Posted by Chris Nesbitt on Mon, Jan 23, 2012
By: Chris Nesbitt, Client Advisory Director at Huntington Copper
Everyday, the average American is exposed to thousands of marketing messages a day. Each one of these marketing messages come from an agenda of someone (or some organization - whether it's business, political, non-profit, spiritual, etc.) who wants others to think or feel a certain way about what they believe or are trying to accomplish.
In business, one of the biggest challenges is to figure out how to get your message heard through all of the clutter. So, how do you do it?
Instead of trying to get your message heard, listen.
Listen first.
I believe that the people in our world today are longing for someone to listen to them and understand what they are dealing with in their life. THEY want to be heard.
You may have wanted to read this article as soon as you read the title because you want to be heard. Your target market and current clients are no different from you in that respect.
Your target market really does not care what you are marketing or selling. They want to know WIIFM (What's In It For Me?). They want to know how they can solve their problems. As most of you know, if you can help them solve their problem(s) with your product or service, you win.
How do you know if they even have a problem or think they have a problem you could potentially solve if you don't listen first? You may offer a great product or service and deliver it with phenomenal service. However, if you are trying to get your message to the wrong people (those who don't have or believe they have the problem you solve), you are wasting your time.
Unless you offer an extremely obscure product or service, there is most likely a large enough target market for you to create the amount of sales you need or desire. So, you don't have to get your message out to everyone...just those who believe they have a problem you solve.
There are many ways to listen to the market (market analysis, surveys, searching online for those talking about their problem, etc.) and many ways to listen to an individual prospect (utilizing good questions, understanding the four different communication styles, active listening, etc.), but discussing those is not the purpose of this article.
So, if you're asking "how do I get my message heard?", you're asking the wrong question. Instead:
Listen...Understand...Connect
A better question would be:
How can I really hear and understand my target market?
Followed by:
How can I connect with them in order to provide a product or service that meets their wants/needs?
What am I doing to add value to them so they feel comfortable or confident enough to buy my product or service?
What does your company do to listen to it's target market?
Photo Credit: Damian Brandon
Posted by Huntington Copper on Fri, Jan 13, 2012
By: Sean Scope, Regional Vice President at Huntington Copper
“Ok, get on with it already!”
For those of you who suffer from trishaidekaphobia, I thought it was appropirate to release this year's first issue of "Scoop from Scope" on Friday the 13th. I have decided to challenge the age old superstition. Contrary to triskaidekaphobia, I believe that 13 is a lucky number. With that said, on to my blog...
Here’s a question for my readers:
How long is vacation/holiday mode supposed to last?
I have personally witnessed a seven week long holiday mode this year. I don’t understand it. If business is so bad in the States and the economy stinks and nobody is buying anything and any other reason for that matter, why would a business owner stay in vacation/holiday mode for 7 weeks? How does that benefit their company? How does it contribute to offsetting the aforementioned excuses? Well folks…it doesn’t.
I’m convinced that we live amongst an overwhelmingly amount of professional procrastinators. So...Get on with it already! I don’t know anyone that likes to wait for good things to come to them. However, when the individual refuses to do something to get something they are creating the wait themselves. So folks, is this a business issue or person issue? The answer is both. I believe business issues are the results from the people issues. People have had to face adversity throughout the beginning of time. Some did it out of courage some out of stupidity and some out of desperation, compassion or love. The one thing all of these motivators have in common is that the person faced the fear.
When are business owners going to get back to work? Have they given up? I can’t believe that for a second. What is the obsession with not addressing the obvious? Look…it’s not complicated. If something is not the way you want it, then it is up to you to change it. If you don’t know how to change it…then find someone who can. Believe me…I don’t think we have a massive “Phobia Epidemic”, but as silly as triskaidekaphobia seems to me, there are people that experience this. Walking under a ladder, a black cat passing you, a broken mirror (This one comes with a time limit…hysterical!). It’s all hogwash. I have walked under a ladder, had many black cats pass me by and even broken a mirror or two and nothing happened to me. I choose to spend my time on creating my path and doing whatever it takes to get what I want and not making excuses. A colleague once said to me about another manager, “he made the lazy choice, instead of the right choice”. I have been reminded constantly by this quip during the 2011 vacation mode (Have I mentioned it’s been 7 weeks?)
Let’s get back to talking business. Let’s get on it with it already!
Sean Scope is a business advisor at Huntington Copper with 20+ years experience and is still very active in the small and medium sized business arena. You can read more about and connect with Sean Scope on LinkedIn. Through the "Scoop from Scope" blogs a business owner can keep his thumb on the pulse of what is trending and what is working for business owners with similar interests, challenges and wants. To make sure you don't miss any of the "Scoop from Scope" issues, we'd recommend you subscribe to this blog in the upper right hand corner of this page.
Posted by Chris Nesbitt on Thu, Jan 05, 2012
By: Chris Nesbitt, Client Advisory Director at Huntington Copper
Before we think about the 1 strategic planning question I’d like to highlight, let’s reflect for a few minutes on what is planned for 2012 and what happened in 2011. What is your strategic business plan for the next 12 months?
The last 12 months have come and gone. Are you pleased with what your business accomplished in 2011?
Was it a phenomenal year, reaching new levels of success?- Did you, as the business owner, get everything you were hoping to get from the business? Did you make the profit you wanted? Were you able to control your time or did you have to work longer, harder hours than you wanted? Was the business fun for you?
- Did your business slowly start to see an increase in revenue and profit compared to the previous few years?
- How did you business compare to other businesses in your industry?
- What improvements did you see within your business?
- Was your company culture one of simply surviving or one of thriving?
- Did your business encounter major obstacles you were not expecting?
- Did you have to fight off Company Culture Cancers within your organization?
- What do you wish would have been better about your business in the last 12 months?
Of course, there are many other great questions to ask to assess how your business did in the last 12 months at a deeper and more detailed level. However, whatever questions you ask yourself, it is important to understand whether what you experienced in the last 12 months occurred by evolution or by design.
In 5 Signs Your Organizational Structure Operates Like A Bicycle Wheel, Terry McGill stated:
“Most small businesses evolve over a period of time, in terms of their operational and organizational structure. They are not designed with certain parameters and results in mind, they simply evolve. Over a period of years, this evolution can be and usually is extremely detrimental to the owner or owners of that small business. The results will never be what the business owner or owners want them to be.”
If you were unhappy about what your business experienced and accomplished in 2011, it was most likely because it evolved to that end, as opposed to being designed for optimal results.
Unfortunately, strategic planning is often overlooked in small to medium sized businesses. This results in the business evolving to produce results contrary to what is optimal. Strategic planning is necessary for any business to succeed by design. If not given a proper direction, your business and it's employees will take on a direction of it's own, outside of your control. You, as the business owner, will typically end up managing from a reactionary standpoint as opposed to an intentional standpoint. The business will run you instead of you running the business. So, if you and your business TEAM have not already done strategic planning, we recommend doing so immediately.
As you plan for a great 2012, I believe this 1 strategic planning question is necessary to achieve the best results possible:
What is your business TEAM truly capable of accomplishing?
You can ask how your business compares to other businesses in your industry. You can figure out financial data points to report how your business has done compared to previous years. While there is value in benchmarking how your business is doing in comparison to other similar businesses, it is far more important to assess what your business is capable of. Nothing can beat taking a good look at your business TEAM and assessing what they are truly capable of accomplishing in the next 12 months, no matter how it's done in the past or compares to other businesses.
"TEAM" is a critical part of this question. Your business TEAM includes any of the business' owners, employees, outside advisors (CPAs, attorneys, business management advisors, marketing advisors, etc.). The human capital in your business is your greatest asset and has within it the greatest potential for your business' sucess. Ask your team members what they think the business is capable of and what they personally are capable of accomplishing. You might be pleasantly suprised at their answers. If they come up with the answer, they are more likely to follow through with accomplishing what they are capable of as opposed to you telling them what they should accomplish. It is important to give direction to your team but they should be involved in the process. Also, outside business advisors should be a part of your business TEAM so you can take advantage of their expertise and perspectives as well.
2011 may have had it's set of challenges. As we all know, the past is the past and there is nothing we can change about it. It's the time to say goodbye to the distractions of last year & focus on what you & your team can control now.
This year, expect to see blog articles and downloadable business management resources to assist you in making sure your business TEAM accomplishes what it is truly capable of accomplishing.
What is something your business TEAM is focused on accomplishing this year?
What are some of your upcoming challenges and concerns of accomplishing some of your goals?
As we also prepare to accomplish great things in 2012, we'd love to hear from you so we can more effectively create content and provide services that meet your wants and needs. Leave a comment here or give me a call.
Image Credit: dream designs
Posted by Chris Nesbitt on Fri, Nov 18, 2011
By: Chris Nesbitt, Client Advisory Director at Huntington Copper
In order for a small business to succeed in the long-term, it must have a strategy for success. A successful small business strategy will have to ensure not only that it makes money, but that it can grow as well. Key components of any small business strategy are systems, controls and accountability.
Not Having to Reinvent the Wheel
Your small business strategy should implement systems. Systems provide a systematic, predictable approach to common tasks or problems. They help to cut down the amount of time required to do those tasks by offering a previously worked-out infrastructure. One of the simplest systems to incorporate are email templates. They can range from thank you emails to reminders of upcoming meetings; email templates can save you time by not requiring you to reinvent the wheel.
More complicated systems can include company policies and guidelines, sales and marketing procedures, customer-complaint procedures, or accounting systems. Whatever the system need, a successful small business strategy ensures that the system works regardless of who is implementing it. Not making it dependent on a specific person's skillset will free your time up and allow for greater autonomy.
Controlling the System
In allowing systems to take on a greater leading role in how your small business employees act in given situations, it's equally vital to implement effective controls. The primary small business strategy for control has been usage of managers. But a more effective, and less heavy-handed, method is via a company's culture. Successful businesses often instill dedication in their employee case by offering a company culture they want to belong to. Google, Southwest and Zappos are great examples where employees dedicate their time and creativity to the company beyond what is asked of them because they buy into the culture and company mission.
Stay True to Your Business With Accountability
While these are all things that can ensure a business is successful, they won't be able to help you unless you actually implement them. Being flexible is important, but a small business strategy reliant on simply "winging it" whenever a new issue crops up won't get the business very far. Ensuring these methods are implemented requires accountability. Business advisors and coaches can help you stay on track. Consult with a business coach or mentor and be accountable. It'll help you not only stay on task, but your business flourish as well.
Posted by Chris Nesbitt on Thu, Nov 10, 2011
By: Chris Nesbitt, Client Advisory Director at Huntington Copper
A typical business day in a large corporation versus the same day in a small business are quite diverse. Even though the two are in a business-for-profit enterprise, the two are managed in completely different ways.
Suddenly transporting a corporate executive into a small business environment and expecting the same managerial skills to make a successful transition is unrealistic. The management of a small business compared to a corporation with an expansive workforce is as different as comparing cupcakes to wedding cakes.
The Executive Network
A large corporate environment has employees to handle virtually anything. Duties from tax planning to human resources to marketing to cost management to profit margins are generally handled internally. Because of the high volume of sales, these components have a hierarchy of management responsible to the company operating officer. Subordinates handle the fine details of each component and report their separate departmental information to the executive. By keeping him or her informed of detailed information, planning and decisions are made at the top and executed by the network of various managers and staff. Information travels up to the peak of the network pyramid, execution and instruction travels down toward the base.
Small Business Management
Because of its size, limited sales and margins, small business management relies on fewer employees. Thus, most of the details of operating the company are left to the owner or manager. Since the network is so limited, tax planning, accounting, cash flow and cost management are either left to the manager to do or outsourced to independent firms. If outsourced, the manager must spend time finding the proper firm to handle the details and provide the information. This increases costs and cuts into revenue. If it is handled by the manager alone, it increases the time involved in such details and reduces the time left for other company activities.
Though the small business manager is more involved in the details of the company, there is less time for overall planning strategies. The corporate executive delegates these detailed responsibilities and has more time to concentrate on the growth and development of the organization.
The hands-on approach of the small business manager or owner gives them more detailed information. The organizational approach of the executive would not serve them well at the small business level because gathering information, planning and executing would be their own responsibility. Delegation and instructional skills would be of little or no use.
Photo Credit: Arvind Balaraman
Posted by Chris Nesbitt on Mon, Nov 07, 2011
By: Chris Nesbitt, Client Advisory Director at Huntington Copper
Small business owners – the US economy relies on you for success. The US economy is controlled by numerous factors; however, many people underestimate the importance that small businesses have on this. A small business, according to the Small Business Association, is a business that has 500 employees or less. Small businesses are found in every industry and area in this country. There are numerous reasons why small businesses are the backbone of the economy, causing them to be extremely important and valuable.
According to recent statistics, small businesses represent 99.7% of all employers in the US. Small business owners, you are the backbone of the economy because you provide the majority of jobs to people. You create more new jobs than any other group of businesses and you provide jobs in all types of industries. Small businesses account for 60 to 80% of all new jobs created annually. It is not the big businesses that create and provide jobs to the majority of US citizens; it is the small business owner. Small businesses hire people in jobs such as sales, marketing, human resources, accounting systems, business advisors and much more.
Another reason why the small business owner is vital for the economy is because 45% of the payroll taxes, collected by the government, come from small businesses. Without small businesses, there are fewer jobs and fewer taxes paid. These reasons cause other effects on the economy. If small businesses account for 97% percent of jobs, what would happen to the economy if these small businesses fail? It seems that if this happened, 97% of people would not have jobs, the government would collect fewer taxes, and most people would not have money to survive. This would cause sales, for goods and services, to drop tremendously. It is the small business owner that this economy is relying on.
If you are a small business owner, there are numerous problems you may encounter that might cause you to want to close up shop. Small businesses have many problems in common with one another, such as cash flow management and cost management. Business owners should plan numerous things to be successful in business. This includes performance measurement plans, succession planning and exit strategies. Small business owners: work hard at improving your business because the US economy relies on you.
Photo Credit: Michael Elliott
Posted by Guest Blog on Tue, Nov 01, 2011
This is a guest post by Myron Corp., manufacturer of quality custom promotional items to build brand awareness and customer loyalty. Learn more about Myron Corp. at the end of this article.
There are a number of actions that small business marketers can take to garner more views and increase sales from customers on their company's website. New content, dynamic media, interesting information and real value all form the basis of an effective website. In this article, we discuss how effective B2B websites should use different strategies to increase sales than what B2C websites should use.
It is important for companies that engage in business to business (B2B) transactions to know exactly how they should go about optimizing their online presences. While many of the basic precepts of B2C and B2B remain the same, there are a few careful distinctions that must be made, or else internet marketing and inbound marketing campaigns won't be nearly as successful.
Industry Relevance
While the individual employees of a business might have lives and interests beyond work, they're not likely to have time or resources on hand that they can dedicate to non-work tasks. As a result, B2B websites need to be focused exclusively on the industry in which target clients operate. In addition to making sure that the topics of blog posts and social media posts are interesting to the right people, such content will also reassure researchers and customers that an organization is knowledgeable about the field in which it operates.
Making the Right Connections
When creating a website with which individual customers will interact, a marketer knows that the person viewing any pictures or information is the target of all advertising and brand awareness efforts. People who buy consumer products and retail items don't need to check with supervisors or hold meetings to decide whether or not they should make certain purchases. Instead, they themselves are the focus of all campaigns.
Conversely, commercial purchases and B2B transactions require that the appropriate supervisors have either signed off on a purchase or delegated responsibility to other employees. This means that the language and structure of a company's website should reflect an understanding that not every person who views it will be authorized to make purchases.
Financial Emphasis
Another aspect of most consumer purchases is the prevalence of emotional appeals. Companies can rest easy in the knowledge that they'll be able to make non-rational arguments on behalf of their products or services that are actually valuable to customers. Claiming that a certain article of clothing or household item can make a person feel better about himself isn't ridiculous when people are engaged in transactions by themselves.
In contrast, businesses are not typically swayed by such emotional appeals only. Instead, they will be more likely to make purchases that are based on cost-benefit analysis, return on investment assessments and other numbers-based investigations. To improve your B2B website’s potential to increase sales leads and increase sales, highlight these logical benefits rather than making emotional appeals alone.
Headquartered in Maywood, NJ, Myron Corp. manufactures quality custom promotional items to build brand awareness and customer loyalty. Specializing in items like personalized pens or custom calendars, Myron works closely with businesses to select the right promotional products to acquire, strengthen and grow relationships with customers and employees.
Posted by Huntington Copper on Mon, Oct 31, 2011
By: Terry McGill, Huntington Copper Business Advisor
Most of the information that is available on business partnerships offers very good advice on how to set up a business partnership and some of the things you may do to enhance your partnership as far as communication, sharing common goals, buy-sell agreements and their importance, agreement on the various duties, responsibilities & expectations that each partner has for themselves and their partners, etc.
All of the above information is accurate and important and makes reasonable & rational sense.
What I don’t find much information about is:
What you should do when the individual or individuals you selected as your business partner/partners isn’t speaking to you and has no desire to improve anything regarding the business or the relationship, and in general, has become a living nightmare with the intent on making their partners life and business an unbearable existence?- What do you do then, when all of the reasonable & rational sense has gone and been replaced with irrational comments & unreasonable thoughts and actions?
A small business partnership is an entirely different scenario than a joint venture or partnership between GM & Ford Motor Company. In a small business partnership, you are dealing with individuals, and as such, are prone to be subject to the same problems, issues, insecurities, egos, pride, anger and petty differences that cause all individuals on-going grief as we muddle through our day to day lives.
When a business partnership is first created:
- Everyone seems to always be on the same page up front
- The business partnership makes great sense at the time
- Everyone is excited about the tremendous prospects of creating a great & successful company.
Its fine for a period of time and then the cracks in the wall begin to show themselves, and we as individuals, mature and change our attitudes toward the underlying business and the goals we had 5 years ago. The goals we have today are not the same goals and aspirations we had 5-10 years ago and now, the partnership is a complete mess! It sounds like a bad marriage and guess what, it is.
There is a reason the current divorce rate is 50%. It’s a flip of a coin when you create a partnership. In my travels and interactions with clients all across the country, maybe 20% of all the partnerships are solid and productive. The rest are in various states of dysfunction and not very productive at all, at the small business level.
How can you fix it?
If everything the partners have tried has failed or not worked to the degree hoped for, you may want to look at it like a bad marriage and try partnership mediation. In a bad marriage, many times couples will try counseling & mediation before they would actually divorce in an effort to save the marriage. A partnership can be approached from the same concept and dynamics. In working with business owners to assist them in addressing their challenges and accomplishing their goals, much of my time is spent as an outside third party mediating business partnerships disputes and searching for common ground moving forward. An objective third party can sometimes make a difference. As a third party, you are trying to focus on what makes the most sense for the business without the petty personal differences that partners will develop over time. There are no guarantees here. Just like a bad marriage, sometimes it simply won’t work out and the business partnership will have to be dissolved.
Even upon the business partnership being dissolved, the process can be much easier with a strategic plan of how to break the business partnership up with the best results for both sides. Keep in mind that it’s a good idea to address the partnership issues as soon as they present themselves, as opposed to waiting until the relationships have deteriorated to a point of no return. Once they get to that point of no return, it becomes extremely difficult to address the true issues and make meaningful business partnership change.
Photo Credit: Ambro
Posted by Chris Nesbitt on Fri, Oct 28, 2011
By: Chris Nesbitt, Client Advisory Director at Huntington Copper
Are your employees unproductive? Do they seem bored even though they have a lot to do? Do they seem apathetic about the outcome of their work and what it might mean to the company's success?
If yes, you have a real concern for your business. If you want your employees to work efficiently and with excellence, you have to figure out employee internal motivation.
“But why?” you might ask. “Shouldn’t a stable job with good pay be enough?”
Well, yes, but only to a point. That'll keep them coming in and working, but it’s not enough to motivate them to work at their highest potential.
It’s not always about money, either. While financial incentives can help boost productivity, several studies have shown that financial rewards, far from boosting employee internal motivation, can actually de-motivate! In this article, we will discuss motivational factors other than money.
So what does feed employee internal motivation and how can you tap into it?
- Your employee wants to work for a company they care about. Is your company just in it for quick, soulless sales, or does it have a higher purpose with which your employees can identify? (The higher purpose doesn’t have to be as noble as world peace – creating the best tablet computer seems to have motivated many Apple employees.)
- Your employee wants to work for a boss they care about. Employee internal motivation is greatly boosted when you can connect as a human being.
- Your employee wants to do work that is challenging and fulfilling. Think of something difficult you’re good at. Maybe it’s your golf game. Golf is inherently challenging and if you really succeed at it, doesn’t that feel a lot better than the easy things you accomplish? Athletes call it being in the zone – and the zone has its own rewards that can’t be faked.
- Your employee wants to experience mastery. Deep down, we want to get better at something, to make progress. Encourage individual improvement and training within your company.
- Your employee wants autonomy. If you hired a good team, they know how to do the job. Employee internal motivation is boosted by respect, and micromanaging sends a message of disrespect. Sometimes the best thing to do is get out of the way!
- Your employee wants to be appreciated. Appreciation is personal, not a gift card to a local restaurant. Back to connecting on a human level!
What do your employees want? Do you know them well enough to know? Should you communicate with them more to find out? They want to have a genuinely good reason to get up in the mornings, and self-actualization is a good reason. They’re showing up to work already. So, why not tap into inherent employee internal motivation, and watch their productivity soar?
What are some strategies that have worked for you to tap into your employee's internal motivation?
Photo Credit: Nuttakit
Posted by Huntington Copper on Tue, Oct 25, 2011
By: Ryan Frost, Huntington Copper
A business owner who strives to consistently improve both his operations and company as a whole is always going to have a competitive edge. This includes improving both external aspects, such as marketing, and internal aspects, such as operations (each of which is equally important). It is often said that the most important part of a business is the business itself; however the business does not run without qualified and committed employees.
Many articles have been written on improving employee morale and retention. However, there are other ways we have not yet discussed to improve their knowledge, skills and productivity. Although some workers may be content with the skills that they have, there are also those few who believe it important to always improve. One way for them to improve is to obtain a higher education, whether they do so through getting a degree from a university, or getting a higher qualification, such as a license. It is important for an employer to embrace the idea of helping to fund further education for employees because it helps the employee to improve, and this will lead to an improvement within the organization as a whole in the long run.
4 Benefits of Sponsoring an Employee’s Education:
- It will assist in the employee’s professional growth and development, allowing them to become a more vital member of the team, and improve their productivity.
- The additional training/education will help with the cultivation of the expertise necessary to succeed in an increasingly competitive environment.
- As with many big investments, paying for a school’s tuition is tax deductible, and can be written off of a company’s tax returns for a big break in expenses.
- By sponsoring an employee, it allows them to feel trusted, and may boost morale, because an owner who is willing to spend money to improve one’s abilities is a sign of confidence.
These are just a few examples of the benefits of sponsoring an employee’s education. Can you think of any other benefits in sponsoring employee education that may bring a company closer to a championship company culture?
Photo Credit: David Castillo Dominici