Are you smooth?

Can your business learn from how people drive?

I often find myself driving behind motorist that I describe as brake stabbers. They arrive at a corner too fast and stab on the brakes, or even worse wait until they are in the corner, realise they are going too fast and brake. When the road narrows, they stab on the brakes just as they arrive at the narrow bit. Annoying and unnecessary. I do not use my brakes often; with some anticipation I just have to take my foot off the accelerator before the car in front brakes. Driving that way, I maintained a safe and fixed distance between our cars. If brake stabbers adopted a similar driving style the passengers would have a more pleasant ride, the car would use less fuel, the environment would benefit and there would be less brake wear.

Brake stabbing drivers are reacting to changing road conditions not anticipating them, they are not using all the information available: looking ahead to see the road, noticing the road signs for bends, junctions etc., the pattern of the white lines on the road. Many business owners are guilty of similar behaviour with their heads down working in the business, not reading the signs and not anticipating what is coming. Instead, they react to the crisis when it arrives.

I know of many business owners who have invested in networking or social media marketing then, when the business starts rolling in, they stop doing it. Then when business demand dries up, they suddenly start doing it again. This results in a jerky journey which, just like for brake stabbers’ passengers, is uncomfortable for the business’s staff or in the case of a sole trader their family. A smooth approach will result in quicker progress.

Another ‘stabbing on the brakes’ type activity is credit control, nothing much is done until cashflow is a problem then there is a flurry of activity of chasing debtors with other activities being side-lined. It is much better to take a smooth approach and manage those debtors consistently, the cash will then indeed flow.

Braking alters the balance of the car and the weight distribution across the tyres, particularly braking while cornering, this can lead to a loss of grip. If this happens when road conditions are bad e.g. a patch of oil or diesel, damp leaves or standing water, it could lead to a crash. It is the same in business, if things are out of balance, for example the accounting is not up to date, stock levels not adequate, staff not trained, invoices not raised promptly, etc. when conditions get rough, and we have seen lots of that recently, the business may crash. When you need to apply for credit and the bank want accounts, if these are not up to date there will be a delay while you are getting this done (perhaps neglecting sales activity) and this could lead to worsening cash flow that may push the business over the edge before the loan comes through. Or even if the loan does arrive before the crunch, it could be too late if sales have dried up due to that lack of activity.

Just like a well-balanced car has a better chance of dealing with the unexpected, so will a well-balance business. Don’t be a brake stabber, look up, look ahead and anticipate.

Honesty Box

The seed of an idea for these business blogs has to grow and I nurture it until it is ready to harvest, then I prepare it so you can digest it. If you found the content useful please consider popping some money into the honesty box. Unlike buying eggs at the farm gate, you cannot put the cash in a box because you are reading this online. You can click on the Buy Me a Coffee link below which will take you to a page where by magic (nifty software) a small amount of money will disappear from your account and appear in mine. Don’t worry you are in control all the time. If the post wasn’t helpful, please leave a comment suggesting how it can be improved.

If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.

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Effective networking

Networking can be a useful tool for most businesses, unfortunately many of them do not do it well. Networking has a lot to do with sales but has nothing to do with selling. Try selling at a networking event and you will fail. It is about building relationships and trust.

There is one simple thing you need to do to make networking effective – work at it. Too many people turn up at networking events without having a clear idea of why they are there. Below are seven key points:

Have a clear goal and that should not be about sales, it should be about building relationships. So, it might be to meet two new people or to speak to specific people.

Try different events to find the ones that work the best for you.

Don’t just talk to the people you already know, make a point of talking to people you don’t know.

Have a clear understanding of what you do and be able to articulate this well. If you do lots of things, select one or two that you think will be applicable to the people you are likely to meet and stick to those.

Be helpful. Provide people with useful information, business tips and referrals. They will remember you and see you as a person to turn to for advice. This will keep you in their minds, so they are more likely to refer you to other people.

Follow up afterwards with a short friendly message. Not a sales pitch.

Make sure you take your business cards or have the digital equivalent. They should be high-quality and have relevant, up to date information on them. Obvious, but you would be surprised by how many people fail in this area.

To amplify on point 4, you are often asked to give a ‘pitch’ that is no more than a set time which could be 30 seconds, 1 minute, 2 minutes or, more dangerously, no time limit. In that last situation do not waffle and keep it short to avoid boring people. Prepare and practice your pitch beforehand and have different ones for the different time limits. Do not go over the limit, it is disrespectful to others in the room and shows that you do not fully understand your business. If you understand the key drivers of success, then you can say the most important thing in less than 30 seconds. And do not say “I have several hats can I have longer”. You are not special so my answer would be no. Choose the most important one for that occasion and stick to it.

For some more great tips on networking and other presentations check out Trevor Lee’s book 7 Steps to Successful Presentations.

If you want to try some networking in the South West or online use this link for a free 30-day trial to Your Partnerships.

Honesty Box

If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to. Pay for two and I can have cake as well.

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Give first then don’t take; receive.

In a corporate world where ‘sell, sell, sell’ and ‘make the assets sweat’ are mantras and a lack of instant success results in the words ‘You’re Fired’, it might seem heresy to suggest building a successful business on giving. However, giving first can be a powerful tool to build strong and lasting customer engagement, a compelling brand image and open the doors to collaborating with other businesses to enter new markets.

As is the case with most things it needs to be done with integrity, we have all seen examples where a free gift is the route to a hard sell. One small business that embraces the ‘give first’ approach is Sox Digital and they do it well. On their website they say “we really dislike it when people’s free advice amounts to “buy my stuff and solve all of your problems!”” They set out clearly what you can expect from their free advice offer and that is free advice and that’s it. One advantage of giving is that people will often become advocates giving word-of-mouth recommendations. If you find that hard to believe then look no further than this article for proof. I have just recommended Sox Digital. According to a Nielsen report, 92% of people trust word of mouth referrals from those they know, more than they trust all other forms of advertising. Powerful stuff.

Giving can also show you to be an expert and able to provide exceptional value. Again I will provide an example, Trevor Lee. Trevor provides Presentation and Sales Training and often runs free webinars or in person talks where he provides lots of free information and advice which has led to him being seen as an expert. You take away a lot from those sessions including the thought that if you want to improve more it would be well worth paying for Trevor’s services. Trevor has written two books, 12 Business Lessons from Running an Ultramarathon and 7 Steps to Successful Presentations, he doesn’t give them away but in line with his giving ‘ethos’ profits are donated to the charity Children’s Hospice South West.

Trevor also runs a podcast, ‘Better Presentations More Sales’ where he interviews industry experts. As you would expect there is a giveaway on his website’s podcast page, a guide to delivering better virtual presentations. The podcast is a powerful example of how giving can lead to great collaborations. Originally Trevor had to find people to interview for his podcast, now they approach him, which can only strengthen his brand. Now Trevor is thinking of taking the top tips from those podcasts and using them, with the contributors’ permission, to create a business book. That is something that would not have happened if he ran his business in a sell, sell, take, take way. I am sure the book will be a success, all the people who have their tips included will obviously be keen to promote Trevor’s book.

So start giving and unlock your true potential.

Honesty Box

If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to. Pay for two and I can have cake as well. 🙂

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Do you deliver on your promises?

Two recent experiences lead to this blog post. I was on a course several weeks ago and early on the presenter said there was no need to take copious notes because he would be sending out the slides. Three weeks later these have not been received despite me sending a reminder a week ago. It was a good course, but now I have a negative feeling towards the presenter. That would not have happened had he fulfilled that promise or never made it.

Then a few days after that I was at an event where the speaker took questions from the audience. I asked a question and received this response “That is a very good question, unfortunately I do not know the answer. When I get back to the office I will research it and get back to you,” A good speaker and an honest response; however, as he did not follow up I have a negative opinion of him.

It is better to under promise and over deliver.

Imagine how I would have felt if a few days after the course I received an email from the trainer saying “the slides are attached and I have also added some extra material. It covers the points that were raised in the discussions.” And again think how I would have felt if that expert speaker sent me an email saying “I have researched your question and the information in the attachment answers your question and also provides some background details. I also discovered some other information that may interest you, again details are attached.” That would have wowed me and had me recommending the course and suggesting the expert speaker to other people.

It is often not what we say but what we do that creates the biggest impression. A promise to do something for someone is also a promise to yourself. If you are taking a course where you are going to say you will send the materials out afterwards make sure there is time in your diary to do just that. And if you have a speaking engagement make sure there is time in your diary to follow up on any actions. There is no point making a great impression on the day then ruining it later.

I am not religious; however my grandfather was a vicar so I have a reasonable knowledge of the bible and always find useful words in there. Ecclesiastes 9:11 has “that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither bread to the wise nor yet riches to men of understanding…” In that vein I would argue that business does not go to those that talk the best talk, but those that walk the talk and consistently deliver on promises.

Under promise and over deliver, to do otherwise is to disappoint.

Honesty Box

If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to. Pay for two and I can have cake as well. 🙂

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Wise Beyond Their Years

When I was young, I was told that I should respect my elders. I did not agree with that, I believe everyone should be treated with respect irrespective of their age. Some people because of their values and the way they behave deserve an extra level of respect.

Older people have more experience and through that some gain wisdom; however, for others those experiences leave them with a jaundiced view that results in behaviours that do not garner respect. And for others years of experience is, at best, one year’s experience repeated many times.

In my early career I sought out older people for their advice and to act as mentors, it wasn’t their age that made them useful, it was how experiences had shaped their lives and that they were willing to pass on that experience in a non-dogmatic way. That I respected.

Now I look to young people for advice and mentoring, they are leaving school and university with up-to-date knowledge and often know things I do not. They also understand modern society and the needs and expectations of the younger generations which are often different from how things were when my patterns of thinking were formed.

If I am to manage people well, I need to understand what is important to them and if I want to sell products and services, I need to understand what people need and want. Given my demographic not many of my potential customers are like me, about 17% of the UK population is over 65. If anyone deserves respect due to their age it is the young. They have to cope with a lot more change and complexity when they are trying to find their place in the world than my generation ever did. And, overall, they are doing a great job.

Honesty Box

If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.

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Ask and ye shall receive

My debut as a stand-up comedian made me think about how businesses often do not ask for what they want

The debut was on the 1^st of August at Toast in Falmouth. Before the event I was feeling very nervous and posted this message on Facebook.

I am making my stand-up comedy debut at Toast in Falmouth tonight – I am a tad nervous please send helpful thoughts.

I soon received plenty of messages of support which improved my confidence. The following is a small selection.

You will be wonderful!! Have fun!!!

You’re a natural, what an experience. ENJOY and have fun!

Just be you, they will love you.

You’re gonna smash it!

I’m pleased to say that my debut went well, I loved it and have been booked to do more. Part of the success was down to the support I received from friends; I only received that support because I asked for it.

In business I have often come across incidences of people not asking for what they need:

salespeople waxing lyrical about their product then not asking the potential customer if they want to buy it
businesses with many satisfied customers not asking for testimonials
not asking for help because it is seen as weakness
not asking for referrals

At networking events I often hear people say what they do but not what they want; there is no specific ask. When I talk about the charity I support, Go Beyond, I have four specific asks:

Money (donations)
People to volunteer
Referrals to schools (which can refer children to the charity)
Child appropriate jokes (mine are getting overused)

That has produced results in all four categories although the jokes have been weak 😊

Ask and ye shall receive – don’t ask and people will not know that you need something or what it is.

Honesty Box

If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.

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Connect

Networking is not giving a pitch or even having conversations, it is about what you do in the room and outside of it. The other day I attended a networking lunch where there were speakers before the lunch and between the main course and dessert. The speakers were interesting and entertaining yet some people in the room chose not to listen, instead they were on their phones writing emails, browsing the internet, checking social media, etc. What does that say about them? I am perhaps old-fashioned in thinking that one is duty bound to listen to people who have spent time preparing something to present to the audience. Also, if people cannot listen to people who paid for their lunch, some of the speakers were from the event sponsors, how much attention are they going to give to me. Another thought is that if they are easily distracted how well will they concentrate on giving me great service?

Two people from the same organisation sat together and spent the whole of the time talking to each other not engaging with anyone else on the table. They obviously do not want, or need, my business and are certainly not going to get it.

I observed people as they milled about before and after the lunch. It was clear that some people moved on as soon as they discovered the person they were talking to was not a potential customer. Strange – it’s networking, not sales pitching. Building good relationships with a range of people allows you to contact, via them, with people not in the room – that is what networking is about.

After the meeting you can also get it very wrong. Connecting on LinkedIn is good, immediately sending sales pitches in a private message is not. Do send friendly messages designed to build rapport. DO NOT spam. And don’t express an interest in someone’s business as a potential customer at the meeting to get their contact details then follow up afterwards just to try and sell them something. Networking is about building relationships not destroying them.

Honesty Box

If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.

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Tip top condition

Recently there have been stories in the press about pressures on the ambulance service because patients cannot be admitted to hospital and problems with people accessing GP services. The Government has responded with a plan to ease bed blocking in hospitals, extra funding for the ambulance services and plans to train and recruit more doctors. In my opinion this is tackling the problem in the wrong direction, increasing supply rather than reducing demand. Lifestyle diseases (preventable diseases) exceed communicated diseases and genetic disorders so reducing demand would be a better solution. For example, by encouraging people to be more active and eat more healthily.

Businesses fall into the trap of wrong direction thinking. For example, I recently encountered a mobile dog grooming business that was not generating sufficient profit and the owner was working all hours taking on new customers. This was the wrong approach, she needed to get rid of some of the customers as they were costing her money. By servicing the profitable customers well and dropping the unprofitable customers she worked less hours and had better profits.

In tough times the usual approach is to cut costs, this can be sensible; however, so can incurring extra costs. Paying for a consultant to examine the business and recommend adjustments that can cut appropriate costs and increase sales may be a great investment.

If you do not have a handle on what is going on with the business, and why it is leaking cash, paying for a good accountancy package that will provide useful data to enable you to better mange the business is a wise move. So is investing in a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system to better manage your sales funnel. There is no point shovelling more sales in the top if it is more like a sieve than a funnel.

Of course, it is better to follow the advice of John F. Kennedy:

The time to repair the roof is when the sun is shining.

Being proactive and keeping your business healthy will prevent the need for remedial action.

Honesty Box

If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.

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PowerPoint – get it right please

Recently I was subjected to another poor PowerPoint presentation and asked myself why after over 30 years people still make the same mistakes? I am a fan of PowerPoint and so are Microsoft who bought it in 1987 for $14 million (about $34 million in today’s terms). It is a vast improvement on overhead projectors and acetate slides which were what was used when I first gave presentations. It is a powerful presentation aid and there, I think, lies the problem, people believe it is the presentation and think it will do all the work. Like any tool or instrument, it needs to be used with skill. A violin in the hands of the untrained and unskilled is a dreadful thing, in the hands of a virtuoso it produces beautiful music.

That was the first problem with the PowerPoint presentation I suffered; no training and no skill. It was produced by someone who was an expert in his field, but not in creating good PowerPoint slides. He was also not good at giving presentations. This is often the case, a company will use an expert or a senior manager to give presentations because they know the stuff, often they know nothing about giving presentations.

Top tip 1) Get someone who is good at preparing PowerPoint slides to produce them and someone who is good at presenting to present them (this may not be the same person). The expert can be on-hand to answer questions on the day.

This may create more work with people having to be briefed and more people involved; however, if it is important, it is worth the investment in doing it well.

Top tip 2) Make sure people can see the slides. You may not be able to access the venue you are using before the day, but you will probably know the size. Check that someone sitting at the furthest distance away from the screen can read it.

Top tip 3) Do not put too much on the slide. Don’t put lots of data on the slide or complicated graphs. Pull out the main feature and make sure that is writ large.

68% Increase

If people want to see the data, you can send it to them after.

Top tip 4) Don’t put your name, company logo, website etc on every slide. People will remember you if you deliver a great presentation not because you cluttered up each slide with unnecessary stuff and please don’t use pretty curlicues. Leave the fancy templates alone.

Top tip 5) Don’t read from the slide. It will mean you will turn your back on the audience (not good) and you will put too many words on the slide. Instead of putting:

“One of the main things your presentation needs to have is impact.”

Just say that sentence and put impact writ large on the slide.

IMPACT

Or if the style of your presentation fits with it used a picture to illustrate impact.

There is a lot more I could say but just by following these tips you will avoid your presentation being a car crash.

Honesty Box

If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.

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Are you in control?

I recently wrote the following in my Electric Car Driving Experience blog and thought the BMW driver was a good metaphor for many business owners.

The drive on Saturday was uneventful except for the behaviour of one BMW driver. On the short two-lane section near Wadebridge the BMW overtook me doing well in excess of the speed limit, I was doing 60 mph at the time. A little later I caught the car up in the windy single carriageway section, it was going slower than I would have done, particularly through the Allen valley. What was worse was that the driver was a brake stabber; arrive fast at a corner on the brakes, in the corner on the brakes, road narrows a bit on the brakes. Annoying and unnecessary. I did not use my brakes once, with some anticipation I just had to take my foot off the accelerator before the car in front braked. Driving that way, I maintained a safe and fixed distance between our cars. Had the BMW driver adopted a similar driving style the passengers would have had a more pleasant ride, the car would have used less fuel, the environment would have benefitted and there would have been less brake wear.

The BMW driver was reacting to changing road conditions not anticipating them, they were not using all the information available: looking ahead to see the road, noticing the road signs for bends, junctions etc., the pattern of the white lines on the road. Many business owners are guilty of similar behaviour with their heads down working in the business, not reading the signs and not anticipating what is coming. Instead, they react to the crisis when it arrives.

I know of many business owners who have invested in networking or social media marketing then when the business starts rolling in, they stop doing it. Then when business demand dries up, they suddenly start doing it again. This example is about speeding up, with the BMW driver it was slowing down, both give a jerky journey which is uncomfortable for the car’s passengers and the business’s staff or in the case of a sole trader their family. A smooth approach will result in quicker progress.

Another ‘stabbing on the brakes’ activity is credit control, nothing much is done until cashflow is a problem then there is a flurry of activity of chasing debtors with other activities being side-lined. It is much better to take a smooth approach and manage those debtors consistently, the cash will then indeed flow.

Braking alters the balance of the car and the weight distribution across the tyres, particularly braking while cornering, this can lead to a loss of grip. If this happens when road conditions are bad, a patch of oil or diesel, damp leaves or standing water it could lead to a crash. It is the same in business if things are out of balance, for example the accounting is not up today, stock levels not adequate, staff not trained, invoicing not raised promptly, etc. when conditions get rough, and we have seen lots of that recently, the business may crash. When you need to apply for credit and the bank want accounts, if these are not up to date there will be a delay while you are getting this done (perhaps neglecting sales activity) and this could lead to worsening cash flow that could push the business over the edge before the loan comes through. Or even if the loan does arrive before the crunch, it could be too late if sales have dried up due to that lack of activity.

Just like a well-balanced car has a better chance of dealing with the unexpected, so will a well- balance business. Don’t be a brake stabber, look up, look ahead and anticipate.

Honesty Box

If you like what I say you can buy me a coffee if you want to.

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