Get the junk out of the trunk: Now is a great time to reassess your business.

Every year about this time my wife organizes the house in preparation for the holidays. This includes going through all the stuff we have in our closets, shelves, hampers and trunks. The ritual is fairly painful, because she pulls everything out to reassess usefulness and how each item might fit in our plan for the next year.

Now is the time to get the junk out of your trunk and reassess your direction, tools, products and people. How much baggage does your company carry into every year? Evaluate your business as objectively as possible and get rid of those things that have no place in 2012.

Some areas to look at include:

Your business model

Many businesses and industries have materially changed since early 2008. We hear many people talk about the “new normal”; this may mean that products and services that you have relied on for years are no longer valid going forward. One company I work with has relied on a personal one-to-one service model and has added books and videos to their product offering. This was done to diversify their revenue and reduce the reliance on a business model that requires the principals to be involved with the generation of revenue during an 8:00 to 5:00 business day.

Opportunities

What opportunities have you missed in the past that might have put your company in a different place today? I meet with a number of business owners that discuss the actions they could take that would improve their business, but then go on to say “we discussed these areas 12-18 months ago and just couldn’t find a way to execute.” Does this sound like your company? Many business owners and leadership teams can sit down and plan how to take advantage of new opportunities, but fail to execute. Objectively evaluate your opportunities and develop a plan to get them implemented.

Strengths

When was the last time you and your management team identified your company’s strengths only to find a list that included things like “good customer service” or “good customer relationships”? Evaluate your company from the view point of your customers, partners, competitors and prospects. Does good customer service or good customer relationships set you apart from others in your industry? If not, then look deeper for sustainable areas of differentiation and identify how you can further exploit these strengths for a competitive advantage.

Weaknesses

Deep down we all know what some of our weaknesses are, but in many cases don’t confront them. It is difficult without outside input to develop a complete list of areas in which your business needs to be improved. Take this time to have candid discussions with your customers to learn how your company can improve. There are also some excellent tools and resources to perform a loss analysis, to develop insight into how your company can improve for the future.

People

Do you have the right people in the right places in your company? Many businesses have not strategically evaluated their most important asset… their people. Take a hard look at the direction of your company against the skill sets in your business and identify gaps that your management team can work on in the coming year. It may mean moving people into new roles, implementing training programs to help develop your employees, or hiring new people to supplement your team.

Yourself

As senior leaders we have a tendency of overlooking our own developmental needs. Are you ready to make the changes necessary in the new year to be successful? Just because you have been successful in the past, does not necessarily mean you will be successful doing the same things going forward. Successful leaders are those that can manage in changing environments, retool their company, and operate during times of ambiguity. Take an objective look at yourself and get ready for whatever the future brings.

Look at the junk in your trunk

Take the time to pull your leadership team together and objectively look at these areas as you prepare for 2012. Get an outside facilitator to work with you and your team to help develop the objective thinking and forward look needed to develop the basis of your operating plan for next year. Be prepared to gather additional information from your customers and partners to help guide you through the process. Taking the time to evaluate your business with independent input will help you develop a strong plan.

Larry Turner is CEO of Roundhouse Advisors, Inc. and has over 25 years experience growing, starting up, repositioning, and revitalizing organizations. Roundhouse Advisors is a consulting practice focused on helping businesses increase enterprise value by managing pain, growth and owner exits. Larry is a consultant, public speaker, and the author of two books “Owner Exit Planning: Leave On Your Own Terms” and “Mapping Your Recovery: Grow sales in difficult times”. For additional information visit www.RoundhouseAdvisors.com

“Mapping Your Recovery: Grow sales in difficult times” provides additional information on areas that can positively impact your company.

Business is hard enough without going it alone: Get outside help to boost your business

Business owners know their company and industry, but still get stuck in the day-to-day business. Often times they hit a plateau and find it difficult to reach the next level of performance. Many of these executives and business owners look inside their organizations for the solution when the answer just simply is not there. They need to be seeking support from someone outside the company.

Professional athletes use coaches to improve their performance because someone from the outside can see things the individual cannot. The coach can observe and communicate what things need to be changed and support that change. Even the best golfers in the world employ coaches to help them improve every part of their game. Business is no different.

Executives and business owners run into new situations every day and have a limited set of reference on how to deal with them. An outside coach can help them put these situations into perspective and support them in adapting to either internal or external situations.

I work with one business owner who is an expert in his field, and wanted to look into his future planning what it would look like. He needed help with developing an exit strategy, ie: sale to an insider, sale to a 3^rd party, or passive ownership; to include increasing sales and adding resources. In our meetings we discuss what is going on in his day-to-day business and progress against our action items. He has found tremendous amount of value by having someone he can talk through the issues and opportunities in his business.

The following are areas to consider if you move forward with a coaching relationship:

Can you take outside advice?

It is not unusual for a business owner or executive to feel inadequate asking for help. The entire organization looks to them for direction and they tend to be very intelligent. If you cannot check your ego at the door however during a coaching relationship, then don’t waste your time looking for help.

One-on-one or Group setting:

There are a number of very good peer advisory group organizations that provide coaching in a group setting. The organizations I know of all are all high quality and the participants tend to do much better than their competitors in areas of business growth, client retention and organizational development. BUT, group settings are not for everyone! If you cannot openly accept input from others in a group setting, and cannot provide balanced support to others you should look to a one-on-one coaching relationship.

Getting Started:

There are a wide range of choices when it comes to business or executive coaching. Prior to meeting with any business coaches perform an inventory of your issues, opportunities, and areas you need help developing. This will give you a starting point when having initial discussions with coaches. Be honest with yourself and assess how you will interact with someone providing feedback. Share this with your coaching prospects during initial meetings.

How to Find a Coach

1.) Ask others that you know about their coaches and solicit recommendations from your network. One of the best ways to find a coach is based on feedback from your network.

2.) An internet search will provide you with a wide range of options. Look for someone local so you can have face-to-face meetings, and not just telephone coaching.

3.) Industry is not important. Don’t get hung up on whether the coach has experience in your industry. They provide the outside look to your industry expertise.

4.) Find out how they operate. Discuss how the meetings work and assess how this matches your style.

5.) Assess the personality of the coach. You will be spending a fair amount of time with your business coach and it is important that you feel comfortable with that person.

6.) Ask for references.

In most cases you will find that coaching for you or your business is very cost effective and can support you and your management team. Understanding if you are the right candidate for coaching is the most important step, followed immediately by your coach’s approach and personality. Most business owners find benefit from most coaching relationships within the first few meetings and measured results within a few months.

Larry Turner is CEO of Roundhouse Advisors, Inc. and has over 25 years experience growing, starting up, repositioning, and revitalizing organizations. Roundhouse Advisors is a consulting practice focused on helping businesses increase enterprise value by managing pain, growth and owner exits. Larry is a consultant, public speaker, and the author of two books “Owner Exit Planning: Leave On Your Own Terms” and “Mapping Your Recovery: Grow sales in difficult times”. For additional information visit www.RoundhouseAdvisors.com

My book “Mapping Your Recovery: Grow sales in difficult times” provides additional information on areas that can be positively impacted by outside coaching or consulting www.roundhouseadvisors.com/growsalesbook

Building Your Business Quickly: Acquire a Competitor, Drive More Volume

We all know that increased sales volume in our businesses can be the cure to a number of problems. What is not readily known are the opportunities to increase sales through acquisition during economic downturns. Sure, many banks have higher standards for lending, but there are ways to get a deal done.

I know a number of companies that have increased their business by integrating volume and operations of other organizations. Here are two areas that I have seen work over the past few years:

Failing competitor

Many companies are not going to make it through to see the end of this recession. Those that do not make it leave their customers and sales people looking for a home. You can proactively approach your competitors with a solution for taking care of their customers and employees, while allowing the owner to keep assets for liquidation.

The approach could be a letter, email or a face to face discussion where you offer to transition their clients to your business, allow the sales people to continue closing business on a straight commission basis, and also allow the other business owner a commission on new business that they may close due to relationships already in place. You never know how your competitors are doing and opening the discussion for them to gracefully transition out of their business may be a good solution for some.

This approach will not be a solution for many, but it never hurts to ask. Make sure your operation can absorb the extra volume and you have sufficient buffer to support the working capital requirements of a quick increase in volume.

Purchase a competitor

Purchasing a competitor’s assets is a great way to increase volume. This option is only available to those companies that are not overburdened by debt, have been able to sustain positive cash flow, and the owners have not over leveraged themselves personally.

Purchasing a competitor allows you to leverage your current infrastructure, increase your volume of product that you can support in your business, and leverage your knowledge in the industry. There is bank debt available to support the right deal and the loan officers like deals where your current company is in good shape, you have industry and business specific knowledge, and your personal finances are clean.

Take advantage of SBA programs to acquire smaller firms as an add-on to your current business. I recently had a conversation with an SBA loan specialist in the Denver area and he informed me that they are funding SBA deals if the situation is right. There are a few industries they are staying away from, but in general they are looking for opportunities to lend.

Summary

It doesn’t cost you anything to ask your competitors if they are interested in transitioning out of their business. If you can get increased volume without having to purchase their business or assets it allows you to leverage the additional volume in your operation. The worst thing that can happen is your competitor tells you “no”.

The next best thing that can happen is you start a discussion on acquiring certain assets of their business. If you have been able to hold on to some positive cash flow, and can show a solid integrated business there is a potential of getting financing to support an acquisition. You will also find that there are a number of banks in the area that are lending, but with different criteria. Check out a number of different lenders. Your opportunity may fit their business model.

Larry Turner is CEO of Roundhouse Advisors, Inc. and has over 25 years experience growing, starting up, repositioning, and revitalizing organizations. Roundhouse Advisors is a consulting practice focused on helping businesses increase enterprise value by managing pain, growth and owner exits. Larry is a consultant, public speaker, and the author of “Owner Exit Planning: Leave On Your Own Terms”. For additional information visit www.RoundhouseAdvisors.com

Growing Sales: Five things you can do today to grow your business

I meet with many business owners that are frustrated by the lack of sales. During our initial meeting we discuss the activities they are currently undertaking to increase business and the response from many is something like “we cut all our marketing and sales activities to save money”.

Sales result from generating activity and developing new leads in your sales pipeline. Your sales pipeline today needs to be larger than it was before the recession because in most industries the average sales cycle has gotten longer and the average price of products/solutions sold is lower. Driving increased activity at the front end of the sales pipeline will generate more sales. There are five things you can do today at very little cost that will begin to generate the sales you desire:

1.) Sales Focused Organization

In one company that I managed, the sales coordinator would check with manufacturing before accepting an order. This was typical practice, even when our manufacturing organization was below capacity. After seeing this, I spent some time with the sales coordinator and head of manufacturing and we all agreed that nothing starts unless we have an order and to immediately take the order, unless it required out of the ordinary delivery terms.

Don’t lose a chance to secure an order. Putting off the decision to accept an order, can delay the purchase order by approximately two weeks. Dealing with all orders this way may push back a significant number of orders.

We were also able to shift the culture of the entire organization to one that focused on getting new orders in the house. This took place over time, but it required us to be proactive in securing orders, communication to the entire company on a regular basis on how we were doing and our progress against sales goals. Everyone in manufacturing/operations knows that their job depends on securing new orders, so take advantage of that fact and get them involved.

2.) Visit Customers

The largest asset you have in your sales organization is existing customers. The management team should be visiting your top customers. Your sales organization should include visits to current customers in addition to expanding the customer base.

I had an international sales manager who worked for me and who only traveled to one international show in Europe each year. We discussed growing sales through our distributors in Asia and he acknowledged that he had never visited any of them. We setup a two week trip and within a few weeks of his return we started seeing incremental orders from the distributorships he visited. He was amazed, since there was no discussion during his visit of the orders we received. It just happens… you visit your customers, inform them of all the products/services you provide and you are now on the top of their mind.

3.) Make Sales Calls

You obviously expect your sales team to make sales calls, but you expect the management team to join them? You should! It provides your management team with additional information that they in turn bring back to their organization. It all helps to become more customer focused. It also provides your sales team with a step up against the competition. Your sales team will close more deals because of the direct involvement of management. It shows the prospect what kind of company they may be doing business with.

4.) Internet Marketing

The tools to generate more sales activity on the web continue to grow. Search engine optimization (SEO) and local search are great tools, but require a large amount of work and time to generate results. These are great tools to utilize after you put together some activities that will generate more immediate results.

For quick results, I like to use pay-per-click advertising programs with landing pages that are designed to convert visitors to a meeting or purchase. These programs along with drip marketing campaigns and social media efforts are a great way of contacting prospects and generating results. You can pull these programs together yourself, but if you are stretched for time and knowledge, leverage one of the many experts in the field.

5.) Strategic Partnerships

Your customers and prospects are buying products and services that are complementary to your product line from other companies. Understand what these are, who provides them, and how they sell. Approach these firms with the intent of developing a strategic relationship. It may be a distribution/license agreement, a joint sales approach or a revenue sharing agreement based on mutual lead generation.

Work on these items in your business and you will see incremental activity and sales. It is difficult to do them all at once while you are running the day-to-day operation, so pick one and start doing it. Once you have that one activity generating results, and then do the next one. The best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time and that also pertains to developing incremental activity in your business.

Larry Turner is CEO of Roundhouse Advisors, Inc. and has over 25 years experience growing, starting up, repositioning, and revitalizing organizations. Roundhouse Advisors is a consulting practice focused on helping businesses increase enterprise value by managing pain, growth and owner exits. Larry is a consultant, public speaker, and the author of “Owner Exit Planning: Leave On Your Own Terms”. For additional information visit www.RoundhouseAdvisors.com