Although being a few years old, the 2007 report covered businesses in the U.S., Australia and Europe and from my recent experience the finding still hold true. It reports a disturbing average of 18% of working time wasted among the surveyed businesses. The U.S. came in as most efficient with ‘only’ 14.1% of working hours […]
Mistake 1 – Cutting back on marketing expenditures when revenues drop Marketing expenses are always the easiest to cut back in a hurry. However, reduced levels of advertising and promotions inevitably mean further reductions to income levels, so before cutting back in a hurry think about the consequences. When revenues drop it should stimulate any […]
Heart attack, car accident, illness, a resignation, family dispute. Most of these are unanticipated, but by no means unusual or uncommon events, fall under ‘The 4Ds’ – Death, Divorce, Disability or Departure. The occurrence of any one of them can instantly throw a business into disarray. Unpleasant though they are to consider, when one of […]
But that doesn’t mean these leads have any real value. They have to be contacted, made an offer, and usually followed-up several times before they can be sold and converted into customers. This is a time-consuming and often expensive process, and it’s where most businesses get it wrong. A lead is really just raw material, […]
Traditionally business growth developed organically over the longer term as a company improved its operations and market penetration from year to year. A merger can seem an attractive strategy for leapfrogging into new markets instantly and for a fraction of the trouble involved with growing organically but, in fact, more than 50 percent of all […]
With the demise of the Emissions Trading Scheme, a lot of businesses are uncertain of what they should be doing/need to do with respect to carbon emissions. Senior Consultant Michael du Plessis and I have been working with one business which is not asking questions, but taking action. This leader in carbon neutral printing has […]
The following comes from professional motivational speaker, US based Dirk Beverige. Here are his top 11 top sales person separators: Clearly Defined Expectations Is everyone under your leadership on the “same page,” or is someone marching to a different drummer? Improved productivity and performance require the clear communication of expectations. Our sales representatives should: Know […]
As a parent of young children, I have never been a fan of Gordon Ramsey’s straight-talking TV shows. However, I have watched with a professional interest as I find the way he approaches solving a restaurants problems are so characteristic of the basic business management principals I use when working with clients. Well it seems […]
In a recent article by RSM Bird Cameron six key pints were highlighted when considering exiting a business. The key learnings from the article are: 76% of business owners surveyed have no plan to exit their business. This is significant when you consider the value that is generally tied up in a business. It takes […]
Product, Price, Place and Promotion. These have long been the 4 pillars of marketing, but are they still relevant? Putting the right product in the right place at the right price with the right promotion meant you would have the greatest chance of marketing success, does this still ring true? Focussing your marketing on the […]