Author: etcwebsite

‘Business plans don’t work’ is the common misconception of many business owners.

It’s a statement that as a business consultant, I’m often faced with. When discussing whether a business needs support, ‘business plans don’t work’ is a frequent objection. However when we explore why, this misconception has often been brought about by one of two things:

1. Plan created to secure funding

In many cases, business plans are created in order to secure funding from a bank. The plans contain whatever is needed to get the cash across the line and often bare little resemblance to the actual business. With funding in place, the business plan has done its job and is filed away. It’s little surprise in that case, if the business doesn’t grow as a result.

2. Lack of action plan

In some instances, business plans are created with a genuine desire for business growth. Unfortunately, the reality is often just an idealised view of the perfect business. It doesn’t factor in actual resource and business structure. Critically, what many business plans lack is an action plan. Without which, it’s unlikely to succeed.

So when I hear the statement ‘business plans don’t work’, my first question is always ‘did you follow an action plan?’. The old adage is true:

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.

What your business plan should include

Putting together a business plan shouldn’t be difficult. Simply follow this step by step approach:

Goals

What are your personal goals? Therefore what does the business need to achieve to deliver on these goals? Rome wasn’t built in a day, so break targets down into manageable chunks.

Objectives

Set objectives for the business and remember to ensure they are SMART ie:
Specific
Measurable
Actionable
Relevant
Time-bound

Strategy

Broadly, how do you plan to achieve the objectives you’ve defined? For example, if one objective is to increase sales, the strategy might be to start selling in new markets (perhaps online or overseas).

Action plan

With strategies outlined, you’ll need that critical action plan. Decide and document a list of specific actions.

Looking back at the example above, let’s say one strategy is to start selling online. Actions for this may include things like:
Build e-commerce website
Research shipping fees
Review pricing
Review packaging options

With a list in place, add to it who will do what and by when. Day to day service delivery can often get in the way of delivering on an action plan, so be realistic when deciding on deadlines.

Monitor

OK so your action plan is key, but only so long as you do action it! It sounds logical but you’d be surprised how many action plans are written but not followed. There are so many distractions as a business owner and I understand how easy it is to lose sight.

So, how to ensure this doesn’t happen? Put in a mechanism to establish some accountability. This might be via a regular management team meeting, or if you’re a smaller business it could be a regular meeting with your business coach. Get the time allocated in your diary each month to check everything is on track.

When you follow these steps and implement your action plan, you might just end up where you want to be! It’s just like getting in the car. Without knowing the destination, or without a pre-planned route you’re less likely to have a smooth trip, arrive on time or even get where you want to go at all.

To find out when you should be completing your annual planning, read on to my next blog here.

As ever, if you need any help building and implementing your action plan, why not contact me for a free new business review? I’ll spend two hours with you giving you professional coaching and will leave you with actions for immediate implementation.

Doug D’Aubrey.

As a rule of thumb, business plans should be compiled in the quarter before they’re needed.

In my last blog, I explained why you DO need a business plan (you can refer back to it here). Now you’re convinced, the next question is when to start? In fact, business planning should be an ongoing affair to sustain a healthy growth.

Implemented at the start of the business year, the plan should be continually monitored, adjusted and finally reviewed at year end (by which time, the following year’s plan should be ready to go). Large businesses have regular management meetings, small businesses should be doing the same. It’s the only way to stay on track.

Planning ahead

To effectively plan for the coming year, you should be working on your plan 3 months ahead of when it’s needed. So for those businesses that run on a calendar year of January to December, that’s now.

For businesses running on April to March, January is the time to get plans together.

Getting support

While compiling a business plan doesn’t need to be daunting, it’s wise to gather some support. Sole traders can enlist some trusted friends or associates to help brain storm the coming year. Or of course, if you have a mentor, get them involved!

My previous blog details the stages you need to execute in order to finalise your plan.

Marketing calendar

In addition to your overall annual budget/plan it’s prudent to include a marketing calendar, detailing all the events that impact on the business throughout the year. This will aid planning for those crucial times when peak sales will be reached.

Wholesalers supplying retailers will need to have their Christmas offerings sewn up by June at the latest, ready for sales to commence in September. The hospitality industry will similarly need their Christmas plans in place by September and so planning for this should start at least three months ahead of this.

Find out more about how the marketing calendar works in my recent blog here.

Planning for the quiet times

Don’t forget to plan for the slower months too. If the new year presents a period of quiet then have your marketing activity in place ahead of this to drive revenue and avoid a drastic dip. My blog, Diversification: 3 ideas to increase sales can help with this.

If you’d like help to implement any of my advice, why not contact me to arrange a Free Business Review? This is a genuinely free 2 hour session whereby I’ll come into the business and spend two hours giving you advice to make positive changes. Click here to arrange yours now.

Effective selling comes when belief in your product or service is combined with an understanding of your prospects’ needs.

In my previous blog, Effective selling: know you product, I explained how a belief in what you’re selling increases sales. I also explained how to provide your salesforce with that belief. The perfect alchemy however is to use that belief to answer a problem for your prospect.

Understand customer need

No-one wants to be sold at. How many times have you been at the end of a phone call thinking, “you don’t even know me, or what I need”? A salesperson’s belief can be a turn off in that situation, they’ve found out nothing about you!

Before you can begin to sell, you need to understand the customer and what they need, only then can you offer your product or service as the solution.

Ask open questions

Asking open questions will assist your fact-finding. Let’s say you’re selling water coolers. What questions might be asked on a sales call? I found myself on a such a call recently, the seller simply asked “would you like a free trial of one of our water coolers?”. Firstly, this is a closed question, where there could only be a yes/no answer. The problem with closed questions? The prospect can say no!

Had the seller built up some rapport and found out more about my needs, the outcome could have been very different. Asking open questions would have facilitated this. For example, the caller could have asked things such as:

• How are you enjoying the hot weather?
• How are you coping with the heat at work?
• What are facilities like for making drinks?
• What’s the water like where you are?

Establish pain points

Asking these questions may have uncovered some pain points for the prospect, allowing the salesperson to present their water-cooler as a solution.

For example, through open questioning, the seller could have found out information such as the tap water is unpleasant, the kitchen is on another floor, there’s no air con and so on.

The seller could then have empathised and introduced the water-cooler as a solution. For example “I hate it when tap water has a funny taste to it too. Our water coolers are filled with natural spring water which is much nicer to drink than tap water. I can send one out on a free trial so you can try it out for yourself, can I confirm where to send it to?”

This is a very simple example, but demonstrates how much easier it is to have a conversation when you understand a customer’s need. When you do this, a sale becomes much more likely.

Examples of other open questions

Make a list of the type of things you could ask to uncover your prospects’ problems, to which you could offer a solution. Remember, open questions only! Here are some general examples to get you going:

• What’s your experience of…?
• Tell me about your business?
• How do you find the service offered by your existing supplier?

So, be passionate and believe in your product, but be sure to listen first! Uncover a need to which you can sell a solution.

As ever, if you need any help going through these processes, why not contact me for a free new business review? I’ll spend two hours with you giving you professional coaching on starting a business. I’ll leave you with actions for immediate implementation.

Doug D’Aubrey.

While there are many aspects to effective selling, a fundamental belief in your product or service has to be paramount.

The most successful salespeople genuinely believe in the benefit their product or service provides, and it shows. I’m sure you, like me, have experienced a lacklustre sales experience. When a salesperson has no belief in what they’re selling, it instils no confidence in you as the buyer and switches you off. However when there is belief, that passion is infectious.

OK, how to get that belief? If you’re a small business owner then I’ve no doubt you’ll have it in abundance. But what about if you rely on others to do the selling, do they share your passion?

Know the product

It stands to reason that the first step has got to be to understand the all the features and benefits of the product or service. Give the seller access to all relevant literature to give them this knowledge, talk to them about it and answer any questions.

Experience the product

The greatest way to get that belief though is to experience it, so facilitate this wherever possible. The proof is in the pudding, as the saying goes. With first-hand experience will come an inherent knowledge and passion that will expedite a sales increase.

Likewise, why not let your prospects try the product or service too? This can be achieved through physical samples when selling a product. For services, case studies and reviews will help give confidence.

Knowing and experiencing the product is only half the story though. Read on to my next blog, Effective selling: understanding customer need, to uncover how understanding a client’s need is as crucial to effective selling.

As ever, if you need any help going through these processes, why not contact me for a free new business review? I’ll spend two hours with you giving you professional coaching on starting a business. I’ll leave you with actions for immediate implementation.

Doug D’Aubrey.

There are many reasons for starting a business, for example to make a profit from a much loved hobby. Or perhaps you’re a tradesperson gone self-employed.

I come across the latter frequently in my role as a business coach. Often, tradespeople find themselves doing ‘foreigners’ in addition to their job. In some cases, the number of these jobs increases to the point that a business is created. However when starting a business, there are a few key tasks to complete to give it the best chance of success:

1. A business plan

In my previous post, (Starting a business from a hobby) I share the elements needed to create a simple business plan. Covering everything from goal setting to pricing, this is a great place to start and will ensure you have the key components in your business plan. Read it here.

2. Decide on a business structure

When starting a business, you’ll need to decide on its structure, either as a sole-trader or as a limited company. There are pros and cons for each and I’d advise getting expert advice from an accountant to decide what’s right for you. If setting up as a sole-trader, you’ll need to register for self-assessment with HMRC. To become a limited company, you’ll need to register with Companies House, find more information here.

3. Set up a bank account

As a sole-trader, a business account isn’t essential, however I’d recommend having a separate account to easily keep a track of income and expenses for the business. While you’re at it, decide upon a process for recording what you spend and what you earn. A simple spreadsheet can do the trick.

If you’re a limited company, you’ll absolutely need a business bank account and it’s worth shopping around for the best new deals. Moneysupermarket offer a good comparison for startup banking.

4. Get insured

Investigate what insurance you’ll need to protect yourself and your customers. As standard, you’ll need public liability and professional indemnity, but also consider whether you need to insure any tools or machinery. Again, shop around for a deal that suits your circumstances.

5. Qualifications

When starting a business of your own, you’ll naturally come up against competition and many consumers will likely obtain a few quotes. Is your training up to date? Be sure not to lose out due to out of date qualifications.

6. Equipment

Similarly, if you were previously employed your tools may not be your own. While you may need to invest in your own, getting the right tools for the job will also help in winning work and doing a good job. Get this sorted as soon as you can.

7. Winning work

With a business plan, marketing strategy and structure all in place you’re now ready to start winning work. Many new business owners aren’t natural salespeople and while it takes time to hone this skill, there are some simple guidelines that will help when quoting for work:
– don’t be late, sounds obvious but first impressions count
– be well presented; work clothes are fine but take care not to leave dirty footprints on the carpet. Use common sense
– send a written quote, to show you’ve considered the job thoroughly
– ask for the work! Simply follow up with a phone call to see if they’d like to go ahead, if you don’t you could miss out

As ever, if you need any help going through these processes, why not contact me for a free new business review? I’ll spend two hours with you giving you professional coaching on starting a business. I’ll leave you with actions for immediate implementation.

Doug D’Aubrey.

Starting a business from a hobby is a dream for many. Done well, it can turn passion into profit.

Over the years I’ve worked with lots of businesses that have been borne from a hobby. A common example of this is a photographer. With digital cameras making photography more accessible, (and any other hobby turning into a business) thoughts turn towards whether a career can be made. While this is absolutely possible in many cases, there are some golden rules to follow:

1. Set goals

Firstly, what do you want to achieve from starting a business? Is it extra income to pay for family extras like holidays or a new car? Perhaps it’s a retirement plan? Or maybe you want to replace your full time job with the hobby business. Whatever it is, spend time thinking about your goals. Once you know what they are, you can plan to achieve them.

2. Business strategy

OK, how will you ensure your business reaches your goals? One of the early things to decide is how to make money from the skills you’ve learned. The obvious choice is to start selling your services or products, whether that’s photography, cakes, or other crafts/professions. I would urge you to research the market, is there room for another one of you?

If there is already a huge choice of other businesses doing what you do, don’t worry! As with any successful business, you’ll need to define your USP (unique selling point). Be sure to communicate it in order to stand out from the competition.

Alternatively, you could consider teaching others your skill! Once again, research will help establish the viability of this as a business strategy.

3. Pricing

I can’t stress enough how important pricing is as part of your business plan. The tendency with hobby businesses, is for products and services to undersold. Why? When starting a business from a hobby, the business owner doesn’t always value themselves and their skills highly enough. Or, while still holding a ‘day job’, income isn’t the driver and prices are cheap.

Again, when setting your price, research is vital. What are your competitors charging? How successful do they appear to be? Where do you fit with your offering? Be careful to set your price at what you are worth! Once you’ve made your first sale, your confidence will build.

4. Marketing strategy

The final piece of the puzzle is to plan how you’ll get your products and services in front of your audience.

Firstly, work out who your audience is. Are you selling to businesses or consumers? Are they predominantly male or female? Are they affluent or hard up? How old are they? What are their likes and dislikes? Answering these questions will help build a profile of your typical client and with that, you can decide where and how to advertise.

For example, a photographers typical client may be young, engaged women. A great way to get get in front of potential customers would be to attend wedding fairs. Another is to create alliances with other wedding professionals. By doing so, you can recommend one another. Networking is a great way to do this.

Think about where your clients spend time or what publications they may read. Knowing this will direct where to exhibit or advertise.

5. The business plan

Now you’re well on your way. With these four steps in place, you have a simple business plan and can move your hobby business into a viable business.

Read onto my next blog: Starting a business checklist, for advice on the remaining must-do tasks to get your business set up and registered correctly.

As ever, if you need any help going through these processes, why not contact me for a free new business review? I’ll spend two hours with you giving you professional coaching on starting a business. I’ll leave you with actions for immediate implementation.