Blueprint for Business Success - preview film transcript

Short extracts from our complete program.

Extract from the introduction to The Business Owner’s Blueprint for Business Success:

Welcome to The London School for Small Business

This is the first step towards improving your understanding of your business.

Why is that important? Quite simply if you want to change your results, you need to know what to change and where to focus your efforts.

Our first task is to help you understand how the program is organised. We begin with the ultimate aim for any business – to build a commercial profitable business that works without you so that you can sell it as a valuable asset.

This then flows into the ideal business structure which is further divided into two areas: Working IN and Working ON.

And as we move on there are various elements contained within each of these. And there are exercises for each section.

As we work through the program we will follow a simple format:

• Introducing and explaining an area or a subject.


• Providing examples where appropriate.


• And then helping you apply best practise to your business.

For each exercise we will ask you to note down up to 5 actions you can take that will have maximum impact on your business.

At the end I will explain how to create your first 11-point priority action plan… (end of extract)

Extract from Module 7: Attributes of a successful business owner

We have identified the following attributes as being essential for success:

Having a vision for the business
If you don't know where you are going how will others? Remember it provides motivation for you and those around you.

Being a good communicator
Can you talk to people? Are you clear about what you want from them?
Do you trust people? If you don't then they won't trust themselves either.

Being Disciplined
People hate inconsistency in those that lead them. Are you a good role model for your business?

Having Business Knowledge
Work harder on yourself than you do on the job. You'll reap the benefits in business success.

Having a healthy work/life balance... (end of extract)

Extract from Module 10: What drives the profits in your business?

The Profit Accelerator
One thing all businesses have in common is that in order to survive and continue they must make profit.

We will look at the keys drivers in each of the areas that we need to focus on…

…Now lets see the power of improving each of the figures by 10 %,
a figure that should be achievable for most businesses.

As you can see because of the compounding effect of increasing each figure by 10% profit actually increases by 61%

Imagine the impact of increasing the numbers by 20% or even 50% - perfectly achievable in the real world.

So now it’s your turn to do the numbers for your business… (end of extract)

Extract from Exercise 10: Discovering what drives your profit.

…So what sort of thing could you do in your business to increase each of these profit drivers?

First look at margins. When did you last increase your prices, this is the simplest way to increase margin… (end of extract)

Extract from Module 12: Creating your Blueprint

The Priority Action Plan

So here we are with a lot of paper and a huge amount of information about YOU and YOUR business

Transfer all your actions onto the Priority action plan where indicated on the left of your page. You will now have a good idea what areas of your business need your attention.

Decide what you will focus on over the next 90 days

Then go through each exercise and set of actions and pick just one action per set - the one that will have the biggest impact on your business.

Transfer that action onto the plan, where indicated on the right.

In true planning style follow the S.M.A.R.T. rule - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timed, and state By Who and By When.

As you do each one, answer this question: what Impact will this have on my business when this is completed?

If you can’t answer that, re-visit the action point. Don't waste your time on doing anything that won't improve a situation.

Once you've completed all 11, you now have your 90-day, priority action plan.

CONGRATULATIONS
(end of extract)

Redundancy: A chance to start your own business….but should you take it?

After working for many years suddenly you are surplus to requirements and are asked to join the ranks of the unemployed. The bitter pill is sweetened by the substantial payoff that you receive.

So there you are. No job but with a nice sum of money in the bank. You could start to look for a new job before the money runs out or could this be your big chance to start your own business ?
Consider this before making a decision. The odds of any new business succeeding are 5 to 1 against and many millions of pounds worth of nest eggs are wasted.

Why should your business be the 1 in 5 that succeed,

particularly if you have not run your own business before?

Businesses fail for any number of reasons but the underlying cause often not identified by government statistics is that the owner is completely unsuited and untrained to be a business owner. The attributes and experience needed to have a successful career in the corporate world are not by any means the same as those needed to be a successful business owner.

It can be very easy to take for granted the level of support that you receive when working for a company, that just isn’t there when you own your own business.

Take sales for instance. As a sales employee you will often be fed highly qualified leads that you follow up and close using all the resources available to you from your employer. The company may have spent years and a great deal of money building its reputation and brand to help support your sales effort.

Now consider that as an owner of a new small business you will not have a recognized product, you will probably have a limited marketing budget and you will have to generate all the leads.

Are you ready to cold call?

Not everyone is suited to owning their own business particularly those who are very dependent on the support network of colleagues and associates. Did you spend a lot of time talking through the challenges involved in doing your job, picking up the phone to colleagues in other departments to get their opinions?

Who will you turn to when you are your own boss?

People dream of not working for someone else and to escaping the petty politics of corporate life. They dream about not having to answer to someone else, not having projects cancelled at the last moment and to not seeing someone else take the credit for all their hard work.

What you should realize is that you will probably turn into the toughest boss that you ever worked for and even if you don’t your customers and the market generally will be very unforgiving of poor performance.

So should you go into business for yourself ?

...Absolutely .
Growing your own business can be the most rewarding activity on many levels. Just think long and hard before taking the plunge. Most of all be honest with yourself, are you suited to running your own business or better suited to working or running businesses for others ?

The One Minute DIY Marketing Consultancy

In the current climate we all need to be able to save money, so start by saving thousands on your own advertisement critiques. Marketing consultancies would have to charge you hundreds of pounds to assess your marketing, try this DIY test for yourself and improve your marketing at the same time.

Most businesses use adverts to gain new customers, communicate promotions or launch new products and services, both on and off line

Over the years we have seen hundreds of small businesses spend literally thousands on advertising that doesn't work. There can be many factors that affect results

• Location and placement of adverts
• Frequency of adverts
• Chosen target market
• Alignment between the advertising medium used and the product or service sold
• and of course the content of your advert , what you actually say to attract your chosen target market to buy your product and services.

Obviously we are not all marketing experts but here is a quick and reliable aide memoir to help you. Use this framework to quickly assess your adverts and stop you making some of the basic mistakes

Lets look at the the FOUR biggest mistakes and the A.I.D.A method

Four biggest mistakes
1. Using your company name as a headline
Your company name is the least interesting part of your advert. It is about you and not your prospect. It doesn't convey any messages a prospect will be interested in. Unless you have a recognisable brand such as Coco Cola or Nike your company name will not infer quality of goods, price, benefits or desirability. Your advert must work hard to communicate with your prospect and to grab their attention. Do not waste valuable space on a big company logo and name,however do make sure your contact details are easy to read and simple to use.

2. Not using the YOU or some connotation of it in the headline
Remember it's about your prospect so talk to them, make them feel when they read the advert you are talking to them. Having a very clear target market helps , recognising specific issues your target market is trying to resolve such as If you worry about security for your house or If you live alone and worry about security.
Immediately if that's one of my issues I recognise you are talking to me and Im more likely to keep on reading.

3. Not opening a loop
The headline must force your prospect to read the rest of the advert such as Do you live alone, are you worried about security?, Five things you need to know before you sign up for your next mortgage. It requires the reader to read the advert to find out the answer, it opens a loop by creating interest.

4. Not having a clear call to action
What do you want people to do once they have read your advert. So many adverts stop there and so do their readers, be specific tell your prospects what they should
do next and why, such as
'Call today and claim your free home security assessment. It takes just 5 minutes and you can instantly improve your home security with simple low cost solutions'.

A.I.D.A

• Attention: Does the advert (namely headline) grab your prospects attention. It must stand out amongst all your competition. Try looking through a magazine, directory or look out for billboards. Look on google for your type of products and services and see what headlines are being used for searches. Ask questions, make statements, add an unusual twist and make sure it is easy to read and stands out.

• Interest: Does the advert generate the prospects interest. It must be relevant to the prospect and answer a need they have. It must recognise the prospects issues and help the prospect recognise themselves in what is being said, this ensures that they will become interested in what you have to say.

• Desire: Does the advert create desire in your prospect ? Desire is emotional and often is not logical in terms of the need we originally had. Use emotional words within your advert. Very few of us respond to just logic, even if we are not aware of it. Take car advertising, yes there are technical details and lots of technical information but the advertising often focuses on lifestyle choices, colours, what it feels like to drive the car, how you will look to others, quality and aspirational aspects. Many of these are intangible but they makes us desire a specific car not just need any car.

• Action: Does the advert prompt the reader to take action. As my previous point be clear about what you want your prospect to do. Many adverts. waste the A.I.D part because they just let prospects go with no clear call to action 'Do This Today '

• For every point you can answer YES allocate one point

• This gives you a rating out of 8 as to whether the advert follows the basic rules of writing advert.

What Are Your Customers Saying About Your Service?

Customers are often scared of making the final decision to buy something.
 
Are they doing the right thing or should they do more research? 

Will they find a better deal somewhere else?

One of the ways you as the business owner can give them more confidence to actually buy from you is to show them what previous buyers think of your product or service. A testimonial from a happy customer will act as a huge reassurance to them.

'People buy from people'

It would seem then that all businesses could be using customer testimonials in all of their marketing material but in truth many do not.

From our experience of working with business owners the simple reason so many don’t use testimonials is because they do not have any to use.

Customers do not tend to just volunteer positive comments; they have to be asked for them. For many businesses this seems to be a sticking point.

So how can a business collect testimonials, how can you ask your customers what they think and feel about your service?

• The most straightforward way is to ask customers to complete a satisfaction survey giving them space to add comments that you can then reproduce in your marketing.


• Invite them to leave comments on your website, social media sites, blogs etc


• Telephone a selected sample of your customers and ask for their comments


• Give customers a feed back form when they buy from you or when the programme of service ends.

Asking for feedback sends out two very crucial messages from your business

• My business is good at what it does I'm not afraid to ask you 'did we get it right?'


• As a customer expecting good service, you will want to tell me if your expectations were met and I will give you every opportunity to do that

Both aspects speak volumes to your customers and provide peace of mind to a prospective buyer.

Some of our clients are reluctant to ask customers whether they were pleased with their service or not just in case the answer is negative.

'Customers would rather just walk away than complain'

Surely it is even more important to know if your customer was not happy, you can then take action to improve, so that future customers will be able to say good things about your business. If customers do have a bad experience they will tell others anyway and nowadays many customers are able to complain using social media. 

There is also a reluctance to bother customers asking them for comments. In our experience satisfied customers are only too happy to be given the opportunity to express their thanks.

Once you have collected your testimonials which can be in any format, on-line, written, video recorded use them in all your marketing material.

The most effective testimonials are specific, saying in detail what was good about the experience and how it made customers feel.

All testimonials are much more credible if you include the customers full name with the testimonial. Nowadays with on-line testimonials it provides a superb way of customers meeting customers. I am able to see actual people talking about how much they loved your product or service. It is a great way to provide peace of mind and that extra confidence needed to make a final buying decsion.

Please don't make me plan!

I used to run business-planning seminars in London and was amazed at the number of business owners who virtually had a phobia about planning. They hated the idea of committing to a plan and even worse the though of following a plan.

As planning is a crucial element to achieving business success I am interested in why owners loathe planning!

Talking to dozen of business owners over the years, who share the planning phobia I have come to the conclusion that the phobia stems from a fear of failure.

Interestingly not having a plan will make failure much more likely but the owner is more afraid of the short-term failure of not sticking to a plan.

The logic of this, unconscious of course, seems to go like this... 'If I have a plan, that I write down and share with others in the business, and I do not stick to the plan, or the results are not what I planned, I will look bad. So, by not having a plan in the first place no one can hold owners accountable especially themselves. This kind of thinking is not constructive and lying to oneself is the most destructive kind of deception.

Another fear of failure is what if the plan turns out to be a bad one? Again the less confident owner is concerned about how they will look in the eyes of others. Successful business owners know that planning is essential to achieving their long-term vision. They also know that plans are always subject to change as things develop and time passes. The skill is not in producing the 'perfect business plan' but in producing a plan that is challenging, whilst also being realistic, achievable and adaptable to circumstances and results.

Fear And Loathing In The Sales Arena

A phobia that prevents so many business owners from being successful, even though they have top quality products and services, is fear and loathing of selling.

I think that it is even worse, when culturally it is deemed 'shameful' to sell one’s self or one’s products and services too overtly. Certainly we Brits seem to have a complete aversion to selling and being sold to.

Those who have sales phobias believe that if the product is right, they will somehow just know where to find it and will not need to ask anything more about it.

The phobic owner is convinced that their product or service should be self evidently what the prospective client is looking for and that any attempt to bring it to someone's attention is somehow in bad taste or will reflect badly on the products, or worse still the salesperson.

At all costs we must never appear pushy.

During my seminars, I ask attendees to think of words that come to mind when I say ‘Sales person’ or ‘Selling’.

Without a moments hesitation I am bombarded with a vast range of negative accusations: dishonest, lying, pushy, slippery, uncomfortable, etc. etc. By contrast successful owners realise the need to personally promote their business and are prepared to overcome any initial reluctance. They volunteer to speak at conferences, seminars and business groups. They also understand the concept of helping a client to buy and actually enjoy contact with buyers.

They understand that 'good selling' goes hand in hand with being open, honest and informative to prospective clients.

Your Business Reflects You !

Over the years working with dozens of different businesses, I am struck by how a business reflects the attitudes and behaviours of the owner. I am also struck by how few owners realise this simple fact.

I have heard it said by owners so many times, "you can’t get good people to work any more". I immediately look at the owner to see why they might have trouble getting good people to work for them.

What I find when I ask about their beliefs reveals that they do not trust anyone and do not expect people to want to do a good days work. The owner sees it as a battle of wits to stay one step ahead of their staff.

Is it any wonder that a business owned by someone with this attitude becomes a place of cynicism and mistrust.

Without invoking the old adage of paying peanuts and getting monkeys, I have met owners who place a completely disproportionate importance on the cost of salaries and yet they will happily pay too much for services such as, electricity, computer supplies etc. but begrudge their staff every penny of their salaries and delay paying bonuses until the last possible moment.

If the owner does not respect the contribution made by staff why should the staff bother to make an effort?

Successful owners pay to get the best people they can and then train them well. This means their staff can deliver top class service to customers and owners can happily delegate whenever possible.

Welcome to LSSB World

Welcome, we are delighted to launch The London School For Small Business on-line programmes and open our doors to our unique learning centre based in Southern France.

Over the coming weeks we will share with you our plans for the future and our vision for business owners worldwide, plus some history about who we are and how we got to this place.

We will also be providing valuable tips, hints and infomation to help you personally and professionally be the best at what you do and how you feel.

Please join us and share your experiences and feedback .

We want to hear from you, we have travelled the world talking to business owners worldwide and what you have to say directly impacts what we provide and how we structure all our education programmes. It is one of our core principles: put customer needs first and let those needs develop your business. Sounds obvious, maybe? We meet very few businesses where customer needs are really considered at all.

To get us started, please answer these 2 questions

• Share with us the words that come to mind when you think of your business and your life as a small business owner ?

• Which area of your business is most neglected ?
  

Enjoy your learning journey and stay in touch

Lisa Temperley