What I’m thinking of here is the structural side of the business idea, rather than the sort of business it might be. So no it’s not the far out super freaky pizza business that serves east west Tex-Mex surprises with a Thai influence.

Imagine a business, where you have made things tick over nicely the staff are stable (and happy), your customers like what you provide and the way forward looks good. Income and profitability tick over nicely and you wonder about the bigger picture now you have more time to, you replaced yourself multiple times with great people and can sit back and “enjoy the view”. Now it’s time to look that bit further, or perhaps differently to cause your business to do more of what you want it to.

You know when to put on new staff, knowing when the rest of the team are pushing the limits, and you can handle the ‘lag time’ until they are ‘up to speed’ in the role. You have great measurement tools in place to know what’s working and what’s not. You know what the profit margin is and where it goes to.

What next? Is this it, is this the holy grail of your business goal/s? Are  your challenges at an end? Do you simply sell it off and retire (early?) or do you go for the thrill of the chase… the adrenaline injecting process of doing more, and creating anew to push yourself that bit further.

Let’s go for the latter… Lets explore how you can replicate the process to explore success in business and do more, be more have more. After all we live in a world of abundance and by the sound of things if you have read this far you have probably said to yourself yes I do all these things and I am in that lovely lofty position to be able to do more.

You have created an ‘organism’ which grows, it’s more than just sustainable and you can stand back and enjoy the benefits of it’s growth. Now take out a pen and pad and jot down the mechanics of the business, what makes it tick, what makes it profitable? What sets it apart from your competition to the point where you don’t have to even be there anymore to enjoy it.

Take that list and ask, Can I develop a formula from our current successes to be able to reproduce that in other businesses… short answer will probably be yes.

I suggest at this stage  you take a look at the list in a way which deals with the essence of the success and not just trying to think about other businesses you might like to try out or test. Look at the structure, how information flows, the team and culture, the values and beliefs, all the things which can cause the internal structures to remain steadfast and provide the right sort of support for growth.

Now you know what makes your current business tick and the building blocks for ANY new business, it’s up to you to act on the information.

If you create a new business or five, hold this thought in your mind… “in war success has never come to those who fought on more than three fronts” (go on prove me wrong…) it’s said this was Hitlers downfall in the end. So how will you as a business owner develop more businesses without this happening.

Firstly you will be mindful of it, secondly you will probably recognise that each business will not be run by you, you simply provide the ‘right structure and resources’ then step back and advise on ways to tweak the enterprise to generate greater success.

Go on, give it a go, if things go well through great planning you will end up with a site of businesses making good profits you will be able to share around with others, therefore creating more positive abundance in the world.

Well that’s my view.

We could spend ages debating the issue, what a brilliant business is, how it’s measured and the results it provides. But I want to focus on the ethereal things which caused it to be a brilliant business. The initial points I put up are a big part of that.

Let’s go back to the start, a business you set up started with an idea, you could see what you wanted, probably saw yourself running it how things would turn out. In your minds eye you saw a plan of action coming to reality and all the key pointers I started this article with are what bought the dream to reality.

It was you in the beginning who put in the effort, you did the thinking, the planning, took initiative, explored options and provided great service to ensure prospects and customers would come back for more.

The next step in your business was a big one, you took on staff, partners and or associates who could see what you saw, felt what you felt and heard the positive accolades for the products and service you provided for customers. You managed to  encourage your ‘team’, they got motivated, excited and became driven to follow in your footsteps.

The results spoke for themselves, happy customers, great products and services and the bottom line reflects the top level positive work everyone puts in.

There it is, your brilliant business, brilliantly utilising your ‘soft resources’ to ensure the ‘hard resources’, products and services, are in the right place at the right time for your ideal prospects and customers.

Sadly all of this is not a common occurrence, in fact it’s a rare situation, one sadly lacking in a world where hope, excitement and the ‘thrill of the chase’ has been eclipsed by businesses which start up and fade, some fast, some slow.

All of the above points and so much more in formation is available to those who want to ensure their ‘business idea is given the best chance of survival in the ‘formative part of the business process’ and thriving in the maturing part of the process, yet too many fail fast.

What annoys me the most is that people who have great intentions in starting their business find the sense of loss palpable. All that was required was the right sort of research, a solid plan of action and the ability to cause people to follow your brilliant lead. Alas too many businesses do not have that and what could be a great start soon becomes millstone.

Let’s ask then, what sort of business do you want to have? One with brilliant prospects and outcomes or one doomed to failing fast? Now ask what will you do to make sure it’s not the latter!

Four interesting findings about innovation emerged from his workshop.

1. Most large organizations have or have had innovation processes in the form of idea programmes in place. They work to varying degrees, none appear highly successful.
2. Most organizational innovation produces isolated successes, yet does not sustain organizationally over long periods. I used a case study with a 6 year life cycle and that represented a lengthy period according to the participants.
3. None of the innovation programmes discussed had benchmarking or on-going measurement associated with them enabling decision makers to value organizational innovation. Once the innovation had been implemented, it was regarded simply as a part of the business regardless of its impact. As a result, it appears decision makers in organizations are not able to meaningfully assess over time the value of innovation programmes or processes.
4. Whilst innovation programmes might be considered part of an organization’s core values. if they don’t have senior leadership driving them in a coherent and disciplined manner, they have little chance of being considered truly strategic and are likely to die if there is a change in leadership.

Dr.Ralph Kerle

Let’s start with what innovation is, it’s either a quantum leap or incremental process, either way it’s about finding ways forward to produce an organisation which can function more effectively.

The big thing, it’s often about using creative thinking processes to spark the change, however most business processes follow logic and are not often linked to creativity even though they look to innovation for a “way forward”.

There’s the challenge, to take a logical organism (business) and marry it with creative thinking (ideas and processes which may have only a few logical processes as part of them). Especially if there are few examples of creativity making big inroads into business development. (Some would argue market leaders like apple computers fly against this).

Some thoughts

• Use innovation
• Value innovation
• Push to innovate
• Explore it!
• The board should be creative junkies
• The board should be implementing it at every level
• The team don’t get it because they are following the lead (fail on creativity guys)
• Forget JUST innovation go for creativity and see what happens (does it lead to innovation, usually yes).
• Measurement, take a look at the bottom line, are there more dollars, is there greater retention of staff (therefore some reduced costs), are staff happier? You get the idea make a big list and see if the creative invasion has made a difference
• Ask your team to brainstorm the difference innovation and creative approaches might make, then measure that
• Does your organisation have a culture which can handle creative approaches, if not why not and how might you alter that?
• How does the main team get to value creativity and innovation?
• Do your team say “Oh no another silly thingy we have to deal with from ‘upstairs’” or do they look on with interest.
• Plan do check act – try – do check act plan…
• Improvise adapt overcome – try – adapt overcome improvise…
• Replace “They won’t go for that” with “Go for that it might just make a BIG difference”
• Replace “do it now” thinking with “do it yesterday?”
• Think save the world with our actions because we can, via innovation
• Think… explore… create… and or ANY combination of those
• Ask, is the ball rolling effectively or are there any obstacles in it’s way? Now innovate that for results. BIG results
• Pose creative questions at all levels, all the time
• Ask for creative responses to challenges (you shouldn’t have to after a while)
• Ask, what creative process do I not know about that we can use now…
• Hire for creativity first skills, passion and abilities second…
• Hire based strongly on “What creative or innovative thing propelled you in your last role?” (even if they are applying for a menial role)

Enough, either see the road blocks or create the road ahead, make it a golden one with all the trimmings thanks.

Like a lot of people I didn’t worry much about retirement, putting cash away and anyway I keep hearing stories of people losing money overnight on the stock market and their portfolio value plummets again…

The reminder for this post, listening to people in business chatter away about how things have gone, what they will do when the time comes to retire, how they might sell their asset and in one case a lady who had sold her business, watched it fade fast into obscurity so she bought it back and is building it up again.

So what will you do, sell the business, put a Manager in to run it, expand it, resize it etc? All with the aim of having a nest egg to retire on.

If you do sell, will what you have the cash ‘invested’ in provide for your needs in retirement? How much will you need?

If you build up the business and put in a Manager how will that work out? Will the amount you need to take out hurt the business? Will it be run as you set it up or better? Will things fall in a heap and you need to rescue it… will you want to rescue it!

Lots of great questions in need of great answers. Hopefully your Accountant can set you straight, or at worst your own figures will project a rosy future for you. Lets face it, in the current economic situation there is little to smile about when the notion of retirement looms large in our thoughts. Unless of course you have an asset which keeps on giving.

On many occasions I have spoken to retailers who say “Oh well what can you do, it gets quieter and you hope for the best, you get on the phone and have a chat to friends, get the juniors to clean up a bit and even open a bit later.”

I have seen many retailers in shopping strips sitting waiting and hoping… some survive some fade away.

How do you get around this issue and ensure your business can make it through tough times and perhaps thrive even though the temperature outside is telling you this really is “the winter of our discontent”.

Add to and ‘milk’ your database - If your business is interesting and has had customers come to your store for those one of a kind items you are known for, then you probably have a database of interested persons. If not then start building one! Make contact and start inviting them in for a fantastic shopping experience. Email and snail mail them AT LEAST 4 times a year (although you can readily do more with Email). Add a subscription service to your website, blog and online store then do everything you can to get people signed up and steadily build your numbers.

Shopping experience - You have a shop… what’s the ‘experience’ like… Do people love your service, your personality, the extras you add on, the items you sell? Or do they just come in because they have to and hate every minute of it. My view… Go for a stunning experience. Figure out how to do that with some brainstorming, internet research and KICK BUTT! – BRILLIANT service should be the first step, great displays, fast transactions, wonderful Staff, acknowledge all people who enter the store with a solid heart felt “Hello!”

Use your time – When it’s quiet in the store, develop your marketing plan and act on it. Devise a HEAP of ways to contact your database, build your database and keep them coming back for as little cost as you can. Email and facebook pages are one way, tweaking your informative and engaging website is another, adding to your web blog is yet another. Oh and here’s a critical one… do not vacuum the floor when people are in the store or anywhere near the store and see you  (or any staff) doing it, I hate it with a vengeance and will avoid the store at all costs (the noise is one thing, the tripping hazard of the cord is another and it’s just plain poor form!)

Get Excited! – If you are running a boring ‘old fart store’ with little life, a gruff disposition and a cold shoulder, prospects will find it hard to want to become customers, let alone repeat shoppers (clients). The more you can add excitement to cause people to want to shop in your store, more the more value you can get from them.

Cause people to take action – Ok so it’s quieter at certain times of the day. Can you run an event (an in-store demonstration or special display) or sponsor a catch up for a small group. Or perhaps you offer great package options you can make happen only at special times, to cause people to come in and stay there for a while. Or what about an in store treasure hunt… each day you could give people clues about where to find the treasure, perhaps online.

Give simple and effective reminders – Promo products can do this, drop a printed pen into their bag of purchases, give then an imprinted gift for purchases over $x. Chat to your friendly branding expert to get more ideas and ways to engage them more often. Add business cards in the bags each time (about 3 each time) people soon keep them for friends if the service is sensational and the experience and products are good.

Create an online shop – People like to buy, so sell to them in a way which fits for them, at home, anywhere in the world! Make it an easy to navigate online shop with Pay Pal as the payment device. And put on those things people can’t really get anywhere else. Avoid discounting the prices, buying is buying! then promote it on your FB page, twit about it, email people overseas and interstate (try to keep your locals shopping LIVE… They will find the online shop soon enough! are there other online or local shops you can connect with? Perhaps they can link to your shop too, you could have a whole community of connected businesses all working together feeding each other leads.

Get out there! – Sitting in your shop will cause  you to go nuts. Get you and your staff out in front and hand out goodies to prospective customers, give business cards,  chocolates “With the compliments of shop X”, a flier, an invitation to an event. (You can have them excited before they even enter the store!)

All of these tips are simply about loving people so they can love you back, and if you love your staff they will love you and the customers, Go on explore ways to give UNCONDITIONAL love to everyone you come into contact with. I think in an ideal world you could get so busy you would have to hire someone to keep this list of innovative connection options happening, as you could be too busy manning the till! Now that would be nice…

Content creation on your website etc is one thing, but getting your target to see it is another. here are a few ways to explore a few pieces of the puzzle and develop a few answers. If nothing else this should be a spring board for your people to come up with some new options, share those in the comments!

• Build digital communities people want to go to and stay at…. Give them reasons to stay, a gift, a prize and offer, an alliance, a chance to get tokens to build towards a bigger gift. along the way, they get your message.
• Word Of Mouth as a way to get people to check out your social media information, blogs etc… so make a  you tube video of some people telling each other about your service. Imagine an office where two people are filmed by an apparently “sneaky camera” they talk about some of the benefits of using your biz, they say the biz name poorly at first (so you can’t quite hear it) then it gets clearer over time. have an anonymous you tube acct so it’s not your biz acct, then as they walk off the camera sneaks up and your biz card features on a desk..
• Hand out your branded gear in an area where you are more likely to get to the sorts of companies which might use your services. Chat to your friendly branding expert for ideas and options.
• Link a series of approaches together, your linked in group, with your face book page, with your blog, with your website, with your email’s and links on faxes out and adverts with QR codes to a starting point on your website.
• Have fun doing suitable “stunts” and get media attention which features your website, a “mob event” for example try a creative dance group for some ideas.
• Provide a suitable enticement via a promotion to get people to head over to your blog and sign up… If they are your target market then great! if not just give them the thing and move on… its a number game.
• Create a PDF of value to your target market, they can only get after signing up to your blog. advertise it on  your facebook page and linked in group, while twittering about it a few times.
• Create self qualifying adverts, “When you want what we have go here…” then lead them to your website and give them a reward for doing so.
• Fortune cookies with a pr code in it to link to a specific page on your website.
• Create a you tube video with your website featured in it, make it interesting, like have a home movie, or show  a calm and beautiful scene of rolling waves make it short and to the point, heck make a bunch of them, then send links to them via your email list, of course the videos have your website details across the bottom.
• Load your autoresponder email outs with great tips, hints, ideas and links to your various resources. keep adding to it with brilliant information so they want to stay subscribed.
• Develop strategic digital partnerships with others who can link to your target market, this way you can get more leverage and be seen as a go to person for resources and ideas.
• Repetition, repetition,REPETITION!, some things just don’t change! Your adverts need to be seen by people multiple times to be effective… So will it be a branded product, a link to your site, PR codes (more linking…) emails to your targets or all of them! yep do the lot, one of them will be the one which connects!

More ideas you want to share? Use the comments section in the  header for this post to let us know..

The aim is not just to get your name in front of people but to make it connect. When you get to connect with someone the longer you can do it the better, and the more effective the connection, even better still!

Here’s how it could work. If you put an advert in a newspaper and all it sasys is your business name and contact details, you might get a few calls, however if it has some degree of emotion connected to it, you have a better chance of connecting with the reader.

An example… a motor mechanic, if they play on the pain of a car breaking down and the hassle that can cause, chances are the people who know the pain would relate to the advert. Instantly you have a point of difference from the advert with just the details. And you are more likely to get people to take some notice.

It’s even better if the person wants the service you are delivering at the time when they need it most, so if you have played to the idea of connecting and your opposition hasn’t you will probably win more often.

So think deeper and figure out ways to connect so you can set yourself apart from a competitor.

Here’s another step… Let’s say you did a basic connect with the first step and you added a call to action in the advert “Mention this advert and receive a free gift when you come in” then you have a chance to connect again, let’s say the gift is a stress ball with your contact details on it and a tagline which says “We take the hassle out of your vehicle repairs.” Then there is a connection to the first message and you get to be the one to be remembered longer.

Freebies are just one way of connecting with your target customers over a longer period, but avoid just giving them out, make the people work for it, like bring in the advert and get a quote and we gift you.

Put your thinking cap on and see what you can come up with using the connecting rule as a starting point, if you need to, chat to a friendly branding expert to get more information, you will then have a head start.

Probation period guidelines – Start and in three months we will assess how  you have gone. Assess what and how? Is anyone in your organisation clearly responsible for figuring out what and how to assess, are they qualified to do so to some regulatory standard?

Many organisations have a three month probation period while others have six months and others none at all. If you want to build in cooling off period where either party can part ways, it is wise to ensure you and they fully understand the process and the criteria they will be assessed on.

These days there are plenty of people with workplace assessment qualifications who should be able to map out the criteria for measurement and the ways to assess the recruit against those criteria.

Depending on the role will depend on the specifics of operational effectiveness they will have to attain, the skills they will have to demonstrate and the level of cultural fit they will attain.

At a minimum level the OHS standards will be addressed and I would like to think a solid appreciation of the values and beliefs of the organisation as well as practical job skills and abilities would be very wise.

The aim being to ensure the person being assessed has clear criteria to work to, as well as a full appreciation of how they will be assessed and the evidence or types of evidence which will be sued to do all this.

May I suggest a clearly set out set of criteria in a bunch of areas, OHS, job skills, Cultural fit, Communication skills, Technical skills (IT etc). and then build the assessable parts within each section. Perhaps they will have to show an understanding of the terminology or intention of the parts of each section as well as demonstrate with clear evidence they have achieved that level of skill.

Whatever the end product make sure it is clear to all parties and people assessing the person have the ability to do it based on great evidence and clear guidelines for all.

Now you have a new recruit with correct training, who has met the criteria for assessment, feels welcome in the organisation and is settling in to the role with ease and a degree of comfort. You on the other hand have the peace of mind in knowing you did all you could to make the process as easy as possible to ensure the new recruit is a brilliant fit and are assured of their ongoing success… Let’s hope so!

High Expectations – The HR dept say this person is a great fit for the organisation on SO MANY levels, yet no one in the dept they are going into knows anything about them except some here-say rumor… Truth is the person is a bit average in the start up phase and people in the dept are “non plussed” with the new recruit, some people just need time to shine and figure out where everything is and how things happen. How were the skills the person had in a  previous position “Mapped” across to this new role. What if they had used a much older piece of software in the past and the version or type you have is VERY different to what they are used to…

Your new recruit starts and the place is a buzz with excitement, people want to meet them, people want to avoid them, people need to help them or not. It’s all about people and the fit to the organisation, yet on so many levels there are issues with how things come together and the expectations some in the team may have about the new recruit.

In the initial phase the new person might struggle to get up to speed, despite reassurances from many in the organisation, yet the person may well be highly trained and have a resume bristling with qualifications. In the initial phase then it should be vital to ensure they have the support they need without prejudice or hassle, this way they can grow into the role at their pace. For some that will be fast and for others painfully slow perhaps,  you role is to make sure it happens in the best way possible.

Others in your team will need to know about the new person and why they were chosen so they can make fair assessments and not base a person on day one performance and here-say from others in the team, rumours are rarely objective.

You will have talked to the team about how they have certain skills and how these can be traced across or mapped, to suit their new role. You will assure them this person meets a range of positive criteria and proved at interview they should be well and truly capable of fitting in, and doing an effective job in the new role.

You will also outline any training or other support they need to allow them to make the best of the probation period and explore the role and the organisation fully.

Now every one knows about the new recruit a welcome party will ensure they are able to fit in and be supported in positive and solid ways by all the team.

In our next part in this series lets look at the guidelines for their probation period and ensuring they are clearly assessed to meet the criteria.

Lousy training – Tough, though I know your training people are possibly doing what they can, given tough challenges or are just not that suited to training new employees, they might have a stronger focus on I.T. or a some Leadership program, they can be spread thin. After all did anyone tell the Training area to prepare something for the new recruit?

When it comes to training some are of the opinion “If you picked a new recruit, pick one already trained…” nice thought but there are things  your organisation will do differently to others so they might need to know how your team look after OHS issues, and about the versions of software you use. as well as looking at the values and beliefs in the organisation.

I can only hope your organisation has a great training program in place for all sorts of things and not a lousy one as I hinted at in the opening section. So that being the case your training team will have this area all handled for you when  you let them know the new recruit is about to start.

• The training team won’t tell you “Oh the OHS (or other) training doesn’t run for another 3 weeks.” They will have a positive stop gap measure like an online training option, or at the very least a handout on OHS expectations and guidelines to give the recruit early in the process (before they start perhaps.)
• The training team will have put together something for the new recruit on the values and beliefs of the organisation, knowing full well the value of a great cultural fit and how this can happen using foundation organisational philosophies.
• The training team will have mapped out a schedule of what training is happening and what the recruit needs to do to ensure their training needs are met and especially in the area of the induction program and it’s time frame. They will be well and truly focussed on the recruits success in the organisation and not just for the recruitment phase either.

The new recruit, even by this early stage, will be suitably impressed with how things are going, they feel included and are valued in the organisation and are trained to succeed.

In the next phase your Leadership and communication skills come to the fore as you make sure all the team know about the recruit and a bit about how they will fit in. Join me then as weexplore the expectations of the new recruit.

Previously I said…

Induction program – How do people learn about the nitty gritty’s in your organisation, the policies, procedures, OHS, who’s who and what about the culture of the organisation? Has anyone looked at the existing “program.” for a while? Is it relevant, suitable, useful…

So the recruit has been offered a position, you set the start date, it’s 3 – 4 weeks away due to their other commitments, all is well.  You set the wheels in motion to get things sorted, a spot in an office, supervisor is informed, HR are organising their part and so on… but when was the last time it was looked at and how effective is  all that? and why does it have to take so long to seemingly get them started?

Here are some thoughts on what might be a more ideal way to go.

• Send them info on the organisation the minute they say yes – Things like an operations manual, who they will be working with and the structure of that area – an outline of how the probation period will be assessed – an outline of the OHS guidelines for the organisation – a company video – a signup form for HR legal requirements like superannuation etc.
• Their workspace – Is it suitable, is it sorted, do they have all they need to do the job, does it meet OHS standards.
• Their supervisor – Who is it and what do they need to know about the new recruit, will they need some training or coaching on how to work with a new team member?
• The HR teams role – What do HR do to make the recruit fit in? Do they control all of these points? Do they look after all the details or… Find out sooner rather than later.
• Team mates – They will probably know within an instant of a new person being recruited, such is the power of the grapevine. But what do they really know about the person, how will they respond, how do they act, what part do they play in welcoming the new person. the list could go on.
• Buddy system – Some like a buddy system approach others don’t, but if the new recruit has a buddy make sure the buddy knows the expectations and is allocated time to assist the recruit with all that’s necessary.

There, now you have wrestled a few things into place you induction program is starting to take shape. Here’s hoping the new person loves the approach the organisation is taking and wants to stay and be a vital part of your team.

Next time lets go a step further in the process so the recruits journey is a smooth one.

Sorry I think in that last line I was being a little bit cynical… Clearly things won’t turn to mud in all organisations, but in quite a few I think it will and here’s why.

- Poor induction program.

- Lousy training.

- High expectations.

- Tricky probation period guidelines.

Yet these things can clearly be overcome. Firstly however you have to objectively measure the four things which could fail.

1. Induction program – How do people learn about the nitty gritty’s in your organisation, the policies, procedures, OHS, who’s who and what about the culture of the organisation? Has anyone looked at the existing “program.” for a while? Is it relevant, suitable, useful…
2. Lousy training – Tough, though I know your training people are possibly doing what they can, given tough challenges or are just not that suited to training new employees, they might have a stronger focus on I.T. or a some Leadership program, they can be spread thin. After all did anyone tell the Training area to prepare something for the new recruit?
3. High Expectations – The HR dept say this person is a great fit for the organisation on SO MANY levels, yet no one in the dept they are going into knows anything about them except some here-say rumor… Truth is the person is a bit average in the start up phase and people in the dept are “non plussed” with the new recruit, some people just need time to shine and figure out where everything is and how things happen. How were the skills the person had in a  previous position “Mapped” across to this new role. What if they had used a much older piece of software in the past and the version or type you have is VERY different to what they are used to…
4. Probation period guidelines – Start and in three months we will assess how you have gone. Assess what and how? Is anyone in your organisation clearly responsible for figuring out what and how to assess, are they qualified to do so to some regulatory standard?

All of these aspects can be challenging to negotiate, and like many people in businesses, they realise they need the new staff member too late and before long everyone is too busy to address any of the above.

Time to take stock and get ready for the new recruit. Now I have created a bunch of points to ponder, in the next few articles lets take each one and develop it further.

The chat started with the difference between “May I and Can I…” May I assist you, or Can I assist you, what happened next was a BFO, (Blinding Flash of the Obvious).

You see it was so simple when he explained it. “Imagine you are at the top of a cliff and your task is to push someone off, would you say “Can I push you off or may I push you off…” ” Can I”, relates to skill and “May I” relates to permission to do a thing.” I was engaged in the conversation now, what a great hook! Yes he clearly knew his English and the lesson was simple but so good. Actually on thinking about it none of the above would get you far in the pushing stakes but it makes a point also about service being more about offering, rather than demanding. Chances are you would not ask a person if they wanted to be pushed!

I asked him for a view on my old favourite, “help and Assist” he agreed, Help is needed when you are in dire straits, assistance is softer and more readily taken up unconsciously. So many people will say “Just looking thanks” when you offer help, but more people take up an offer of assistance “May I assist you…”

It could go further you could say “May I assist you to find what you are after today?” That way you are being specific about what you are offering. Without the specifics it is so open you might get in a bit of a bind, like this… ‘May I assist  you?” asks the store attendant… “Oh yes, you can give me a million dollars, that would be great assistance…” replies the customer.

Take the time out to consider the small things like this which may impact on people  you deal with so the service you offer is as elegant and correct as possible. We also chatted briefly about G’day as a greeting, I will leave that one for another article.

Well time got the better of our conversation too quickly and circumstances meant we had to part ways, all I can hope is that I said goodbye in an elegant manner!

On providing great service, “I don’t know if you can but you may…”

However it is also easy to miss out on getting things right in your business and in fact it can be VERY difficult to get ALL things right. Perhaps this “Blitz” idea might make a difference to how you go about things.

Businesses often have “blind spots”, in retail circles it’s often called “Store blindness”. It’s where particular parts of the business are not up to scratch and often go unnoticed, it might be one area of a display which has become tardy but is not noticed so we form a blind spot to it. My answer, “blitz your business”.

How? Simple, in retail for instance, draw a rough plan of your store, and have a blitz attack on sorting things out in that section, check cleanliness, stock levels, layout, lighting, signage etc… Then to other business aspects, marketing, operational systems, and management to name a few. Go through all of these one at a time and sort them out bit by bit.

Perhaps set up a blitz team to work on each part of  the business so the organisation can see the fruits of it, knowing it has taken solid action to get those results. Start now with a simple checklist of areas to focus on. Oh and remember to mix up the areas you focus on with your team so they avoid getting into a rut and follow a boring routine.

I call it Marketing overlap, there is probably a fancy name for it in market speak but for now that covers it.

Many businesses rely on just a few forms of marketing and can measure the results of those, however what most fail to do is overlap the marketing so that as one method of marketing runs out of stem the next one kicks in.

An example of this is when you have a range of great products, and this month you have a special on one of them, the next month another special with a  different item and so on. By focusing on one product special then another people can get excited about coming to check out what you have on offer, often to get the special, but guess what they do, they often buy more than just the special.

If your business is expanding and offering new products you can launch them as the “special” then as you move to the next special the first one has nearly run its course, and so the overlap effect occurs.

This method generally ups your average dollar sale, keeps people interested in what you have to offer and if you can couple it with a range of marketing devices you will probably see great results. Want to develop a plan of action, then try chatting to your friendly branding expert to see what you can do to make it work.

So on, get out your marketing plan and cram a few extra marketing devices into the mix and overlap each campaign to keep the punters interested, if you don’t, your competition just might and take your customers out from under you. Chances are you may not notice until it’s too late.