Business – Page 2 – Velocity Media

26 August 2015

Three simple reminders to stop business comparisons

Every now and again in business we can find ourselves obsessing over achievements. But not our achievements, someone else’s – and their success always seems to be greater than ours.

I’m sure you’ve experienced it too, where you wonder why you didn’t have that idea, position your business as cleverly, or win that account, employee, award or media coverage. You look at their success and wonder why you too don’t have the same results or growth.

If we’re not careful, these business comparisons can consume us with doubt, blind us from our wins, wreak havoc in business relationships, and even cause us to sabotage our success.

To guard against this, here are three simple reminders that will stop business comparisons and help you to focus on growing your business.

1. Someone else’s success doesn’t spell your failure

It can be so easy to get discouraged and doubt ourselves when someone else achieves success. But their success doesn’t mean you have failed. In fact, if you are wise you will use their win as an opportunity to learn.

Analyse the situation and ask yourself, “What can I learn from their journey that can fast track my success and make my life easier? What worked or didn’t work for them? What methods or strategies did they use? How could I do it more effectively or efficiently? What mistakes can I now avoid?”

You can save yourself significant time and money if you can learn from the lessons and mistakes of others who have gone before you.

2. You’ve had wins too!

Put the focus back on you for a moment and look back on your achievements. The happy clients, big sales months and glowing testimonials you’ve had. The accounts, awards, media coverage and speaking engagements you’ve won, and the results, outcomes and goals you’ve achieved.

Allow yourself to celebrate your achievements because chances are there is someone looking at what you’ve accomplished with admiration.

3. You add serious value

Your experience, expertise and skills are individual to you. No one will bring the same approach, opinions and knowledge that you will and because of that you provide immense value.

While you may not have the have the fastest growing company, the best contacts or the greatest knowledge, your approach, interpretation or implementation may be exactly what someone needs.

So the next time you find yourself comparing your business, offer yourself these reminders because the truth is the only limitations to your success are the limitations you have placed on yourself.

Amanda

28 July 2015

Four truths to accept when positioning yourself as an expert

Having the confidence to establish yourself as an expert doesn’t always come easy, particularly for the more humble among us. But to build your profile, and make the difference that most entrepreneurs want to in business, you need to.

To give you a little more confidence that what you have to say is of value, here are four truths to accept when positioning yourself as an expert.

#1 – It’s a matter of opinion

Becoming an expert isn’t just about what you do or how you do it – it’s about what you know, and what you think. Put forward your opinions, derive conclusions based on your experiences and share your passion.

Your opinion and experiences will help you bring a different perspective to the information you share.

#2 – What you know is NOT common sense

This is one of the biggest hurdles you need to overcome in your own mind. We each have skills, strengths and specialties. While something may be easy, or seem like common sense to you, it doesn’t mean it will be the same for others.

Chances are you have studied, researched, serviced customers, learnt lessons, overcome challenges, had wins, sought council and grown in experience to know what you know now. For this reason, most people will never have the distinct skills, knowledge and perspective you do.

#3 – You don’t need to know everything

You don’t need to know as much as others in your industry – you only need to know how to package it better. There will always be someone who knows more than you, but that doesn’t mean what you have to say is of any less value!

You might be able to package up your knowledge in a way that is more relatable, easier to understand, or more profitable to a customer. Your explanation might just be what they need to take action, get the breakthrough they need or achieve the result they want.

#4 – Everything has NOT been said

There is a lot of information out there – and a lot of experts, but that doesn’t mean everything that needs to be said, has been said yet. Times, needs and challenges change and consumers will always want the latest tips, hacks and facts.

Amanda

16 June 2015

The Danger In Burning Bridges

There comes a point in business when relationships end. It could be due to wrongdoing or simply outgrowing. Sometimes it’s because you end it and sometimes it’s because someone else does. How it ends though, can make all of the difference, not only to your reputation, but your bottom line, future connections, and business opportunities.

While it can be tempting (and let’s face it in some cases completely justified) to say exactly what you feel and burn bridges behind you, if you are wise, you will try to end every relationship as amicably as possible. By leaving the bridge intact, even if a little rocky, you at least still have the option to pass by again in the future if you ever need to.

In case you’re not convinced, here are some of the dangers you can face when burning bridges – regardless of whether you are in the right or the wrong.

1. The business world is small

While it can often seem as though you are dealing with a person or business in isolation, it is rarely true. The business world is small, and it’s made even smaller with online communities.

People are well connected and often with people you least expect. You never know who knows who and what influence the person you are dealing with may have over their connections now or further down the track. You also never know what future opportunities could be missed or tainted because of a strained relationship or conflict.

2. Everyone talks to someone

Everyone has at least one confidant, a sounding board who helps them work through their challenges. If you are lucky, then it is only one person, but if the situation is heated or interesting enough, it can spread like wildfire. Suddenly a lot of people know – or think they know – what has happened before you’ve even had a chance to share your side.

The trouble with conflict, bad news and scandals is that it’s juicy, it spreads wide and fast, and can take longer to die down than good news. When you decide to burn bridges and react instead of respond, you never know who is behind the person you are having challenges with. Whose ear they are whispering in, what they are saying or increasingly, what they will write on social media.

3. What you do and say can be held against you

When you are angry or upset, it can be easy to say things you either don’t mean or would normally leave unsaid. But a moment really can change everything. You never know who may be watching, listening or reading and what opinion they can form of you based on that one experience with you or impression of you.

While it is important to keep things in writing, be mindful that your tone, emphasis, and intent can and will often be misconstrued. Before you send anything ask yourself, is this a good representation of my character and what I stand for? Could this have legal ramifications? Would I be happy for this to be made public?

4. Who you burn on the way up, can burn you on the way down

In business, there are never any guarantees. You can have a booming business one day and the next, due to circumstances that may or may not be in your control, end up right back where you started.

You never know when you will need a relationship or connection again, this is why it is so important to maintain relationships at all levels of your business journey.

Yes, relationships will end, and you will outgrow suppliers, associates, and even customers. Just make sure it is done without ego or high emotion, because if you do fall, you normally see or need to lean on the same people as you climb back up.

There is no question that in business, there will be times where you will have to stand up to injustice, defend your position and point or view, and even burn a bridge or two. When you do though, do it with the full knowledge of how it will affect you and your business now, and how it could affect you in the future.

Amanda

2 June 2015

Five ways to qualify an idea

When you are an entrepreneur, it’s not unusual to be flooded with ideas. From your midday brainstorms to your midnight inspiration, when you are always asking questions or looking for answers the ideas come.

But with so many ideas coming through and only so many hours in the day, how do you know which ones to follow and which ones to keep locked away for later?

While there is never a black and white answer to that question, there are some ways you can help qualify your idea to know if it will be the next big thing or the next big flop.

1. Uncover the problem

When the idea is forming, look at the problem/s it solves. Is it a prominent problem that a lot of people have? Is it a problem they are aware of or do they need to be educated about it? How much education will need to be given?

This will start to help you uncover your target market and how big this market will be.

2. Determine if it’s a need or want

Once you have the problem, determine if it is a need or want. While your market might need the idea you are developing, if they don’t want it, your market will be limited. You know you are on to a good idea when your target market both needs and wants your product or service.

3. Benchmark

As your idea is developing, look at what else is out in the marketplace to compete with it. Do you have many competitors or just a few? Is there a market for what you are doing? If you have no competitors is it because it’s an uncharted territory or because others have failed before you? If people have failed, why did they fail? How is your idea different to what is already out there?

4. Delve into the senses

Imagine your idea in use. How will it look, taste, touch, smell or feel? How will people interact with it or use it? What limitations or objections do you imagine people will have? What barriers might you encounter?

5. Seek opinion

Once you have formulated your idea, it’s time to seek feedback. While you need to be protective over your idea (and use appropriate confidentiality agreements) you also need to test your idea before you start investing significant time and money into it.

To do this effectively approach people that will give you different perspectives, from trusted advisors like your accountant, business coach, solicitor or marketing consultant, to trusted friends and most importantly potential customers.

Keep in mind that you want more feedback than “that’s a great idea!” you want specific details on whether they would buy it? How much would they pay for it? What would they want from it or be able to do with it? How would they want it to look or be packaged?

The more research you can do in the idea stage, the more time, money and potential heartache you will save yourself in the development stage.

Over to you, do you have any tips or tricks for qualifying ideas?

Amanda

21 April 2015

Four places to find leads quickly and easily

Every now and again you can have a slow sales week in business. While it can provide the opportunity to catch up on all the tasks you’ve been “meaning to do”, it can put additional stress and pressure on you when it is for an extended period.

So what do you do when your slow week turns into a slow month? Here are four places to find leads quickly and easily.

1. Your current customers

Your existing customers are the easiest place to generate new leads and business. From asking for referrals and introductions to finding ways to upsell, cross-sell and resell your customers to get them spending more sooner, your customers will always be able to provide new leads once they have seen the value in working with you.

How to get the best results:

Talk to them! Find out more about them or their business and where they ultimately want to be. Identify ways you can help them get there through the products and services you provide. Go to the customers who are already impressed with your products and services and ask them if they know anyone else who could benefit in the same way they have.

2. Your database and past customers

After your current customers, your database and past customers are your next point of call. Already familiar and interested in your products or services they are the second easiest to convert.

How to get the best results:

Identify the objections or reasons people haven’t bought yet or again and find ways to get around them. Offer an incentive. While your database is interested and has possibly bought before, they will often need an extra push to get them over the line.

3. Cross or joint promotions

Joining forces with, and getting the endorsement of, other like-minded businesses that have influence in your industry or over your target market can be a quick and easy way to tap into a new database of leads. As it is beneficial to the business you are co-marketing with it is often an easy sell too.

How to get the best results:

Make sure the business you partner with has the same target market as you and that you know, like and trust them. You will, after all, be recommending them to your customers. Again, make sure you offer incentive so new leads a reason to act or at the very least get in touch with you.

4. Networking

Networking, whether at traditional events, online through social media or making the most out of everyday opportunities, can be a low-cost way to attract new leads and referral partners.

How to get the best results:

You only have limited time when networking so it is important to know and clearly articulate what you do, who you do it for, why you do it and what makes you different. When you do, you can easily qualify networking opportunities and identify the most valuable contacts so you can spend more time building rapport with them.

How do you find leads quickly?

Amanda

10 March 2015

Five tips for managing and increasing your capacity

When it comes to growing a business, there are a number of areas you need to manage and monitor closely. While most businesses watch their competitors, customers, and cash flow proactively, there is one area often forgotten until reached – capacity.

It’s a familiar story; a business owner focuses on sales to increase cash flow but has not thought about how or when they can deliver all of the new work sourced. As a result, the quality of products or services can be lower or the turnaround longer, affecting their reputation.

To ensure you don’t play the lead role in this tale, here are five tips to help you manage and increase your capacity.

1. Know how much work you can handle

The first step in working out your capacity is to know how much time it takes for you or your staff to produce and deliver the products or services you provide. Then you need to work out how much time you have designated to fulfilling customer work or orders in addition to all of the other operational tasks that keep your business running as usual each working day.

Also look at your current workload, are you servicing all of your clients successfully and meeting their expectations? What is your turnaround time like, are you meeting or stretching deadlines? Are you getting the feedback you normally do or want to? If your answer is no to any of these questions, or if you are already busy, stressed and not coping with the workload, chances are you are at or very close to your capacity.

2. Find ways to streamline

You still need to continue to bring in income so the first step is to look at how you can minimise the time spent in existing tasks. This starts by identifying ways you can streamline and systemise your processes and utilise your current team more effectively.

Also, look at how you can take on new business at your current capacity. It could be a matter of scheduling work a week or two in advance when your capacity has increased or giving a more realistic timeframe on turnaround and delivery to your customers.

3. Revisit your numbers

When you know your what your capacity is, it pays to revisit your numbers. If you are saying yes to work because you need the money, despite not having the time or ability to service expectations, then it could be time to overhaul your pricing and minimise your expenses.

While you may lose some price-focused customers by increasing your prices, you will at least have increased your income at the same capacity. This may also free up additional funds to increase your capacity by hiring more staff or outsourcing.

3. Build a flexible team

Staffing costs can be a massive expense to business owners, and for smaller businesses, a cost they can’t always afford to sustain. With this in mind, look at developing a flexible team that can help you increase capacity through busy times.

Having a trusted group of outsourced professionals on call when you need them, can help you meet your workload and increase your capacity when you need it, without ongoing staffing expenses.

4. Hire smartly

When it comes to hiring staff, give careful consideration to what positions you need to fill first and their roles. While you may need ‘doers’ to increase your capacity immediately, you will also need ‘business generators’ to cover your growing costs and fill your new capacity.

It’s at this point where you need to decide how big and fast you grow and continue to go back through the steps as you discover your new levels of capacity.

Amanda

17 February 2015

Is the price right?

Nothing can cause confusion and doubt in a business like pricing your products and services. While you don’t want to charge less than you are worth, you also don’t want to price yourself out of the market, so how do you know if your price is right?

Whether you are starting out or starting over, here are five factors to consider when pricing your products and services.

1. Costs

First and foremost you need to be financially informed. Before you set your pricing work out the costs involved with running your business. These include your fixed costs (the expenses that will come in every month regardless of sales) and your direct costs (the expenses you incur by producing and delivering your products and services).

2. Customers

Know what your customers want from your products and services. Are they driven by the cheapest price or by the value they receive? What part does price play in their purchase decision?

Also look at what you are selling, are your current customers buying high-end or low-end products and services? This information will help you determine if your price is right, what level of service or inclusions you should be offering and lastly if you are targeting the right market. It may be that you need to change your market to make your business more profitable.

3. Positioning

Once you understand your customer, you need to look at your positioning. Where do you want to be in the marketplace? Do you want to be the most expensive, luxurious, high-end brand in your industry, the cheapest, beat it by 10% brand or somewhere in the middle? Once you have decided, you will start to get an idea of your ideal pricing.

4. Competitors

This is one of the key times you can give yourself permission to do a little competitor snooping. What are they charging for different products and services? What inclusions and level of service are they offering for those prices? What customers are they attracting with their pricing? And how are they positioned in the marketplace? The answers to these questions will give you an industry benchmark for your pricing.

5. Profit

One of the most important questions business owners neglect to ask themselves is “How much profit do I want to make?” They tend to look at what others charge and then pull a figure out of the air to be competitive without giving consideration to how much profit the want and need.

While you may be in business for the passion and to add value to the lives of others, you also need to add value to your own. So give careful consideration to what your time is worth.

How do you determine your pricing?

Amanda

28 January 2015

Competitor Wars: How to Deal with Dirty Tricks

Being an entrepreneur is serious business. While some seem to thrive under the pressure of growth and competition, others harden, taking their focus off their own businesses to think up ways to sabotage their competitors.

Hiding under the cloak of anonymity their dirty tricks are many. They plagiarise your blogs, website content, promotions, newsletter, social media updates, products, services or innovations and claim it as their own.

Some open fake social media accounts to harass you through posts or subtly (and not so subtly) promote their own business on your page. Others leave scathing online reviews for products and services they haven’t even purchased, or pose as a complimenting customer to glean suppliers and trade secrets. Doing it all in an attempt to surpass you, distract you and break you.

While it can be distressing, annoying and downright unethical, the truth is you can’t control how your competitors will react. You can however, control how you respond. So before you go out and declare a full-scale competitor war, here are five tips to help you deal with their dirty tricks.

1. Feel satisfied that you are doing something right

Know that to cause such a stir and have your competitors scared you must be doing something right.

People don’t copy or get concerned about competitors with bad businesses or ideas. They get concerned about competitors with great ones. You are doing your job too well in their eyes and they don’t like it. See their jealousy as a compliment.

In fact the only time you really need to worry, is when they stop looking to you for their ideas.

2. Mind your own business

While it’s necessary to keep a check on what a competitor is doing, the minute they consume your thoughts and energy or alter your actions they’ve won. Stay focused on your business. Keep disrupting, keep innovating, and keep making your competitors uncomfortable.

3. Build your fans

I’m not talking about more social media followers here; I’m talking about actual raving fans. You want to create customers that love what you do so much they become your extended sales team and in this case your supporters and defenders.

Customers who have a strong relationship and emotional connection with you will start to notice (as will others) that your competitors are copying you or playing dirty tricks. What’s more they won’t be reserved with their opinion.

4. Respond with kindness

Use negative reviews as a way to showcase your character and customer service. There are countless examples on social media of how a complaint turned into a massive PR opportunity for a business.

Respond with kindness, show your customers why they love you and how positively you act under pressure. You will often build more rapport with your customers, fans and followers when they see you handle a negative situation positively and authentically. It will give them even more of a reason to believe in you.

5. Let them be their own undoing

People who act in desperation or greed always slip up eventually, and those who copy you will always be one step behind. So as tempting as it can be to lower yourself to their level and play their dirty games, don’t.

It catches up with them. It may not be in your time (or how you have plotted it in your head), but it does. The business world is too small for it not to.

So seek legal and business council if and when you need to, though make sure your main focus is on building your business and serving your customers.

Succeeding will always be the best revenge.

Amanda

7 October 2014

Five tips for building lasting, profitable strategic partnerships

When you are a business owner, particularly a small business owner, leverage is a key part of your success. The more you can leverage your own time, money, knowledge, resources and contacts and those of others, the quicker you can increase your capacity for growth.

One of the most lucrative strategies in creating leverage in your business is to form strategic partnerships or alliances, with businesses that you share commonality with (normally customers). Forming these relationships can be quite easy – but maintaining them and keeping them profitable? That is not so simple.

To help you get the most out of your strategic partnerships here are five tips for building lasting, profitable, win/win relationships with fellow businesses.

1. Don’t just make it all about referrals

One of the keys to an effective strategic partnership is to make sure you are matched on multiple levels, in knowledge, customers and personality. To do this you need to take more than a transactional or referral approach to your relationship.

Look at other ways you can help and assist each other in business. Is it in sharing your experiences, doing joint promotions or even sharing common expenses? The moment you start seeing someone purely as a dollar sign, the value in the relationship reduces.

2. Stay in touch

The only way to stay at the forefront of someone’s mind is to increase the amount of meaningful touch points you have with them.

You may like to theme your touch points, having one that is purely to see how they are going and if there is anything you can help them with or any way you can add value to them.

Another touch point might be to comment or share one of their social media or blog posts. The next one might be give them a referral, a heads up about changes in the industry or even an interesting article you know would be of interest. This way each time you connect you are adding value.

3. Take an interest

Be genuinely interested in the person you are trying to build a relationship with. Find out what they are looking for and need within their business, who they want to connect with in terms of customers and other influencers and also get to know them on a personal level, what are their priorities and interests?

All of this information will allow you to build rapport, establish common ground and find ways you can become valuable to them, whether it is through generating new business, value adding to their customers, providing information, products or services or a mix.

4. Do favours

Be generous with your time and knowledge. That’s not to say you have to give everything away for free, but be willing to go the extra mile with those you want to establish a truly lasting and profitable relationship with.

Become their sounding board, the trusted colleague they can come to with a challenge they need help with or an idea they need qualified. It can get lonely in business and sometimes you just need an outside perspective. If you can be that for someone else, and reward them with confidentiality, loyalty and sound advice, you will strengthen your business relationship to no end.

5. Ask for input

Don’t be afraid to ask for favours either. A good relationship is one that is a balance of give and take. The newer the relationship the smaller the favour, and as a good rule of thumb try to make sure they balance out. You don’t want to be the one who is always asking or the one who is always giving, so make sure the relationship is win/win for all involved.

What changes can you make to build more lasting, profitable strategic partnerships?

Amanda

29 September 2014

It’s all in the name: Five considerations when naming your business, product or service

Creating a name for a new business, product or service can be an overwhelming task, particularly when it can determine the identity, personality and the perception of your brand.

With this in mind you need more than a trusty thesaurus and clever word play, you need to think about the end result, the ultimate brand you want to create and then work backwards.

So here a five considerations to take into account when naming your new business, product or service.

1. Know your target markets and what they want

The first step in creating a great name is to know who you are targeting. While it won’t impact the name in every case, it can be a way of appealing and positioning your business, product or service in a way that easily identifies through name or slogan who it will benefit.

2. Research keywords

Research what words and terms your target market is searching for when trying to find your industry, products or services, and see if there is way you can use these keywords into your name.

By incorporating keywords into your business, product or service name, slogan and domain names you have a slight edge when it comes to Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) as it is an easy and natural way to incorporate them into your copy.

3. Be mindful of spelling and phrasing

While it can be fun, and advantageous for trademarking to invent new words and phrases, or change the spelling of existing words, be mindful of how your potential customers may spell it or search for it if they were to only hear your name.

Potential customers won’t always see your logo or the spelling of your name the first time they are introduced to you. They may hear it mentioned in an infomercial, be referred to you while talking to a friend or colleague, or perhaps even hear it on the radio or a podcast interview.

With this in mind, it is wise to make the spelling clear while it becomes established and also take precautionary methods (if possible) with domain names for instance in order to pick up potential searches and enquiries that may spell it incorrectly.

Also think about your name in terms of a hashtag. If you have multiple words in your name could they be interpreted as something else if you were to run them all together as a #hashtag on social media?

4. Use or create a verb

Using a verb or creating a word that could be used as a verb can be a great way to make your business, product or service stick in the mind of your customer and make it appear to be the best or ‘in’ thing to do. For example how many times have you said or heard someone say “Google it”.

5. Incorporate the problem you solve or benefit you provide

This can be a powerful positioning strategy that can set you apart from the very beginning.

Be mindful though that when you incorporate the problem you solve or benefit you provide in your business, product or service name you are making a promise to your customers. So whatever you say, you need to make sure that you can (while thinking of all ‘what if’ scenarios) live up to it and maintain it over the course of your business.

Do you have a process behind choosing names for your businesses, products or services?

Amanda

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