Communications that Impede Your Business Growth

Ever been waiting for an important email to come in, but never got it? Asked an employee to reach out to a client, only to find out they emailed the person and don't have the answer as quickly as they could have? 

Well, then, this post is for you. Communication is key to our business, as put by TAB-Scottsdale:

"Throughout time miscommunication has always been a problem. Today, with the advent of e-mails, texting, and voicemails, miscommunication has become dramatically worse."

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Avoid a Recession with the Right Attitude

With today’s inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States, business owners are even more focused on current economic state and the many changes that need to happen in the coming months in order to overcome the plethora of business challenges they’re faced with every day. Now, more than ever, it is essential to keep a positive attitude and refuse to give in to a recession.

From the TAB-Austin Blog:

“In the face of various delays, spending “freezes”, discount requests, cancelled appointments, and other forms of increased resistance, it is essential to keep mindsets within the Circle of Influence and outside of the Circle of Concern.

As people get whipped up inside their Circle of Concern, it will not take long for your weaker players to believe all the “bad news”. In the face of externals forces and chatter, they become demoralized and expect to fail. You cannot allow this to happen. Make every discussion you have with your salespeople positive. Discuss only those things that they can control. Also, find something to celebrate inside each situation. Can the economy be better? Sure. However, business is still being conducted. Even companies who are proclaiming project delays or spending freezes are still making purchases. Whether inside a company, an industry, a country or an entire global economy, there is a Bull Market inside every Bear Market. The job of a great leader and salesperson is to find it and seize the opportunity.”

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Time Allocation

Time is a precious limited resource and how we use it can affect not just the health of our business, but our private life as well. The owner must have a clear vision for how he or she will use productive time before the vision for the organization is developed. This vision, as it relates to the business, will focus on the owner’s personal competitive edge. Being able to spend 75% or more of your business time using your competitive edge will not happen if you dwell in the past or are focused on what you are today instead of what you can become. You need to have a clear vision of what you want to become in order to reach the goal of spending your time doing what you enjoy while advancing your business. To get there, you must be committed to further development and learning how to take advantage of your natural talents. This means continued learning in the areas that will develop your competitive edge.

Do not expect to eliminate activities outside of your competitive edge areas overnight. As your business grows and your competitive edge grows, you will need the funds to pay people to handle these activities for you (people who are better suited to do them anyway).

First of all, you need a plan for your time. As a business owner, you should not worry about structuring your time like that of your employees. Who hasn’t felt guilt when away from the office doing what you enjoy, such as golfing and being called into the office to attend to an issue?

You need to set aside Free Thought Days (FTDs). Free Thought Days are days in which you are not involved in business activities and are out of contact with the office. No one should be calling you from the office unless it is an emergency. You should not be involved in any routine business matters.

There are two types of time blocks that you spend during your business days. One is devoted to short-term results that do not involve the big picture. Your action plans will identify specific activities that need to be focused on during these small picture half days.

The other time block is devoted to things that involve the big picture, such as preparing for a major presentation or proposal, working on your vision and mission, or contacting potential clients that could have a major impact on your company. These big picture activities cannot be bogged down with handling day-to-day problems or activities such as signing checks. There will come a time when you may be able to make these blocks full days, but you can start off with time blocks that are half days.

Achieving Prosperity in 2009

It’s that time of the year when football fanatics are glued to the screen to see which teams are going to thrive under tremendous pressure or succumb to their competition. Many business owners can especially relate this year given the state of the economy and fighting to overcome even the toughest competitors rather than being dragged down with their weaker counterparts. This year, make a new resolution and commit to making 2009 your best year yet.

Ray Brun, TAB-Certified Facilitator and Coach describes on the TAB East Bay North Web site how you can turn around your company in one year, just like the Miami Dolphins made NFL history:

“The biggest one-season turn-around in NFL history! Worst to First. How does a team go from 1-15 to 11-5 in just one short year? The answer is simple. When Bill Parcells took over the reigns in Miami this year, the first thing he did was let everyone there know that losing would not be tolerated. He had won everywhere he had been and the Dolphins would be no exception. He started out by raising the standard from Good(or was it Awful?) to Excellent.

Once those who accepted losing were kicked off the bus, everything else fell into place, because there was no one to drag everyone else down. And that, my fellow business owners, is how you are going to make it easier for positive change in the challenging year ahead. That is how you are going to go from good (or bad) to great. There will be no shortage of gloom and doom and naysayers in 2009. To survive, you must be around people who have a mindset of ‘I refuse to participate in this recession!’”

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Stand Out From Your Competitors

2009 is underway and businesses everywhere are slashing prices hoping to attract post-holiday shoppers hoping to generate additional revenue. With so many businesses struggling to stay afloat and looking for ways to cut costs, increase sales and improve their business, it is imperative to think outside the box to grow your clientele by offering these special discounts or incentives. For example, car companies are slashing prices and offering rebates and finance rates that were previously unheard of to attract new customers.

In your business, pick an offer or product that will cost you very little, but is invaluable to your clientele and positions you as the leading business for your particular industry—showing you take pride in your products, services and customers—and are willing to go above and beyond to stand out from your competitors. Another example is the tire industry. If you own a tired business and offer to fix flat tires for free as long as the customer buys their tires from you, increase your clientele immediately by offering to fix anyone’s flat tire for free. This simple, low-cost gesture on your part speaks volumes to a consumer and immediately results in word-of-mouth advertising boasting about how great your business is. Not only will they begin doing business with you, but their positive experience will drive their friends and family to give you their business as well.

For other ideas on how you can improve your business in an economic downturn, TAB-Scottsdale has several great ideas:

If you are not preparing for an Economic Downturn, the time to start planning is NOW. This is a great time to grow your business and take advantage of those other businesses that are not seeing the whole picture. This has been a discussion at our monthly TAB Board meetings. Following are some of the key points that have been brought up, and that we will be working together with the Boards. If you are smart about your business, it can mean some short term pain, but some long term gain.

1. CASH FLOW IS KING – Cash flow is the key to survival during any recession. It is the first place that should be attacked. Look closely at the 4 major cash flow influencers and what you can do to dramatically improve – Accounts Receivable, Inventories, Pricing (Gross Profit), and debt. Always check to see if you can refinance on existing loans or get better terms with credit card processing companies. 1% change in pricing, or debt can mean a lot to your cash flow.
2. PRICING STRATEGY – Along the same lines optimize your pricing strategy to move inventory and/or liquidate old inventory. Considering bundling like products. Encourage buyers to buy larger lot sizes. Raise prices to companies where it is costing you money to sell too.

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