Ideas To Deals

Hate Sales...Why?

by Michael Bowers

Most people get into business because they have a passion for what it is they are doing.  They have a passion about their product or service that drives them to share this with the world.  However, many of these same people do not share the same passion around business activities especially sales (and of course accounting but everybody hates accounting). Why is that? I would suspect that is because people think they need to emulate the negative stereotype of the slick talking, product pushing sales person.  They are not comfortable with all the "Mr prospect, what do I have to do to get you to buy today" closing techniques.  If you are like me you vision of hell is spending eternity negotiating to buy a car. 

Sales is not about getting someone to buy what they don't want or need. Sales is about helping the person make a decision to select what they want. To succeed in sales the biggest thing to remember is to "Create Value" for your customer. No one will be a bigger cheerleader for your product than you.  No one can better articulate the value of your product than you.  You should want to speak to people to get them to buy your product.  Only through the process of selling can you share what you have brought to life when you started your business.

To get you started here are a few tips to make sales a little more palatable for the non-sales oriented business owner.

• You don't have to slick you hair back to sell ~ Not everyone is the extroverted, natural sales person but anyone can sell.  Be yourself and share the value that makes your product a must have.
• Objections are requests for more information and clarification ~ Don't turn into JoJo The Monkey Boy the second someone questions you.  Relax and respond.  Share your knowledge and help the prospect better understand.
• No is not a bad answer ~ Don't take it personal...Next.
• Maybe is the "Worst" answer ~ Don't let "maybes" clog up your pipeline.  I remember when I was young I had a prospect that kept telling me maybe.  I would point to that as THE big deal that was coming.  Guess what, it never did.
• If you practice your pitch you will get better ~ Like anything else practice makes perfect.  Work on your presentation then get out and do it.  Learn from every presentation and you will be successful.

Relax, focus on helping and you will become a sales person.

What It Takes To Succeed

by Michael Bowers

I was recently looking for videos that would speak to entrepreneurship and what it takes to really succeed as a business owner. As I searched this clip from Inside The Actors Studio featuring Kevin Spacey appeared on my screen. Spacey is addressing the passion, commitment and dedication needed to accomplish what is important rather than simply trying to please the masses. Sure he was speaking to actors not entrepreneurs but his message gets to the heart of the entrepreneurship. True entrepreneurs know why they are doing what they are doing. They have an internal drive that keeps them going. It's not about the money but rather bringing an idea to life and watching it grow and watching the vision spread. 

Spacey is speaking to anyone that is driven by internal passion. Passion allows people to step out on a limb and be willing to possibly fail because what they are doing with worth the risk of failure.

They realize that it is not possible failure that is the risk but rather not taking the opportunity to pursue your passion that is the true risk.

Rules for Revolutionairies

by Michael Bowers

Guy Kawasaki at the inaugural Ohio Growth Summit

 I was first introduced to Guy Kawasaki in 2001 when I attended one of the Garage.com Entrepreneur Bootcamps in New York City.  This was during the final days of the internet bubble (actually it had already burst) so there was a lot of talk about holding on and surviving but Guy was still talking about building revolutionary products and companies.  While I've read it several times I decided to get Rules for Revolutionaries out today and look it over for inspiration.  As usual it did not disappoint.  Guy talks about thinking differently to change the rules.  As the rules change you can find your way with your product. 

In the years since then much has changed in the world but Guy's Rules preserver. These Rules so impacted my thinking that I committed to bring Guy to the inaugural Ohio Growth Summit in 2005. So as I looked through the book I decided to list some things from the book that I thought were interesting:

"A revolutionary refuses to solve problems as presented.  Instead they:

• Consider the problem in the broadest context that's feasible.
• Start at the goal (more sales) and work backwards.
• Do the opposite of the obvious answer."

"What really matters happens at the edges-that is, where one surface or material meets or changes into another-is the principle of architecture.  The action is not in the centers or the areas of sameness."

"Revolutionary products don't fail because they are shipped too early.  They fail because they aren't revised fast enough."

"How the great team moves from idea to product:

1. Dare to find fault with existing products and services.
2. Go with your gut. (Go with your intuition to create something when no one is asking for it.)
3. Design for yourself. (if all else fails build what you would like to use.)
4. Shake and bake. (Build prototypes and get on with it.)
5. Get on base and leave home runs to chance.
6. Ignore naysayers
7. Go with your "Guts". (have the courage to commit to a product once you have implemented step two.)"

"Churn, Baby, Churn."  "Fail quickly but last long."  " Churn for buyers, not for non-buyers." Get your product to the market, listen to the market, improve the product, get product to the market...and so on, and so on.

"Make evangelists, Not Sales."  Evangelists don't just buy but they believe in your product.  They will leverage and spread news of your product and make your sales for you.

"Don't let Bozosity Grind you down."  There will always be EXPERTS that don't believe and can give you every reason to give up.  If you listen to your customers, build and rebuild what they want and will buy you will succeed.

"Never consider the battle lost.  The battle is not lost if you live to fight another day.  The battle can continue with another company or with another product or service. 

The battle is only truly lost with you surrender."

Great and Horrible ~ Same Thing

by Michael Bowers

 

I recently served as a judge for business plan competition.  I used to judge a lot of these type of things but my schedule intruded on my ability to to put the proper time into understanding the business so I now decline most of the requests.  Luckily, things worked out so I could participate in this competition.  As I listened to the pitches I noticed a few things that you can use for your business.

• Don't forget the business. As with many start-ups there was a lot of focus on the product and not so much on the business. The business is kind of important to focus on.
• Focus on customers and where they will come from. Unless your business is a baseball field in the middle of an Iowa cornfield you better understand your market and figure out how you are going to find customers and get them buy your product.
• Discount the opinions of your friends and family 100%.  Focus groups need to give you honest feedback regarding your business. Friends and family will tell you what they think you want to hear because they want to support you and make you happy. That is not very honest, unbiased feedback.
• Early success is not a barometer of future success. When I first started in this business, 1999, I had a lot of education companies coming to me for funding. They all had sold their product to their local school districts where they had contacts. Guess what happened when they were ready to expand to other districts where they had no preexisting contacts? They learned that it was a lot harder to get in and sell product without knowing someone and most of them failed. I saw the same thing at the competition. A couple of the companies had some early success and felt that would directly translate to the next phase of growth. Unfortunately, they had not built systems that would allow them to "intentionally" grow. Be assured there is a difference between accidental growth and intentional growth.
• Some judges just like to talk to hear their own voice Not really going to help your business but an observation none the less.

The biggest thing that hit home for me was something you should think about related to your marketing. There were five competitors. The company in first was an obvious choice and the company in last was pretty obvious. How the others ranked was kind of a flip of the coin, The winning team won $1,500 dollars, support services and many offers of assistance. The last place team won free admission to the local Start-up Weekend, 10 hours of advising by one of the competition's partners and many offers of assistance. The other three companies got little recognition or attention.

The winner and the last place team both stood out. The winner was great (in the context of the competition) and the last place team's business idea was so weak they got sympathy.

This reinforces the concepts that Seth Godin describes in his Ted Talk on "How To Get Your Ideas To Spread". Being good is the worst thing you can do. People remember the great and the bad but not the good. If you are providing a good service and doing good work you will be lumped in with everyone else. You need to be REMARKABLE. Not remarkable as in neat but remarkable as in worthy of making a remark about. This is critical in your marketing.  If you are good and similar to all of the rest you will get lost in the noise. If you are remarkable people will engage with you and tell their friends.

Stand out and be worthy of my attention if you want me to buy your product. 

 

How To Get Your Ideas To Spread

by Michael Bowers

Everyone wants to get the word out about their product or service. How do you do that? I tend to hear one of three answers to this question from small business owners:

• Buying advertising
• Word of mouth
• Social Media

So let me touch on each of these.

Advertising I don't think works for most small businesses. The key to advertising is repetition. You need to buy enough ads so you can interrupt people enough times to grab their attention. This typically takes a lot of ads. I remember buying ads for a business I had back in the '90's and for the Ohio Growth Summit back in the early days. They didn't yield any results because I couldn't buy enough ads to get noticed. One thing the ads did do well was to suck a lot of money out of my pockets. 

Word of mouth is the go to strategy for most small businesses. Why? Not because it works but because it is cheap. Small business owners typically do not have sufficient money to launch good marketing campaigns so they fall back on "word of mouth". Done right word of mouth is effective. If you can get people to recommend you to the right people then you will get business. The problem here is that most small business owners really don't know how to build the ground swell needed to execute a good word of mouth strategy. 

Social Media is digital word of mouth. However, this is even more confusing to small business owners then traditional word of mouth. Small business owners often times do not understand what is involved in developing a good digital strategy.  They don't understand that it is not about the tools or the technology but more about finding and engaging people that want to talk to you about your product or service. The other challenge is small business owners don't know what to say on-line. Again, engagement is the key. Way to many small business owners are stuck in the old "push" sales strategy of one way, outbound communication rather than creating a dialog where their prospects can really get allow them to get to know the product and the company. This engagement is what creates fans that will tell other about your product.

Successful marketing is about finding people that want your product, engage them by having a remarkable product and message and allow them to help spread your message. Much of this I got from a video by Seth Godin called How To Get Your Ideas To Spread. I use this in a lot of my live training sessions on social media, sales and business start-up. I never get tired of this video. I think it is brilliant. 

So what do you think? Pretty powerful concepts about how to engage the right people with the right message to get your ideas to spread.

I would like to get your thoughts. Go ahead and leave a comment to share your thoughts on getting your ideas to spread.

Building Your Unique Business Message

by Michael Bowers

Once every quarter I present a sales program for business owners as part of my day job with the Ohio SBDC. The process of discussing sales issues and theory with small business owners always gets me into a sales mode when writing blog posts. Recently in class we spent a lot of time discussing how to develop your pitch/message. Having a good message is critical for success in sales because it allows you to to clearly articulate your value proposition to your prospect. Without this you will tend to ramble often times missing the mark when it comes to sharing how you can help your prospect.

Let's test this out for your message. I would like for you to review your current "elevator pitch". What does it really say? Is it full of industry jargon? Does it reflect a customer oriented approach or does it reflect more of your opinion of the product or service's value? Finally, when you say your elevator pitch does it sound natural? More than likely it falls short in at least one of these areas. What you need is a message that allows you to share the value of your product or service in a natural, easy tone and speech pattern.

One tool I like to use when developing a message is the "Unique Message Creator". I got this from my friend Steve Kloyda. His site The Prospecting Expert is a must read for small business owners trying to grow their sales. It is full of posts, videos and podcasts designed to help business owners improve their sales.

Step one of developing your "Unique Message is to realize that we are all motivated by Pain and Pleasure. We all want to Reduce, Eliminate, Avoid, Remove and/or Diminish pain. We also want to Increase, Expand, Maximize, Strengthen and/or Build-up pleasure. What you need to do is think about your product or service and pick two or three ways your product or service will Reduce, Eliminate, Avoid , Remove and/or Diminish your prospect's pain. You should also pick two or three ways your product or service will Increase, Expand, Maximize, Strengthen and/or Build-up your prospect's pleasure.

Now complete the following statement using the ways your product or service impacts pain and pleasure. Fill in the blanks:

"We have created a product that will (way it will address pain) and (way it will create pleasure) by..."

You have just created one of your unique messages.

For Ideas To Deals I could say: "By reading Ideas To Deals a small business owner will "avoid" making common business mistakes allowing them to "maximize" their level of business success."

For the Ohio Growth Summit I could say: "Attending the Ohio Growth Summit will "reduce" your concerns about growing your business by exposing you to the best and brightest business minds allowing you to "expand" your business knowledge and "increase" your level of business success."

What you will want to do is use this tool to create multiple unique messages that you can use at networking meetings, on the phone, in emails, in social media, etc. These messages become your elevator pitch. Having strong messages, that you are comfortable with, will allow you to eliminate your sales reluctance and increase your success in prospecting for new business. (See what I did there?)

Try this out then leave me a comment to let me know how it goes. 

Marketing Is Not Sales

by Michael Bowers

 What are you doing to sell your product?  Are you working on your branding, advertising, using social media, networking?  Awesome!!!  But you haven't answered the question...What are you doing to SELL your product?

To many small business owners mistake marketing for sales.  Marketing is everything you do to promote your product/service on a regular basis.  Marketing is extremely important.  You must build your brand and image so customers recognize you and your product offering.  Social media activity helps build relationships over the internet and allows you to reach more people than ever before.  Networking and meeting people is the basis of building the connections necessary to build your business.  All that said, marketing is not sales.

Sales is the exchange of goods and services for payment (money). It takes effort to make sales beyond marketing. I'm not saying you need to go Glengarry  Glen Ross and be all "coffee is for closers" but you can't go Field of Dreams either and hope to "build it and they will come".  It is important that you make an effort to reach out to your prospective customers, determine their needs and provide solutions to their problems.  Put yourself in their shoes and seek ways to help solve their problems with your product.  Remember, it isn't about you, it is about them.  Don't be afraid to ask the prospective customer to buy.  If they say yes, great, but if they say no that should help bring out more information on their needs that you can address.  No doesn't always mean no, sometimes it means "I'm not ready yet. Tell me more so I can be comfortable with my buying decision".  In official sales talk this is called "dealing with objections" but in reality it is really just helping the customer better understand. 

Finally, know that as the owner of the business you are the number one sales person.   I've seen to many business owners that are so afraid of "sales" and being seen as "high pressure" that they won't ask for the business.  Usually they are not being high pressure rather it is their lack of confidence that keeps them from asking for the business.  If you want to have a successful business you need to be confident in your product and in yourself.  No one will be more passionate about what your business does than you.  Let that passion show through and good things will happen. 

Only through sales will your product or service get to those that need it.  Isn't that the point...to help people with your product?  Sure it is, so go out and make it happen.

10 Mistakes Your Small Business May Be Making

by Michael Bowers

Running a business is an is a full out assault.  You hit the ground running from the day you start your business and don't stop. Over time your company grows up and how the business needs to be managed and run changes. There are more people, more money, more expenses and more demands on your time. It's easy to get overwhelmed and overlook some critical elements of success. Here are 10 common mistakes you need to avoid as your company grows.  

Not Being Strategic: If you truly know your business and your market you can survive and thrive in any economic conditions.  I know that it is a pain but a strong SWOT analysis can give you insights into your company and market that you may never have thought of.  You may see opportunities that are more attractive than your current market and may dictate a change in direction.

Not Driving Out Non-Essential Costs: Yes, I will continue to push this because it is critical.  What is done in your company should contribute to the bottom line. Expenses that are not moving the company forward have to be adjusted or eliminated...this includes personnel.  I have seen to many companies not make the moves necessary, in a timely manner, that have that come back to bite them.  Steps to take to decide on what kind of a move to make:

• Activity-Based Costing: Look at every activity associated with your business and what expenses are associated with those activities.  Are the expenses appropriate given your activity levels? 
• Look at Overhead and assign it to the products: Another component of activity-based costing is assigning overhead to the the product costs and building your pricing accordingly. 
• Reassign staff to "high-value" activities: By realigning the work flow and staffing you may be able to maintain staff and increase productivity in critical areas.
• Reduce Staff: If after your analysis you have to reduce staff...do it now.  It may sound harsh but the company will be better positioned if staffed appropriately for the level of activity than to try to hold on to staff for to long.

Being Under-Capitalized: If you aren't ready for it growth can kill. There is a business award here in Columbus that each year recognizes the 50 fastest growing companies. For a span about five years in the early to mid-2000's there was at least one company that would be out of business the year after being in the top five for revenue growth. Why? They were not capitalized properly and their cashflow couldn't sustain their growth and they went out of business.

Growth Without Systems: This is similar to the previous point in that you need to prepare for growth. With growth you can't do it all, you need to delegate responsibilities. To delegate you need systems in place. You will need to develop processes in human resources, financial management, marketing, sales, etc. You need to make sure that everyone understands the culture and represents the values of the company in the proper way. 

Not focusing on the Sales Pipeline: When it comes to sales a robust sales pipeline is critical. Truly understanding when prospects will close and become paying customers will allow you to better plan and deploy resources. It takes the guess work out of the management process allowing you to better manage cashflow and work processes. I highly recommend you follow the Funnel Principle to get insights on managing your sales funnel. 

Not quickly addressing overdue receivables: Many businesses extend credit/payment terms to their customers. A general rule of thumb, however, is that having a dollar today is more valuable than having a dollar tomorrow (time value of money). If you are giving net 30 or 45 or whatever terms you need to:

• Do everything you can to get the customer to pay early
• Do not let them extend the term.

The longer that your customers have your money, not only is it messing with your cashflow, the less likely they will be to pay you. You must aggressively collect your receivables. You extended a service or provided a product and now you need to close the transaction by getting paid.

Not Recognizing the Value of People: Regardless of how automated your business is the human capital is your most valuable asset. Your people are your company. It is the responsibility of the business owner and management team to get them to perform at a high level. However, it is not uncommon for efficiency to overtake effectiveness when dealing with employees. Proper training, clear responsibilities and goals as well as a good feedback mechanism will help your team perform better. 

Weak On-Line Strategy: Your web presence is the customers window to what your company is all about. You must make this your primary sales and marketing tool. Proper integration of content, social media and technology will allow your website to be a sales generation machine. Having said that I am amazed by the number of crappy websites I see. A couple of years ago I wrote a Does Your Website Stink with some thoughts and steps you should consider to improve your web presence. 

Being Satisfied With Good When Great Works Better: Good is the #1 enemy of Great.  Knowing this will change the way you do business.  If you are constantly, proactively looking to go to the next level you will be more likely to see the trends that will impact your business and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves.  While it is important to mange the financial statements don't let them strangle your business. Innovate!!! Make better products and offer better service and your business will win. 

Lack of Focus: Lack of focus will kill your business. I see so many people running around chasing any dollar they can get and waisting valuable time and resources in the process. Know yourself and what you do.  Understand your business and target the best opportunities. Focus on what will make your business the MOST successful not just what will keep the lights on.

Best Blogs For Small Business

by Michael Bowers

The cool thing about the internet is that high quality business content from really smart people is only a click away. The trick is finding the good stuff.  Over the past year I have read more business blogs and posts than I could count. So in the spirit of sharing I have compiled a list of some of my favorites. I know can help you get your business running on all cylinders.

Spin Sucks ~ This is a great blog lead by my friend Gini Dietrich. It covers a lot of ground in the PR and communications space. It speaks to the small business owner as well as the PR professional. Gini and a number of guest authors help you understand how to attract customers using traditional as well as digital methods. 

Savvy Sexy Social ~ Amy Schmittauer brings clarity to building a successful business using   on-line media tools to reach your audience. Amy uses written content as well as podcasting and video to help you employ new tools that you might not have used because you didn't understood their value. or simply how to use them.

Entrepreneur ~ This seems obvious but with so many choices it is easy to miss this source. Entrepreneur brings news and "how-to" content focused on the strategy of building and growing a small business.

The Sales Blog ~ If you are looking for content to help jump start your sales The Sale Blog is the place to look. Anthony Iannarino helps you build sales and stay motivated motivated to reach your goals.

Copyblogger ~ Content is key to attracting quality leads. Let me rephrase that, well written content is key to attracting quality leads. That's where Copyblogger comes in. They help you understand how to write content that fits to your audience needs and wants and attracts leads.

American Express Open Forum ~ The American Express Open Forum brings together a number of small business owners/writers/bloggers to create content in all aspects of small business.

Mashable ~ Technology, social, business ,etc. Mashable allows you to step out of your cocoon and see what is happening in the bigger picture.

Time Management Ninja ~ Like many of you I struggle daily with balancing work and personal and trying to get it ALL done. The Time Mangagment Ninja provides very work able advice to help you gain some sense of control.

Tweak Your Business ~ A great resource for small business owners, Tweak Your Business provides content in many different areas of business. The content, written by a business owners, brings "been there, done that" experience to help your avoid mistakes and take advantage of opportunities to grow your business.

ChrisBrogan.com ~ I first met Chris Brogan when he did a keynote presentation for me at the Ohio Growth Summit in 2009. He has stood the test of time for me. He brings great content about on-line business acquisition and about how you can be brave enough step out on the limb and reach new levels of success. 

Remember that growing a business is a marathon not a sprint. There are times when you will feel great and times when you feel that you can't go on. The key is to prepare properly and trust in yourself so you will reach the finish line know as success.

 

 

Entrepreneurship Road To Readiness

by Michael Bowers

I recently spoke to some high school Juniors that are taking part in the Govenor's Road To Readiness program. The initiative is a pilot program that places Columbus City Schools students with Columbus employers. The goal of the program is to introduce the students to the requirements of professions and industries to help them prepare to join the workforce of the 21st century, and also to see that very real and tangible options come alive if they stay in school. Hopefully they took something away from the presentation. I know this, I did get a reaction when I told them the year I graduated from high school was the same year that the school got their first computer for students to work on. 

To develop my talking points to the students I drew upon my experiences in working with entrepreneurs. It really isn't that different. These students were venturing outside of their comfort zone to chart a new course for their future. If you are starting a business you are really doing the same thing. Here are six steps you should keep in mind on your Entrepreneurship Road To Readiness.

Have a mission and vision ~ This is a critical step. For the students they don't need to necessarily need to know what careers they will have but they do need to have a mission (why they are doing what they are doing) and a vision (what their future looks like). It is the same for entrepreneurs. Good mission and vision will motivate you to make the best decisions for the business because they are based on your convictions.  While day to day activities and quarterly revenue may vary, your mission and vision will be a constant. Mission and vision will be your compass leading your business in the right direction.

Build Your Personal Brand ~ Another speaker asked the students to tell us what was special about them and most looked at the table and stammered without giving an answer. They need to be able to articulate what is special about them, in other words they need to create a personal brand. It is the same for a new business. People will come to their own conclusions about what your brand and what your business is all about. It is, however, your responsibility to guide them and help them see what you see and how they can benefit from what you have to offer.

Learn, Don't let anyone hold you back ~ For many students learning is about what happens in their classes but the opportunities for learning are limitless. Always remember "Google is your friend". The internet has changed the entire landscape of learning. As an entrepreneur there are so many resources to help you launch and operate a business there is no reason you can't be prepared. This preparation is what will allow you to push past the doubters and make your vision a reality.

Skip the Real Housewives of...Get To work ~ I guess there is one reason you may not be prepared. You aren't working at it. There are a lot of people that can tell you all about the Real Housewives of (insert city here) but these people aren't starting a business. If you want to succeed you need to get at it and WORK. Running a business isn't easy and takes a sacrifice and a special commitment. It takes planning, preparation and execution. It takes work.

If you are not playing to win, you are playing to lose ~ So much of success is about mindset. As a business owner you can't play not to lose. A commitment to success forces you to take your game to another level. You will not reach success if you are not passionate, committed and playing to win. Playing not to lose will not work. Playing not to lose leads to mediocrity. Mediocrity leads to failure.

Start NOW ~ The students I was speaking to were heading from our session to meet their mentors and I told them that they need to start crafting their future "Right Now". Look the mentor right in the eye and let them know you were special and were going to be successful. Don't wait until you get home, start now. It is the same for you. If you are going to wait until the right time to start that right time may never come. This doesn't mean to quit your job today but you can be working on your next steps right now. Don't wait. Set out on the road to success now. Start now to crafting your new entrepreneurial future.