Successful Blog

Are You Growing Your Business for Better Things?

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Business person hand, keyboard

Being a business owner means a lot of different things to different people.

With that in mind, you may get to a point where you decide you have had enough of the business world. You may well want to go in a different direction.

So, what are you growing your business for?

Preparing to Sell One Day is Important

Even though your goal as an owner is to make your brand the best it can be, there will likely come a time where you will sell.

In looking at selling one day, you want to be sure your business is in position to proceed with a quick and easy sale.

For you to sell your business one day, look at the following to make sure you can check these items off your list:

  1. What your business is worth – Above all else, make sure you know what your business is worth. That is before considering pulling the trigger on selling. The last thing you want to do is get taken for a ride. Given you have worked hard to grow your business over time; don’t let someone else enjoy the profits. If you sell and do not get the real value of your business, you have wasted some time and dollars.
  2. What your industry is doing – It is also important that you know what your industry is up to. This means is it doing quite well or struggling right now. Go online and do some research to get the pulse of your industry. That research will include seeing if many companies in your line of work are up for sale. You also want to see how many are being acquired. If you are in the software industry, you can go online and see how many software company acquisitions have taken place in recent times. This will give you a better gauge to how your industry is doing. A lot of sales can mean people are looking to buy what you have to offer. Too few sales may lead you to hold off selling until a little further down the road. Either way, be on top of what your industry is doing.
  3. What it means to employees – Unless you work on your own, you have people under you. As a result, selling your business at some point can have a profound impact on these individuals. As such, you want to consider what may happen to them. One buying your brand may decide to incorporate some or all your employees into the new business. When this happens, you will probably feel better about things. If the prospective buyer will not do so, it may give you pause to sell right now. While you have to do what is in your best interests, caring about the people who’ve given you so much of their time is key too.

If growing a business for better things down the road sounds like you, do your best to position for success.

Remember, you got into business in the first place to make a profit and be your own boss.

With that in mind, keep growing until it is time for something different.

About the Author: Dave Thomas writes on business topics online.

What is Your Customer Buying?

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By Lisa D. Jenkins

Every brand or business is selling something.

When we create social media profiles, curate content and provide customer service, we do it hoping current and prospective customers will buy from us or tell their friends about us.

What are you selling?

Answering is marginally (but not entirely) easier for those of us who sell concrete products. At the most basic level, Nordstrom sells things to wear. Whole Foods sells things to eat. FAO Schwarz sells things to play with.

For those of us who sell intangibles, it’s harder to define because what we sell is less about the product or service and more about the experience.

The question then becomes not “What are you selling?” but “What is your customer buying?” Once you understand things from your customer’s side of the table, it’s easier to market to them.

What might that look like?

The local mechanic sells oil changes. The customer isn’t buying an oil change, they’re buying the peace of mind that comes with knowing their transportation will continue to get them where they need to be. Market the peace of mind.

Consultants sell their reputation. The customer isn’t buying reputation, they’re buying knowledge they don’t possess so they can be more successful. Market the knowledge.

Banks and credit unions sell mobile check deposit. The customer isn’t buying mobile check deposit, they’re buying the time they would’ve spent waiting in line and using it for business meetings or kindergarten graduations. Market the time.

Visitor bureaus sell destinations. The customer isn’t buying a destination, they’re buying memories that will bind them to others for the rest of their lives. Market the memories.

What you’re selling isn’t necessarily what your customer is buying, but the two aren’t and shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.

It’s time to sit on the other side of the table. Consider things from your customer’s perspective.

What is your customer really buying?

Author’s Bio: Lisa D. Jenkins is a Public Relations professional specializing in Social and Digital Communications for businesses. She has over a decade of experience and work most often with destination organizations or businesses in the travel and tourism industry in the Pacific Northwest. Connect with her on Google+

5 Resources To Help You Pitch Like a Pro

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On the AMC series The Pitch (watched by advertising nerds like me), the pitching team strides into the conference room with a steely confidence that’s equal parts John Wayne and Kanye West. They are super prepared, they’ve done their research, and they have shiny boards prepared by the design team.

Most of the time, you will not have any of these items when you get the chance to pitch. When you’re starting your own business, you need to take advantage of inexpensive tools that will help you “spread your ideas,” in the words of Nancy Duarte.

Pitch with Purpose and Structure

#1 Nancy Duarte’s TEDxEast talk about structure

This little 16 minute video will change the way you think, every time you talk. Although on the surface, it seems to be about making speeches, it’s really about storytelling. A pitch is a story.

#2 Duct Tape Selling by John Jantsch

You can’t tell a story without another person listening. There’s no pitch without a “pitchee.” And John Jantsch is someone who truly understands that successful marketing and sales is all about relationships. Read this excellent book, and arm yourself with the power of becoming a perceptive listener. Sounds counterintuitive, but it’s not. A crucial aspect of the successful pitch is the ability to listen first.

Pitch from Anywhere

#3 Join.me

Join.me has a free and premium service that allows you to easily share your screen (with audio) with anyone, anywhere. Share your personal URL or a special code, and the other person simply has to click the link. Audio can be done via Internet or via a call-in number (and they do have International numbers available). It’s well worth paying for the premium service, as you can then record sessions, make notes directly on the screen, and change presenters on the fly.

#4 Pinstriped

Have you ever been in the middle of a pitch or presentation when your IM pops up with a random message from your colleague? Or you need to browse past your Grumpy Cat photo collection to get to that image you need to pull in, in front of your prospect? Pinstripe is the elegant little solution to this problem. After you install it, you can present a clean, controlled desktop behind your deck or screenshare. You can even put up a logo/branded image instead of the clutter you usually have on your desktop. Pinstriped is in free beta right now.

Know Who You’re Pitching To

#5 Nimble

I’ve spent a lot of time researching CRM platforms, and Nimble has consistently impressed me. Its “secret sauce” is the 360 degree view of each contact’s social streams, pulled into one interface. If you’re about to meet with someone, you can easily pull up their profile and see what they’ve published recently. If you integrate your email account, you can also have a consolidated viewpoint of all past communications with that person. There is a free personal option, as well as premium business accounts, well worth the investment.

Pitching is an art form that requires practice and discipline. Surround yourself with tools and resources that will help you become a pro and close the deal.

What’s your favorite resource for pitching clients?

Author’s Bio: Rosemary O’Neill is an insightful spirit who works for social strata — a top ten company to work for on the Internet . Check out the Social Strata blog. You can find Rosemary on Google+ and on Twitter as @rhogroupee

Tips to Successfully Selling a Business

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asale

It can be a challenge to own multiple businesses, but it can also be profitable and rewarding.

However, there may come a time to sell off one business so you can focus on the others. But choosing one to sell and completing the transaction can be difficult.

Here are some tips to help you make a successful sale:

Recognizing the Challenges

A person who owns multiple businesses is called a serial entrepreneur.

They have unique challenges that other business owners may not face. It is important that they recognize those challenges to make each business successful.

Business owners must learn how to manage their time and delegate tasks to others.
While this is important for all business people, it is critical when you own more than one. You also have to make sure you are spending enough time with each business.

How to Choose the Right Business to Sell

One of the signs that it may be time to sell off one of your entities is that it takes up too much of your time and doesn’t allow you to focus on your other companies. It’s better to let one go than to lose them all because you can’t pay enough attention to them.

A business that has reached its peak may be ready for new ownership.

You want to sell before it is on a decline, while it still has a strong value.

If you have a partner, you will have to reach the decision together. This can be challenging if each of you have a particular favorite. However, having a partner can also be beneficial because it is someone you may be able to convince to buy your share.

Many serial entrepreneurships involve partners, such as The Light Group with Andrew Sasson founder and Brian Massie, that owns multiple restaurants in Las Vegas.

When one partner wants to sell, he may have an automatic buyer in his partner.

Selling Your Business

You will need to create a sales agreement once you find a buyer.

This will provide the sales price, list of inventory; covenant not to compete, a list of fees, and many other forms.

It is best to work with an experienced attorney when selling your business. You want to make sure you comply with all of the rules and regulations in your location and for your industry.

You will also have to consider the impact to your staff and how you will handle things with them.

In some cases, you may be able to get an agreement from the new buyer about keeping all or part of the staff on after the sale. But this may not be binding unless it is part of the actual agreement.

Also remember that you will need to decide when to tell your staff and how to transfer tasks. This can be more difficult if you have employees who work in more than one of your companies. There may be some anger or jealousy between employees.

It is essential to think through your decision to sell one of your businesses and to understand each step of the process.

While the hardest part may be in choosing which company to sell, it is only the first step of many.

Photo credit: frontrangebusiness.com

About the Author: Joyce Morse is an author who writes on a variety of topics, including SEO and small business.

How to Differentiate Yourself in Business

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By Deb Bixler

If you are looking for new strategies for selling you need to know what it is that makes you shine above your competitors.

Knowing what makes your business truly unique is what will help you thrive with your customers rather than just blend with the masses. Find out what helps you differentiate your business from all others by knowing just where to look.

Direct Selling Strategies

What are your direct selling strategies?

home party plan businessMany business owners don’t realize that they are literally driving their business into the ground by using the same old selling tactics as everyone else.

If your direct selling strategy involves a twist- be it a link to a website tutorial or a cute magnet or pen that showcases your company name- then you are moving in the right direction to make sure that your business is truly different in its own way.

Don’t be afraid to narrow your niche down. When you firmly believe in what you are uniquely offering you can then attract the ideal customer. Many believe the opposite that a narrow niche will eliminate some leads.

We are taught in direct sales that you should be marketing to EVERYONE but really it is impossible for everyone to be your ideal customer. Define yourself better and you will be defining your customer better.

Your business personality is part of your direct selling strategies.

Consider Your Business Personality

How is your business’s personality? There are literally 100’s of methods of direct Selling so what makes you different?

What is your sales personality?

Is it upbeat and friendly like every other business in your industry, or does it take on a more serious tone?

Does your business reflect a common ‘tone’ expected of your niche? If so, you may want to consider differentation by way of creating a whole new personality for your business.

Perhaps taking a ‘green’ approach to something that is normally serious, or adding humor to a positive atmosphere can make all the difference for your business and make you really stand out. Or is it the budget lessons or healthy tips that you offer or even are you more controversial than most?

This is branding YOU, not just your direct sales company! You need to sell yourself first and your company second.

Simple direct selling strategies will help you stand out. For some people, differentation is no piece of cake.

However, there are smaller ways to make your business stand out so you can have the edge on your competition without having to change your whole direct sales strategy.

Try switching from business cards to key chains, hire someone to check your email so messages can be returned faster than your competition, and make sure that you are choosing terms for your product(s) that your competition isn’t using.

Sometimes, simply going from ‘organic’ to ‘healthy green’ can make all the difference.

Make sure that no matter what differentation tactic you choose to use, it isn’t so different that it actually compromises the message of your business. While you want to remain unique, you don’t want to sacrifice your business’s overall integrity just to make it stand out. You want to differentiate, not reinvent your image, after all.

How do you make your business stand out from the rest?

Author’s Bio:
Deb Bixler retired from the corporate world using the proven business systems that made her a success working for others by incorporating them into her home business. In only 9 months Deb replaced her full time income with the sales and commissions from her home party plan business. Find her on Twitter at: http://www.Twitter.com/debbixler

Selling to People: How to Be the Value Not a Necessary Evil

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Guest Post
by Doug Rice

I am in an interesting position as a sales professional. I see things from the rather optimistic perspective of a salesperson. I see myself as a value creator and a problem solver for my customers. I help them achieve their goals. I make their lives easier and more fulfilling. I believe that I am valuable to them. They don’t just need a product or service. They need ME. I make a difference to them.

But, then again, I buy stuff too. I am a consumer and a businessperson as well. And I have to ask myself, “Do I view other salespeople in the same way?” You see, when I take off my sales glasses, and come back to end-consumer reality, I realize that I may be a little delusional. It seems that most people have quite the opposite view of salespeople. They see them, not as value creators, but necessary evils.

When people go shopping for a car, they rarely want the salesperson to help them. They tolerate it because they have to in order to get the vehicle they want. I recently read an article about an increasing number of doctors refusing pharmaceutical reps from making unsolicited sales calls. “If we need something,” reads a sign on one doctor’s door, we’ll call you.” We hate shopping for furniture because we don’t want to be “hounded” by the salesperson. We find the house we are interested in and THEN contact the real estate assigned to it to see if we can negotiate a better price. We send out an RFP to decide between suppliers.

We want the car. We want the house. We need the drugs. We need the supplies. But the salespeople? They just stand in the way of us accomplishing our objectives. They just make the buying process more difficult for us. We don’t want them and we don’t need them. They are necessary evil.

How to Be the Value Not a Necessary Evil

If you are a salesperson, you are probably feeling rather indignant right about now. I know the feeling. I hate admitting this to myself. But let’s face facts. This is the perception that most buyers have of us. The question is, “what are we going to do about it?” You see, it really doesn’t matter if we truly are value creators or simply sheisters trying to squeeze out profit. If customers perceive us as barriers, that’s what we will be. We can create all the value in the world but, if it goes unnoticed, we are just exhausting our efforts in vain. So, how can we change perceptions? Well, it isn’t easy, it won’t happen overnight, and it will take a lot of upfront effort before there is any payoff. But it is possible to transform your image from that of a necessary evil to that of a value creator. Here are a few tips:

  1. Never fail to qualify. Asking open-ended questions signals to customers that you care about helping them find solutions. Never talk features and benefits until you know what the customer needs. If you do, you may offer a benefit that is irrelevant to the customer. And customers seem to view benefits as mutually exclusive. If it works in one way, then it must not work in the way they need it too. Always know your customer before attempting to sell your customer. If you don’t learn about your customer, you are going to be irrelevant. And value that is irrelevant isn’t really value at all.
  2. Never emphasize price. It doesn’t matter if you have the best price in your market, bragging about it will commoditize you and make you unnecessary. And an unnecessary good is just as bad as a necessary evil. I’m not saying to hide your price. Be upfront about it, but present it in a matter-of-fact manner, as if it really isn’t important. Your customer is trained to seek out the best price but really wants the greatest value. Sell the value, not the price.
  3. Always have a reason. Whether you are sending an email, making a call, or giving a presentation and whether it is your first, second, or third attempt, always have a reason for contacting your customer. Never simply “check-in.” This kind of activity says to the customer, “Hello, you haven’t bought from me yet. Are you going to do it or not?” Newsflash for salespeople: they probably haven’t bought yet because you haven’t yet convinced them. Pestering them with calls basically asking them to hurry up is not going to motivate them. Have something valuable to say every time you contact them. If you do, you are reinforcing to them that you actually have something meaningful to contribute.
  4. Always follow up. Nothing says that you were merely an obstacle to overcome more than the customer never hearing from you after the sale. When you turn the sale into the beginning of the relationship, you are signaling to the customer that you are in it for the long haul. Make sure they don’t just have your product or service after the sale. Make sure they have you. Closing is the new opening.

    5. These tips aren’t guaranteed, of course, to turn you into a knight in shining armor for your customer. But they do send the signal that you are not merely a transactional salesperson. You do not sell businesses a better service but rather a better business. You do not sell consumers a better product but rather a better life. If sales is your career, you’ve got to start working on changing your perceived role. Commoditization is all too easy in today’s world. You’ve got to stand out if you want to stand at all. Soon, “necessary evils” won’t be necessary at all.

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    Doug Rice who writes for How Does that Make You Buy? You can find him on Twitter as @dougricehdtmyb
    Thanks, Riley

    –ME “Liz” Strauss
    Work with Liz on your business!!