Are You Giving or Taking?

Most people hate to be sold something. Consumers like to buy and they would rather buy from those willing to help rather then sell them. That is why so many people dread buying a car. They hate dealing with those creatures, which were formed from some sort of slimy ooze caused by decaying matter. You know, a car salesperson. They look nice, but soon they will try to trap you into buying a car you don’t want and can’t afford.

Motivation is critical in determining a marketing plan. Are you just interested in a sale, or do you actually care about your customer. If your eye is on the money you will make, I classify you as a Taker. Your goal is to separate your customer from the money it takes to purchase your product or services. Your focus is predominately on the $.

A Giver is much more interested in fulfilling the customer’s needs. Givers understand that a customer-focused relationship will benefit them more in the long run. I always offer a no-charge consultation to any potential client. Sometimes I recommend that they not hire me at that time. They have other pressing needs and decisions to make before considering paying for my services. Some need legal counsel. Others need financing. These are areas that I am not qualified to provide good advise, so I try to refer them to other professionals. Many return to me later as clients because I showed them that I am interested in their success. I have earned their trust and respect.

Become a Giver and your customers will love you for it!

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

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What’s Your Motivation?

I think everyone has received a sales call where they are trying to sound all buddy, buddy and you know they simply want your money. They don’t know much about you or your company, but they are telling that they can solve your problem. Are you offended by their interruption? I am, because I know they don’t care about me. Their motivation is strictly selfish.

Desperate or uneducated salespeople are like hungry lions. They view you, the customer, the same way a lion sees an antelope. They will chase you until you are exhausted and give up, or until you out run them by sending your calls to voicemail, the greatest diversionary invention known to man.

You are not motivated to give them your time, because they have not indicated they care about you. They have not done their research. They have no idea what you need. They just know they need to sell X number of widgets. They don’t care if you need them. They need to make a sale.

While working as a project manager, I had suppliers who took us to lunch, to pro sporting events and some even paid for vacations. Ah the good old days. Though I enjoyed the perks, I bought from companies who had reasonable pricing and good service. I always tried to give my business to suppliers who helped me solve problems. Why, because they cared about me. They wanted to see me become successful. Those companies did not get all of my business. At times their price was too high for that project or they did not have the right equipment, but they got the lion share of my business.

I have tried to stop doing business with companies who don’t care about me. Too often their low price and quality have cost me money, time and embarrassment. If you want loyal customers, learn how to become their hero. Don’t sell them. Instead meet their needs and supply them with the best customer service they have ever known. They will love you for it!

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

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Getting Past The Gatekeepers

The company that you want to work for or acquire as a customer probably has a serious of Gatekeepers to filter interaction with key decision makers. Now a day, it is common for a Human Resources department to receive up to 300 resumes per day. Your competition is also trying to woo the attention of that great customer. So how can you become a candidate for their time? An old cowboy once told me, “If you don’t want to be treated like a cow, get on a horse.” You need to be distinctive or you will be lost in the shuffle.

I had a college professor who had a problem when he took a certain class. He turned in papers and received a low grade. He knew that a Grad Student was probably reading and grading the papers, so he needed to get his paper noticed by the professor. He knew that his instructor was born in and was raised France. So he decided to enlist the services of another student who translated his next paper into French. He was hoping that the Grad Student could not read French, so it would need to be read by the class professor. His strategy worked! He received a much higher grade because he learned how to bypass the Gatekeeper.

A valuable customer or job is worth a little extra research and effort. We are fortunate to have the power of cyberspace to gather much needed data for forming a plan.

A certain salesperson, I will call Tom, was out of work and funds were drying up fast. He had sent out hundreds of resumes with little response. So he decided to circumvent the system. Apparently many HR departments are using software programs, which search resumes for certain key words and phrases and delete those not fitting the parameters. That still left a high number of competitors for a single job opening.

Tom needed to thin the crowd if he wanted to get back to work. So he enlisted a friend and produced a three-minuet video, which included a power point presentation. They need to hire a salesman, so he presented himself as a product to the company. All the other applicants were represented by non-visual data on a resume. Tom became life and found a job.

So what are you doing to become distinctive and unique?

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

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Beware of the Scammers!

Most businesspeople try to be honest about their products and services, but there are some who plan to deceive. They have always been with us, but are getting better at their trickery.

With over 10,000 people out of work, the scammers are refining their tactics. Some companies are becoming quite crafty utilizing magazines, which only promotes their company or product. It looks like a magazine you would find at Borders or your local 7-11. But this is actually a propaganda piece. Most of the articles are about one company or group of products. There is little other advertising. That should raise a red flag. Magazines make their money by selling advertising. But you are unaware that this piece is a marketing tool. It does not need additional ad space because the featured company paid to have it printed. I call that deceptive and dishonest. If you find such a piece, disregard the information inside.

If a free website is provided, make sure it is fully Search Engine Optimized (SEO). To check, type in your company name into a Google Search. If you do not come up, it is not SEO compatible, which means it will be difficult for your customers to find you in the Internet. This site is designed to promote the main company, not your company.

Our politicians have coined the term “spin”, which is just a new way of presenting deceit. They are not interested in the truth, they are interested is looking good. Both politicians and marketers, who utilize these forms of deception, should be exposed and shunned. Watch your back if you choose to do business with these scoundrels. They have already proven to be deceptive. So, don’t be surprised when things don’t quite workout as they were explained to you.

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

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Are You Willing To Become A Hero?

How do you become a hero? In combat heroes are made because of someone’s courage to face peril, in order to protect others.

In business, things are slightly different. Courage and determination are required, but few will risk their physical lives, though they may become victimized for standing against corruption. Heroes in business are creative innovators, who are not willing to settle for the status quo. They want more. More profits for the company. Better morale among employees. Heroes are constantly looking for ways to improve and become distinctive.

Branding is a current buzz term, which encourages business to become identifiable via logo or style. Heroes simply are different, because they are willing to go beyond the typical. Industries are formed because someone is willing to do what others avoid. Heroes believe in serving others rather then destroying people just to get ahead. Heroes are promoted by their piers and customers, because they work hard and meeting promised deadlines, even when it requires putting in long hours. You may be disappointed when they say NO to your deadline, because they know they will not be able to meet it; but you will love them for being honest and proposing a new delivery date, which they will meet.

Heroes do not leave customers wondering what happened. If they are delayed by problems with a supplier, they will notify you of the potential problem. Heroes are honest, and their customers, employers and employees honor them for it.

Our world needs more heroes. Are you willing to pay the price to earn the title of Hero?

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

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Undercover Boss

It is exciting to see a TV program, which aligns with your business strategy. Undercover Boss does just that for me. I have seen numerous business executives who have fallen out of touch with what is happening in their companies. Managers report good financial numbers, so upper management believes everything is fine.

Undercover Boss reveals what is happening within the rank and file of the company, as the CEO of the company works undercover. They are introduced as a new employee and discover the good, bad and the ugly of how management is viewed by the employees and customers.

I applaud these CEOs for courageously investigating their own companies. I realize that it is not practical for all executives to do this, but the information, which is revealed can be transforming for the company. Some companies are using third party polling to achieve similar results. The honest input from the employees is vital to correcting the course of your company.

Your employees will not be honest if they believe there is any chance their identity will be discovered. They are simply afraid of loosing their jobs and not being able to provide for their families. So they endure job conditions that would cause them to move on if the job market were better. But their silence does not make your company strong and profitable. It actually prepares your company for disaster. Numerous studies were conducted in the last quarter of 2009, which asked current working employees if they were thinking of changing jobs when the economy improves. The results were frightening. They indicated that 50% – 70% of those polled were planning to change jobs, because they felt overworked and under appreciated. These are not your marginal workers. They have already been eliminated. These are some of your best workers. So you need to ask, what would it cost to have Key People leave without notice?

As a manager you have time to avert this potential threat to your company. So think of getting some assistance before you too are without a company to work for.

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

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A Business Who Grows Too Fast

I can’t afford to do business with you.

To some, this may seem like an absurd statement. You are probably thinking, “of course I want more business. That will mean more profit.” Some sales trainers will boast of helping companies increase 200% – 500%. I once asked one of these trainers if they have kept track of the business that failed because of their increased sales. He had no comment. Let’s take a closer look at what typically happens when company grows too quickly.

Every business has a limited capacity of customers they can effectively handle. If the company exceeds that number, they will start to disappoint their customers. A scorned customer is likely to tell everyone they can reach of their disappointment. They will tell friends, coworkers and even post their complaints in the Internet, for everyone to read. You will soon see your customers leaving, because you oversold your capacity. This is a common problem when your sales manager has more influence then your production and quality control managers. But you don’t need to be a large company to experience this problem. Micro business with only one person can easily become distracted by the excitement of the sale.

Many companies hire new employees to try to fill the demand for their products or services. But if you do that without the proper training, your errors will increase, productivity will fall and morale usually plummets.

By the end of the second year, the company is in deep trouble. The sales department needs to spend many more hours to obtain the required sales, but the limited results can’t continue to support the cost of the operation. If things do not turn around soon, they are headed for bankruptcy court.

When companies decide to service the giants like General Mills, Nike, Intel, Microsoft and many other large companies they are shocked by the heavy demands and slow payment. It is common for these giants to stretch payments from the expected 30 days up to 120 or 180 days. If you do not have the capacity to carry the additional costs of financing the debt, you too could end up out of business. As a vender, you are considered expendable. There are many other companies lined up to replace you, as you beg for payment.

Huge companies also pay much smaller margins then smaller companies. You may need to survive on a 3% profit margin while dealing with the slow payment and 500% increases in operating costs.

Slower steady growth is much more manageable and profitable in the long run. You are able to make corrections quicker and prevent the nightmares mentioned above. You can hire and train employees at a reasonable rate, rather then hiring someone during a time of crisis.

Your banker will also appreciate a more manageable growth plan. At some point a more experienced manager then the twenty something clerk that took your application must approve your business loan. Banks are very concerned about losses these days. Few are willing to take a risk on a company growing at the rate of a fighter jet. They have warehouses full of bad loans, which were made to reckless business people in the past.

By slowing your growth, it will not be your dead dry bones hanging on the wall of some purchasing agent, displayed as a trophy of his conquest. Let them laugh at someone else!

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

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Are You Feeling Alone?

It’s been said that, “It’s Lonely At The Top” and it definitely can be when you are trying to run a business without trustworthy friends and associates to help balance your thinking. Everyone needs wise counsel and advise to become successful.

It will take hard work, wisdom and a little luck to create a business, which can replace you income and more. You may feel forced into this new venture because of loosing your job. Has this current recession offered few opportunities for you, even with your proven middle management experience? Have you reached a perceived age of costing an employer too much in salary and benefits? You know you have a proven track record of managing a team, but can you do it all by yourself?

Some see an opportunity to fulfill a life’s dream of owning your own business. You have made money for someone else and now it’s time to set out on your own. If you are in this group and still have a steady livable income, you have the advantage of being able to plan without the stressful scratching of the wolf at your door. You can do the required research to make sure there is a viable market for your goods and services. Some will enlist the help of family and friends, while other will choose a nonbiased individual or company to assist in the evaluation of your venture. Whatever course you choose, do not do it alone! Each year seasoned hikers are separated from their friends and become lost in deserts and mountainous. Most will only be saved by the actions of an experienced rescue team. Businesspeople are much the same. You will miss opportunities, which can make or break your success if you try to go it alone. So talk to your friends, read trade journals and, or enlist the help of a professional, but do it together.

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

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Three Critical Ingredients To Build A Successful Business

Just like preparing a wonderful food item, your business must have certain ingredents to become successful.

  • A Clear Definition Of What You Offer.

Are you selling a product like tires or vitamins or is it something else?

A tire store has a wide variety of products because they are filling various customer needs. Some are looking to put an inexpensive set of tire on a car they are selling. Other customers are interested in durability, performance or even a fashion statement. It is easy to miss a sale without knowing your customer’s motivation.

The Dietary Supplement market is flooded with products, which claim to cause you to live a longer healthy life. So what is the motivation behind the message? It is a fear of disease, sickness and death. It is difficult to sell nutritional products to people who are not concerned about their health, but I frequently see people trying to convince over weight people with a pastry hanging out of their mouth to change. And upon rejection these skinny people shake their heads in discuss. Stop trying to sell to unmotivated people! It’s too difficult. Find a niche of customers who want to buy now.

  • An Understanding Of You Customer’s Habits, Interests, Fears And Needs.

You will only discover this information by research. What publications do they tend to read? Do they play golf or frequently rent comedies at the video store?

Here in Oregon, we sometimes see Salmon swimming up a paved street during a flood, but that is not the best place to fish. I also see Information Technology salespeople attending a local Chamber of Commerce meeting, which are filled with businesses, without employees. They are wasting their time on people who do not have a need for their services. At least you might get some free press if you were trying to catch a salmon on a paved road.

Learning your customer’s habits will allow them to relate to you, because people want to buy from someone they can relate to and trust.

  • Properly Pricing Your Products And Services.

A common mistake made by new business owners is charging too little for your services. Anyone can lower the price to get a sale, but can you make a profit? Too often companies, who compete on price alone, are competing to see who can go out of business first. There needs to be a genuine purpose to work hard and loose money. The promise of future business is not enough to give away your services. Large companies have been using this trick for years. If your customer is interested in doing business with you in the future, they will be willing to make sure you make a profit. Otherwise, you may be out of business when they need you.

On the other hand you cannot charge a high price for something unless it has unique value. Only a fool would pay $100,000 for an old pair of shoes, that is unless, they were worn by Dorothy in The Wizard Of Oz. The uniqueness makes them valuable.

If you are going to charge a premium price, you need to be prepared for fewer sales and longer lead times between those sales. This will require substantial cash reserves. It will also require adequate proof of your value.

I met a cabinetmaker that only worked in a very wealthy portion of Southern California. He typically charged four to five times more for his cabinetwork then other tradesmen, but he was perceived as the best. There was always a brass plate installed somewhere on his work, which included his personal signature. It was like a stamp of authenticity. His customers were paying for the status of having his cabinets in their home. You typically needed to wait six months to two years for his services. One customer sent him overseas to hand select unique wood for their cabinets. That is branding!

Ken Bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

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Finding Your Niche

Zeroing in on your most profitable customers will save you time and reduce headaches .In today’s market too many companies seem to be the same. If your customer cannot distinguish your differences they have no reason to single you out.

Retail business will focus on convenient locations to bring in customers. The same company may have 3-5 stores with in a five-mile radius. A service company may only have one location servicing hundreds of customers, over 40 miles.

Since we all have competitors, what causes you to stand out? If you are relying on low pricing, you need to make it up in volume, or you will win the race for going out of business first.

Do you rely on superior quality, charging a premium price to fewer customers? That strategy can even work in a down economy, if you have built an outstanding reputation and have few competitors. But even the wealthy may stop buying to avoid flaunting during a tight economy. When I had my Electrical service company, many of my customers were multi-millionaires. Price was not an issue. They were paying for my dependability, quality of work and courtesy. But during a recession, some of my customers stopped remodeling. I even had a customer that required the materials delivered at night and my truck was parked down the street. Old money has rules of propriety, which are strictly followed.

If you cannot describe your customer in detail, you need to refine your research. Because if you know who will purchase your goods and services at premium rates you will not need to deal with customers who take up so much of your time and produce little profit.

Many times the huge customer is too demanding and pays too slow for most of us. If you decide to deal with these giants, you will need to raise your prices to cover all of the headaches. Many businesses have found that a small customer is actually more profitable.

So, keep reviewing your marketing plan until your find your niche

Ken bear Cole

A Second Look Business Consulting LLC

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