Top 5 DO and Top 5 DON'T Lists for 2010

The holiday season is a great time for both reflection and renewal, and a perfect time to work on your "lists" of things to accomplish in the new calendar year, while enjoying quality time with family and friends. So, let's get started on your lists.

Here are my suggested Top 5 DO and Top 5 DON'T lists that I hope will serve as a guide to help you put together your New Year's resolutions and 2010 goals.

Top 5 DO List ...

1. Devote more time to the 4F's - faith, family, finances and fun. Enjoy the blessings and embrace the challenges each new day brings in these most important areas of your life.
2. Get out of your way and really start to enjoy life again. Be passionate about where you are right now and celebrate your daily accomplishments, both large and small.
3. Make a difference by putting your time, talents and resources to work to improve yourself and the world around you. Pursue new projects, opportunities and challenges with enthusiasm.
4. Be a better spouse, parent, colleague, neighbor and friend. Network and meet more people, build new relationships and partnerships, and lend a helping hand to others in need of your expertise and support.
5. Learn to live with the real you, to embrace your flaws and to laugh at yourself. Life's not perfect and neither are you, so get on with it!

Top 5 DON'T List ...

1. Sell yourself short anymore. Emphasize your strengths and put your energy and time into the things you are truly passionate about. Each morning finish this phrase "I'm the very best at ..."
2. Beat yourself up over past failures and disappointments. Life is too short; it's time to turn the page and move to the brighter future that lies ahead for you.
3. Wait until tomorrow to catch lightning in a bottle. Make "now" your favorite word; do those things that must be done every day to help you reach your goals and achieve success.
4. Miss a single opportunity to say the words "I love you" and "thank you" to all of the special people in your life who make such a difference every day.
5. Sweat the small stuff (you knew this was going to be on the list, right?). In the grand scheme of things it really is all small stuff, so just enjoy the ride!

While you celebrate this holiday season, make sure to set aside time to work on you and your goals for 2010. By doing so, you'll start the new year out refreshed and with a renewed sense of purpose.

Hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday season, and a Happy New Year!


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Serious Business Owner or Playing Office?

Most of us think of ourselves as serious business people, committed to the success of our businesses, but are we really and do our actions truly reflect that?  

Are you a serious business owner or playing office?

A recent Kauffman Foundation study of 549 successful businesses showed that 93% of the business owners surveyed cited "not putting in the time and effort required" as the #2 most common barrier to entrepreneurial success next to failure to take risk. Are you devoting the time and effort required to grow your business and reach your personal and financial goals?

Here is a simple test that should help provide you with some clarity and answers regarding your focus and level of commitment to building a successful business. Provide either a "Yes" or "No" response to each of the 10 questions below to find out where you are today.

1.  Do you have a detailed written business plan that includes your strategy, an overall market analysis, product/service plans, sales and marketing plans, 3-5 year financial projections, and an exit strategy?
2. Have you implemented a comprehensive sales and marketing system to enable your business to scale and to achieve its short- and long-term objectives in terms of customer adds, revenues, profits, etc.?
3. Do you have a written Vision Statement, Mission Statement and Customer Value Proposition (CVP) for your business, and do you review and update each at least quarterly?
4. Have you completed a thorough competitive assessment and SWOT analysis for at least your Top 3 competitors to see how your business stacks up against the competition?
5. Do you have detailed cold calling plans that include customer profiles, target prospect lists, cold calling scripts and defined metrics, and do you allocate time weekly to cold calling for new business?
6. Are you spending more time prospecting for new business on all fronts than chatting on the various social media sites - i.e. Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.?
7. Do you routinely (twice per year) survey your customers to determine what they like and dislike about doing business with you, and to identify their additional requirements?
8. Are you receiving at least 3-5 new referrals per week from your collective networking activities?
9. Are you spending more money today on advertising, marketing and promoting your business than on personal development, self-help and "feel good" seminars and programs?
10. Do you really think you are going to make $1 million or more next year on the latest online "get rich scheme" you bought into this year?

If you answered "Yes" to question #10 go directly to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200! And if you answered "No" to five or more of the questions above, you may be guilty of playing office. However, don't despair; all of our businesses are works in progress. All of us business owners have a litany of things to be done, done better or done differently to improve business performance and ensure our future success.

This simple test is just a guideline or tool to help you identify some of the key areas where you may need to focus additional time, energy or resources in the coming months to grow your business. So, if you are a serious business owner take time to go through your responses to these questions, and then take action to address the areas of concern as a part of your 2010 business planning.

Tres Coaching Services works with clients in the areas highlighted in questions 1-9 above to help them improve business performance, and get the results they need to move beyond their vision. If we can assist you in addressing any of these critical focus areas, please feel free to contact me.


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

6 Tips to Help Keep Your Sales on Track

Every business owner or salesperson needs to continually add new customers and increase sales in order to grow their business. So, it is important to have a well defined sales process to enable you to build consensus with prospective buyers at each critical juncture during the selling process to improve sales results.

Having a well defined sales process will help you improve close rates, shorten sales cycles and enhance the profitability of each sale. Here are some tips to help keep your sales on track:

Call on decision makers. 60% of a salesperson's time is spent in front of people who can't buy or will never buy their products or services. So, identify the key decision makers and influencers very early in the sales cycle, and work directly with them to improve your success rate.

Know where you are in the sales process. Think of your sales pipeline as a production line where raw materials (leads) go in at the top, and the finished product (sales) comes out at the end of the assembly line. Define the sales process at each phase, and the next steps in the sales pipeline, to help keep new projects on track and moving forward to closure.

Have a fallback plan. You are the most vulnerable right after the prospect has given the verbal approval, so keep your guard up. Have a fallback plan to cover all contingencies in case a pending sale starts to unravel prior to contract, and move stalled projects up or out of the pipeline in 30 days or less.

Work on balance, grasshopper. Balancing opportunities and risks in each category of your sales pipeline is critical to improved sales performance. This will help you minimize gaps between sales closings, and enable you to more effectively allocate resources to new projects where needed.

Stay the course. On average, 48% of sales people never follow-up, and only about 10% make more than three contacts with a prospective buyer. However, 80% of sales are made on the 5-12 contact. So, stay engaged with the prospect through closure to improve your win rates on new proposals.

Ask for the order. "We miss 100% of the sales we don't ask for" - Zig Ziglar quote. Be prepared to close the sale at any point during the sales process when the prospect shows clear signs they are ready to buy.

Selling is a continuum process, so it is important to have a clearly defined sales process in place to help keep your sales on track. This will help you effectively manage sales cycles for each opportunity, while improving close rates, and enhancing the profitability of each new sale.

Good luck and good selling!

COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

It's Time for Conversations Not Just Connections

Can we talk?

Ten years ago that would have been a ridiculous question, but today in a world that is dominated by "drive by" communications, it has become much more challenging to have a simple conversation.

When was the last time you sat around the dinner table as a family or with friends and just talked; talked about nothing in particular but just had a conversation? Are you finding it more difficult to get your telephone calls returned, or to get responses to your emails these days? Or, to get someone to take 5 minutes out of their busy day to speak with you?

In this modern era of voice mail, email, text, chat, IM, tweets, etc. we have relegated conversations to sound bytes, 140 characters, or the 30-second elevator pitch. Rather than conversations that enable us to help build long-term enduring relationships, our communications have become more sterile, computer-generated and impersonal. The focus in our society has shifted to pushing information to others versus true interpersonal communications and getting to know the other person on some level.

We constantly hear the term six degrees of separation, and assume we are now closer and that technology has somehow brought us all together. However, most people I talk with feel more disconnected and farther apart than ever when it comes to communication with friends, family and the outside world. In reality, we are bombarded every day by thousands of messages from various sources, and as a result take little time to just talk with each other.

For example, when voice mail and email were first introduced, they were intended to enable us to never miss a call and to enhance our ability to communicate with a broader audience. Overtime, however, both services have evolved to selective communications vehicles. We now determine who we choose to communicate with, and which telephone calls and emails get returned. This is a great solution for avoiding spam, but do other important conversations get lost or neglected as a consequence?

Personally, I am not a fan of the 30-second elevator pitch, or drive by communications. I look forward to the personal touch and to people interaction in my communications with others. If you, too, prefer conversations and building relationships not just connections, then here are some suggestions:

1. Spend less time on the 30-second elevator pitch, and more time one-on-one getting to know the other person. This should be your first priority at all networking events.
2. Routinely schedule breakfast meetings, lunches and after-hours events with family members, friends, business associates, etc. No agenda required, just to talk.
3. Make time for family dinners and those great conversations about nothing in particular.
4. Get to know at least one new person every week, and take time to really listen to their story.
5. Find a way to communicate more face-to-face or via the telephone versus by email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.
6. Be sure to turn off the cell phone, laptop, PDA, pager, etc. and just enjoy the conversation!

If you miss those leisurely conversations around the dinner table, then bring them back, and make time for the people who are important in your life. The holidays are a great time to start.

If you have an opinion or any additional thoughts on this subject, please let me hear from you.

COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Do Your Goals Align With Your Vision?

When I think of the challenges most companies face in aligning their organizational goals with the vision for the company, I'm reminded of this quote by Isaac Asimov:

"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome."

Our mastermind group has been focused on The Visioning Process for the past month or so, and the members have completed weekly exercises to help them re-define the Vision Statement and Mission Statement for their respective companies. As the group has come to experience, it's hard work to go through the process when taking into account the past, present and future in order to find a better pathway to success.

Getting to where you want to go, from where you are today, is the ultimate challenge for most businesses, and it is this transition that's the most troublesome. For most, it requires moving away from old habits and traditional thinking to ensure that you have the proper goals alignment with your vision. Here are some suggestions to help you work through the process:

1. Start where you hope to finish. Schedule a brainstorming session with your team; capture all of the "wild ideas" that surface from the session, and discard those things that don't work anymore. This will help you move through the process from Visualization to Actualization to Realization, and on to a list of concrete recommendations you can build upon.
2. Create S.M.A.R.T. goals and objectives. From your short list of actionable recommendations, create goals and objectives that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time bound.
3. Take the time to do it right. Develop horizon plans and goals that encompass the upcoming plan year, 1 to 3 year, 3 to 5 year, and 5 to 10 year outlooks to enable you to reach your vision.
4. Involve everybody in the goal setting process. It is critical to obtain "buy-in" from all internal stakeholders, so get them involved upfront in the goal setting process.
5. Keep your vision and goals in front of you and the team. Your vision and goals should be an integral part of your company's DNA. So post them everywhere and review them monthly so they stay fresh.

Finally, make sure to link the company's objectives and individual performance plans to the goals. This helps to ensure that the proper alignment of your goals with your vision becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy through your daily work related activities and the activities of your team members.

COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Sales & Marketing Plan Check-up Time

Much the same as your car or home, you should also schedule periodic check-ups of your sales and marketing plans to ensure that you are receiving optimal performance and results.

These check-ups should be done on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis as an integral part of the ongoing planning process. Regularly scheduled plan reviews will enable you to capitalize on emerging market trends, and make necessary course corrections to minimize potential shortfalls.

At a minimum, the areas that are listed below should be audited as a part of your sales and marketing plan check-ups to determine your company's sales and marketing effectiveness.

1. Sales Metrics. Review the number of first calls, customer visits, proposals, closed sales, customer adds, and revenue.
   
2. Sales Productivity. Determine the total revenue amount per individual sales headcount in each period vs. plan. 
3. Sales Pipeline. Evaluate the total number of projects in the pipeline, dollar value of the pipeline, % of total per funnel phase, average days to closed sale, and average sale value.
   
4. Lead Conversions. Identify the "hit rate" by calculating the ratio of new sales to leads from all sources.
   
5. Marketing ROI. Calculate the revenue to expense ratios for all marketing activities to determine where you are receiving the greatest return from your marketing expenditures.
   
6. Budget. Are you meeting your sales and marketing targets in all areas - i.e. sales, revenue, customer adds, expenses, etc.?
7. Execution. Are you delivering new products, promotions, projects, collaterals, etc. on-time? On-time delivery is a must for you to reach your sales and revenue goals.

The data you compile from the sales and marketing plan check-ups will provide you with the insight needed to develop future business plans that are consistent with prevailing market trends and the historical performance of your business.

So, if you do not have a similar sales and marketing review process in place today, make it a priority. These check-ups will enable you and your team to stay on-track with the projected business plan outlook, while receiving optimal performance and results from your sales and marketing investments.


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

The 4C's of Social Media Marketing

For serious entrepreneurs and business owners alike, social media marketing should be all about the 4C's ...

1. Content
2. Connections
3. Conversions
4. Cash

It starts with knowing your targeted customer profile and how to reach prospective buyers through your social media marketing activities. Rich content will help you get the word out and draw the intended audience to your social media sites, drive additional traffic to your web site, and help you establish key connections that can be converted into cash.

For entrepreneurs and business owners in the growth mode, the focus should be on tapping into the viral marketing capabilities of social media to build a stronger brand presence, cultivate key strategic partnerships, open new markets, launch new products and services, and acquire more customers.

In this broader context, social media marketing should be more about following the money and building profitable relationships on all fronts, and less about how many followers and friends you have on Twitter and Facebook.

To fully capitalize on all aspects of social media to grow your business, you should engage a social media expert. A social media expert can help you design a plan that is right for your business, and then work with you to develop targeted content, programs and offers to reach those new prospective buyers through social media.

Keep in mind, whether its social media or any other media, the 4C's should be the focal point in reaching the end goals for any business - more customers and more revenue.


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Five Tips to Help You Sell With Purpose

Today's selling environment is much more challenging and complex than it has been in our history. Buyer's are highly educated, and the Internet has opened up vast reservoirs of information to the consumers and corporate decision makers to enable them to be better informed when making purchase decisions.

To be effective in selling to a more sophisticated, well educated and informed buyer, you must match or exceed the buyer's level of knowledge of the products and services you are selling, and be able to articulate how they will directly benefit them and their organization. You have to be able to sell with purpose.

Here are some tips to help you prepare for that all important first call to a key prospective client to enable you to sell with purpose.

Have a solid plan. You only have one opportunity to make a good first impression, so come prepared with an agenda of topics that are "top of mind" to the prospective client. Make sure to review the agenda with the prospect prior to your first meeting to get "buy-in" and ensure alignment with his/her expectations.

Do your homework. Learn as much as possible about the prospect's business prior to the call. Review all of the available resources including the company's web site, annual reports, quarterly financial statements, D & B reports, Hoover's, etc. to gain knowledge of the business.

Bring something to the table. The best way to build credibility with a prospective new client is to be a problem solver. So, focus the discussion on the known areas of the prospect's business your product or service can deliver the greatest value in solving a current problem or need.

Find an internal champion. Find an internal champion who can help you navigate the decision making hierarchy, provide you with a grass roots perspective of the company's culture, business operations and challenges, and endorse your recommendations at proposal time.

Gain commitment to next steps. Most first calls do not result in a sale, so you need to be able to outline the next steps for the decision maker, and gain his/her concurrence as a part of the first meeting. This will help you stay engaged with the decision maker and keep the sales opportunity moving forward to closure.

The keys to effectively selling with purpose are planning and preparation, consensus building with the key decision makers at each checkpoint, and delivering a solution(s) that adds value to the prospective client's business.

Sell with purpose by being prepared to do business the moment you walk through the doors of the prospective client's office. Good luck and good selling!


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Where Is Your Business Headed?

Depending on whose statistics you believe, 50-75% of all new businesses fail in the first 2 to 3 years. So, if your business is still in its infancy, and your results are lagging, then you should be concerned and prepared to take immediate action to turn things around.

If you look closely at root cause, there are three fundamental reasons for most of these new business failures:

1. Limited resources - i.e. time, people and capital. In a recent focus group we conducted the #1 concern expressed by business owners was time management; having enough time to do all of the important work that needed to be done on a daily basis.
   
2. Focus + planning. Most new businesses try to do too much in the early stages and as a result, stretch their limited resources too thin.
3. No sales and marketing system in place to grow the business. This impacts the two biggest revenue drivers - referrals from marketing and new sales.

Don't let your business become just another statistic; take the appropriate steps necessary to put your business on the right track.

Here are some recommended corrective actions to consider, if your business is struggling or at serious risk of failure:

1. Get help now. Hire a business coach or turnaround expert to help you identify the areas where improvement is needed, and develop the appropriate recovery plans.
2. Survey your customers. Find out why your customers are not buying, or not buying from you. Fix the things that are fixable to improve results.
   
3. Engage outsource partners to help balance priorities, improve execution and free up your calendar to focus on critical turnaround projects.
4. Put more emphasis and budget dollars into marketing your business. Offer new discounts, special incentives or promotional programs to help drive demand.
   
5. Focus on results vs. activities. Set aggressive short-term goals for leads, sales, new customers and revenue growth.
   

Audit the findings and results from the above efforts on a weekly basis, and make course corrections or changes to the recovery plans in real-time, so you don't lose momentum. Above all, stay focused and positive about the future of your business.

Remember, your business did not get to this point overnight. But with hard work, dedication and commitment you can turn things around. Best of luck to your future success!


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Dear New Business Owner: Welcome To Sales!

It's a very exciting time. As a new business owner, you have spent the past several months preparing to launch your new company. You've written your business plan, consulted with an attorney, accountant, banker, etc., obtained your LLC, had your logo, business cards and brochure designed and printed, and your web site is ready to go live.

Now it's time for the fun to begin ... it's time to announce your arrival, and go sell something. So, who is responsible for sales in your bright shining new business? Oh ... that's probably you, isn't it? With all of your hard work and preparation up to this point, how much time have you devoted to sales training to help prepare you to successfully sell your product or service?

The small business owners I speak with devote little or no time to sales training, and most do not have a sales background. They know a great deal about the inter-workings of the business and their product or service, but do not know how to translate all of that knowledge into a selling proposition that is of value to the prospect, and motivates them to buy.

The #1 reason new businesses fail within the first 2-3 years is lack of sales. Successful selling is hard work and requires preparation, planning, in-depth training and experience. Unfortunately, many new business owners find out too late that they are ill-prepared for their new role of salesperson.

So, what can you do to be better prepared to take on the sales role for your company? First, to be successful in sales, you should complete skills training in all of the following key areas; sales planning, cold calling, effective listening, presentation skills, sales negotiation, and closing skills. Check online to find the skills and training programs to fit your particular business and budget.

Next, here's my recommended readings list (in order), to help you learn more about the various aspects of successful selling from the masters:

1. The Art of War by Sun Tzu.
2. How To Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie.
3. The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino.
4. The Psychology of Selling by Brian Tracy.
5. Secrets of Closing the Sale by Zig Ziglar.
6. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cold Calling by Keith Rosen.
7. Selling to the Very Important Top Officer by Anthony Parinello.
8. Swim With the Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive by Harvey Mackay.

Don't just read these sales classics, take copious notes to help you develop a sales "game plan" for your new business.

Third, attend a formal sales training program. Even if you have a sales background, it will help you be better prepared to sell your product or service effectively. Here is a short list of several of the top sales training programs:

• Strategic Selling by Miller Heiman
• Solution Selling by Sales Performance International
• Sandler Selling System by Sandler Sales Institute
• Power Base Selling by Holden International
• SPIN Selling by Huthwaite

Put what you learn into practice, and continue to build on the training experience in your daily prospecting and selling activities.

And finally, hire a business coach who has extensive sales and marketing expertise to help you build a comprehensive sales and marketing system for your new business. By doing so, you will be far ahead of most of your small business competitors, and better positioned to achieve success when you launch your new business venture. Good luck and good selling!


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Improve Results in a Recovery-Based Economy

The economic indicators during the past couple of weeks have given us eternal optimist's a glimmer of hope that the recession has finally run its course, and the worst is now behind us.

Although we should continue to proceed with caution until all signs clearly point to the north, there are some things you can do and should be doing now to improve your business results in the recovery-based economy that is ahead of us.

Take a critical look back. The past 18 months have been tough for virtually all business in every industry segment. So, try to get a clear fix on what got you to this point, and why. What could you have done different or better to improve your performance during the recessionary period? Use the data you compile as an integral part of your recovery planning, and as a vital learning tool for the future.

Have a Prosperity Plan A-Z. During the latest recession, most businesses probably had a Plan A and a Plan B at best. What recent history has taught us is that we need to go well beyond this to cover the contingencies that arise in a shortfall economy. Also, make sure you have the cash reserves to continue to invest in marketing and other key areas of the business that are critical to your evolving growth plans.

Balance short-term and long-term goals. Until your business begins to experience double-digit growth, your horizon planning needs to be fixed on the next 30-60-90 days. Don't get too far out in front of your headlights with expenditures, staff additions, or long-term investments in the early stages. Make up a daily list of your top three priorities, and complete them first before getting involved in other projects, or distractions that could derail your progress.

Reward your customers and employees. Your customers and your employees have stayed with you during the good times and the bad. Let them know how important they are to you and how important they are to the future success of the business. Visit your top customers and thank them in person with a special gift. Do the same thing for your employees. You will be building trusted relationships and friendships for life by expressing your gratitude in this manner.

Grow the "old fashioned" way. Get back to the basics and start the transformation to double-digit growth one order, and one new customer at a time. This is still the least painful and most often, the quickest path to prosperity in a recovery-based economy. Be patient, things are not going to turn around overnight, it's going to take some time. Remember the tortoise and the hare!

Stay ahead of the pack. While you're building your prosperity plans, and making the changes needed to improve your business results, don't overlook the competition. They are smart people too, and are hard at work to find creative ways to acquire new customers, add market share and "capture the flag". Don't let them win! Stay ahead of the competition by being first to market with any new ground breaking product announcements, special incentive programs, etc. This is a great time to innovate.

Finally, stay positive about the future outlook for your business. You have survived the worst recession in decades. Learn from it, and then put the past 18 months behind you. It's now time for you to capitalize on the next growth curve in the recovery-based economy ahead. Best of luck for your continued success!


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Keys to Building High-Performing Sales Teams

Globalization, mergers, acquisitions, downsizing and bankruptcies have collectively turned our economy and traditional business models upside down. However, despite the churn, despite all of the complexities and changes that we have seen to our business ecosystem, there still exists one simple, basic business truth; "nothing happens until somebody sells something".

The sales organization is the most important resource for any business, and your sales people are still the vital life-line to the customer. For any company that wants to achieve accelerated business growth and profits, building a high-performing sales team is absolutely crucial to that success.

In my opinion, there are several keys to building high-performing teams, whether in sales or any other functional area of the business.

• Develop a clear, concise mission statement for the sales organization, and evangelize it.
• Raise the bar on expectations, but make sure the goals are realistic, specific and measurable.
• Empower your team and drive accountability closer to the customer; focus on outcomes and results versus activities and tasks.
• Follow the "golden rule" principles when dealing with people and performance; the carrot works better than the stick.
• Remain open to new ideas; foster a culture that encourages innovation, risk-taking, trust, and respect.
• Link compensation, recognition and rewards programs directly to the business goals; celebrate wins, both large and small.
  
• Communicate (more is better) and stay engaged with the customer and your team; don't be a "drive by" manager.
  
• Stay focused, and keep your sales people focused by minimizing "white noise" and other distractions.

"If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there", and this is particularly true in a sales environment. So, be clear about the organization's mission, your expectations and keep your sales people involved in all aspects of the sales and business planning to ensure clarity and "buy-in" at all levels.

If your goal is to become a leader within your industry, and in the eyes of your customers, then recognize that it is about more than just making the numbers. It's also about building the competencies and skills of your sales people so they can consistently deliver value to the customer. Make sure your sales people understand this, too, and reinforce the commitment to their professional growth through coaching, mentoring and development.

Finally, "Don't Sweat the Small Stuff". Get comfortable with the 10% that does not go as well as planned. It will make the 90% that does go well that much more enjoyable for everyone.


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Growing Your Business With Partners

Building strong alliances and partnerships with both industry and local partners should be a high priority for any business that wants to rapidly expand its customer base, its products and services portfolio, and dramatically improve sales and profits. There are numerous benefits to selling with and through partners. Here are some of the more significant benefits:

• Receive generous commissions on products and services sales
• Gain access to leading products, services and business building tools
• Receive training and support from branded products and services companies
• Obtain free sales and marketing tools to help you identify new revenue sources
• Strengthen your brand through business relationships with high profile partners
• Expand your market reach without major investments in advertising and marketing
• Extend your value proposition by offering a broader array of products and services

For small business owners, identifying potential partners and cultivating those key relationships should be an integral part of your ongoing networking and business development activities. Formalize these discussions through one-on-one meetings with local business owners who have similar goals, and are open to partnering.

Another great way to start to identify potential partners that are a good match for your particular business situation is to evaluate your current customer-supplier relationships. Who are you doing business with today, and who is doing business with you? See if any synergy exists, and if so, start a dialogue.

Strategic partnerships, if properly developed, represent an indirect sales channel for your business, and provide you with access to potentially lucrative new markets, emerging products and services, and future profits. Listed below are some of the most common partnership designations to help you determine the "best fit" for your business.

• Affiliate. Most common form of partnership within the online business community (i.e. click through sales). The majority of affiliate partnerships require a formal agreement, and pay generous commissions up to 40%+.
  
• Referral. Many referral partnerships are informal or local "hand shake" agreements. One-time cash bonuses or commissions are paid on new sales at a lower rate that an affiliate partnership, and sales tend to be sporadic or event driven.
  
• Reseller. A reseller or VAR relationship is typical within the technology, software and services areas. Reseller agreements can be multi-tiered and offer commission rates up to 45%+ depending on the revenue commitment level.
  
• Joint Venture. JVs are generally complex "one-off" business relationships that enable two or more parties to share markets, intellectual property, assets, domain knowledge and profits, depending on the terms of the agreement.
• Affinity. Affinity partnerships are typically informal, local business relationships tied to a specific program or event. Potential affinity partners can include the local Chamber of Commerce, business or trade associations, clubs, networking groups, etc.
  

The goal of partnering should be to forge "win-win" business relationships that benefit both parties equally as a result of the agreement. For any small business, particularly one just starting up, it's important to strike a balance between the diverse partnership opportunities available to you, and your direct selling activities. Effective partnerships will enable you to profitably grow your business, while offering more options and value to customers.


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Make Marketing Your Business a Top Priority

Where does improving the results from your advertising, sales and marketing rank on your company's "bucket list"? If it is not one of your top priorities for 2009 and beyond, then you are putting the business at risk!

The first words I hear from business owners these days are "I don't have any money to invest in marketing the business right now". And my standard response has become ... well, should we start talking about an exit strategy then? The bottom-line is this, if you are not investing in advertising, sales and marketing to grow your business, the business will not be successful.

If you are one of those business owners who is peering out the window hoping Jack will come sliding down the bean stalk with those magic beans to turn everything around for you, well guess what ... it's over. Just turn out the lights, lock the door and put the For Sale sign in the window, because Jack's not coming! Or, you could try another approach, and chart a new direction for the business that could lead to future success and profits.

In Sales 101 you learn to "change the ground rules" when you are in a loss position. The same holds true for the business as a whole. Jack Welch was a master at changing things up when he was Chairman and CEO of General Electric. Mr. Welch and his leadership team constantly sought out ways to improve the operational performance of GE's varied business units. Often times making major organizational changes when GE's performance was at a high point, in order to continue to produce record sales and profits each year.

Eric Lipar, president of LGI Homes in Houston is another great example of how to successfully market your business. LGI Homes is one of the few home builders in the U.S. that has grown its sales and revenues every year since 2002, despite the economy's fluctuations. When the home building industry started taking a nose dive in 2007, Mr. Lipar and his team charted a new course for the company, and doubled their marketing budget in order to stay ahead of the competition. The result ... record home sales the past two years, despite the worst economy in decades!

If your business is struggling to make a 2nd half turnaround in this economy, here are some ideas you should consider to help get things headed in the right direction:

• Host a brainstorming session. Get your team together with some outside experts to come up with creative ideas and an action plan to "jump start" the business.
• Revisit your books. Take a look back at your past successes and failures. Find a way to build on what has worked in the past, and try to limit the missteps.
• Toss out those activities, ad campaigns, promotions, etc. that are broken or have exceeded their "shelf life". Focus your time, energy and resources on the new and improved.
• Experiment on all fronts - change up your headlines, ads and marketing messages to see what sticks and what doesn't with your customers.
• Make marketing the business your top (and only) priority for the next 90 days, and see what changes occur.
• Measure and track the results and shift resources and budget dollars into the areas that deliver the greatest return to the business.
  

The next time you consider cutting your advertising, sales and marketing budget when things get tough, stop yourself, and do the opposite. Put more emphasis (and dollars) into marketing the business, and make it your top priority. It will help reinvigorate your team, and keep the business on the fast track to future growth and success.


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Become a Leader in Your Market Niche - Part 2

In "Become a Leader in Your Market Niche - Part 1", I covered some of the basics of how to get started in positioning your company as a leader in your industry. Now it's time to fill in the blanks. At this point, you have completed a competitive analysis, a customer assessment, compiled your list of JVs and partners, and received expert advice on how to integrate social media marketing into your overall business plans. So, what's next?

Identify your leadership target(s). What do you want to be known for, or a leader in? And what are your recognized strengths that can be leveraged as a competitive advantage? Are you perceived as an innovator or technology leader? Do you offer superior products or services? Is your company recognized for quality or operational excellence - i.e. Six Sigma, ISO 9002? Do customers rank your company's service and support ahead of the competition? Does your company receive high praise from its employees as a great place to work, or from the community at-large for its charitable donations and volunteer work? Select your leadership target(s) carefully, and make sure they are in alignment with how the market perceives your business today. Note: you can be a leader in more than one area, but make sure you don't spread your resources too thin trying to get there.

Rewrite your USP. Now it's time to start to put some "meat on the bones". After you have determined your leadership target, your Unique Selling Proposition(USP) needs to be rewritten to reflect the changes. Your new USP should communicate the competitive advantages that distinguish your business from the competition and helps your company to stand out in a crowded marketplace as a category leader. Make sure to test and retest your new USP with employees, customers, partners, and trusted advisers so you get it right. Over time, your revised USP should become part of the DNA of your business, and be reflected in your entire PR, advertising, marketing and selling efforts. It's all about packaging why your business is different, unique to the outside world in a manner that will motivate customers to buy from you as the perceived leader in your market niche.

Update your marketing. Once your revised USP is in place, it's time to update your web site, brochures, and all other marketing collateral to reflect the company's new focus and marketing messages. All components of your company's marketing including web site, advertising, press releases, brochures, presentations, training materials, etc. should highlight those key messages you want to build upon that distinguish your business as an industry leader. Get lots of help in this area from a branding and creative services expert to ensure that the updated "look and feel" and message content is consistent throughout, and gets effectively communicated to the outside world through the various media you determine are appropriate for your business. Your ability to market your business differently than the competition is one of the keys to elevating your brand and raising the profile of your business as a market leader.

Network and be visible. Network, network, network. Don't just show up at networking events, but take an active role in the group leadership, committees and community outreach programs. I recommend that small business owners become active members in 2 or 3 networking groups, in addition to their local Chamber of Commerce. Seek out opportunities to chair key committees, attend ribbon cutting ceremonies, present at trade shows and affinity group functions - i.e. Rotary Club, Lion's Club or host Lunch & Learn and After Hours events to further increase your company's visibility as a leader in the local business community. Being recognized as an industry spokesperson or "thought leader" is another great way to build your personal brand, and enhance the perception of your company as a market leader.

Volunteer and be charitable. Be generous with your time, talents and resources. Find ways to help others in your community and around the world that are less fortunate than you, and are in need of your help. Don't ask for anything in return, just do it, and get everybody involved. Giving of yourself is reward in itself, and a true reflection of your character and leadership qualities.

Being good at something is within every company's reach, but being a market leader requires extra effort, dedication, resilience and commitment. It also requires the help and guidance of others, because none of us can do it alone. So, if you have made a commitment to become a leader in your market niche, seek out those "success-driven" employees, customers, partners and trusted advisers who can help you get there, and enlist their support. You'll be able to reach your goals faster, and enjoy the journey more.


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Become a Leader in Your Market Niche - Part 1

"If you're not the lead dog on the sled, the scenery never changes." And the same thing is true in business, isn't it? Unfortunately, there can only be one market share leader in any given business segment, but there are other ways to become a leader in your market niche. So, where do you start if you're not a leader today?

Know the competition. Learn all you can about their products and services, who they are selling to, and how they price, advertise, promote and market their offers. Michael Porter, a Harvard Business School professor and the author of Competitive Advantage, stated that "A firm differentiates itself from its competitors if it can be unique at something that is valuable to buyers." Once you have completed a thorough competitive analysis you can then identify areas of differentiation, and begin to communicate your competitive advantages to the outside world in a way that is compelling and entices prospects to buy from you.

Know your customers. Why are your customers buying from you, and what do they like and dislike about your business? If you don't know, ask them and while you're at it, find out what additional products, services, and support requirements they may have so you can begin work on this list before your customers look elsewhere. Knowing your customers buying preferences and how they like to be sold to will help you advertise and promote your business in a manner consistent with the needs of your marketplace. This more targeted approach will also help you get the maximum return out of your advertising and marketing dollars, and raise your profile as an emerging leader in your market niche.

Joint ventures and partners. Establishing JVs and partnerships will help you accelerate the growth your business, extend your products and services portfolio, and expand your market reach. From a time-to-market perspective, it represents a low-cost way to help you enter new geographic markets, launch new products and services, and enhance your value proposition to both current and new customers. For small business owners in particular, selling with and through partners is an absolute business imperative. Aligning your company with the right mix of JVs and partners can help dramatically improve business results and the market perception of your company as an industry leader.

Branding and social media marketing. Technology and innovation has made it possible for "everything to be connected to everything." However, most companies are just scratching the surface when it comes to figuring out how to integrate Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, etc. into their branding and marketing plans. Social media marketing enables your personal brand and your business brand to be interconnected in a manner that helps each to build upon the other. Any company with aspirations of becoming a market leader should get expert advice on how to effectively integrate social media marketing into their next generation branding and business plans.

Building a strong brand and a successful business is all about knowing the competition and your customers at a much deeper level, developing long-term, enduring JVs and partnerships, and finding new innovative ways to "get the word out" and market your business more effectively. So, if you're tired of the scenery and want to be a leader in your market niche, then start to make the changes necessary to get you there!


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll

Where Have All The Sales Leaders Gone?

Has sales leadership become a lost art? I hear all the talk today about how marketing has replaced selling, and that consumers are now much more educated and informed as a result of the Internet. But have consumers become more educated and informed out of necessity because so many companies they do business with have poorly trained sales staffs?

I know I am biased on this subject. I was blessed to have received nine months (yes you read that correctly) of intense sales training at AT&T's National Sales School, and received a world class training experience. At that time, there were a number of companies who had similar outstanding sales training programs including IBM, Xerox and Proctor & Gamble to mention a few. And all of these companies were also recognized as the market leaders in their respective industries. Is there a direct correlation here?

Today, unfortunately, sales training or training in general seems to be an afterthought for many companies. Companies who have abandoned their sales training programs assume new sales hires come fully trained with a Rolodex of prospects, and are ready to hit the ground running. So, here's a great question for you, if more and more companies adopt a similar philosophy toward training, where do all these new sales hires go to receive the sales training they need in this modern era to be effective?

If we transfer the responsibility for training and development solely onto the employee's shoulders, aren't we doing a disservice to both the employee and our companies? Sales leaders are made not born, and it's time for us to recommit to training, developing and mentoring our high performing sales leaders of the future. To continue to do otherwise, is to put American business and the economy at further risk.


COPYRIGHT © 2010 John Carroll