care not for the details but give yourself a break… on your own is good, and leave the mobile phone in the car! Rain hail or shine this short break can do wonders to boost your emotional immune system and creativity.

4. Make it inspiring - The workplace is where you spend a lot of time, take a look around and say how inspiring is this place…. Now make alist of what to do and do it bit by bit if you have to, but make it happen to inspire you and your staff.

There you go a few points to help you on the road to business success. It may still have some potholes and challenging uphill sections but the goal at the end just got a fraction easier.

Aussie franchising gets teeth…

Oct 18

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchisees, Franchising, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

The ACCC (Australian Credit and Consumer Commission) in Australia has released a document to assist franchisees in buying a franchise. The doc outlines a bunch of details about how to find a scam franchise (rare) a glossary of terms… (had to I guess) and a range of things to look out for (good logical stuff).

Problem No 1. The horse has probably bolted by the time a prospective franchisee reads the document… It’s true, people get ideas in their head and run with it… They go to an accountant (maybe) chat with a “Solicitate” (sic) (maybe) and jump in the deep end. Did they go to the ACCC Web site? (Heck why would they…) shouldn’t the info be on the government business website? (Probably is…)

Problem No 2. They buy based on emotion – We all do, some of us go a bit further though and check out more details (logic and facts.)

Note how they are interlinked, jump in, and emotion.

The idea of starting a new job, a new venture, getting started, getting going… You might feel invincible at the thought of going into business, you might feel that the choice you have made is right (hey if it feels good do it right?)

Chances are most people that buy into a franchise are probably not fully clued up about business, its pitfalls as well as its earning capacity. Mos may find the difference between marketing and promotions a challenge, let alone the income and turnover differences question or the net V’s gross profit question. (Sorry guys you’re only as good as what you know…)

The ACCC have done the right thing (basically) however they could have mentioned that an emotive decision is not always a right decision and possibly save a whole lot of heartache and money hassles.

Who do you want to sell to?

Oct 18

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Franchisees, Growth, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

Of course you want to sell to people… that makes sense (until they invent a robot that can spend cash…)

BUT, what sort of people? Rich ones? Poor ones? Ones that work? Ones that play? Ones that have too much time on their hands? Ones that make decisions on BIG buying opportunities for a BIG business…

Whichever it is you should be sure that you can target the right people with the right offering and make sure it has a great profit to boot.

Low profit is fine for high turnover items in some instances but it all depends on your business, the costs to bring the item to market and all the rest of it. Remember you are in business so the aim is to make a profit, FIRST AND FOREMOST!

Too little profit means low cash reserves, which means a risk is being undertaken, the list goes on. So you should be thinking about what sort of people to sell to (to ensure a good profit is made) and what to offer them (product’s and services/s) then you should be able to focus on more effective ways to deliver that to them.

Go ahead and think about the ideal customer you would like to sell to, then build the picture from there, the results could well be amazing…

For more information of customer profiling… click here.

The circle of business a guidepost to understanding

Oct 17

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Planning, Starting out in business | No Comments

Years ago I put together a guideline to assist my clients in fully understanding what’s involved in a fully blown business, and for those working in one area to better understand the other areas around them. The result was a PDF file like this one.

It proved to be a useful device and I share it with you so you too can see the depth involved in a business.

I aimed to include all areas of the business but still find things I need to add from time to time.

Use it as a a guidepost to understanding, in time as you grow your business you can see the areas that need development and those that are already strong.

Enjoy…

Is it a turn-key business, or a tur-key’s business…?

Oct 13

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Franchisees, Franchising, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

Buying a franchise can be a great way to get into business, (if you have not heard that line before you have not been looking into franchises for long.) and if it’s a ‘turnkey’ operation you are probably getting an even better opportunity, one that has all the bells and whistles on start up and a system to be reckoned with.

The term “turn key” relates to being able to turn the key in the lock to the front door and the whole thing is set to run. It doesn’t need more than a good dose of training, the cash to buy the franchise, and a solid helping of the right attitude to add to the skills base.

Some franchises offer this and over time many have learned how to make the business work really well (lots of mistakes and challenges being solved can do that…)

Other franchises offer a more bare bones approach, sure they give you a degree of support and training but after that you are on your own, in your area working to make the business work. If you complain too much they might answer back with “Hey what did you expect for what you paid?”

Like anything you get what you pay for. Those in the know will research the business, will not take the sales persons view as being the only one, and just because a franchise has a heap of members does not mean they are all floating merrily on the millpond called tranquility.

The difference between the two is not always evident to the new business person, they might be venturing into their first business and thought a franchise was the way to go (in some cases it probably is.) The first look at a business idea can be daunting, exciting and loaded with emotive drive. So seeing the differences and knowing the implications of them can be hard.

The start up businessperson with ‘blinkers on’ can be a hard mule to shift, they might only see the straight and narrow missing out on the bigger picture which may well have reality painted all over it. To make sure you are going to get a sustainable business opportunity and not just become another ‘statistic’ you should make sure you ask a lot of questions, questions to help you appreciate and understand what you need to know and not just what the sales person wants to tell you.

Like anything you buy you should go into the situation with both eyes wide open and have a solid grasp on what’s really taking place. Sure if you chat to enough franchisees you will find a whinger and that could put you off, or better still an ex franchisee with a major axe to grind.

My suggestion, take the time to really know the difference between a real turnkey operation and one that might make you look like a turkey, the pain it saves you will be well worth it!

Buying a franchise… a reality check.

Oct 13

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Franchisees, Franchising, People!, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

When buying any business (or any asset for that matter) it’s advisable to do your homework. Logical? YES! Practical… Not always. In the case of a franchise they (the franchisor) often has the power of numbers, “X number of franchisees can’t be wrong”, (yes some can be ‘wrong’, but they may not want to admit it.) Of course there are other ways the ‘numbers’ can be glossed over to make things look rosy.

It’s time to take a look at the reality for some.

Let’s look at some basics, there are large, small and medium franchises, and most have the basics of a good business so let’s take one group and single it out for viewing… the small franchise.

To begin with you have a reason for looking for a business opportunity, perhaps you want to get out and about more than a job stuck behind a desk, good reason, but in reality the numbers involved might not add up to all you want them to be. Sure money is not everything, but we are talking business so there needs to be some profit, otherwise you are running a charity or a hobby.

The smaller franchises are often to do with home or business services, gardening, dog wash, cleaning, handymen, and so on. The Franchisor offers the business for sale, you want to run it, and away you go. So lets break down some basic costs and look at what happens when it’s all added up. Remember you are in business to make money so you may well be making money to pay for a lot of things BEFORE being able to pay yourself.

Note: I have not put in any figures for any of these as they will vary greatly from business type, to business type and then between various Franchises.

Franchise purchase price – A one off amount, some people take out a loan for this amount, while others may have a redundancy package, savings or an inheritance they will use. Either way it’s money spent on a potential asset, in this case the asset should be one that can appreciate, not depreciate… At the end of the process if you choose to sell your ‘asset’ you would like to think you made this amount back in earnings (perhaps it shows up as profit) or if you can sell the franchise then you would hope to make this amount back in the sale price.

Franchise fees – Monthly amount to keep the head office wheels in motion – area supervisors – master franchisees – admin costs – systems development – Training – Call centre operation, the list goes on. It should be seen as a fee you pay that provides great value to you, and not as a fee that bleeds you dry each month or is seen as a burden of some kind.

Vehicle - Many of the small franchises mentioned require a vehicle, some require specific signwriting which may be part of the initial franchise outlay. You may have a lease on that vehicle, you may have to tow a trailer and want to use an existing vehicle (either way you have an outlay vehicle or trailer).

Overheads – Every business has these, phone, home office, computer, mobile phone, materials, fuel, tool maintenance, liability insurance, sickness insurance (You may well need it!), uniforms, the list can go on and add up quickly.

Marketing fee – This is usually deducted by the Franchisor with the monthly franchise fees and covers some of your marketing costs that the main company will do. Sometimes they want to do more and may ask for an extra levy to be imposed, this depends on the contract and how they can go about it, it can be legitimate but an extra cost to be aware of.

Wages – If you have staff they want to be paid, so think of the workers insurance, the holiday pay you have to cover and so on. If you take a wage out yourself you have to look at it carefully

Profit – The bit left over after all the expenses are taken into account.

There it is, the list of costs, if you look into these for the business you want to buy, you now have a starting point to fully evaluate the situation. This will give you a solid objective viewpoint to work from and not an emotive one which is so often the case with someone going into business for the first time (or even the fifth!)

In an ideal world after the expenses, you will have paid yourself and have a profit to put into the bank and watch it build. However in reality the opposite can also be true, which can shatter a dream in no time flat. Be aware that this can happen.

Remember the statistics do not lie (they may bend the truth a little…) so take a look with both eye’s open. A little known fact is that many franchises are seen as being a great business model because people often appear to last longer in them than starting their own business, true BUT note that most are in contracts that have them paying fees for the duration of that contract. So instead of a business going ‘belly up’ after 12 months it looks like 3 or so years have passed and even then it may be just a transfer of ownership to the next person looking at a business opportunity. On paper it looks rosy, in reality it may not be. And that’s just the start…

For more information on Franchising click here.

7 Steps to finding your most profitable target market by Emma Rhoades (Guest Blogger)

Oct 11

Posted by Guest Poster in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept | 3 Comments

So often people delve into advertising their business, without much thought to the process. This not only a huge waste or precious $$, but it leaves your business vulnerable to cash flow problems. Taking the time to research exactly who your most profitable customer is, will ensure you receive a higher return on your advertising investment.

  1. How many products or services do you have? Is it 1-2, or 30-40? Write them all down individually.
  2. Write down who buys each product. It’s ok to overlap a few people here. Try to make it as detailed as possible. For example, mothers with children 0-2 yrs, men who like golf, etc, rather than mothers and men. The more detailed you can get it, the more profitable your advertising can be!
  3. Work out your profit margin for each of your products. For example, how much would you make if someone bought your product. Again, the more detailed you can get, the better.
  4. Take your top performing product and have a look at who buys this. You may have more than one type of person on that list. Choose one person to start with, and think about the type of person they are. Do they shop online, do they read magazines- if so- which ones??
  5. Do lots of research!! Find these people and ask them! Ask them what type of magazines they read, ask if they prefer to shop online of offline etc. Don’t try to skip this step; otherwise you will be flying blind in your advertising. These have now become one of your target markets. Do this for all of those who purchase your products.
  6. Once you know more about them, you can start looking around for places to advertise. Don’t be tempted to go for the cheaper option- always make sure that it is getting directly in front of your target market
  7. Start with one product at a time and one customer type at a time. Always start with your most profitable product or service, and this will ensure you get a higher return on your advertising investment.

Today’s guest blogger is Emma Rhoades.

Emma owns advertising business Diva Promotions. She aims to give women with their own micro business highly targeted, cost-effective advertising campaigns. Visit www.divapromotions.com.au today to book into your next campaign and start growing your business! Emma can be contacted via the website, admin AT divapromotions DOT com.au or 1300 76 36 76.

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Business first, then…?

Oct 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Franchising, Growth, People!, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

You start the business and then… Well apart from working hard to make it sustainable…

A few things first, let’s make a list. Why did you get into business? Is it turning out how you wanted? Is there a profit? Is it providing a better life for you? If not when will it do that?

Note how I end up with the lifestyle side and start with the business side? That’s my focus in many of these articles, because I see people drop perfectly good jobs wth 4 weeks annual leave (here in Australia anyway) and in the most part security, for what? Hassles and more stress, more responsibility and the list goes on.

In buisness I figure you have to fight vigorously to make a profit (and sustain it, then celebrate the fact you got your goal.) So what’s next.

  • Wealth?
  • Peace of mind?
  • Less stress?
  • Less hassle?

Does all that lead to a better life? I hope so. Then pursue that, make a plan, set a time line then do something radical, halve it! Not the quantity of the results but the time frame. Get the results in half the time… What would it take to do that? Is it possible, is it feasible, is it out side of your threshold? Push that thought around for a while and figure out just how to make things fit.

I suggest that if the goal is a really worthy one you will be in a poition to make it happen in the shorter time frame because you truly connect with it. If there is no connection then try another goal, keep searching until a truly compelling one hits you. then go  for that.

Whatever the goal, make sure it’s one that gives you a better lifestyle. All work and no play makes for a dull person!

If you head up a franchise, what goals can you assist your Franchisees to set? What goals can they assist you to set too! Push the boundaries, go for gold, and if you come in second place the silver medal will still be quite valuable.

Competition saves your business money (and headaches).

Oct 5

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Starting out in business, The Operations Dept | No Comments

In an age of competitive business activity its nice to know there are benefits to the end user from this competition and in the communications industry in Australia there are now about 40 different telco companies operating. This brings prices down for the end user and also means the companies have to find new ways to impress the customer.

As most telco’s offer web hosting and internet services these are areas ripe for development. For example if your business is relocating can they organise to have that done for you with less hassle, fuss and so on? Can you get unlimited emails and unlimited tech support.

Perhaps your business is bigger and requires multiple lines or a PABX (in house exchange) ask if they can do that too. Add that to the internet services like big download allowances, only your downloads counted on the service volume and you are starting to get the picture of how you can save money and be provided with great services.

But in business its important to have that all important edge… How about 1300 or 1800 number set up for a low monthly fee. That’s would be it for me, the finishing touch in a range of services that benefit your business.

How about lost time? Time is our most valuable asset these days, and the measure of a good supplier is often what they do when something goes wrong, not just when everything is going well. Recently a friend of mine had an interesting experience. When a new neighbour moved in, somehow his fax line ended up permanently “crossed” with the new neighbours main incoming line!

Luckily for him he uses an independent retailer for his telco needs. With a single phone call the situation was resolved by his personal account manager who saw the issue through from start to finish. A single point of contact that meant less time explaining what the issue was, and a lot less grief! Of course, the independent retailers still have to deal with the big “T”, so we still can’t expect miracles…..

A lot of these advantages can happen by utilising an independent retailer with lots to offer, so haggle, ask lots of questions, find out more about ways to use the competitiveness to your advantage and you might just get more than you hoped for.

You do NOT have my needs!

Sep 28

Posted by Michael Crooks in Innovation and Creativity, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 3 Comments

Printed on the sign were these words, “We have your plumbing needs.”

No they don’t. You see, they can’t have my needs. Only I can have my needs.

If I need a sink-stopper thingy, I seek out someone who has a sink-stopper thingy. I don’t need someone who has my sink-stopper thingy needs. Because if they have my sink-stopper thingy needs — that means they need a sink-stopper thingy too!

Mr. and Mrs. Retailer please, if you are currently saying, “We have your ______ needs”, please change it to:

“We Satisfy Your ______ Needs.”

Here’s the difference:

1) “We Have Your Sink-Stopper Thingy Needs”
2) “We Satisfy Your Sink-Stopper Thingy Needs”

#2 is a lot more inviting and quite frankly it tells prospects, clients and customers that an answer, a solution or possibly satisfaction is just beyond that door.

Please remember this as you put together your adverts: You don’t have the consumer’s needs, rather, you have what can satisfy the consumer’s needs.

How viable is the business?

Sep 26

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Franchising, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

In all the things that a business is, the number one thing should be viability. It’s great you have an idea to pursue, it’s great you have a mission and vision, it’s fantastic you have the skills to do it as well!

But…

How viable is it?

Let’s be perfectly honest, business is about profit, and your role in the scheme of things (having all the other traits), is to ensure it is a profitable operation. Okay there is probably a moot point about how much profit you make at the end of the day, but it is important to have one nonetheless.

Consider…

Will the business be seasonal? -It’s great to grow something and sell it but the in between time might make things tough.

Will there be a demand for it? – Your friends say so, but how will you really test it? We call it market research, go google that and find a checklist or system to do it.

Will you be able to hang on? – There is often a lag between start up and profit… Will you have enough cash at hand to handle that?

Can you do it? – It’s one thing to be trained to do something and entirely another to have the right attitude and emotional stability to do it as well.

How much work is involved? – Planning, permits, licenses the list can seem endless, please do your research thoroughly to save a lot of hassle, that way you will have some strength left when it really gets started.

If you put up cash, how long before you get it back? – Putting cash in is one thing, getting is back is another. Do some cash flow forecasts and figure out how long it might take, make sure you err on the side of low income! Better to be safe than sorry. Imagine projecting a return in five years only to have a lease run out in four… OOPS!

Sell it to experts… – Find some people to pitch your ideas to and see if the numbers you create for it REALLY stand up… this might be your accountant (Don’t have one yet? Hmm perhaps now is a good time…) This panel of experts should be people who have a real knowledge of business and can ask more the the right questions you need to focus on for viability.

These are teaser points to get you thinking about the viability of your idea, so if you are setting out on the glorious trail of business, consider using them to keep the trail sunny and warm, you will pareciate the views more that way.

For more info on getting started in business and understanding the profiles of business try this.

Use Pens As Effective Promotional Marketing Tools

Sep 25

Posted by Michael Crooks in Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 1 Comment

Everyone was screaming. Chaos ruled. Then, from nowhere she appeared. With surgical precision, she dismantled her pen, quickly cut a slit into the man’s neck and inserted the pen barrel. As color returned to the man’s face our hero wipes her brow and everyone cheers for joy.

Isn’t TV Great? You may never use your pen to create an emergency airway, however, you can use a pen to breath some fresh life into your promotional marketing activities.

First, a word of warning. There is a huge difference between a cheap pen and an inexpensive pen. Remember, even if you desire to simply hand out a pen to every Jill, John and Samantha that walks by your trade show booth, the quality of what you hand out is a reflection of you and your company.

Let’s assume you’ve chosen a pen that is appropriate for your need and your budget. Let’s explore some ways to use that pen to promote. While not all of the following may be appropriate for your particular situation, I’m going to paint with a broad brush in an attempt to generate a number of possible ideas for you.

Lumpy Mail. A pen is lightweight yet causes a regular envelope enough distortion that it will usually get opened. If you’re sending a letter to prospects and you want to increase the chance your letter will get opened, a pen will do it. Combine this idea with Prize Derby or Design Contest (explained later) and you could have a real promotion on your hands.

Targeted Placement. Where does your target audience hang out? Does your target audience frequent a local coffee shop? Maybe the hair salon is the best place to target your market. I often leave promotional items such as pens and note pads on the counter at the local chamber of commerce where I’m a member? How about your Gym or health club? Where ever your target hangs out or frequents, ask the owner or manager if you can leave a supply of your pens there.

Quick-Draw McGraw. About four times a week I’m somewhere when someone asks, “Who’s got a pen?” I am usually the first to hand over my imprinted pen. Key Point:A pen that is received at a time of need is more highly regarded than one that’s simply given when no need is present.

Forget Your Pen. Use your pen and leave it every time you sign a credit card receipt. It doesn’t matter if it’s at the gas station, a restaurant or retail store. Leave your pen, ya know … as a public service!

Permission Based Usage. Consider making friends with local sit-down restaurant owners whose clientele may be your prospects. Then get permission to supply the wait staff with your pen. Encourage them to allow patrons to “swipe” the pen. If you choose the right, low –cost retractable pen, they will want to.

Pen Design Contest. Have your clients and prospects supply you with ideas on a unique design for the imprint of your pen. Post the top designs on your website letting your clients and prospects know through e-mail or snail mail that the designs are up. Let them cast their vote for their favorite. Make sure you get their e-mail and other appropriate contact information as you are now building your database.

The winning design wins 50 of the pens. You can bet they’ll show them to everyone they know. This whole tactic is designed to drive people to your website. Of course everyone who votes gets a pen.

Prize Derby. Pay extra, if possible, and have the pens sequentially numbered. Imprint the pens with “Go to www. _______.com.” and if the number on this pen matches a number on the prize page you win!

Prizes can range from other promotional items (mugs, t-shirts, tools) or your product or service such as free samples or special package deals. Every couple of weeks you change the numbers on the web site so people have a reason to hang on to the pen and check back every couple of weeks.

Search, Explore and ASK! Look around. I go to tradeshows where a booth will want people to fill out a sign-up card with plain-Jane pens. Sometimes they let me replace their plain pens with mine. Every now and then the tube canister at the bank drive though doesn’t have a pen. You bet I stuff one in there. Opportunities are everywhere, especially with non –profits. They can always use a few extra pens. Perhaps they’d agree to send your pen out with their next mailing asking for donations.

Pens can be a powerful promotional marketing medium when supported by an effective, appropriate and creative idea. Opportunities to promote yourself are all around. But if you don’t look, you won’t see. And if you don’t ask, the answer will always be, “no”.

Customer profiles

Sep 25

Posted by Steve Gray in Negotiation, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

There are customers and there are CUSTOMERS! it can be very useful to know who you are deailing with so you can figure out the best way of working with them so they are influenced to purchase and deal with your organisation.

there are personality profiles, psyche profiles and marketing type profiles here is one we can explore.

1. Deal Makers,
2. Price Seekers,
3. Luxury Innovators
4. Brand Loyalists. 

There are other ways different ‘schools of psychology’ describe  these but for this is one way.

Lets start to build a profile of these and see what descriptors we can come up with to fill in the gaps (its one thing to have a title, and another to have the depth of understanding to make it useful). Some sales people run into the trap of imposing their own profile on customers, e.g. price seekers, just because  you might like to buy on the cheapsest price, does not mean all customers want to, so talking price only is of little value. Being able to relate and connect with the various buying types is therefore very useful.

Deal Makers - They want to negotiate – They want the thrill of pushing and pulling and thinking they have got good value for money – They may not want the latest release of an item because it might not have much bargaining power for them – They are not fussed about brands too much.

Price seekers - Is it the cheapest? – Will I have buyers remorse if I see it cheaper elsewhere? – Not interested in the latest technology, they know it’s expensive in teh start up phase of it coming on to the market – Brands are almost meaning less, its more of a back up to a ‘wise purchase’.

Luxury Innovators – “I only buy high end luxury items” – They buy the latest for its show off value – Price is often a secondary or lower value – they want their friends to notice – They know the top brands but are not loyal to any one of them they want the latest and the more luxurious it makes them feel the better!

Brand loyalists -  These guys stick to brands they love in all products – They belive they are getting value becasue they know that quality is important and the right brands seem to produce quality that lasts.

Using these profiles you could figure out the types of customers your offerings might attract and therefore how you might lure or influence them to buy from  you.

The “easy in” franchise start up.

Sep 24

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Franchising, Human Resource Management, Innovation and Creativity, Negotiation, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept | No Comments

For the Franchisor: How do you make the start up phase easy for the Franchisee?

For the Frachisee: How does the Franchisor make the start up phase easy for you.

This is the sort of question both parties should be asking themselves and for the Franchisor reviewing it often to make sure they have the best systems in the business.

Lets take a look at perhaps a usual scenario… the Franchisee joins the business, signs up and does the training, they start the business and pay the usual franchisee fees in the first month or so… it’s baptism by “deep end” immersion!

Lets step back a bit further and take a look at what really happens. For some this business opportunity is a start up, no business experience, and while there is probably great support systems in place after the training, some may not know how to use them, or perhaps might feel as though they would be embarrassed to use them. Although the Franchisee is keen to start there will probably be a range of issues they have to contend with, a new start, a change of work habits, new systems, training to learn… and the list could go on… and ON!

It might be suggested that the Franchisor’s role (in part) is to make this transition phase as simple and easy as possible so they can build the esteem of the Franchisee (vital really). So here are a few suggestions that could make a solid point of difference to the way your franchise business starts its new recruits (remember to use these as selling points!)

Fees - Consider not having the first two or three months of fees, and or making the fees a low start option (e.g. they pay an increasing percentage in the start up phase) To redeem the loss you include it in the start up fee for buying the franchise.

Income – During the training period and the first few weeks of set up, there is probably a loss of income, if you do not have an income guarantee, include a short term one to take the pressure off. Let the franchisees focus clearly on the training and getting things right.

Support – coaching – mentoring – training – Training is usually a given, the coaching, mentoring and other forms of support may be voluntary, or the onus put on the Franchisee. The aim being to ensure the Franchisee is a “happy camper” your role is to make these aspects more robust and easy to implement. If the new recruit is thrown in the deep end, how can you provide ‘services’ to ease the pain and ‘stop them from drowning”? Lets face it there are too many Franchise horror stories and the time stop this is at the start. If you have support staff in contact with franchisees how well do they coach, mentor and support?

Advertising – A vital part of the business mix, advertising can make or break a start up business. How many ways can you build extra value into the start ups advertising to ensure added value and possibly more customers? Show them the Press Releases you have sent out to their local media, then scour their local papers for articles that have been printed and show them, look for opportunities in the local media and utilise those to ensure the start up phase is happening with a lot of interest. Perhaps consider teaser adverts to build intrigue. Of course all the extras are in the price of the franchise.

List – Frequently asked questions for new franchisees (perhaps in an intra-net) and provide a whole range of support materials for them, from simple short video examples to PDF type documents or power point presentations they can get answers with very quickly. give the peace of mind in knowing the answers are there 24/7 so they do not have to wait for an “Area Manager” to call them back with an answer on Monday and it’s Friday night!

Family – A little touched on area of business… but the family support is vital to how the new franchisee feels. What material can you provide to raise their awareness of this new change to their lives? How it might effect things, the rewards it might bring later on… and so on. Most of all though provide something, even a brochure or leaflet is better than nothing and encourage them to get involved. For smaller franchises it might be as simple as inviting them to help out with the bookkeeping (if they have those skills) or delivering pamphlets in the territory. Any way they can help out can be very useful to the family stability in the early phases.

Thats the list for now, but keep searching for ways to help the new recruit. For Franchisees, look for franchises that offer as many of these support devices as possible and ask existing franchisees about how well these worked in reality.

For more franchise info…

The entreprenurial franchise?

Sep 22

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Franchising, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, Planning, Starting out in business, The Board Room | 1 Comment

It’s probably thought of as a no go zone, the franchisor wants their members to follow a system, and the franchisee wants to have a system that ensures ongoing viability, and therefore $$ in the bank to fund their lifestyle.

For most the entreprenerial activity in a franchise will happen at the “top end”, where the franchisor develops the business and puts a lot of effort into finding opportunities the franchisees can utilise. This is the real entreprenurial catalyst area, being proactive, being innovative and taking risks… But wait, what would happen if the franchisees did that too! ARRGH! You want them to follow not to lead… well yes… to a point.

Imagine you have a franchise with 100 franchisees, and only you provided the system and there as no feedback, sounds ideal right… but What if… they were to find ways of doing things better and pass them on to you. If each of them put in one small idea that impacted the business by 1% then you would have a business that was 100% better! (okay stop laughing its a concept not a mathematical model! But you get the point.)

Many franchises have fully functioning adults as franchisees, and over time you could utilise their collective intelligence to make a difference to the overall business, to their business to our business experiences as customers. Often all you need to do is ask.

- Provide an avenue for the franchisees to have input into the business, from start to finish.

- Encourage them to think outside the square (not to create headaches) to find ideas and opportunities that could make a positive difference to the way the business runs.

- Explore focus groups and think tanks so they can feel part of the whole business and ts overall success.

- Become a business that is known for listening and then acting when appropriate. Then encourage your franchisees to do the same.

Whatever the orientation of your franchisees entreprenuerial or not… utilise their expertise and experience to build a business that can offer greater stability and strength, in the long run a well managed entrepreneurial franchise will always beat the compeition hands down, due simply to being one step ahead of the game.

Is it important to have your own domain?

Sep 21

Posted by Bren Ryan in Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

We see so many home based businesses these days, running small ebay stores then graduating to having there own online store. A lot of home based business have blogs like this one as well.

We see a lot of them in the FBT forum and places like The Messy Desk

I noticed something interesting though. I noticed how many of them do not own their own domain. Instead they have names like “www.myserviceprovider.com.au/my_user_name”.

I think it is almost vital to have your own specific domain, and almost unforgivable these days to do anything different when there is such affordable web hosting so freely available.

I posed the question in the forum to see what others thought.

Gavin from Australian Business Directories said:

I know if you are a band, then having a myspace site can sometimes be a lot more beneficial.

As for owning your own domain, I think it looks a little more professional when customers come to your website.

Also having your own domain is like having real estate in cyberspace and depending on what your domain name is and business, it could be worth a lot of money in 5-10 years time

Great points Gav, we are not in a band, we are business owners, even if we do work out of a home garage like a band! We still need to portray a professional image, and a myspace page does not cut it. It may compliment what you do, and I am not saying social networking sites can’t help a business, but it cant be your only domain.

Online Real Estate! Yes, too true. There is a name out there right now that I would dearly like to own, but someone has it parked and wants more money for it than I can justify spending right now. Sad fact is, I probably will buy it in the end for what the seller wants.

Steve & Kelly mention brand image:

I think its vital, in the Brand Me Inc stakes I have to make a stand. – Steve

As well as a branding thing it’s much easier to remember. Word of mouth, radio advertising, anything printed people see, a simple “mybusiness.com.au” is so much easier than “members.serviceprovider.com.au/my_user_name” is to remember. – Kelly

I cringe when a business person gives me a hotmail, gmail, yahoo or similar email address. It says so much about your brand and what you care about. If you are too much of a skinflint to pay a minimal fee to have a proper email address, what do you skimp on in my dealings with you?

Craig summed it up nicely:

……why wouldn’t you?!

The one BIG thing

Sep 21

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchising, Leadership, People!, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept | No Comments

Experiences are everything, if you have any sort of business that sells to people then the experience the customer has is vital to your operation.

In a franchise the franchisor would then have a greater duty of care to ensure the prospective franchisee has customer service skills, is customer aware, is able to communicate effectively and willing to go the extra mile.

Apart from aiming to build exceptional customer experiences of the franchise business the aim is to also assist the franchisee to build repeat business and know they are well ahead of their competition dues simply to providing exceptional experiences.

In the same vein they should also be serving the customers (the franchises) so they can feel the experience of great service. (lead by example).

So in the end its about finding ways to be exceptional in the people stakes, being able to connect, communicate and value their part in the scheme of things.

To start the ball rolling, consider…

- Have I or any of my staff called a franchise to just have a catch up chat (not because I have anything I want to tell them, but just because I could…)

- Have we kept an online blog going of what’s happening in the business for our franchisees?

- Have we found ways of opening the lines of communication further so they feel they can call us at any time, (and do they? If not why not…)

Take these ideas further… Now show your franchisees how to do it (you are the role model here…) give them ideas on how to build the customer experience so it becomes a rock solid foundation for them to build a successful business from.

Remember it’s all about the experiences we have, yours, theirs and the customers…

For more on franchising

Open the floodgates!

Sep 20

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchising, Human Resource Management, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

Who is blaming whom? In the failed business stakes there are those with the crushed ego from the fall who want to blame anyone but themselves. They will claim the system failed them, customers failed them, area supervisors and suppliers failed them… then of course the franchisor failed them!

In all the blame game generally gets people nowhere and often it happens too late.

No one wants a business to fail, so what happens? really it’s a simple cycle, born out of the old adage resistance, resentment and retaliation… lets take a stab at a possible scenario.

A franchisee gets started and is niggled they can get a support person to call them back from the main Co. (its been a busy time for the Co recruiting and starting a bunch of new franchisees). the franchisee gets miffed and start to build a sense of resistance, and becomes standoffish despite the supervisor apologising profusely.

In some people this resistance clears up and in others it festers in the background.

If this and other things continue the franchisee starts to resent the situation and the hollow they now find themselves in… (Often though these things start from a small issue though.) The retaliation when things have multiplied out of control becomes a range of finger pointing and blame and before long a hostile situation looms and any issue seems to push things further into a downward spiral. The flood gates have opened and Voom the rush of water knocks over everything in its path.

Seriously it does not take much to see this happen, in a franchise, personally run business or in general life!

Here’s the aim for the franchisor, stop it happening before it multiplies.

Herea re some simple points to make things happen more effectively…

- Open the Company communication floodgates – Make the franchisee see that everything is being done to assist them, pester your team to find out who they contacted in the past few weeks, and if they haven’t why not.

- Open the family communication floodgates – successful businesses have family support, its important that you know if a franchisee has this support if not find ways to boost it and get the family interested, supportive and involved.

- Make it a great start up – Before the business gets started make sure the franchisee has the right mindset and attitude to run the business and is willing to learn ways to build their skills in all areas.

- Train them and train your people, to be exceptional communicators – To do this, find ways to get them together to really get to know each other (and don’t wait for the next conference to make this happen.) for people to REALLY communicate effectively they might need to work more like a family.

- Make BIG! promises - And KEEP them. If you say you will jump, make sure you tell them how high it will be. Hollow promises cause a lot of problems. To make sure they happen set up simple and effective systems so your team can ensure they are done.

If you make these a major priority for your franchise business you will form a positive foundation to really set up a caring company that shows it is interested whole heartedly in its members. That’s my view on ways to make the 3 R’s that can damage any relationship (in this case business relationships) and make it less of an issue. Hopefully this is enough to calm the madding crowds!

More franchising articles

Trash Talk & Delete Buttons: A candid letter from your prospective customer. By Jill Konrath (Guest Blogger)

Sep 20

Posted by Guest Poster in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

Dear Seller,

I only have a few minutes, but I understand you’re interested in what you can do to capture my attention and entice me to want to set up a meeting with you.

Let me say this loud and clear right now – you have no idea what my day is like. You may think you do, but you’re missing the boat. Until you understand this, my advice to you makes no sense.

I got into the office early this morning so I could have some uninterrupted time to work on a major project – something I can’t seem to squeeze into the normal business day, which is filled with back-to-back meetings.

But, by 9 a.m. all my good intentions were dashed. My boss asked me to drop everything to get her some up-to-date information on a major reorganization initiative. Product development informed me that our new offering won’t be available for the upcoming tradeshow. Sales is already in an uproar because they have customers waiting for it. Then HR tells me that one of my key employees has been accused of cyber-stalking.

Starting to get the picture? Welcome to my world of everyday chaos where, hard as I try to make progress, I keep slipping behind. Right now, I have at least 59 hours of work piled on my desk, needing my attention. I have no idea when I’ll get it all done.

Did I mention my how many emails I get daily? Over 100. Everyone copies me in on everything. It drives me crazy. Then, add to that at least 30 phone calls – many from vendors who want to set up a meeting with me. And the pile of junk mail I get each day is ridiculous.

In short, I have way too much to do, ever-increasing expectations, impossible deadlines and constant interruptions from people wanting my time or attention.

Time is my most precious commodity and I protect it at all costs. I live with the status quo as long as I can – even if I’m not happy. Why? Because change creates more work and eats up my time.

Which gets us back to you. In your well-intentioned but misguided attempts turn me into a “prospect,” you fail woefully to capture my attention. I’m going to be really blunt here: I could care less about your product, service, solution or your company.
I’m not one bit interested in your unique methodologies, extraordinary differentiators or one-stop shopping. Your self-serving pablum, while designed to lure me into your clutches, has the exact opposite impact.

It’s trash talk! I quickly scan your emails or letters looking for those offensive words and phrases that glorify your offering or your firm.

The minute they jump out at me, you’re gone. Zapped from my inbox or tossed into the trashcan. When you talk like that in your voicemails, I delete you immediately. Delete, delete, delete.

That’s the most expeditious way to handle bothersome telemarketers. Use those same words on the phone with me and I’ll quickly raise an objection you can’t address.

I’m a master at sniffing out trash talk and deleting it. I have work to do and refuse to waste even one iota of my time on something that’s irrelevant or self-promotional.

You need to know though that I’m not always like this. Occasionally a savvy marketer or seller captures my attention, gets me to raise my hand asking for more information and even entices me to request a meeting.

What are they doing? They’re completely focused on my business and the impact they can have on it. That’s what’s relevant to me – not their offering.

I’m always interested in ways to shorten time to market, speed up our sales cycles and reduce our supply chain costs. Notice that this is business talk, not marketing speak!

When you get even more specific and tell me how much impact, now you’re really talking my language. I guarantee that if you mention you’ve helped organizations similar to mine increase sales conversion rates by 39% in just 3 months, I’ll be on the phone to you in no time flat.

Do you have any good information or fresh insights about the challenges my company is facing? How about how other companies are addressing these issues? If so, I’m interested in that too.

That’s the good stuff. It stems from a focus on the difference you can make for my company, instead of how you’re different from every one else. When you emphasize that, I’m interested.

But you can’t rope me in with the good stuff, then slip back into that trash talk. If so, you’re gonzo as fast as I can hit the delete button.

I pay attention in about 5 second increments, too. I don’t have time for fluff. If it’s relevant info, you’ve got me; start meandering and I hit delete.

Get the picture? I hope so, because I’m late for a meeting and while I’ve been writing this, the phone’s been ringing off the hook.

Hope this helps!

Your Prospective Customer

Jill Konrath, author of Selling to Big Companies and founder of the Sales Shebang, is a frequent speaker at national sales meetings and industry events. For more articles like this, visit www.SellingtoBigCompanies.com. Sign up for the newsletter and get a BONUS Sales Call Planning Guide.

The Franchisor has a duty of care…

Sep 20

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Franchising, Health and Safety Dept, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Sales Dept | No Comments

In business we all have a duty of care to some degree, we also have to make a profit at some stage by providing a product and or service that’s what makes us a business and not a charity.

In franchising I see it that the duty of care is still there, its perhaps very different to working directly with an employee but it still exists. In some areas Franchisors have been criticised for some of their practices and over time regulators have put in a lot of work to ensure unscrupulous operators are out of the system or not supported, by putting into place some devices to make their business be seen as one that cares at a deeper level will only assist them in sales and their longevity in the market place. If the duty of care is lacking there can be issues arise that cause more friction and pain than good will and esteem.

So what sorts of things can they do to bolster their duty of care?

1. Stop the churn - Churning is a term used to describe a person giving up their territory and the main company reselling it at a future time, so they get a number of start up fees from the one territory. This great for them but not for the person trying to sell their territory. it causes a sour feeling for the seller and perhaps some tension from the franchisors side, over time the wound may well heal but the stigma remains. if they had worked with the initial owner to create a business that was glowing, and perhaps create a ‘passive income’ then they would not have to sell, in fact they would have created an asset of greater value.

2. Make the start up better – Sure new franchisees get training and before the training is the sales process. What if before the sales process came a due diligence checklist? Or a guide to what makes a successful franchisee in their business… It would be great to have info that showed a scenario of how to make the business work rather than a risky stab in the dark. It could also be a model of how to operate the business if they get into it. It serves two purposes, to inform as to how the business might run, and as a qualifying device to pick the right franchisee and not just any franchisee. Take it further and insist they spend at least a week or two helping out another franchisee, then ask if they really want to do it, find out the whys and why nots and build on that to make the business stronger. Even go so far as to provide them with a simple financial checklist or spreadsheet, that shows the average costs of running the business and then do some financial from there, it could be an excel preadsheet they use ont he computer to punch in various figures to see what they could make, not trying to figure out roughly what’s possible.

3. Train better – It’s one thing to learn about a product or service but another to learn about business skills, even if you have some already. Business is such a diverse device that one type of business may not mean the skills are transferable. Role plays, scenarios and various practical examples can be useful as well as the mechanics of leadership, finances, marketing, HR and so on. The more info you get to work with the better. Then add to the training later on, seminars, franchise group meetings and conventions go some way to doing this so make it a feature.

4. Communicate more – So you have a new franchisee, a contact at head office and over time they get disgruntled and you wonder why… make the effort to have the team keep in contact, when you contact them they say, “We would be more productive if you head office people did not keep calling us!! Ha ha! but hey keep it up the support is great!” An email occasionally is nice, a newsletter okay, but the real McCoy of face to face or over the phone contact regularly makes a real difference. Be there for the franchisee, not just pay lip service to it so they can really sense you care.

5. Use your FAC – The franchise advisory council or whatever you choose to call it, should be a vital link to the inner workings of your organisation. It should be the guide to improvement, the quality development device that you call on to get momentum happening. Lets face it the franchisees are the customers to the franchisor so the FAC becomes the focus group to learn from. Well trained FAC’s can become mentors, and get feedback from the people at the coal face.

6. OHS – In most cases where a duty of care is mentioned, Occupational Health and Safety is the area where it gets mentioned. The same here, all the above points are about caring for the franchisee physically and mentally. So consider using some form of OHS plan to find ways pf helping the franchisees. It may even be as obvious as showing them ways to boost their own OHS in the workplace and becoming “safety watch its” that may make a difference.

7. Minister and discipleship – Not totally in the religious sense, but in the setting of standards, the leadership of teams, the passing on of the “good word”. Be the way, the truth and the light… Be the person they respect as a leader, be the one who is the font of knowledge and is there with the right sort of advice and helping hand they need when they need it. It’s more of a holistic approach to caring and your role in the organisation as the leader. Consider it as mentoring, coaching, leading, ministering, discipleship and or anything else you care to call it, be their right hand and be it brilliantly!

8. Do the internal stuff - It’s one thing to work with the franchisees, but how often do you focus on your staff? How are they awarded and rewarded for their contribution above and beyond the $$ they earn. If the franchisees and prospective franchisees are doing their job they will notice the turnover of staff, any annoyances in the background etc. Your job No: 1. is to build the esteem of the internal team so that they glow with enthusiasm and delight at being part of your team and the things it achieves. Tey in turn will look out more for the franchisees and any issues they have more readily.

None of the above points are meant to be easy, in fact they might just add to your workload a little, However if you want your franchise business to be exceptional in all it does, these are a guide to finding the way forward and the franchisees will love the care and attention you show.

Choosing a supportive franchise

Sep 18

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchisees, Franchising, People!, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | 2 Comments

Starting in any business is fraught with challenges, in franchising its the same, there are challenges. The aim however with a franchise is to diminish some of the risks so you can begin with a solid system behind you that offers training and support as well as a proven brand people want to buy from.

It is important therefore to select a franchise that can work with you in a way that suits you and while people have different things they want from a supportive business arrangement here are a few points to guide you.

Note that prospective franchisees have a great deal of power, the sales person wants you to buy, you are looking and therefore have the power to say no, the power to ask lots of questions and can walk away at anytime if it does not suit you. Use this “power” to make sure you are getting into the right kind of franchise, because a rushed decision can cost you dearly over time if its the wrong one!

This article is part of a series on franchising, you may like to see the first one in the series, it’s here.

Business and practical skills training - A caring Franchisor will provide both, therefore, as you work on the business you can work in it as well. The training provided is vital to ensure you are able to tackle the business with ease, not with trepidation. So ask lots of questions about the training and how they measure the results of that training. E.g. do they follow a competency based assessment model to ensure you meet a set std or do they simply show you and expect you to figure it out later… A supportive organisation will make sure you know the right way to do things and how to build your business to be all you want it to be and more.

Ask for examples – Of how they have helped existing franchisees with their businesses, then get their contact details and verify that this is the case, check for gaps in the communication they say they are offering and the actual communication taking place. The differences can be huge, so the smaller the difference the better. I would also ask franchisees how the organisations leaders operate, if they are leaders and how they prove that (note, not dictators but leaders… their team love them, the franchisees love them)

Fluff and bubble – Some franchises have franchisee meetings, seminars and or conventions, are these full of “fluff and bubble” or are they of real value to the franchisees? Yes you should be asking all about these things as they may well form the backbone of support for your business after the initial training. A caring and supportive franchise will certainly want to make these sessions power packed, relevant and to the point.

Transparency – Is the main Co transparent in ALL their dealings? Of course most will say “yes” however does that include the financials? Head office staffing issues (happy, sad, turnover of staff) all these things can have an impact on the stability of the overall organisation. Of course it may not be as transparent as a cooperative group where the members are like shareholders and an active part of the organisation, however the amount of transparency is useful to know. Often people trust a transparent organisation more than one that appears to hide information.

Ease of information – The main Co should be way to get info from, they should have been through the hoops before with these issues and have the ability to answer the questions with ease. If things are starting to become challenging with a few questions, imagine how they might be in a few months after you joined their business. the aim is ease of working with them.

Passive income and you… – Ask them about how they can help you specifically to build a business that provides you with passive income, they should have an easy to follow system to assist you over time. Passive income? Income where you don’t do too much to get a return on your outlay. Initially it would be build the business, make a profit… then you install a manager to run it for you, you do little and reap the rewards, mainly income.

Sales reps and you… – The sales rep for the company could be anyone from the CEO to the State or area Manager. Ask yourself, did they respect you? This can show up as a range of things, like, were they on time? Did they have a clear presentation? Did they stick to a set time frame? Did they bring material to leave you with? Did they do anything else they promised to do? I judge this on a ten point scale, if they start at a ten and then fade, from there I would start to evaluate if it’s worth it below say a five or four. I am not saying the rest of the company is like them, but chances are the first impression can be a vital indicator.

That’s the list. Its a starting point to ensuring your investment in the business system is one that ensures you will be cared for, if not I would ask is it worth it? Remember this information is provided as an educational device and not speific advice, the decisions you make are up to you.

In the end it’s all about a great business model and the relationships they build from there.  If you feel it can grow and blossom or fade and wither. I know which I would prefer!

The hard yards of franchising

Sep 16

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchising, Negotiation, Planning, Starting out in business | No Comments

When it comes to buying a business or starting out in a brand new venture, it is vital to do your “due diligence” so you can know if the business is right for you. In franchises its the same, however it is reasonable to expect the franchisor should be able to supply you with more information beyond the usual sales pitch so you and your support team (accountant, advisor, mentor, business coach etc.) can make a rational decision on what’s possible. It should alsoguide you to see if there is a suitable match between your skills and attitudes for the business. In an earlier post on franchising I gave a broad outline of the major things to look for, now lets go deeper and see what else you might do before you make a “leap of faith”.

You will have found a few franchises worth looking into and now you are about to come face to face with their sales representative. Sure they will make it sound all nice and rosy, but you can cut to the chase once they have done their presentation and give yourself more info to work with if you ask a few poigniant questions. I have listed a few questions and some likely resposnes so you can second guess their responses and get greater depth. (That’s the theory!)

Is there growth potential in the market? – The usual response might be “Oh sure we have doubled the amount of franchise businesses in the last 12 months and it’s growing from there.” This may well be true, your aim is to find out how many were sold in the last few years so you can compare, then ask about how long people stay in their franchises, e.g. how many get out at the end of the first contract period? And what statistics do you have that you can show me the customers are growing, not just the franchise numbers? (It’s one thing to project to sell x franchises and entirely another thing to actually do it! And another thing to have the customers to buy what’s on offer. They should have clear statistics showing the amount of sales in existing franchises.)

What opportunities exist? - “Oh there’s lots, things are going ahead in leaps and bounds, let me show you a map of your suburb” You may be looking at an area to explore, however do the right thing and ask to see a map of where they currently are and where they want to be, some have maps of the country with different coloured pins in the various territories and you should be able to see the sold ones, and the one’s up for grabs. For you this gives a big picture view and lets you see what other areas might be available for expansion later.

Tell me about the competition? – They will no doubt tell you about other franchises in your area, some may even “bad mouth” them to build themselves up. What you really need to know is if there are many smaller players that could eat into your business, if they have done the research they can tell you more, if not they might be at a loss to know more about your region or territory and the actual customers you can expect to see through the door.

How long did it take for the average franchisee to get a return on investment? – “Of course this varies and its so hard to tell.” But they should be able to do a model of the AVERAGE so they can give an indication of the return. Imagine putting $200k into a business but not getting a return on that investment for 12 months, that could be very alarming… better to know now than later. If the franchisor does not know the answer, then ask some of the franchisees, if they don’t know maybe the training and support team can tell you… or maybe they have no idea, remember the aim of buisness is to make a profit, so they should be abel to tell you when on average that might happen.

Does the business develop into a passive income stream? – Who wants to work all the time, if you can get a return on your investment to the degree that you do not have to work, then that might be useful… so ask how many have achieved that, then get their details, if you sign up they should become your mentors! or if nothing else a great point of research info on the company in question.

What hours does the average franchisee put in to make a real go of the business? – Again it’s profit, and the how hard do I work question. It’s not a job you are buying, it’s a business system, it would be ludicrous to go from working a 5 day week to a six day week for the same return or even a lower return! Sure the change might be great (sick of the old job?) but how long will that last?

Staff, are they easy to get and train in this industry? – Back to the passive income section, you will need people to do it for you right? So lets make it easy to do, not a struggle. Some franchises will have people queing up to work for them whle other will avoid it due to the hassle.

This list of questions is a starting point to choosing a suitable franchise, its up to you to develop a longer list of questions but these ones will probably be the key ones in time. Enjoy the hunt for the right business for you, I ope the list makes it a little easier at least.

Here is a link to a checklist on franchising questions (Australia) a prospective franchisee should ask. Franchise Checklist

UK Business resource website

Sep 14

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Innovation and Creativity, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Operations Dept | 1 Comment

I, like many of you, know running a small business can be a lonely existence – you need to wear many hats and keep up to date with the latest developments and thinking. It was one of the reasons we started this site.

But I am not one to rest on my laurels and just use this site only for my research, I am always on the look out for new resources. I recently came across Uk business resource site.

Freshbusinessthinking.com is an on-line resource for small business owners, directors and entrepreneurs. It is where information hungry and time-poor business decision makers can source information and advice to help them run their businesses more effectively and efficiently.

Screen shot of Freshbusinessthinking.com

It’s a wealth of information, there are articles, Business news (although i found this was a little biased towards UK news, but it’s a UK site, what did I expect?), Documents and forms templates, and Videos.

It really is a great online business resource for entrepreneurs. It’s the leading UK website giving advice, information and ideas to successful and growing businesses

Check out freshbusinessthinking.com, but be warned, you may be there for a long time reading!

The attitude or the money?

Sep 12

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Human Resource Management, Leadership, Negotiation, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

In business there are many things to consider, but one of the most overlooked is the fact that you have to deal with people, staff, customers, suppliers, partners and support teams (accountants coaches and the like). The factor that makes or breaks the relationship that’s built is your attitude. But what is it, and specifically how does it fit to a business context.

Here are a few points to consider that go some way to making up your overall “business attitude.”

- Service orientation

- Persistence

- Practical and direct business skills (or lack of them)

- Planning and organisational skills – to set achieveable goals

- The ability to achieve

- Creativity and innovation

- Desire to succeed

- Honesty, intergity and sincerity

- Communication and leadership skills

- Motivation and drivers

All of these have a bearing on your attitude and if you take one or a few of them away or skew them poorly the money vanishes, or at best fades. In business profit is king, therefore you should be finding ways to enhance your “attitude” so you can attract more of the “right stuff” into your business and personal life.

Your aim is to have a Positive Mental Attitude and avoid a Permanent Bad Attitude!

7 steps to finding the right franchise

Sep 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Franchising, Growth, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | 1 Comment

With hundreds of franchise business opportunities to choose from it can be a daunting task to find the right one, retail, service based, business to buisness and each has so many options avaiable, and to top it off the costs involved can make the choice easier (less options available) but harder (cheaper does not mean quality will follow).

If you have not been in business before find resources on getting started in business (Business forums, glossaries of business terms and books) and familiarise yourself with some of the terminology used, so that when you get into the research you can have a better understanding of what they are talking about and how it might effect you. It can be confusing to try and get your head around terminology you do not understand when a sales person is doing their level bet to sell you something.

Here are some tips for making a selection, remember this is not specific advice, but a starting point on the road to your education on franchises and their ability to provide what you need. Best of luck with your decision!

1. Competition and demand for the product – This is basic but can be overlooked, just becuase a franchise has developed a business system does not mean people in your area will want to buy. Ask about and do your own research on the competition in your area, (just because there may be none at the moment does not mean there has not been some in the past which may have learnt the hard way that the locals do not buy that service or product.) – Is the cost to the consumer feasilble? – Is the concept one that your community (or territory) finds okay and wants to utilise? – Is the brand brilliant? – Is there going to be sustainable demand for the product so you can be readily rewarded for your efforts?

2. Profitability and costs – This is what business is all about, you are not creating a charity, so you need to know how profitable the business is, or is going to be (and how long that will take!) Ask if the profit they might quote to you is after wages (your own included…) too many people find the costs too hard to handle and the profitability is not there despite many hours of hard work and determination.

3. Ease of operation – Does the company provide a simple business plan? – Simple operational systems? – Do other franchisees follow it? – Does it work ALWAYS? – How does Head Office respond to requests for assistance in this area? Now ask yourself this, if I am going to buy a busness is it going to be easy to run or a pain? I know what I would want! I also know that in time I would want it to be able to run itself so I can enjoy the passive income it can provide.

4. Support - Like anything a business can “fall over” with out the right foundation and support. You will need support from the company’s head office, your family and friends. This can include moral support when things get challenging (and they will!) Training, meetings to assess the group performance (Franchise meetings), one on one support from a company “area manager” or similar. Now ask yourself, am I able to listen to this information and put it into practice? Will I be able to work with them? All of this adds up to ensuring your business success.

5. Costs – There will be the start up fee, ongoing franchise fees and of course your overheads (the costs involved in running a business.) This is probably a good time to involve your accountant or even a bookkeeper, to work out some of the costs involved in running the type of business you are thinking of. For many people they go from being employed to running a business, they see the money come in and then (almost mysteriously) go out again! It can take a while to understand what’s taking place and how to handle it, for some what’s left after the expenses is not enough to live on. Understand the costs involved and even project what level of work is required to meet the costs so you know what sort of effort you need to put in to make the business thrive, not just survive.

6. Me! – Can you do it? – Do you have the skills required? – Can you learn the skills? – Do you have the right attitude? For many the answers will be yes, yes, YES! But in reality often this is due to the emotional excitement of the thought of running the business, not based on reality. Ask lots of questions of family and close friends. Chat to the company about how they go about assessing prospective candidates (their process should be vigorous!) Then ask yourself am I really up to this?

7. Research – Do lots of research, chat to many of the existing franchisees, and ask them all the same questions so you can really gauge how things are from the other side of the business. Get yourself into the business and offer to work with one or a few of the operators for a few days, pick their brains to save you a lot of stress later on. Find out what sort of hours are they putting in to the business to make it work, and watch out for two partners working and taking out one wage, it can look very productive, but in reality its two people earning half as much. When chatting to other franchisees, ask them about the franchise support meetings and the value directly to them, this an give a good window into the inside of the business. Also ask how many franchise owners currently make a passive income out of the business?

Thats the list. If you get into any business I wish you all the best, and franchising should offer you a great deal more than just trying to fly by the seat of your pants in your own start up phase, but you need to find out exactly what that is and how it will work for you, or not.

Post Cards As An Effective Trade Show Giveaway

Sep 8

Posted by Michael Crooks in Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 10 Comments

Tired of handing out pens and other junk at trade shows that don’t give you any return on your investment? Consider the benefit of a 4″ x 6″ postcard.

A postcard is a great trade show handout …. IF, it is backed by an effective idea. Many describe a great postcard handout as little more than a giant business card. While a postcard may be better than a business card, it’s still a yawner — unless it contains something of value or potential value to the prospect.

Lets explore some examples. Let’s say you own a high end women’s clothing store. In that case your postcard could offer the prospect a “Private In-Home Showing”. High-end buyers like to be catered to. A private clothing showing in the prospect’s home or place of business speaks to that desire. The card asks the prospect to call to make arrangements. Over the phone you get her preferences, likes, dislikes and sizes. Then you make the appointment and take a fine selection of clothing to her. This also allows you to gauge your Return On Investment (ROI). Best of all, it allows you to develop a personal relationship with the prospect.

Lots of marketers, eager to cast a big net like to offer discounts and freebies on their postcards. By and large, I detest dollar-off coupons, discounts and freebies to build a loyal, money-spending client base. Mostly they attract “bottom-feeders” with whom you are establishing a relationship based on price. If your goal is to make money, then a relationship based on price works in the prospect’s favor — not yours.

If you insist giving away the store to get new clients or prospects … at least make it a buy one get one, a buy one get the second for 1/2 off or a dollar amount off with a specified dollar amount in purchases.

A more effective approach to rewarding prospects and getting your name spread around is to offer an imprinted promotional item or gift with purchase. This can really help drive trade show traffic to your retail location. This way, you are only giving promotional products away if they actually take the time to visit your location and spend money. For instance, a restaurant could offer a free steak knife with purchase of two dinners. Combine this with a punch card program and give customers the opportunity to collect a complete set though subsequent meal purchases.

Another way to use a postcard is to make it a ticket to a special after hours store event. You can give the highlights of your product or service at the trade show. Those who seem genuinely interested, receive the “ticket” for a more in depth demonstration, product review or test drive at the special event. In this case, you only give the postcard to those who express a desire for your product or service. Those who show up for the event are genuinely interested. And genuinely interested prospects and are YOUR golden ticket.

If any of the product lines you sell has a co-op program, check to see if the post card can qualify for one or more of your suppliers co-op programs. This will help you lower the cost of the entire program.

Use of the tactics described above can also help drive traffic to your website. In cases where the postcard is used as a ticket, you can give people the option of reserving their place at the event via phone or through your website.

By and large, a postcard that’s little more than a glorified business card is a waste of your time, energy and money. However, if you marry the postcard with an effective idea … then you may have promotional marketing trade show gold.

My 3 favourite articles…

Sep 4

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

 Okay world, here are my 3 favourite articles for the period Sept 2006 – 2007 our first year of www.freebusinesstips.com.au

Jenny Stilwell  3 pillars… Because at the time it knocked me flat! I loved the depth yet a simplstic approach that ANYONE in business could follow. I love most of Jenny’s work and so the link is her name, but this one article grabbed me, and to think that its available free for all to use WOW!

Business profiling a 3 tiered approach  Because it has the potential to make waves, waves of understanding, there is still more to come to add to this but time will tell. I am very proud of this one, and yes its mine… It came about because of freebusinesstips.com.au and my involvement in it, it was like shuffling through so many options and possibilities and then it hit me, it had to be done.

My third choice is a culimination of the many “Cries for help” that have echoed across the forum posts, some are loud, some are probably caught between the lines as pockets of distant hope, pockets loaded to the hilt with grief, drama and pangs of guilt. To those with the strength to put up their hand I salute you, to those that put in to the whole web page experience here at free business tips, then I say a HUGE thanks for assisting us to make this all possible.

“From the dirt and moisture comes a sprout, a tiny green organism pointing skyward, its roots grabbing tight to the ground its potential unknown. It may be a weed, a strangling vine or a mightly tree that lasts for a few hundred years. Either way it makes its imression on us, lets hope that impression is highly valuable.” 

Why be in business?

Aug 27

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Starting out in business, The Board Room | 1 Comment

You want to go into business? Some people wiill say you’re nuts and the rest of the world might seem to view you with suspicion! (well some days it might seem that way…) So why do people go into business? here’s a few starting points to consider…

  1. It can provide a great lifestyle for you and others.
  2. It can make you happy!
  3. It can be a good investment
  4. You can create something profitable out of a minimal outlay.
  5. You can assist the community to grow and develop. (think global act local).
  6. You can make a profit from developing a skill you have into a business venture.
  7. You can take an idea and profit from it.

Note in this list there are a lot of CAN’s in there, by being in business it  does not mean you automatically get or have those things, it means you have the opportunity to make those things happen.

So its one thing to get into business and entirely another to make it happen how you want it to. Welcome to the land of opportunity.

Your income and you…

Aug 24

Posted by Steve Gray in Finance, Growth, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business | No Comments

So here is a question, how much personal cash did you make from your business in the last year?

I know a lot of you have transferred personal payments to your business where you can… and that aside HOW MUCH… $$ ok it’s an ozzie thing to not discuss $$ but hey I’m not asking you to tell us out loud.

I want you to seriously think about how much YOU made and can say “I took X home this year in cold hard cash!”

Was it $10k – 20k – 50k – More?

How much does it need to be?

Okay many of us are small business operators and will not command the multi mill $$ salaries of big execs, BUT they are paid well for the RISKS they take, the DECISIONS they make and the RESPONSIBILITY they take.

You do the same… so do I. So what is your goal for your personal income to make it worth while to make the decisions, take responsibility and take the risks you take.

When I go out and buy my next franchise I will be asking questions from many of the operators like “Do you make $100k+ ?” if not is it really worth my while?

What do I want to do? where do I want to be? how will I achieve these things?

Plan people, make a move, set a target, reap the rewards.

here’s a place to start Very Happy
http://freebusinesstips.com.au/wp-content/uploads/the-mini-business-plan.doc

Member forum review – August 2007

Aug 21

Posted by Guest Poster in Excellence!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Board Room, The Marketing Dept | No Comments

Your business card is often the first impression a potential client has with your company. The business card design and message will ultimately determine whether it gets thrown in the trash or filed for contact later.

Stop for a second, find your wallet and pull out your business card – take a good look at it, think about how it looks from a potential client’s perspective. But then again what makes a good business card?

Business card design has been a recent hot topic on the Free Business Tips Forum, with member’s business cards being viewed and critiqued by other members.

The Free Business tips forum has recently hit a new milestone with its 200th member being registered on Friday morning. With the growth and activity of the forum it is an excellent place to discuss your small business needs with other people in the same boat as you.

One of the most interesting threads lately for me has been the discussion of how to use promotional pens to benefit a website design business. Although the question was targeted at the designers on the forum, the creative ideas that came in could be used to improve the promotion of any business. Steve Gray came up with probably my favourite suggestion, when he said:


“Its all about the relationship, so use creative ways to use the pen to build the relationship. connect your business card to it on a string and make up a caption you would say when delivering it.”

“When you’ve got an idea for a website write it down, then call Me.”

“Pens are useful, then again so is a well designed website…”

The forum has been such a great tool for me to network with other small business owners, to feed off their knowledge to improve my business. If you are not already a member of the forum we would love to see you join!

Author Information:
Thomas Sinfield is the founder of the website design agency WebPros, based on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. WebPros provides small to medium businesses with professional websites, with a focus on quality and highest level of customer service and support.

Working a crowded web market…

Aug 9

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Innovation and Creativity, IT Dept, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 1 Comment

Every man and his dog seems to be creating web pages, so the question for those serious about things “webological” would be to say “how do I make an offering that can set my business apart fromt he rest?” Well thanks for asking… Here is an outline to get the ball rolling. sure it can be adapted to other products and or services but the web is a competitive starting point.

In the main people put their service offerings on their own web page and hope for the best, often its price based, the challenge with that is it gets very competitive at that end of the market. The other big thing here is not everyone wants to buy on price… they want qaulity instead… so they may tend to breeze into the site and then out again just as quickly. So here is my two cents worth on a systematic way around some of those challenges.

Let’s use an example in another crowded industry, telcos, mobile ones in particular, note how they have cheap package deals to get you started and the expensive “other side…” if you go over a certain limit BINGO more $$ and the fine print… YOWSER! It’s a mine field! It’s like signing your life away. Okay I am not saying to specifically follow them, but lets pull apart some of the “why do they do that stuff…

Package deals, give people choices…add to that multiple phone types and models… Rolling Eyes and then the accessories… Shocked

Confused yet! most people just buy and deal with it later. Ok they use confusion, choice, cheaper entrance $$ but pick up on the other side (the dark side.)

All of that is important, now if you start a web site development service and want to go for a usp (Unique Selling Point) it would seem logical to make it easier for the customers by having a simple price and feature structure. But then what happens? it doesn’t work… why? Because people look at it, understand it and go looking elsewhere, its over and done with. Where as if the package is useful they read and get immersed in your offering.

Immersion, cause that to happen and you have a chance… Get them to think more about what they want.

Example two fast food outlets side by side, I park at one and go in, too busy, over to the next… (I’m not sure what I want but hey I have a choice). The next one is a bit quieter and I look at the menu… packages… hmmm lets see… err.. before I can think too much the person behind the counter has called me over to take my order (I usually stand well back to read the menu stuff). That’s it I’m sold (have not even really selected anything yet.) I am engaged in the process deeply now (immersed).

On the net people can breeze in and breeze out, they ‘glance and go’ What if they got immersed really quickly and you got them immersed in a process?

Here’s my process ‘de resistance’… Just for you guys…

1. Glance – Get them intrigued (short audio they can stop may work here) that INVITES them to look at x… X happens to be a click away and is a short sharp grab of useful things to note when geting a web site.

2. They read – view – listen – look at x… – You invite them to call you, or send in for a free pdf booklet on “7 steps to brilliant websites…” They sign up, and you have a member.

3. Communicate! – Send the member the PDF, then a special add on PDF or video file 1 hr later (here are more great points on why you need us or similar).

4. Build the relationship – Call them on the phone AFTER they have the second doc (which was sent 1 Hr after the first…) and do a survey to assess some of their needs, but don’t sell them anything! – Now send them the results of various surveys (including their info to get specific about their needs).

5. Qualify them - If your survey was good (or great) you know if they fit your IDEAL CLIENT status… then you want to proceed further.

6. Send them a gift – Yes via snail mail… and yes a real gift (not a 2c bookmark made of tin) remember these are targeted IDEAL CLIENTS! They will be worth their weight in GOLD to you (clients not customers). Send a note with the gift saying, thanks for doing the survey and becoming a member, I hope the journey thus far has been good.

7. Build the relationship further - By now you should have a person interested (immersed to some degree) in what you MAY have to offer… So… now is the time to evaluate their needs and present an offering. Email… “Hi X. I have assessed your needs carefully and can provide you with a solid solution. Yes we have std packages (and one of them may suit) but at this stage can I catch up with you to discuss the details…”

8. Present your offering – Get one on one and present what you think they need, keep the tech stuff low and the solutions high. Focus on- Ease of use – Ease of admin – Results! Leave it with them to consider and return as often as necessary to clarify details – send them a thank you note for the meeting. Remember its stillearly days yet so keep on building yoru relationship with them.

9+. Build raving fans – If you got the job using this process you have probably wowed them, keep in touch, send personalised greetings, hints, tips and ideas, perhaps its just a link to a new bit of info on your site… GREAT! but keep in touch… send them a card on their birthday, Christmas and every other chance you can, cause them to love you… For your service, your web skills, your ability to keep them informed, your care for their needs, your ability to refer other top professionals to them that might just be able to assist them.

That is how you COULD build a web business that stands out, stands up and will stand the test of time.

30 Day Challenge 2007

Aug 2

Posted by Bren Ryan in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, IT Dept, Starting out in business, The Marketing Dept, The Sales Dept | 2 Comments

Have you heard of the 30 Day Challenge yet?

Judging by how slow the servers have been for the last 24 hours I guess a lot of you have!

The 30 Day Challenge is a great concept by Ed Dale (and a couple of other guys whose names escape me right this second). The guys are offering their substantial expertise to train (over 30 days) people like me and you how to make money online.

It started yesterday (August 1st 2007) and I am signed up along with Ross & Steve (thats our team so far)

The goal this year is to create an online product and sell at least 1 x $10 sale in the first month, all without spending a single cent, thats right, nothing.

To be honest I am still a little vague about how it is going to work and what will be required of me in the next month (as if I need more to do!), however from what I have seen so far I think I am going to learn some very valuable lessons on online marketing, which can only help my other sites like this one and Black Dog Promotions.

Ed keeps telling me that it will be very easy, and so far it has. We have downloaded several tools for Firefox (all free) that will help us in the challenge, and just those tools alone are pretty nifty and worth checking out.

This is apparently the 3rd annual challenge, and previous entrants have had great success.

Like anything else, one of the main requirements is time. You will need the time to dedicate to the challenge, that in itself is a challenge for me! I see some late nights ahead :-)

I listened to the Day 1 Podcast and video and i am about to listen to Day 2. I will write a journal for the challenge as I go along, I won’t post everyday, but I think once a week will do.

Wish me luck!

Marketing Lessons From A Grade-School Lunch Box

Aug 1

Posted by Michael Crooks in Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Planning, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

Remember when you were a kid? Lunch time held a certain magic. What did mom pack? The anticipation … the apprehension … the delight — and sometimes the disappointment at finding your stupid apple had crushed your snack cake.

If you’ve been using the same approach with your customers and clients for very long … it’s sorta like getting peanut butter and jelly in your lunch for 37 days in a row. It’s boring, predictable and memorable … for all the wrong reasons.

Lesson Learned: Keep your main offer fresh.

In today’s market, a fresh new approach can mean the difference between clients eating up what you have to offer … and getting your snack cakes crushed.

For example, I remember the day I opened my insulated bottle to pour my milk and out came CHOCOLATE milk! Mom had my attention. Yeah, making sure I had milk to drink showed she cared. And for a 9 year old that’s all well and good. But chocolate milk? Well that just moves mom up on the list of “stuff that’s swell”. And from that day on, there was a little twinge of excitement when I opened my lunch drink. Problem was … it never happened again. After a while, the slight twinge of excitement that came with opening my drink … disappeared.

Lesson Learned: Every now and then, you have to change it up to keep the excitement alive. Putting a different type of juice or chocolate milk in my lunch one day every three weeks would have done it.

By the same token, if you’ve been sending the same old postcard announcing the “Sale of the Month” … next month try sending the card in an envelope instead. Better yet, send it along in an envelope with a 25 sheet sticky notepad with your logo, name and number imprinted on it.

Think about that for a minute from the receiver’s standpoint. You’ve been getting a postcard from LMNOP for 2 years. SUDDENLY, you get an envelope from LMNOP. You’ll open it with renewed interest. Why? Because you don’t know what’s inside. Something unexpected and out of the ordinary happened. But because the same old postcard in an envelope could be anti-climactic, you want to include a little “excitement enhancer” with an inexpensive sticky notepad.

Mom’s lunches weren’t all bad, though. Part of effectively changing your approach is understanding that while an apple, an orange and a banana are all fruits … they are different fruits. Mom added variety to my lunchbox fruit course by constantly changing the fruit. She did the same with the veggies, alternating carrots, celery, sweet peppers, radishes and pickles. Similarly, a postcard, an envelope and a package are all direct mail, but they’re different. The same way a pen, a note pad and a refrigerator magnet are all promotional products — yet different. Even with postcards, you can change the design while maintaining the integrity of your corporate identification.

And now the main course — the offer! Mom knew I would be ok with ketchup on bologna even though I preferred mayo. Mustard is fine on pork/ham. PB &J was fine. Egg salad would fly like a lead balloon, sandwich spread was great and I’d eat anything with cheese on it …. except PB&J, hold the cheese, please.

Lesson Learned: Want to keep your target relatively happy and interested? Get to know them, keep changing the main offer and give them what they like.

What do you know about your clients and prospects? Do you know what they like, how much they buy or how often they buy? For small retailers it can be as easy as utilizing a punch card program. Swipe type cards coupled with the right computer program can allow you to capture a lot of useful data. But even the smallest retailer can send/give a survey and reward respondents with a low-cost, high perceived value promotional item. This is an excellent way to start or expand a database.

Change the main offer. Even if all you sell are chairs. Change the featured chair. Tell why it’s a great chair – features and benefits. Tell them something they don’t know. Give them something they can sink their teeth into.

Finally, the treat! Whether it was a piece of candy, a snack cake or a fruit pie, I always looked forward to the treat!

Lesson Learned: Treat your clients, customers and prospects. Treat them to a mint (regular and sugar free) at the cash register, have fresh coffee and hot water for tea available, have stickers or waterless tattoos available for the kids. Train your staff to treat customers and prospects like they are welcome. Treat them … like your business depends on them.

Competition With Others

Aug 1

Posted by Tony Alessandra in Leadership, People!, Personal Development, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

You might be tempted to say, “What’s wrong with a little competition?” Nothing’s wrong with it. It’s healthy. It’s when your need to compete and be superior to someone else gets in the way of the best possible outcome for both of you. That’s when competition becomes a liability. I’m talking about the kind of person who always needs to be “one up” on other people.

People who live their life in competition with everyone – and we all know people like that – might get admired for their achievements, but they don’t get the freely given attention and support of others. People who exude the message: “I’m smarter, or prettier, or richer, or more committed than you are” don’t garner people’s trust. That’s because the message is clearly about “Me first.”

A willingness to be flexible means that occasionally you’re not number one. You may need to take a backseat to a colleague who’s trying something innovative. It may mean that you’ll need to compromise in a negotiation. Maybe the fact that you’re the best salesperson of the month every month prevents other people from even trying.

Does your level of competitiveness get in the way of relationships? If you play a one-on-one sport such as tennis or racquetball, do you always play to beat the other person? If you play board games or video games with your children, is it more important to win than to have fun?

On the one hand, it seems as though we’re being pushed to be more competitive. Many of us work for companies that are in fierce marketing battles with global competitors. There are fewer tax dollars to go around; fewer jobs in many industries. Yet, the paradox is the solutions we’re finding to those problems involve not more competition, but more collaboration.

I just have one tip for you if you have a streak of competitiveness that gets in the way of your relationships – stop seeing the other person as an opponent. Reframe the relationship as a mentoring one, as a friendship, as a chance to do something together that neither of you could do alone. Look directly into that person’s eyes and see a fellow human being who doesn’t want to be beaten or made into a loser any more than you do. People who are always out to win may collect a lot of marbles, but they lose a lot of friends. And I’d trade a bag of marbles for a good friend any day.

Your Business… Your success…

Jul 31

Posted by Steve Gray in Excellence!, Growth, People!, Personal Development, Planning, Risk Management, Starting out in business, The Board Room | No Comments

In business the success you get is often based on what you do as the business Owner/Operator, Director, Manager, CEO… Sure there is a matter of Luck, being in the right place and the right time (serendipity) but mainly the L.U.C.K. boils down to Learning Under Correct/Constant Knowledge.

Over time you might be able to ‘fluke’ a few results that make you feel good, look good etc… However there is often a more logical approach that can be taken to ensure your business success.

Firstly lets look at a few starting points, one being Business Profiles the other being your efforts towards success at the level of the profile you are at or want to be at. If you start with a level one business (and many do) the writing can be on the wall if you allow yourself to not see growth potential or take into acocunt the principal of making a profit. Mind you, you could do yourself in if that is all you were to see.

Business is a wholsitic device, which requires a number of things to happen to get apositive result. No matter what level your business is at you need to be aware of the positive and negative forces at play that can make or break it.

I would suggest that as a successful business operator you need to be able to have your finger on the pulse of what’s is happening, what could happen and what you want to have happen to make your business be all it can be.

Business failure rates are high, and to overcome that devices like the Business Profiles can give some indicators as to how you might explore the level you are at and decipher what to so to get to where you want to be.

Success is many things to many people and if it is about working towards worthwhile goals then your goal must surely be to create a successful venture. Using the profiles above and developing a plan of action from that to provide you with your goals is therefore an important factor in getting to where you want to go.

Using Promotional Products As Retail Babysitters

Jul 30

Posted by Michael Crooks in Excellence!, Growth, Innovation and Creativity, Starting out in business, The Customer Service Dept, The Marketing Dept, The Operations Dept, The Sales Dept | No Comments

I almost laughed out loud. A clerk tried to explain the features and benefits of a hair dyer to a woman who had a small child with her. The clerk’s sales attempt was interrupted every 20 seconds with, “Mommy, look at this!”, followed by mommy’s horrified look as she foresaw three possible outcomes: 1) Junior was about to maim himself; 2) Junior was about to maim someone else; 3) Mommy was about to spend way more than she intended on something that she didn’t want — that was about to be broken into at least 5 pieces.

Since it wasn’t my kid, I found it hilarious. The salesperson was exasperated. And mommy? Well, mommy finally said, “hell with it”, took Devil Child by the arm and exited the store after a carefully stacked display of towels suddenly became un-stacked — because Junior wanted the towel on the bottom.

When children hinder the sales process, salespeople can’t effectively do their job and profits suffer. Smarter retailers know they MUST occupy the children if they want mommy and daddy’s attention. That’s where Retail Babysitters come in.

For a promotional item to serve as an effective Retail Babysitter it should meet the following criteria:

1) Be age appropriate;
2) Be clean and mess free;
3) Consume children’s time.

A fourth criteria that, while not mandatory to keep kids from sabotaging your sales efforts, is VITAL if you want to get the best R.O.I.:

4) Whenever possible, Retail Babysitters should contain a tangible component to aid in the continuing promotion of your business or service off-premise.

Logoed items that meet the above criteria include stickers, sticker sheets, waterless tattoos, coloring books, crayons, your letterhead and custom activity sheets.

Businesses such as flooring showrooms, vehicle dealerships and furniture stores where children remain visible, can create a children’s area with carpet, a table and chairs. Suggesting to small children that they make a card or picture for mommy and daddy can work wonders. You can provide your letterhead, 8 1.2″ x 11″ sheets of construction paper, logoed boxes of crayons and logoed stickers or sticker sheets.

Waterless temporary tattoos can also be used in this way as they transfer well to paper products as well as the skin. Themed coloring books with your imprint on them along with the crayons are another good option.

For older children, create custom activity sheets. For instance, the sheet for a flooring store could contain a word search where kids search for words such as flooring, carpet, vinyl, etc.; a word jumble; a maze and other activities.

If you can’t create a Kid’s Corner, placing a coloring book & crayons with some stickers and waterless tattoos in a logoed paper lunch bag can fill the bill. Many kids will sit on the floor next to the parents, look through the bag and begin to apply stickers, waterless tattoos, use the coloring books or decorate the paper bag.

To aid in off-premise promotion of your business, offer a monthly coloring contest. The kids either finish a coloring book picture while at the establishment or finish it at home. The parents can drop the finished picture off later. (This gets them back in the store). Pictures are displayed and once a month, one or more winners is chosen and goes up on the winner’s wall. Each child who turns in a drawing gets an entry prize of some sort with the monthly winners getting larger prizes. (Monthly winners must come in to claim their prize.)

To provide the most benefit to your establishment, all prizes (water bottles, plastic flyers, knit caps) carry your logo and contact information. You can also get lot’s of play out of featuring selected children’s drawings in your monthly newspaper/print ads and on your website. You can also use the drawings to create a custom business calendar.

If you work with a competent promotional products consultant, they can be on the lookout for and bring select items to your attention that are on closeout or are seasonal specials. This will also serve to keep your prize selection fresh and seasonally appropriate.

Children can be a salesperson’s worst nightmare. But with a little thought and the right promotional products to serve as Retail Babysitters, children can actually become an asset as you use them to leverage favor — and sales with the parents.

Sustainability and the start up.

Jul 21

Posted by Steve Gray in Growth, Starting out in business | 5 Comments

You got into business to do great things and then what do you suppose happened when you discovered it was all going “pear shaped…” You wondered what you had done to deserve the hassle, the pain, the torment, the lack of dollars, the lack of customers the lack of support… the list goes on, and on… and it happens way too easily.

Here are a few things to get you thinking and in your initial start up phase these things should be priority number one!

  1. Have I done enough research? – Not so much research that the business never gets started, but enough to know that what you want to do will be able to turn a profit, meet a need or want for the customers and provide the income you need to make a living and keep the business growing.
  2. Will I be happy? – In a job you can duck and weave, take holidays, take sick leave and so on to get out of a ‘dud period’, in business however, you are it. So will your business keep you happy, make you happy, or build up to happiness? If not, why do it? Any thing less than happiness is probably misery, and in business you cannot just walk away without losing something (lots of $$, self esteem, respect, etc.)
  3. Sustainability? Whats that? – You have a business idea, will it last, will it be something that peole want to have for a long while to come or will it be something that fades out in a short time frame (a year or two.) If you are in the research phase check out carefully if this will be the case, there is little sense in putting a lot of time and effort into something that will be gone in a year or two (e.g. some software ideas have come in and gone out in a few years.)

Now lets take a deeper look at what can be done.

  1. Find out as much as you can about the buisness side of the industry – For many going into business will mean they have worked in a role for many years, built the skills and so on, but not really built any buisness skills to assist them in their endeavours. No need to do a big fully blown business course that take years, but do get any short term training to assist you in business. Then ask questions about growth prospects for the industry as well as finding out why a business needs to grow to be sustainable. Do the figures, how much do you need to earn to make things REALLY viable, its not dificult to do, it just needs some thinking and a calculator to bring it to fruition.
  2. Happiness – Ask questions to find out what being in business is really going to be like, are other industry leaders in your chosen field that run businesses really happy? And how would you measure that? Too often I hear people say… “It will be ok, it will be worth it.” they set up and then fail… Is that worth it? “I would not change a thing…” Even though there was a lot of heartache and hassle? loss of $$ is that really worth it?
  3. Do more than the basic research – It’s easy to research on the internet and chat to a few business people, but what is life really like for the industry leaders in your chosen business area? How will you find that out? After all going into business is not just about the money and satisfaction, its about lifestyle. It’s also about sustainability, so you can create an asset that will be of REAL long term value to you. Ask more questions, get face to face with the RIGHT people, not just supporters of your ideas. Start asking questions about buisness plans and chat to business owners about what plans they have… (if any). And also ask how much money they had to put up to get the business started…

It might sound like I want to put people off going into business, (actually I doubt that I would stop anyone that has a head full of emotion wanting to start a business!) but really I want to make sure everyone with a buisness idea sets off on the task with a clear head and a solid set of goals, after all it’s the lifestyle choice that will probably be your biggest one (and hopefully the most profitable one), so do it properly.

To find out more about getting started in business, or planning for more buisness check out the business profile PDf file for more ideas and information.

Business Profiles

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