Category: Small Business

Are you one with the fish?

Posted on by Andrew Tennent

In the last post we started our series on catching big clients, or “fish”, that will sustain
your business over the long run. Today we’re going to take that a step further by talking
about how to understand and think like a big fish company and how that can help you
plan your approach and find success.
Before you can start the process of landing big clients, you have to make sure your
entire team is onboard with your approach and vision. There are six keys to finding big
client success. They are:

1. First Impression: You must remember you have one shot to land a big client. If
you make a mistake, they aren’t going to consider you again. Never give them a
reason to doubt your abilities.

2. First Priority: Your fish must always feel like they are your first priority. Returns
calls and emails immediately and find solutions to their problems or questions as
quickly as possible.

3. Flexible: You need to be flexible in your negotiations. If they need a special
service or for you to customize a product, say yes for the benefit of the long
term. A little hassle now will be a big pay off later.

4. Long-term: This goes along with the last one a bit. As you are approaching and
negotiating with big fish you need to think about the long term benefits for your
business. If you go for a ones-time big score you will lose their interest.

5. Have Fun: Work should be fun, even when trying to land big clients. In fact, this
should be the most fun. You are sharing your vision with new people and
including them in your future success and likewise. People simply work better in
a fun, happy environment. Your passion will also be contagious and pull the fish
into your vision even more.

6. Help Them: If you take just a little bit of time and offer your clients ways to save
money or time by introducing them to potential business partners, this will show
you really are invested and interested in their business. Strive to find balance
between your business needs and your client’s needs.

There are also a few tactics you can use to bring in a big-company vision to the people
on your team. You can:
Post these six keys for all to see.
* Put together a performance based incentive program.
*  Conduct frequent team meetings.
*  Use a “right now” policy that dictates big fish calls be answered immediately.

* Offer awards/recognition for big-company ideas and executions.
* Put together a training and certification program based on the six keys above.

These 6 keys and tips will help you instill a big-company mindset through your company
which will help you be more prepared and more likely to land your big fish. Once your
team is thinking this way, you’ll be unstoppable.

If you need help putting together an incentive program or other way to push your team
toward the big-company mindset, try our GUIDED TOUR to work with one of our
coaches or check out our resources and tools.

Are you on the RIGHT path?

Posted on by Andrew Tennent

There are a number of factors to take into consideration when prepping yourself and your company to approach the largest clients you’ll ever work with.
Today we’re going to start with a brief look at the three paths every business faces and show you which one is the path to success. Then we’ll talk about the mindset it takes to attract the big fish.
There are three major paths a business can take:
• Snail Speed
• Shooting Star
• Catch the Big Fish

Snail Speed
Most business owners ended up working themselves into the ground without much reward or success. This is what happens when you fool yourself into thinking you will find quick success. You may also find yourself following this path when you are afraid of change.
Shooting Star
This describes a business that shoots to the top so fast you are overwhelmed and don’t have the right resources in place to adapt. This can also happen from being overwhelmed by small clients and not taking the time to find large clients, which will sustain your business after the small client sales slow.
Catch the Big Fish
This is the path that allows you to build at a steady pace that you can manage by not allowing your customers to outpace you. You can do this by putting these tips to work:
1. Attract, keep and lock in big clients.
2. Integrate “big business” culture into your company and employees.
3. Acquire the expertise you need to grow.
4. Have the courage to make changes as you grow.
Now we are going to transition a bit and talk about the “big fish” mindset. It may sound easy to just find and catch that big fish, but if you are stuck in the small business mindset, you may find it harder than you think.
Think of all the benefits of aiming at bigger clients:
• Inexpensive
• Highly Profitable
• Longevity
• Security

In order to catch the big fish, you need to believe your company can make a difference with theirs. It’s easy to get into the thought that a large company doesn’t need anything from a small business like yours, but this is entirely wrong!
Once you take a look at how big companies operate, it’s important to know which ones are the best fit with your company. One of the best ways to get in the door is by knowing someone on the inside who can put in a good word for you.
If you’re not sure where to start and feel a little intimidated about catching big fish, try our GUIDED TOUR to get help from our amazing business coaches.

Are you in the 1%?

Are you in the 1%?

Posted on by Andrew Tennent

The Rule of 1% is simply defined as adding to your customer service one percent at a time. Before you can do this you must have your consistency perfected or it will never work. This one percent may seem small, but if you approach the vision for your company with baby steps, you will find a huge increase over a solid chunk of time. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon.

Avoid doing too much at one or you’ll set yourself up for failure. Think of the confidence you and your employees will have when you improve one percent each week. By the end of a year, you’ll have improved more than 50%!

While, rules and standards are necessary for growth, always be flexible with your best customers. Most retailers only allow a set number of items into a dressing room to reduce the risk of shoplifting, but it generally restricts the large percentage of people who are not stealing from you. Flexibility is the key to what you deliver to your customers and consistency is the key to how you deliver it.

The bottom line is customers rely on you to deliver what you promise. If you spend too much on bulky advertising that promises more than you can deliver, even your best intentions will unravel quickly and you will fail.

Focus on your vision and baby steps to turn your satisfied customers into Raving Fans.

I hope you’ve learned a lot about good customer service and how it’s essential to your overall success. If you need help with any of the steps we’ve gone through over the last four lessons try our GUIDED TOUR and get access to some of the best resources, tools and coaches available.

In upcoming posts we’re going to explore strategies of bagging the big clients and keeping them.

Deliver + 1

Deliver + 1

Posted on by Andrew Tennent

In the last post we talked about how to figure out what your customers want out of a positive shopping experience. Today we’ll talk about the concept of Deliver +1 and how this concept can take your customer service to the next level. I’ve decided to split up this post so the next one will cover the 1% Rule.

Consistency is the key to any great customer service experience. If you want to take your satisfied customers to Raving Fan status, you have to go above and beyond the average customer service experience. 

There are three ways to develop consistency:

Avoid offering too many customer service options. 

We sometimes get so caught up in giving customers what they want we get away from our original vision. Instead, stay true to your vision and offer one or two solid customer service techniques that will set you apart from the competition. 

You need to fine tune the current systems you are using before you can add anything to the mix. There’s nothing worse than launching a new program when you haven’t even worked out the kinks of an old system. 

Put solid systems into place.

Once you know what you’re going to offer, you need to have a system in place to execute it flawlessly every time. This system needs to be consistent with the right people in the right roles and responsibilities and technology that guarantees a positive experience every time. Emphasis needs to be placed on the results, which ultimately is the satisfaction of the customer.

Good training is the key.

Once you have your system in place you need to train people to use it properly and efficiently. This helps your people deliver the results your customers are looking for. While, train is essential for the system to work and for all your people to work together cohesively, appreciation will go a long way. 

I hope this has given you a look into what you need to do in order to have a quality customer service system in place. If you need help, try our GUIDED TOUR and gain access to a wealth of resources, tools and coaching.

A Huge Secret to Success

Posted on by Andrew Tennent

In the last post we talked about the first secret to building a solid customer service plan and how to decide what your vision is. 

Today we’ll talk about the second secret in taking your satisfied customers to raving fans. You must know what your customers want. Know who your customers are and you will know better how to serve them. Demographics are really important here. An upper-class woman in her 30’s is going to have completely different expectations than a working class man in his 50’s.

There are four main areas you need to consider and plan when figuring out what your customers want:

  • Listen to Your Customers
  • Ask Your Customers Sincerely
  • Offer More than Just a Product/Service
  • Know When to Ignore Them


These are all important when deciding what your customers want out of their shopping experience. 

Listen to Your Customers

You need to listen to both what they say and what they don’t say. Customers may say they want one thing and really mean something else. For example, if you customers are begging for lower prices, you may find out their real priority is quick delivery.

Also, listen to your “silent” customers. These are the customers don’t bother to complain because the service is so bad they’ve just given up and don’t feel like their voice matters. They feel unwanted and when a competitor shows up, they’ll be gone.

Lastly, you need to listen to customers who only reply with “fine”. These customers are similar to the “silent” customers in that they are so used to bad customer service they only give a monotone response. 

Ask Your Customers Sincerely

If you aren’t sincere when you ask their opinion, they are going to see right through you. You may be thinking, “What about the customers who aren’t saying anything?” You need to ask them sincere questions that get them thinking about their experiences. Make them feel like you really care, and you should!

Offer More than Just a Product/Service

Your customers are looking for much more than a simple product or service, they are looking for an experience that makes them feel good. They gauge every step of the process with a value. When you take this into consideration and treat them like people, they will feel like they belong.

Know When to Ignore Them

You may think this goes beyond providing good customer service, but in reality you can’t give them everything and someone people you will never make happy. You have to set limits and stick to them. If your vision and company don’t meet the needs of the customer, they will be best suited somewhere else.

These are the steps and tricks to figuring out what your customers want and how you can use them to work on your customer service vision and plan.

If you get stuck, try our GUIDED TOUR and let us help you through the process.

Shhhh… It’s a secret!

Posted on by Andrew Tennent

Customer service is a pretty hot topic and can make or break your business. Consumers have little patience for lousy customer service and easily get tired of waiting in long lines, trying to get a live person on the line, going through an interrogation to return something or trying to communicate through a language barrier. 

If you provide them with a simple, efficient, pleasant experience they will revisit your business over and over. More importantly, they will tell everyone they know! 

There are three secrets to good customer service, the first one we’re going to conquer is knowing exactly what YOU want.

You are the captain of the ship and the visionary for the future of your business, so you need to have a clearly defined plan for your business and that includes customer service. There are three main goals you need to consider:

  1. It needs to be easy for your customers to do business with you. You can do this with advertised discounts, kiosks, your website and other technology based programs to help them shop.
  2. Doing business with you needs to be a warm and pleasant experience. Your staff has to be knowledgeable, approachable, warm and patient. Your customers need to feel like they are getting a good value for their time and money. Perceived value goes beyond the price of the products and extends to their shopping experience.
  3. Change your mind set and ask yourself “How can I NOT afford to do these things?” This shouldn’t be a question of expenses, but making and keeping happy customers.

With these thoughts in mind you also need to take a few things into consideration when deciding on the actual programs and standards you’ll put into place.

  • Share your customer service vision with the rest of your staff. 
  • Connect your incentive programs and bonuses directly to customer service.
  • Monitor the level of customer service your staff is putting out.
  • Know when you can ignore what your customers want.
  • Continuously focus on your goals.

 

Now that you know what you want you can start thinking about how to meet those wants and create a positive customer service experience.

If you’re having a hard time deciding on what you want, the tools, resources and coaches in our GUIDED TOUR can help you define the wants and needs of your company in relation to customer service.

Keys to Business Development

Posted on by Andrew Tennent

Today I’d like to talk about the three keys to business development and how you can put the right bricks in place to build a solid foundation.

There are three main areas of business development:

  • Innovation
  • Quantification
  • Orchestration

 

If done well these three areas will help you build a solid foundation for your business. Let’s talk about each one of these for just a minute.

Innovation

Innovation should not be confused with creativity. Creativity is the expression of ideas. Innovation is taking these ideas and putting them into action. This is where a large amount of your focus should be in the beginning and throughout your business’s entire lifespan. 

Quantification

This, of course, refers to the numbers. We are talking about the value of your innovation. The best way to gauge this is by your customer response. Look to positive responses for what you are doing right-and keep doing it. Look to your negative responses to find out what you’re doing wrong-and fix it. This will enable you to keep growing and progressing with the needs of your customers and business climate.

Orchestration

Once you’ve had a chance to find what areas are working, you can narrow down those areas and concentrate on making them even better. You shift your focus here to get the most out of your business and to meet and exceed the needs of your customers.

These are great for business growth and development, but only if the business owner takes action.

Taking action is the hardest thing for most business owners to do. This is because they have to overcome the basic force of inertia. People do not like change, but for a business to succeed, it needs to change!

If you think of a business as a living thing, it needs to be nurtured as it starts growing, and then controlled and guided as it starts maturing. And once matured, it should be able to run without the business owner needing to run it.

I keep giving the facts that about 80% of small businesses fail within 3 years, and probably the biggest reason they fail is because the business owner does not take the action that is needed. 

Think about pushing a car. It takes a big effort to overcome inertia and get it rolling, but once it is moving, a lot less effort is required to keep the momentum going.

As a business owner, taking action is like that car. It takes effort to start taking action, but once you do, it is much easier to maintain momentum. 

Business coaches like myself, help business owners to take action, starting the process of business development.

Look out for my next blogs, with more strategies to help grow your business. 

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions. 

A complete Turn Key Enterprise

Posted on by Andrew Tennent

The biggest area of turn-key businesses is franchises. There is franchise for ever industry in the world and they are fairly easy to acquire and come with practically a pop out of the box pre-assembled system. McDonald’s is the most famous example. In fact, a $40 billion, 28,707 strong example. 

There are a few things we are going to talk about:

  • Business Format Franchise
  • The Franchise Prototype
  • Franchise Prototype Standards

 

Business Format Franchise

The business format franchise came from an earlier model called the “trade name” franchise. The big change was in the rights. During the “trade name” days the franchise owner only had marketing right’s, now franchise owners have owning rights to the entire business including systems. This has allowed for a shift in focus to go from the quality and name recognition of the products carrying the business to sales techniques that carry the business.

The Franchise Prototype

It was really the franchise prototypes that allowed for the changes to be made that help today’s franchises really shine with the techniques developed by the owners instead of the corporation. This can make a significant difference in the success of the franchise as the owner can custom tailor their marketing and promotions to the direct needs of their local target customers.

Franchise Prototype Standards

Now, the above being said, no one in their right mind would purchase a franchise if the parent company didn’t have a solid plan of action set up to ensure the prospective success of the business. So, there are a few standards that are put into place that helps jump start the process of opening a successful franchise.

Build model of prospective customers/clients, suppliers, creditors and employees who will consistently offer high quality work.

  1. Build a user-friendly model that can be used by individuals of any skill set.
  2. Build a defect-free model.
  3. Build a model with Operations Manuals.
  4. Build a model that will provide guaranteed, consistent results.
  5. Build a model that encompasses the same branding in color, dress and facilities codes.

 

These are all ways the parent corporation makes sure their brand stays the same and in the front of the minds of customers. When you are purchasing a widely-known brand you will attract customers just for being you and you can often charge a premium for it.

There is 1 thing that makes the franchise model successful. That 1 thing is, a clearly defined systemized business. The system includes every aspect of the business and ensures uniformity across operations. 

If you are considering purchasing a franchise or building a franchise, talk with one of our experienced business coaches during our GUIDED TOUR.

Expand the Life of Your Business

Posted on by Andrew Tennent

Today I’m going to talk about the life cycle of a business and how to get the most out of each cycle while also extended the lifespan of your business.

The four different stages of a business life cycle are:

  • Infancy
  • Adolescence
  • Growing Pains
  • Maturity

 

We’ll talk a little about what each of these cycle’s means and how they can each help expand your business’ lifespan.

 

Infancy

This is generally consider the technician’s phase, which is the owner. At this point, the relationship between the business and the owner is that of a parent and new baby. There is an impenetrable bond that is necessary to determine the path your business will follow.

The key is to know your business must grow in order to flourish. You cannot stage in this stage forever.

Adolescence

In this stage you need to start bringing your support staff together to delegate to and allow growth to happen. The first line of defense is your technical person as they need to bring a certain level of technical experience. This cycle really belongs to the manager though. The plan stage needs to start and a relationship should be built with the entrepreneur to plan for the future.

Growing Pains

There’s a point in every business when business explodes and becomes chaotic. This is referred to as growing pains. It’s a good problem to have, but a problem nonetheless. You are often faced with a number of choices:

  • Avoid growth and stay small
  • Go broke
  • Push forward into the next cycle

 

Maturity

The last cycle is maturity, though this doesn’t mean the end of your business. Your passion for growth must continue in order for your business to succeed. You need to keep an entrepreneurial perspective in order to push your business forward.

You see how all three of these cycles are connected and depend on a strong foundation for each one of them for your business to be and continue to be successful. All three of your key roles must also work together to work through these cycles.

If you’re having trouble putting together your business life cycles and figuring out which of the key roles you fit into, try our GUIDED TOUR and work with one of our amazing coaches.

Gather the Troops

Posted on by Andrew Tennent

Today I’d like to chat about the different types of support staff you need and what makes them so important. 

There are essentially four key roles that need to be filled to set your business up for success:

  • The Worker
  • The Technician
  • The Manager
  • The Entrepreneur

 

All of these roles need to be played simultaneously by different people with the right talents. It’s all about balance.

The Worker

This person is like the worker bees of a colony, or the miners at the coal face. They do repetitive tasks under instruction. In other words, they follow the system. This type of role has the cheapest wage rate, and is also the easiest to outsource. 

The Technician

This person represents the present and all that needs to be done for the physical aspects of the business building process. They are the “doer”. This is usually the most visible person of the entire operation. 

The Manager

This person represents the past and works to fix problems through learning from past mistakes. They are the practical side of the business and is in charge of putting together the business and overseeing the planning.

The Entrepreneur

This person represents the future and the vision for the business. They are responsible for the creative side of the business and are always considering ways to enhance products/service, business image, branding and more.

All of these characters are essential in the success of any business. In fact when one first starts a business, the owner is normally doing all of these. A business owner should not be the Worker. To build a solid foundation from the start, you need to work harder to find the right people to put in these roles. Obviously, you need to be one of these key people, but ensure you find the role that fits your skills and talents, not necessarily what you THINK you should be doing. 

This may be a hard process for you as you will need to relinquish some control over the business and instill trust in people to allow them to do their jobs. By doing this, you can actually have a business and reach scalability. 

Remember, our business coaches can help you through this entire process and teach you how to avoid falling victim to your business. Try our GUIDED TOUR.