To SME Owners,
Teamwork does not work in most SME businesses, for 19 years I have been studying teamwork, yes it sounds great, yes I have even pushed it, mainly for the individuals to put pressure on their peers.
But every team has a WEAK link, and that what sinks the team, division, department, My wife worked in a big SA corporate, in big businesses the weak link can hide, in your SME business there is no where to hide.
In SA, to many SME owners keep their passengers( the weak links) One reason why, you do not measure your staff on certain KRA (key responsibility areas),and it is only done once a year, if at all.
Till next time may the Force be with You.
Monday, 21 March 2016
Tuesday, 15 March 2016
Who Is Your CLeint
To SME Owners
Here is the deal, do your really know who your client is, WHAT?
Yep you heard me,
Ask yourself do you know what is going on, you are busy being busy, and aren't taking time out to know client's.
Why do client's buy from you, remembering that Price is the ultimate decision factor in the absence of differentiation, think about this, powerful,
Trust me I get so BORED when I hear Business Owners complain about Price, then I ask them, what are your plans to improve the situation, blank look.
If you know who your clients are, deep down and they know you, your business will be better off,
remember, ABC of selling, Always be Closing.
Till next time mat the Force be with you.
Here is the deal, do your really know who your client is, WHAT?
Yep you heard me,
Ask yourself do you know what is going on, you are busy being busy, and aren't taking time out to know client's.
Why do client's buy from you, remembering that Price is the ultimate decision factor in the absence of differentiation, think about this, powerful,
Trust me I get so BORED when I hear Business Owners complain about Price, then I ask them, what are your plans to improve the situation, blank look.
If you know who your clients are, deep down and they know you, your business will be better off,
remember, ABC of selling, Always be Closing.
Till next time mat the Force be with you.
Thursday, 3 March 2016
March 2016, start of new financial and sales year
To SME Owners
Yep for most of us in SA the above is in play,
Short but to the point this blog,
Ask yourself these three questions,
1 Is your business fit enough
2 how attractive are the markets you sell into
3 what is your ability to compete
go do the homework, it is good to review.
Till next time may the Force be with You,
Yep for most of us in SA the above is in play,
Short but to the point this blog,
Ask yourself these three questions,
1 Is your business fit enough
2 how attractive are the markets you sell into
3 what is your ability to compete
go do the homework, it is good to review.
Till next time may the Force be with You,
Thursday, 25 February 2016
Think Big and Kick Ass in Business and Life
To SME Owners
Does the above title seem strange, nope, with the USA elections on the go, I thought it good timing to cover the above, yep a book by Donald Trump, surprised.
On page 153 of his book which was published in 2007, Donald comments,
We do not have great negotiators in our US government. the US has great business people who are great NEGOTIATORS.
WHICH MEANS YOU MUST GET A HANDLE ON YOUR NEGOTIATION SKILLS.
Till next time may the FORCE be with You.
Does the above title seem strange, nope, with the USA elections on the go, I thought it good timing to cover the above, yep a book by Donald Trump, surprised.
On page 153 of his book which was published in 2007, Donald comments,
We do not have great negotiators in our US government. the US has great business people who are great NEGOTIATORS.
WHICH MEANS YOU MUST GET A HANDLE ON YOUR NEGOTIATION SKILLS.
Till next time may the FORCE be with You.
Monday, 15 February 2016
Your Responsbilities as a Leader
To SME Owners,
Yes you are RESPONSIBLE for the following,
- Your relationships with staff, clients, suppliers, yes all three
- How you set the example or NOT
- How you handle pressure in front of your staff
- How you think, you Emotional IQ
- How you set the pace in your business
- How you coach staff
- How you live your life outside of work, while playing!!!
Cool, so how are you doing on the above.
Till next time may the Force be with You.
Yes you are RESPONSIBLE for the following,
- Your relationships with staff, clients, suppliers, yes all three
- How you set the example or NOT
- How you handle pressure in front of your staff
- How you think, you Emotional IQ
- How you set the pace in your business
- How you coach staff
- How you live your life outside of work, while playing!!!
Cool, so how are you doing on the above.
Till next time may the Force be with You.
Tuesday, 26 January 2016
PROMOTING your SME in 2016
To SME Owners.
Lots been said about building your Brand, why and how etc,
Keep it Simple.
-Your brand must create positive feelings in your clients, go ask your clients who you have great relationships with, best way to get feedback
- Your brand must create positive emotional reaction via various forms of contact with your business.
- Sales reps are taught to sell to a clients emotion, so your brand should.
- Try to incorporate your business values into your message to clients, the market.
REMEMBER everything is about PERCEPTION.
perception, is the process by which the brain organizes and interprets information it receives. visual information is key.
Tell next time may the Force be with you.
Lots been said about building your Brand, why and how etc,
Keep it Simple.
-Your brand must create positive feelings in your clients, go ask your clients who you have great relationships with, best way to get feedback
- Your brand must create positive emotional reaction via various forms of contact with your business.
- Sales reps are taught to sell to a clients emotion, so your brand should.
- Try to incorporate your business values into your message to clients, the market.
REMEMBER everything is about PERCEPTION.
perception, is the process by which the brain organizes and interprets information it receives. visual information is key.
Tell next time may the Force be with you.
Monday, 18 January 2016
PASSION in 2016 will be OVERRATED
To SME Owners
We all read and hear about you must have passion, here is the deal you need to know about HOW
a business works, you can have all the passion you want, it will come to nothing, I have seen this over the past 18 years dealing with SME's
Here are a few" business understanding areas"
1 have persistence
2 know the different's between profits and cash flow
3 fully understand the risks
4 manage time, so you max your return on effort.
5 understand scalability
to name a few for you.
Till next time my the Force be with You.
We all read and hear about you must have passion, here is the deal you need to know about HOW
a business works, you can have all the passion you want, it will come to nothing, I have seen this over the past 18 years dealing with SME's
Here are a few" business understanding areas"
1 have persistence
2 know the different's between profits and cash flow
3 fully understand the risks
4 manage time, so you max your return on effort.
5 understand scalability
to name a few for you.
Till next time my the Force be with You.
Wednesday, 13 January 2016
Be SMART in 2016
To SME Owners,
Time to have your mind focused on the following,
-S is Simplicity, this will be your win or loss, so much today is over the top, be simple in every area.
-M is Momentum, you will need to ensure that your business has momentum.
-A is Attitude, this year you will come across many people who have negative attitudes, make sure yours is more than positive 99% of the time.
-R is Right type of clients, do not fall into the trap of taking on any new client just to do sales.
-T is Tenacity, be probing, questioning, have what it takes.
Till next time may the Force be with You
Time to have your mind focused on the following,
-S is Simplicity, this will be your win or loss, so much today is over the top, be simple in every area.
-M is Momentum, you will need to ensure that your business has momentum.
-A is Attitude, this year you will come across many people who have negative attitudes, make sure yours is more than positive 99% of the time.
-R is Right type of clients, do not fall into the trap of taking on any new client just to do sales.
-T is Tenacity, be probing, questioning, have what it takes.
Till next time may the Force be with You
Tuesday, 3 November 2015
At this time of year, keep your TEAM FOCUSED
To SME Owners
Yep silly season nearly here, here are some ways keeping your staff focused.
- set them weekly goals, ask them to set goals,
- have brief one on one sessions re one area they need to improve on by shut down time
Ask staff what successes they are having with clients,
Be persistent in your Managing BY WALKING ABOUT, are your teams busy, doing work, or just chatting.
Focused on 3 areas you need your staff to focus on before the xmas close.
Arrange a mid afternoon braai at the office, ask staff to bring 2 ideas that will improve the busy
Go do something different, yes you can be creative.
No regrets going into 2016, because something important was left to chance.
Till next time may the Force be with you.
Yep silly season nearly here, here are some ways keeping your staff focused.
- set them weekly goals, ask them to set goals,
- have brief one on one sessions re one area they need to improve on by shut down time
Ask staff what successes they are having with clients,
Be persistent in your Managing BY WALKING ABOUT, are your teams busy, doing work, or just chatting.
Focused on 3 areas you need your staff to focus on before the xmas close.
Arrange a mid afternoon braai at the office, ask staff to bring 2 ideas that will improve the busy
Go do something different, yes you can be creative.
No regrets going into 2016, because something important was left to chance.
Till next time may the Force be with you.
Tuesday, 27 October 2015
STOP, LOOK and LISTEN
TO Sme Owners
Really important to do this when it is time to focus on your clients, sorry focus all the time on you clients.
This is your most important daily function.
Set aside time every day, implement SLL.
Do you phone clients on a regular bases, especially when you have a sales team.
Do you wonder why business from a client has dropped of, or increased, stop, think about.
Do you ask clients for feedback, I have a client that after every deal done, the client is contacted, yes hard work, not time consuming!!!!!,
When clients become a pain, you have become arrogant, you are driven by your EGO, sure there are some clients you must fire, but you get my drift.
NEVER NEVER ever stop thinking about SLL
Till next time may the Force be with YOU
Really important to do this when it is time to focus on your clients, sorry focus all the time on you clients.
This is your most important daily function.
Set aside time every day, implement SLL.
Do you phone clients on a regular bases, especially when you have a sales team.
Do you wonder why business from a client has dropped of, or increased, stop, think about.
Do you ask clients for feedback, I have a client that after every deal done, the client is contacted, yes hard work, not time consuming!!!!!,
When clients become a pain, you have become arrogant, you are driven by your EGO, sure there are some clients you must fire, but you get my drift.
NEVER NEVER ever stop thinking about SLL
Till next time may the Force be with YOU
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