The Alternative Board - East Valley

Better Communication - A Key to Growing Your Business

Throughout time miscommunication has always been a problem. Today, with the advent of e-mails, texting, and voicemails, miscommunication has become dramatically worse. We have more communication and greater misinterpretation. People are more likely to avoid face to face confrontations and difficult discussions, and rely on e-mails and voicemails. In these difficult times, where fear and security in companies is prevalent, clear communications understanding, and empathy are vital in growing your business. At The Alternative Board, we encourage open communication among business owners. This requires strong interaction,confidentiality, respect, and commitment. We use TABenos to assure that the egos are checked at the door. TABenos is derived from the Greek word “temenos" meaning: “A sacred palace in Greek Mythology where warriors felt so safe, they could take off their armor. We ask two basic points: 1. What characteristics have to be present for you to feel totally safe, so safe you can be completely honest and open with those around you? 2. What does your armor look like? That is, how do you defend yourself? How can the group recognize it, so that it does not impede further communication? There is a list of approximately 200 behaviors and attitudes under these two points. This is a great group exercise. If you are interested in getting more information, call me. DON’T e-mail. LETS TALK.

The Economy - CBS Phoenix - How the Alternative Board Helps Business Owners

Friday, October 10th, The Alternative Board Members and I met with CBS Channel 5 at Carson Poetzl architects to discuss how the economy is affecting them and how meeting together has helped them better handle these difficult times.  CBS 5 - Business Owners Helping Business Owners .  The actual filming went on for over an hour.  The news clip makes some good points, but there were some really great comments and ideas from Clark Worthley -Case Remodeling, Alfred Gregory-Summit, Andrew Carson-Carson Poetzl, Laura Bramnick-Dreim, and Bob Reichard-Dreim, which were not included in this shortened version.  A quick summary of the points made:

1.  Stay Positive 2. Watch your cash more closely then ever before. 3.  Planning is imperative 4. Increase your efforts in selling and marketing 5.  Keep your employees informed and involved. 6.  Get ideas and support from the Alternative Board  7.  No matter years you have been in business, there is always something new to learn. 

If you want to learn more, I would be happy to discuss this on a one to one basis.  Please e-mail me or call 480-656-3565

GROWING YOUR SALES IN A DOWN ECONOMY

Many of my TAB (The Alternative Board) members have been concerned on how few leads they are getting, and how consumers and businesses are putting off buying because of the uncertainty of the economy.  Perhaps it is time to turn back to the basics to get more leads, and referrals.  We have gotten very reliant on the New Wave of Internet marketing, networking, and referral marketing.  No one believes more than I about getting sales by networking and referrals.  Its fun and its easy, and it makes you feel like you are doing something.  After all, who likes cold calling.  However, times are difficult, and sometimes we have to get back to basics with quicker solutions than these new low cost marketing tools can give us.  My suggestions are as follows:

Business owners and managers get out of the office and tell your present customers how much you care.  Don’t rely on your salesperson being the only contact point.  Help your salespeople look for low hanging fruit.
Do not allow the downturn as an excuse for you not to reach your company goals.  Be positive, realistic and show everyone that you are willing to take Action to make things happen.  Let your competitors worry about the economy.   
Make a list of all your old contacts, prospects, and customers.  It should not matter if it has been a year or 5 years.
Stop waiting for the phone to ring.  Stop whining.  Have your sales people make appointments with themselves to call potential leads and old customers at a set time, for a set period.  NO EXCUSES.  Just imagine if your salespeople were assigned to make 60 calls a week which is 3 hours to old leads, new leads, or past customers.  All they need is one new customer, and it is worth the time investment.  I have one client that set aside an office without a computer, or other distractions and demanded that the sales people sign up 3 hours a week just to make phone calls.  Her sales jumped immediately. 
Ask your customers why they do business with you and how you can service them better or find solutions to customers needs.
Really hone in on your Sales Process where it is breaking down, and ask your sales group how it can be done better.  Get their ideas and their commitment.
Your comments are welcome and appreciated.  As always, this is just a guide to help you grow your business and your sales.

Grow Your Business by Supporting Mistakes

In July, we had our semi-annual TAB (The Alternative Board) Convention in Denver. One session involved the top franchisees and them telling their biggest mistakes.  What a great way to learn and grow your business. 

I first read about supporting fast failures in Tom Peter’s book “Thriving on Chaos”.  He quotes Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda Motor as saying. “Many people dream of success.  To me success can only be achieved through repeated failure and introspection.  In fact, success represents the 1 percent of your work which results only from the 99 percent that is called failure.”

Encouraging mistakes and risks is not an easy matter.   Nothing demoralizes an employee more than knowing that the slightest failure could jeopardize their entire career.  To be an effective leader of a company, one must encourage risk, and invite dissent.  Your people are not giving you their best or learning if they are afraid to speak up.

Learning from the mistakes and not repeating them is the critical factor.  So how can a business owner encourage the risk and invite dissent?

1. Have meetings in which everyone comes in with the biggest error of the month. 
2. You must first announce your biggest error and what you learned from it.
3. Actively and publicly reward people for their errors and the correction of those errors.
4. Encourage your people to play the “Devils Advocate” with present policies. 

One final thought, inaction is the critical enemy of an organization.  This is caused by the fear of making a mistake.  Please do not hesitate to respond to this blog, or drop me a personal e-mail, if you would like to discuss this further.   

PLAN YOUR WORK AND WORK YOUR PLAN

One of the many tools, we offer as TAB Certified Facilitators to help Grow your Business is our Strategic Business Leadership SBL® planning tool. One of the many aspects of strategic planning that SBL focuses on is “completing the mission.” We identify The Critical Success Factors that absolutely must be achieved in order for the business owner to be personally and professionally fulfilled. Once identified, we focus on one or two Goals to achieve the CSF. We now create Strategies to accomplish those goals and finally  Action Plans!

For example:
CSF: I need a better balance of work / time with family
Goal: Hire an assistant with sufficient experience to delegate certain tasks
Strategies:(up to this point we're still dealing with theory)

1. Post the position on an online job board
2. Put an ad in a local paper
3. Contact an employment agency

Action Plan: (this is where the mission gets completed)

1. Get the posting in Craig's list done by Wed. 8/15 – 11:00 AM
2. Place ad in Newsday by Sunday deadline – 8/12
3. Contact Allan at Advice Personnel on Monday 8/13 at 10:00 AM

As you might imagine this is where many business owners admittedly fall short.

If you have an interest in learning more about this proven method of “completing the mission” or if you are in need of assistance in implementing change in your company, e-mail me at allanh@tab-scottsdalenorth.com or call me at 480-656-3565 for a complementary 1 hour executive coaching session.

CASH IS KING: COLLECT THAT MONEY

Good times or bad, in order to run a good business, you have to be diligent about collecting your money.  The collection process starts the first day the customer decides not to pay on time.  I have been on both sides having run healthy companies and having turned around a Chapter 11 company.  The ruder the people were the further down the pay list they went.  However, if someone was willing to work with me, I would try my best to get them at least some money.  Some general collection policies are important in these difficult times.

1. Have a 30 day, 60 day, 90 day reminder letters prepared, and send them out religiously.

2. As an owner of the company or decision maker do not make the first calls.  Otherwise, you are immediately on the spot to start negotiations and have no room to strategize what the next step should be.

3. If you are too small to have one person in charge of Receivables, assign a person for 1 day / week just to make friendly reminder calls.  They should have a set script on what and how to ask for money.  Give them a specific range of responsibility where they can either write off, or mark down without your permission. 

4.  A weekly report should be made on what actions should be taken by whom and when.  Make sure there is a clear understanding of why the customer says they have not paid.

5.  Make sure that if there is an agreed date of action that your Recievable person follows up with a phone call and an e-mail.  The consequences have to be clear on what the next steps are, if the customer has not followed up on the agreed terms.       

6.  If a customer promises to write a check and they are in the area, your representative should offer to come by and pick it up.  Do not wait.  This will also give someone a chance to fairly assess the condition of the client.  Do not threaten if your company cannot follow up with the threat. 

7.  Never hesitate to visit one of your better past clients to discuss the issue and what can be done to rectify.  Be calm, understanding, but firm in your desire to get paid.  Ask them to communicate better their difficulties rather than not pay.   

8.  Discounting receivables is not a good idea, because then the customer will expect it every time.  Only discount, if you feel that this is not a customer you want to do business with in the future.  However, payment plans are a better way to go.  Use phrases like “I know times are difficult, but as an act of good faith”. 

9.  Avoid using collection agencies and lawyers as much as possible.  They are not only expensive, but the results are scattered.  If you need to take a tougher stance, ship COD with partial payment of past bill included.  Or, tell them that you hate to see them get a bad credit report which infers a collection agency. 

 

Challenging Environments Create Opportunities

This week, we held two lunch events in conjunction with Bank of Arizona and Premier Sales for  business owners entitled "Challenging Environments Create Opportunities".  The essence was a Sample Board Meeting with 10 complete strangers stating what their biggest challenge is.  The most talked about issues were Marketing and Cash.  Because of time, we could only discuss and dissect two companies business issues.  It never ceases to amaze me on how people can help one another with Peer Boards, even when they are strangers.  It is so dyanamic.  If 2 heads are better than 1, imagine 5-10.  When you think about it we had in the room over 250 years of experience from totally different backgrounds.  There was someone from a Marketing background, staffing, home improvement, real estate development, and financial planning.  One fellow walked out with a whole new perspective on a new product and how he can market it.  The other was amazed at the possible different ways, business owners were able to get funding.  An advisory Board is a great way to make sure that your decisions are well thought out with people that have no agendas except to help you.  This is not some Harvard Business school training and advise.  This is from entrepreneurs that have hands on experience.  I am truly passionate about this process and do not understand why more business owners are not taking advantage of it.  Why someone wants to be alone, I cannot understand.  Why someone would not want to learn to Grow their Business with the help of peers is beyond me.   

Cost Effective Marketing in a Downturning Market

One of the worst thing a company can do in a downturn is decrease their marketing efforts.  In fact, if anything they should be increasing their efforts, because more than likely the competition has taken that tact.  By effective inexpensive marketing during the downturn, you can increase the awarness and brand.  At our last TAB Board meetings I invited Jane Larsen Business Reporter for Scottsdale Airpark and the Arizona Republic.  Any newspaper that runs 365 days a year has to have a constant infusion of new material.  Jane told us that she would prefer NOT to have an expensive PR firm in her face.  Jane's general information sheet "WHAT MAKES BUSINESS NEWS?" gave the following guidelines.  Many milestones in your business's growth are newsworthy and of interest on a local basis to your customers, neighbors and other Arizona Business people.

1.  Opening, selling, merging or closing a business.

2.  Moving a business to a new location

3.  Hirings, promotions, firings, or buyouts of management personnel.

$.  Expansion or downsizing plans (adding sites or staff, cutting sites or staff.)

6.  Adding or developing new products or product lines.

7.  Landing or losing a major contract.

8.  Being "the first" to do or get something significant. 

They also look for trend, issue and profile story ideas that have an Arizona connection and would interest a general audience. 

Sales and the Introvert

One of my private coaching clients is a very shy, intelligent introvert.  George is second in command of a multimillion dollar family owned company.  Customer contact to this point has been strictly through Customer Service and a Distributor network.  There is no sales force.  We had very intensive conversations about the necessity of having direct contact with the customers through sales people and/or business developers.  Sales have been flat for several years, and overtime there will be decreases if there is no active sales and marketing.   Jim was reluctantly determined to do this himself.  At first, I discouraged this idea.  He had no idea what to say or do.  However, after much discussion, we agreed that Jim would call 10 customers in 2 weeks.  The purpose of the call was to just go over their YTD sales, ask them what the driving forces are, and have a few prepared questions to ask.  We wrote down a script and discussed the different scenarios.  I left and came back in 2 weeks and Jim had only made 2 calls.  Then came the excuses.  We went over all the scenarios again, and I said I will be coming back in 2 weeks and expect 10 calls.  As I approached his office I was ready to fire my client.  I was pleased to discover that Jim made 8 calls, and all I can say is WOW.  By formulating the right questions, Jim got valuble market information like pricing and products.  He now has at least 1 new project for his lab, which could generate substantial sales.  He has been invited by 2 distributors to travel with them to their customers.  It is a start.  I may have been more pleased then him.  There is a true thrill when you see someone achieve success. 

Selling and Marketing to Save Time, Trouble, and Money

I just had a call from Marty, who reported to me as a Regional Sales Manager back in 1998.  Marty was always witty, but when he called me his "The Prodigal Sales Daddy", I did not know what to think.  Marty just wanted to thank me for my personal mantra "If you want to sell consistently, you must ask yourself "How can I save my customer time, trouble, or money".  I have asked 100's of sales people why their customers buy from them.  The classic answers are relationship, and value added.  However, Marty and I have learned over the years that the basis for all selling is somehow related to saving time, trouble, or money.  Ask yourself, if there is an established supplier in place or there is no pain, how can you find a basis for doing business?  Statements like "We are the largest" or "We give great service" or lowering prices are not motivating.  Before you go on that next sales call, trying to build the relationship, and trying to replace that supplier that has been there for 1000 years, think about the TTM (time, trouble, and money.   Then ask the appropriate questions that can unveil these issues.