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TIPS ON STARTING UP IN BUSINESS (1) Don't name a business after yourself - name it after what you do. (2) On Image (a) Change your letterheads. If you haven't changed your letterheads in the last 4 years you are out of date. (b) Always state what exactly you do on the back of your business cards. The number of people that I meet who have nothing on the back of their business cards is unbelievable. (c) I know a person who gets 18.5 per cent more sales if he wears a blue suit instead of a brown suit and 1.5 per cent more if he has red in his tie. (d) But don't look too flashy. Drive the same sort of car that your customers drive. Leave the BMW at home. (3) Problem solving (a) Spend 10 minutes every day in stillness, silence and solitude to focus your creativity. (b) Power of 10 brainstorming - write the problem in a circle and then draw 10 spokes out from the hub. Find a solution for each spoke. Not nine, not 11 - 10. It works best with 10. (4) On Getting Good (a) Specialise and charge top whack (but justify it). (b) Upgrade your business. See who is making the most money and copy it. People think you have to start at the bottom - you don't. (c) Ignore recessions. If you think there's a recession on then you put less effort into selling and it's a self-fulfilling prophesy. (5) On Goals (a) Pin up a "treasure map". Cut out pictures of your goals from magazines to arrive at a collage of your dreams and objectives. (b) Set short, mid and long-term goals. If you do not know where you are going you are never going to get there. (c) Set specific goals. When you know exactly what you want - specific numbers - then your brain goes into the "how" mode. (d) Change your approach - It takes 21 days for a human being to develop new habits. (6) On Customers (a) Phone your customers early - at 8.30am before they go into meetings. (b) Ask your customer: "What can we do better for you next time?" If you ask 100 customers you will get 100 different answers. (c) Cosset your customer: eye contact, cheery hello, greet them by name, mirror their body language. (d) If you think you know what your customer wants you are in trouble. Ask them what they want. (7) On Sales (a) Get on a sales course. It's very important. If you combine it with a negotiating course then you are two up. (b) Turnover is vanity, profit is sanity and cash is reality. (c) Prices - keep them in the upper quartile but keep them low on known value items. (8) On Working (a) Split your programme into maintenance (mowing the lawn) and progression (paving over the lawn so you never have to mow it again.) Make time for progression jobs every day. (b) Put next years wall planner up as early as possible. (9) On Money (a) Pay yourself first. Take 10 per cent of your money as you earn it and lock it away. (b) Don't get someone else to do the books - it's a mistake. Keep control of your money. (c) Use pie charts to see where your money goes. (10) On Building a Business (a) Entrepreneurs don't do work. They build businesses. They don't work in a business, they work on a business. (b) Build a business that works when you don't. Produce an operators' manual. It will help you train staff and replicate the successful formula in other towns. (11) Look after Yourself Book your holidays before you do anything else. You want four holidays a year? Book the tickets. If you book them, you will find the money and the time.
These are notes that I took whilst attending a seminar given by Tom Edge who is a leading speaker in the subject. At the end of the seminar I purchased a number of tapes which give even more tips to improve your business. If you would like one of these tapes please speak to me (Steve Drake). |
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