To Make The Sale Know Your Audience

To Make The Sale Know Your Audience  

Smart Business Thinking by Jim Whelan

When I left the corporate corner office and hung out the Business Advisor shingle I joined a networking group.

Northern Virginia Business Referrals meets in Arlington every Tuesday for breakfast. A cross section of skills and professions are represented in the group.

After three months frustration was building. Not only did I not have any referrals (being new to the game I had few to give), I wasn’t sure they knew my mane or what my service entailed.

A group member who exhibits a lot of marketing smarts is Linda Zenker, Associate Real Estate Broker in northern Virginia.  I asked her to spend a few minutes over coffee helping me out.

“Linda, what’s going on? I’m not making any headway with the group. Have not had one referral – not even a bite.”

“Jim, I know your experienced is in the corporate world and you have a fine concept about the value you bring to a client. Yet there’s one thing getting in your way.”

Aha I thought, Linda is going to share the inside scoop on marketing for success. Sitting on the edge of the chair ready to absorb the pearls of wisdom. Things are going to be OK from now on. 

“Jim, you’re at every breakfast. I know you are making a tremendous effort … BUT you show up at each meeting in your corporate togs – suit, shirt, and tie.

When people look and listen to you all they see is big dollar signs.

First, I suggest you dress down to a more casual style, second, why not come up with a special offering with a non-Wall-Street price tag the members can relate to.”

So the whole marketing secret is I hadn’t gauged the audience. I was in my world, not theirs.

Following Linda’s advice, I shed the suit & tie and announced a 60-day special offering. It worked. Had two takers in the next two weeks.

The Bottom Line:

Pay close attention to the audience. Focus on their concerns not yours and the value you bring to their table.

Jim is an expert business coach and a respected advisor management and financial executives. He draws on his long-term business leadership background to help CEOs grow revenue, increase profits, improve performance.   

"How to Build a Unique Selling Proposition"

"How to Build a Unique Selling Proposition" Smart Business Thinking by Jim Whelan

WHAT IS A UNIQUE SELLING PROPOSITION

Unique Selling Proposition’s (USP) purpose is to help your marketing efforts generate better results. It positions you as standing out from your competition because you offer something (or some way) that your competition does not – you’re unique.

Your USP is a selling tool that draws prospects to your offering and persuades them to purchase your product or service. Your USP is a proposition that offers benefits by buying from you.

Since your USP is a sales proposition, you are making an offer. The classic example is Domino’s Pizza, “Pizza in 30 minutes or it’s free”. Dominos positioned itself as unique since none of its competitors made that claim, and (as we know) made the sale to millions.

 HOW TO DEVELOP YOUR USP

Put yourself in the customer’s chair. What are the pains in your industry that you guaranty to solve?  It’s not what you do; it’s what benefits your customer receives from your efforts.

Craig Herberg is owner of Info-Safety, an IT services company providing on-site and remote computer services for residential and micro-business clients in Northern Virginia.  

Craig identified his customers’ pain as the frustration they experience dealing with their computer technology. Craig offers Technology Frustration Remediation®

That is his trademarked process by which he offers assurance while explaining the method by which he will solve the problem along with tips on avoiding or reducing the impact of similar problems.

What is the “pain” (irritation, frustration, disappointment) your customer experiences when working with your industry - the endless wait for pizza. 

The key is to be unique. Since you are promising to alleviate the “pain” something no one else has, or does, make a guarantee. It sets you apart from your competition and it makes you more visible in the market.

The Bottom Line

Your USP drives your business and success because it differentiates you from your competition, it persuades someone to buy, it makes an offer to the prospective buyer.  It can also be used as a branding tool for your marketing efforts. This allows you to build a lasting reputation while you are making the sale.  

Jim is an expert business coach and a respected advisor management and financial executives. He draws on his long-term business leadership background to help CEOs grow revenue, increase profits, improve performance.

Why Should I Buy From You?

Smart Business Thinking by Jim Whelan

Why Should I Buy From You?

This question is the 600-pound gorilla in the prospect's mind. 

What do YOU look for when making a significant purchase? 

• Low rate? - only if you can take a chance on the outcome

• A fancy glossy proposal? – where’s the meat?

• A description of the work that lacks a clear statement of the outcome and completion date?

No way – you select the vendor that achieves:

1.     A meeting of the minds through shared communications so each party is clear on the process and outcome

2.     Open ended questions that lead to defining the scope of the job and results

3.     Show a track record of delivering on promised results

To achieve trust use a process: 

• of investigating the prospect's priorities

• that leads to the value you bring to the table

• developing trust that the prospect is dealing with a true professional.

 When you tell a story showing how you use similar techniques you define what success looks like. The trust you create is a picture in the mind of your prospects.

Bottom line?
Increase probability of success by establishing trust, which is the yellow brick road to a prospect’s acceptance.

Dealing With Success

Smart Business Thinking by Jim Whelan

Dealing With Success

“When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.”

Oscar Wilde

Your business is built on a passion to be an expert. This is true whether launching a new, or growing your existing business.

Many times this passion is not enough to succeed. Building a business requires a strategic plan based on a clearly defined end objective. 
Many small business owners eventually realize they have to learn business growth and management skills.

Some of the ways that you can succeed and stay for the long run are: 

1.     Understanding finances - Financial experience tends to be a weak link in many small businesses. Assuming you are in business to make money, develop an understanding of finances that affect the business.

• Cash Is King. Understand the difference between profits and cash. Profit is an accounting concept while cash pays bills. Rely on a cash flow spread sheet and an account receivable report to keep close tabs on positive cash flow. 

2.     Make changes in operations to accommodate growth – “Back of the envelope” wont carry you far. A "Shoebox Bookkeeping" system is overcome quickly. Look at the way you do business and identify changes that could make a major impact on the way you operate.

3.      Use technology in innovative ways - Look for ways to integrate technology to improve your business. Another industry may be using a system that you can modify for yours.

4.     Control operations expenses - Search for businesses that are using effective models and emulate their operations. Seek out advice from your mastermind or business group.

5.     Keep head count low – Consider new employees a long-term commitment. Hire only when you absolutely must.

6.     Mentally prepare you for success  - As counter-intuitive as it seems, the possibility of success keeps some business owners awake at night.

The Bottom Line

Create a plan that projects a successful business.

You can only manage what you can control. Develop an overall system of controlling the various aspects of your business to build a successful business.

Jim is an expert business coach and a respected advisor management and financial executives. He draws on his long-term business leadership background to help CEOs grow revenue, increase profits, improve performance.   

If a Shoebox is Your Bookkeeping System, What Happens When Business Picks Up? Smart Business Thinking by Jim Whelan

Smart Business Thinking by Jim Whelan

If a Shoebox is Your Bookkeeping System, What Happens When Business Picks Up?

When starting a business you wear all the hats. Since you’re in business to make a profit, finance is one of your responsibilities. Keeping track of income and outflow is the only way to keep score, and that involves a bookkeeping or accounting system. Set up the system as one of the essential first steps starting the business. 

Many thanks to John Bowen, Bookkeeping & MoneyManagement, of Arlington as he unraveled the complexities of bookkeeping for a small business at The Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s recent Roundtable.

 John uses a step-by-step method of selecting the appropriate bookkeeping/accounting system.

Questions to ask in setting up a bookkeeping system:

·      Step #1.  Determine the type of legal entity to establish: Corporation, Partnership, Sole Proprietor,
     or LLC?

·      Step #2.  Will you have Employees, use Independent Contractors, or hire Subcontractors?

·      Step #3.  Will you collect Sales Tax? Need to Track Inventory?

·      Step #4.  Do clients/customers pay immediately or in stages?

Common problems small businesses experience are:

a.  Keeping up to date on income includes tracking when invoices are sent, paid, and deposited.

b.  Prompt reconciliation of bank and credit card statements is essential. It is easier to catch an error in one month than searching through three or more months for the problem.

Popular Software options:

QuickBooks    Pro (Windows) and for Mac  $180

·      Broad array of reports (including complete balance sheet)

·      Handles employees and independent contractors   (prints W-2s and 1099s)

·      Handles sales tax

·      Tracks inventory

Quicken Deluxe (Windows) $60 and Quicken Essentials for Mac  $50

·      Can combine personal and business transactions, and do reports on each

·      Better for downloading

·      Better for tracking investments

·      Can include personal and business bank and credit card accounts

Quicken Home and Business (Windows)  $90

·      Does invoices and tracks receivables

·      Tracks sales tax

Cloud:  QuickBooks online  ($40 per month)

·      Expensive but is efficient if more than one location is using the system

The Bottom Line

The time to set up the booking/accounting system is at the start and set it up for the business it is going to be.

Jim is an expert business coach and a respected advisor management and financial executives. He draws on his long-term business leadership background to help CEOs grow revenue, increase profits, improve performance.   

Mastermind – Quite Possibly your Business’s Most Effective Growth Strategy – Smart Business Thinking

Smart Business Thinking by Jim Whelan

Mastermind – Quite Possibly The Most Effective Business Growth Strategy – Smart Business Thinking

CEOs and entrepreneurs focused on improved performance frequently are alone. They should investigate a mastermind group because it connects them with like-minded people. Otherwise, it’s easy to get isolated and stray from business basics.

Mastermind is outlined in Napoleon Hill’s book Think and Grow Rich. Hill studied the richest men of the early 1900’s and wrote the book detailing his observations. 

One of the common practices of those wealthy men was that they took part in a mastermind, helping each other solve problems.

The following are three elements of a mastermind group. Providing an idea of how they work and whether or not they might be for you.

1 – A Mastermind is about helping each other solve problems and move forward in their goals.

A mastermind group is not a networking group, a support group, or an advisor board.  

2 – A Mastermind generates ideas and resources.
A Mastermind uses the education, experience, and influence of the others in the group. When a committed group of business CEOs gives their full attention to one person and her strategic goals, all kinds of ideas are generated. Resources and connections are often discovered in the process.

3 – Masterminds are effective because you expand beyond your old limits.

When you join a Mastermind group, you know it’s not going to be about staying in your comfort zone. In fact, this is one of the biggest reasons people want to take part in a Mastermind! They know that success rarely comes from inside their comfort zones.

The Bottom line?
A mastermind alliance takes effort, commitment, and leadership. As in every endeavor, the results are proportionate to the involvement expended. It is only for those who see the possibilities.

Jim is an expert business coach and a respected advisor to management and financial executives. He draws on his long-term business leadership background to help CEOs grow revenue, increase profits, improve performance.   

Are You Playing Home or Away Games? - Smart Business Thinking

Smart Business Thinking by Jim Whelan

Are You Playing Home or Away Games?

When underdogs break the rules.

The impetus for this topic came from a New Yorker article by Malcolm Gladwell “How David Beats Goliath”. Gladwell cites examples of adversaries who won (1) by using unconventional tactics and (2) overcame high odds through persistent effort.

If David had fought by Goliath’s rules (with sword and armor) he would have been defeated because he didn’t know how. Instead, he fought a way he knew, shocking and conquering Goliath. 

In the same context, small businesses need a game plan to figure out the benefit they bring to clients and play home games, David's, rules not away games, Goliath's conventional rules.

By employing effort and persistence, David (Small Businesses) consistently beats Goliath (Competitors).

Strategies to use that bring in clients and increasing profits:

·      People need to feel important and successful. Trust is critical.

Small business can play by their rules: actively maintain the personal touchstay on a first name basis, and be flexible to accommodate the client.

·      Constantly looking for ways to improve. Small business has the flexibility to try a new approach and drop it if it doesn’t work.

·      Know your fundamental strengths and your competitor’s weaknesses. Know your Goliath – the Internet is the tool to use to know your competitor.

·      Social media can level the playing field. Use LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook to build relationships.

·      Know why you are in business. Small businesses face the temptation to wander down the wrong road. Concentrate on the outcome.

·      Market by educating the public and establish yourself as an expert.

Bottom Line

When small businesses focuses on:

• winning
• not how convention says the contest should be played
• the competitor is not prepared for the surprise and thrown off base
• David wins. 

Jim is an expert business coach and a respected advisor management and financial executives. He draws on his long-term business leadership background to help CEOs grow revenue, increase profits, improve performance.