Entrepreneur Consulting really is Growth Consulting in it’s purest form. The only difference is “how” I can speak to a person. As we know when selling a product or a service, it is “how” something is stated that sells, not “what” is stated.
I’m going to go at this topic as if i’m sitting across from an entrepreneur. I’m speaking to someone who is a visionary, someone that is continually thinking ahead and thinking for other people. I’m going to roll out a series of ideas that to the average “manager” should seem a little heavy, or even harsh.
A pure entrepreneur wouldn’t have it any other way.
In no particular order, these are not only the core of who I am and how I operate, but these are the mistakes I’ve made that allow my companies to excel.
Here goes:
1. Work only in a working model.
Every idea, project, business plan or concept can find or build a working model. Once a working model is established, it can be adjusted and measured.
Here’s a couple examples-
1. When a friend brought to me the idea of starting a business that helps business owners sell their business, the first thing i did for a week is seek out what companies I could get my hands on and how many businesses they are currently selling.
I then wanted to see how many offices they had and how many reps they had. This information alone tells me so much. Most importantly it tells me how much gross production they are getting out of each field rep. This way when we go to set goals, budgets and expectations, we have a measuring stick.
Unfortunately, as I’ve done in the past, most entrepreneurs are “Ready, Fire, Aim……OUCH”. (not that major companies don’t do the same)
The “Finding a working model” mindset came into my life after my chain of video stores began unraveling ten years ago and I read Wayne Huezinga’s book “The Making of a Blockbuster” in which he laid out his plan and the model they would follow inside their stores. When I read that I wanted to throw up at how foolish I’d always been just showing up for work and trying to outwork my competitor. Outworking your competition, if that is truly your only plan, is simply foolish.
The law of Entropy states that anything man-made and God-made is built to go from order to dis-order. I’m sorry to say that you better have a working model in place that stacks a sales funnel, a marketing funnel or some type of “new orders always coming your way” funnel or simply pack a big lunch.
When speaking on this topic I like to reference your credit card and automobile statements that you get in the mail. When you see bills most people have an empty pit in their stomach. I like setting up businesses that are just the opposite.
Business is literally this simple. Build a working model, that once established, that does nothing but pour more money into your account than money going out.
Some of you may read this and scoff. To you scoffers I pose the question…. How could there be over 5000 millionaires in the year 1900?
95% of them didn’t have a college education.
I challenge everyone reading this to look very hard at your current operation and answer these questions.
What percentage of the population in my zone of influence even knows my company exists?
(zone of influence is defined by the radius around a business in which 85% of your business comes from, a retail outlets typical zone of influence is usually 8 – 15 miles in each direction) I’ve heard numbers that say the average business has an exposure rating of less then .25 of 1%. OUCH
What exactly goes into a sale in my company?
Is it 4 presentations equals 1 sale?
Is it $300 marketing dollars equals 1 sale?
Is it, I rely on word of mouth? (u poor thing)
Is it, I have absolutely no idea? (hint: this is the answer most of the time)
What could I do so that 5% more of the population in my zone of influence knows I exist?
Call the local paper, see if they’ll do a story on you?
Put a balloon of Godzilla on your roof?
Read “Guerilla Marketing”! This time take notes. Probably best book ever written for moving a business forward.
If 5% more people knew my company existed, how much business would that equate to?
You better figure that one out!
2. Start holding yourself accountable!
Best advice I give entrepreneurs is to treat themselves like a fortune 500 company. One thing great about spending years in management of 3 different publicly traded companies was that all of them were masters of management goal setting and accountability.
I dare every business owner and entrepreneur reading this to stop what they are doing and write down how many presentations, proposals and media kits your company made last week.
My bet is that most entrepreneurs don’t have those numbers at your fingertips.
Every leader should have every number at their disposal.
Numbers like–
How many customers purchased last week
How many presentations our sales reps made last week
How many inbound calls our call center received last week
How bids we put out last week
Every business has a predecessor to a sale.
If you sell cell phones it would be, how many potential customers your reps touched last week.
If you sell insurance it would be, how many calls with potential new business did you make last week.
If you are a retail outfit it would be, what did we do to expand our zone of influence awareness last week.
Just like the law of gravity, there is the law of cause and effect.
If I can get an entrepreneur off of a “Reactal” management style and onto a “Causal” management style, I can strike Gold.
Causal management is where it’s at. Causal management states the Golde Rule in business……
Say it with me…… Tell More, Sell More.
Business really is that simple.
1. Work only in a model. If you don’t have anything to hold yourself to than you are going to waste a lot of time. If you can’t find a model to duplicate, than create the model. Once you create it, then beat the model on a regular basis.
2. Hold yourself accountable. Set some Tell More, Sell More goals and here’s a tip, HIT THE GOALS.
Hope this helps.
-Ken
Growth Consulting for Today
