The
new year has arrived, and with it comes a level of unpredictability and
challenge. What will it mean for you?
We all aim to improve, to increase
our profitability and to be more successful, so now is the time to put your
plans into place to make this a certainty.
Here
are 10 simple steps to follow, giving you real actions to take that will result
in growth and financial success for your business.
1. Have a Clear Plan
What
do you want to achieve and how are you going to get there? If you’re not
clear on that, then all paths will lead somewhere but not necessarily where you
actually want to be longer term.
As
boring as it may sound, you must create a simple, measureable plan which states
what you want to achieve, and the actions you’ll take each quarter and month to
get there. The plan should also have measurable goals. Hold yourself
to account to achieving it. Better still, get a business coach or
accountability partner to hold you to account as well.
2. Focus on Cash Flow
Here’s
my motto: Turnover is vanity, Profit is sanity, Cash flow is
reality. Unless your cashflow is strong, your business growth will be
inhibited.
Many
small businesses don’t have decent systems in place to manage their cash
flow. What systems have you implemented to ensure you get paid by your
customers in a timely manner? Do you actively manage cash across your
business by controlling your accounts payable and negotiating payment terms
with your suppliers? How about inventory turns? Do you actively
control the amount of inventory you hold at any one time?
3. Practice Monthly Financial Management
Many
small businesses don’t have monthly management accounts to help them manage
their business. Year end accounts are only useful to determine the profitability
of your business and how much tax is to be paid.
They
won’t help you to manage your business during the year. So, how about
getting your accountant/business adviser to work with you throughout the year,
producing monthly management accounts that you can analyse together?
4. Identify Your Customer
Most
small businesses want to grow their customer base, yet many do not have
strategies in place to attract new customers. What’s your new customer pipeline
looking like? How are you marketing your business? Most markets are
crowded, so how are you standing apart from your competitors? What about
closing sales? How are you doing that? Do you need to learn more
about closing sales to sell more?
Marketing,
business development and sales are changing in this fast paced evolving world
we’re living in. Are you keeping up with the new strategies and tools that
are being used to attract customers to you? Get all this right and you’ll
have a constant funnel of customers coming your way.
5. Be Clear on Your Niche
Do
you sell all your products and services as one offering or do you differentiate
them according to what your customers need and can afford? Do you make offers
to your customers to cross-sell, up/down-sell your products and
services? Those businesses that have a strategy in place to differentiate
their product and service offerings are making big profits.
6. Understand Your Product and Service Profitability
Do
you understand the profitability of all the products and services you offer to
your customers? The most expensive product or service you sell to your
customers may not be the most profitable. Work out which are your most
profitable, and sell more of those. That strategy alone will have a
measureable impact on your business’s profitability.
7. Identify Profitable Customers
Who
are your most profitable customers? Many businesses aim to service any
customers that come their way without thinking about whether they are going to
be profitable. So, learning how to work out customer profitability is critical
to making more profit in your business.
8. Consider Raising Your Prices
How
about increasing your prices? This is a touchy subject as you may be thinking
that you will not survive in business if you do. However, studies have shown
that only 9 percent of customers move away from a supplier due to price
increases, yet 82 percent will move away to a new supplier due to perceived
indifference and unresolved conflict with the original supplier.
It
comes down to value. How much value do you think you are offering your
customers for the prices you charge, and do they feel that they are
really important to your business?
9. Systemize Your Business
Regardless
of whether your business is just you, or you plus your employees, is your
business systemized and automated in a way that your customers receive
streamlined service? If not, then you are offering what I refer to as ‘random
service,’ which is unpredictable and not able to be replicated by your staff.
McDonald’s
doesn’t make the best hamburgers in the world, but they developed arguably the
best systems in the world to deliver their products to their
customers. How does your business measure up? If your customers
return more than once to buy from you, will they get a consistent experience
with your business? If not, then your business isn’t systemized.
10. Remeber That Your People are Your No. 1 Asset
No
man or woman is an island. Recruit and train the best people to your team
— whether they’re full-time, part-time or outsourced members. Your team is
critical to your success. They’re your number one support in effectively
growing your business and delivering excellence to your customers.
Team
these top tips with a serious amount of hard work, confidence and determination
and I know 2017 will be good for you and your business.
To
learn more about my work and how I help businesses achieve success, visit www.adelemclay.com.
0 comments:
Post a Comment