Do You Have a Game Plan?

Doing private as well as volunteer advisory work for SCORE, I’ve had numerous inquiries for help on the development of an effective business plan. There seems to be a lot of confusion as to the importance, purpose, value and application in having a well thought out plan of action for moving your business forward.

·         One of the keys to putting together a well conceived plan is to make it yours. I have read a couple of thousand plans over the years and the majority are geared towards impressing service providers such as a bank, leasing companies, etc…

·         Many of those providers have read hundreds of plans and will be the first to tell you that trying to impress them with an inaccurate game plan is a mistake. This is especially true when it comes to the numbers and financial projections.

I will be concentrating on game/business plans over the next few months. Always remember it needs to be a plan that is a working document to guide you towards business growth.

The Missing Link in a Game Plan

          A situation that continuously reoccurs in the growth plan for an emerging business is the lack of a well thought out marketing and sales process. Many Entrepreneurs have a vast amount of product knowledge and a pretty good understanding of the industry that they are going to represent. Many times I find that the weaknesses are taking it to a market place and positioning a company to be competitive in the respective market. This seems to be the largest challenge. Keep in mind that until someone sells something there is nothing for anyone to do. I talked with a family owned company the other day in which there are four principles. Three of them have a considerable amount of industry knowledge but no one in the firm wants to tackle the marketing and sales. There needs to be a strong presence in the sales and marketing field in order to for a company to be successful.

Three Keys to Business Success

Over the past twenty plus years as a business adviser and as a mentor for SCORE, I have had the privilege at looking at many game plans as well as working with aspiring entrepreneurs. I have seen a little bit of everything when it comes to success and helping encourage other entrepreneurs as well as providing essential resources.

Let’s talk about the reality of starting your own business. We hear about the failure rate, which is about 85 percent within the first five years. That does not include mergers, acquisitions, etc, which adds to a more positive perspective. The reasons for failure are many, so let’s bullet a few of the key factors that keep people from attaining their goals and objectives. For the next couple of months I will be adding some case studies of those that have succeeded as well as those that have failed.

·         Is the product or service on the front of the wave? Which simply means are you starting a concept that has built in staying power?

·         Proper Funding – This is the biggie, 80 percent of small businesses are simply under-capitalized. Rule of thumb is to double the amount of money that you think you need as well as the length of time in which you expect it to take.

·         Effective Decision Making – Do you have a well thought out game plan that is do-able? Good decision making is built around the ability to do your due-diligence. You need to look at the positives as well as the negatives. The majority of small business entrepreneurs have the inspiration but they sometimes lack the resources and ability to make their venture a reality.

In the future I will be sharing with you some case studies on why some businesses succeed and why others fail. 

System Selling - Networking

         A few weeks back I was at a networking event, in which a lot of pleasant professional folks that understand the concept of networking were present. Towards the end of the event a young man approached me and aggressively introduced himself. He immediately began talking about himself for about ten or twelve minutes, while failing to inquire my name or what I did for a living. I’m sure my face was a bit flushed by this point. Afterwards he then asked for my business card, I told him that I preferred to not exchange cards. I asked him if he knew who I was or what I did for a living; he sheepishly said he did not. I took a couple of minutes to share with him that what he was doing was severe presenting, which highly annoys people. I could see that when he walked away he was a bit red faced, but I was hoping a valuable lesson was taking place at that moment. When networking, encourage the other person to interface with you. If you discover a possible connection, set up a time to meet and find more out about your respective businesses and how you may complement each other. 

Connecting, Disconnecting

Selling System

            A good system of selling is conceptual in nature. The flow dialogue or interchange between the prospect and the sales person will be determined in the interviewing phase. As a sales professional, our responsibility is to discover if what we bring to the equation is a good match in solving the prospects issues or problems. It either is, or it isn’t. If not, it is perfectly ok to move on. If on the other hand there appears the possibility of the potential fit, we then must decide what we are going to do next. Simply stated, after going through this phase you are either going to stay connected or disconnect. They are both a win-win for all involved. Always remember, people don’t want to be sold, they want to buy for their reasons. You are at your best when you create a healthy buying environment.

Thanks for reading. We will posting our blogs every two weeks, along with our sales tip of week which will be every Tuesday. Sign up today at http://high-performancesales.com/

Presentation

           Presentation is a reality in systems selling but timing is everything. Like I told a client a few weeks ago, why would you want to present anything other than a short overview or value positioning statement to explain why you are here?

            Your job in the short term is to be in the discovery mode. That way you can better determine if you are going to need to extend your visit by determining if the product or service you are representing is a problem solver for your prospective client. First things first, you need to come to an understanding that it is time to inform or present based on whether or not the service  is representative of the cost. Simply said, as a consumer you want the value of the service in which you’ve paid, to exceed your expectations. You want the consumer to walk away knowing “that was a good purchase”. Once again it is important to create a win - win situation. I’m not interested in being a beta tester for anyone, I want my product to work flawlessly as it was advertised and I bet you do too.

Visit http://high-performancesales.com/ to sign up for my Sales tip of the week to learn more information 

Developing an Effective Selling System

Many of our sales tip readers are consistently asking for the answers to developing an effective selling system. First let me restate the issue that people are not looking to be sold. Our job as sales professionals is to discover if a problem exists and whether or not our product or service can solve it. If not, it is ok to move on. If it is not a good match, please take the time to give your prospect advice on what you would do if you were confronted by a similar issue. Selling something to someone that isn’t a good fit is the reason people have such a negative attitude about sales people. Sales is not about earning a commission, making quota, etc. I think you have the idea. If we create a buying environment that gives birth to a win-win purchase, at the end you can probably count on such things as referrals and positive name recognition.  One time sales that have failed to solve their problem will lead to them becoming a former client and shorten your career. Simply said, do not compromise your integrity for short term rewards. Go for the win-win and you will enjoy the long term positive results.

Hope you have enjoyed the blog! However, for the foreseeable future we are going to a blog every other week.

Timing is Everything

Last week I discussed processing and positive movement. Before you can make that a reality, you have to come to terms with what is bothering you. You cannot be thinking positive while you are reflecting on an issue that creates negative feelings. Simply stated, positive and negative thinking cannot coexist. You have to decide what mindset you are going to have and embrace it. Positive thinking brings on positive results. You may feel some redundancy in my message; you need to be ok with that. What I say means very little when you are experiencing a high and things are going well. I find that people can’t say enough good things about what I write when they are on a downward spiral. As we say, timing is everything.

Visit http://high-performancesales.com/ to sign up for my Sales tip of the week to learn more information 

Positive Processing and Movement

As I have mentioned on a number of occasions, the real differentiator in people and those who achieve is a positive attitude that creates a buoyant confidence and an image that others gravitate towards. When we find ourselves around a person who moans and groans and continuously, gets there feeling of importance at the expense of others, you can guarantee that when you are not around, they are taking a few shots at you as well.

                I have been a fan of the book (The Secret) for a couple of years. The whole premise is built around what you think about a situation will probably become a reality. We as people can decide to process a thought or idea in any manner we choose. So in essence, we control the outcome by how we view it. It is only human nature to get ticked off when someone insults your intelligence and takes advantage of you, but it is important to respond positively and constructively. A positive attitude is not a “rah rah” fan fare however. It is the ability to be objective about an occurrence. Get through it, move on, and tackle the next challenge in an ever changing world that we live in.

Visit http://high-performancesales.com/ to sign up for my Sales tip of the week to learn more information 

Staying Positive

As a sales and management advisor for a few decades, I constantly hear people refer to others as having a less then positive attitude. When I asked how it displays itself, they usually struggle with how it reflects on the job and their interaction with other people. The one thing for sure is that it is not what it needs to be to help them reach a higher level of success. The one thing I reassure them is that the negative did not form or surface over night. It can display itself based on a situation or environment a person a person finds themselves in. Can you change the attitude of a negative person into a positive one…. Yes and no. Improving ones attitude will take time and it requires a strong commitment on the person’s part. An attitude has been forming since infancy, and their life experiences have played a critical role in their self perception and how they view the world. If they are truly committed to improving their attitude, it can happen. It will play a major part in helping with their transition, and depending on their background, it is not always easy. The real key is identifying what activity and behavior should look like to improve one’s self. Easy, no, but it starts with the first step, having a number good life experiences. It takes 21 days for change to start to become a part of us. Attitude needs positive guidance and reinforcement, and self appreciation for what you are accomplishing. A lot of people think that they have got it, and then they have a tendency to slip back into the old rut. It is a lifetime pursuit and can give you surprising results and pay significant dividends in varying aspects of your life. Staying positive is a constructive way to keep your pursuits linear to positive results. Always remember, you cant be happy when you are thinking negative thoughts.

Attitude (Cont)

In my twenty plus years as business advisor I have used interns from “The Ohio State University”. During the interview process I have never asked one of the potential interns what their GPA is. First I knew it was higher than mine, second, it has very little to do with why I had chosen to bring them aboard. Certainly I want them to possess the communication, writing, and technical skills that are so essential in conveying the Levi Associates mantra. In acquiring the key ingredients for a person to be truly successful in their personal and business life, when the discussion turns to the key elements for those people who under or over achieved, it variably turns to the attitude as the difference maker. The dictionary describes attitude as a position of the body or manner of carrying oneself (state of mind or a feeling; disposition). Most people know it is extremely important, but acquiring and describing it are always the biggest challenge. For the next few weeks, we are going to dissect what a good attitude is, and to further understand how to acquire it, as well as use it to benefit ourselves and others.

Positive Attitude

    I heard the other day an interesting statement that is altruistic, “it’s not what you do; it is how you do it”. We are currently covering a number of keys to success on my weekly sales tip of the week. You can sign up for my sales tip of the week at http://www.high-performancesales.com. In talking with people over my extensive years, the subject inevitably will come up about a true formula for success. We all have a tendency to bring up the word “attitude” without understanding the important significance it has in your life. I always like to refer to it as the glue that makes everything else hold together. It shows up in your everyday personification with others. When you notice that someone has good people skills, invariably, they also have a strong positive attitude that drives them. In increasing your ability to lead others, let me assure you, that a good attitude will play a key role in how you affect people in a positive or negative way. You might want to spend some time and really explore how a progressive attitude can be the difference maker in propelling your own success. I like to say that “people are as happy as they make up their minds up to be”. Always remember that it is not what you do in life, but rather more importantly how you go about doing it.

The Blog is Back

We have had a challenging five to six weeks with computer issues preventing the blog from being posted. Starting this thursday the 28th the blog will be back in full form. Thanks for your patience, hope the information you have been receiving has been of value. Take care and see you this thursday and every thursday after.

-Mike Levi

Game Plan Plus (Continued)

Game plan Plus (Continued)

Last time we talked about the importance of having an efficient game plan to grow your business. I am asked quite often if a game plan and a business plan one in the same. When interviewing people, Ill many times ask them if there is truly a difference between the two. In actuality they are one in the same. Both have goals and objectives, financial projections, overview of the product or service, history, potential, management team, differentials, activity, initiates, etc. Also your business plan/game plan is a working document that changes constantly. There may be a slight variation in the document based on who you are presenting it to, and if you are going to present an executive version (short version). In essence they are one in the same. Your plan is written by you and for you to ensure that the company is staying on track. Please do not write it for someone else except when you are addressing the possibilities of a partnership or merger. I like to call those add-ons.

Good Luck with your future business/game plans and have a great weekend.

Creating a Game Plan for Growing Your Business

Creating a game plan for growing your business

As I have mentioned on a number of occasions, you can’t continue doing the same things and expect different results. Here are some questions you need to ask yourself to better determine if you’re focused on the right areas that can make a significant difference in the ability to help your business reach its potential. In working with Joe, we started by evaluating areas of strengths as well as weaknesses. These first three questions gave us a basis to work from.

1.    Over the years, has the company kept up with the changes in your respected industry?

2.    Is each facet of the company’s marketing/sales, design, construction, etc. working collectively on a game plan that maximizes each entity and creates same page thinking? Are you developing a total concept that allows the company management team and employees to share a common company vision?

3.    Is the company on the front of the wave? Are you pacesetters in your respective industry?

Start by answering these three questions and answering them in a very objective way to better understand where the company stands in the current market place.  

I did independent contract work for Wendy’s for twelve years back when Wendy’s was first started up. I vividly remember in the fast food industry when Wendy’s started the drive-thru window concept. It really got everyone’s attention industry wide. What are you doing to institute a pacesetters mentality? We will continue along this line in the upcoming weeks.