It’s the start of 2019. I know it’s going to be an exciting year. Especially if you’re in business.
This is our 19th year in business and if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s paraphrased in the old Serenity prayer, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Courage to change the things I can, And wisdom to know the difference.”
We can’t change the global economy so whether it’s “good” or “difficult” it really doesn’t matter.
What does matter is understanding what we can control, starting with the most important thing, our own mindset.
Do we have a mindset of expansion and aspiration or do we live in fear. Do we want a growing, thriving business or bury our heads in the sand, hoping things will get better.
If you’re reading this I’m going to assume the former.
You’re aspirational and want to reach your growth targets. You feel 2019 is going to be your year of expansion.
In this article series we’ll go over the fundamentals underpinning all successful companies as well as our 4 Pillars model that underpins all growth. We’ll cover the areas you need to master to achieve your goals.
At a macro level every organisation, be it a single owner to a multinational has 3 core functions.
- Sales/Marketing
- Delivery
- Finance/Admin.
Each has to be strong.
There’s no point selling and bringing in clients if you can’t deliver. Being great at delivery, but not bringing in clients won’t get you far either. And if you’re not making a profit, why are you in business?
Having said that, we’ll focus on four core areas which underpin all growth.
- Sales
- Marketing
- Strategy
- Mindset & Leadership.
Sales: No matter how great your product, how exceptional your delivery and the results your clients experience, nothing happens until a sale is made.
Your goal in sales improvement is twofold.
- Reducing the time it takes for a prospect to go from initial contact to becoming a client
- Increasing the conversion rate of prospects into clients.
Marketing: The way senior decision makers buy higher value products and services has irrevocably changed in the last few years.
Prospects now do their own research into issues, look for possible suppliers and are often 60% to 80% down the decision making process before contacting suppliers.
Therefore your marketing must fulfil two primary roles.
- Raise awareness and position you as the trusted authority in your space making you the obvious choice in your field.
- Encourage prospects to initiate contact after they’ve done their research because a prospect who calls you is twice as likely to buy compared with one you reach out to.
Strategy:
We define strategy as the overall thinking that will get you from where you are to your desired outcomes.
A well-defined strategy provides a clear roadmap, consisting of a set of guiding principles or rules that defines priorities and actions required to achieve your goals.
Major components include:
Determining your target market(s). Who your ideal clients are, what and how you deliver (your business model) and what makes you unique in the eyes of your market.
Once you have a long term focus, your strategy breaks this down into 10 year, 3 year, 1 year and 90 day segments which can be actioned.
Mindset & Leadership:
Your business success or lack thereof is a direct reflection of your mindset and leadership.
To fulfil your true potential you must be growth oriented, willing to adapt, and willing to be vulnerable as in open minded, willing to admit weaknesses and willing to face reality as it stands.
Defining and articulating your organisation’s core values, beliefs and focus ensures everyone in your team is pulling in the same direction.
An accountability system clearly defines who’s responsible for what. No one can hide.
Now obviously this is a very high level summary. We’ll be breaking these topics down over the following weeks and months.
And of course you can get expert, individualised guidance from us via our 4 Pillars Growth Program which will help you bring in more high value clients while structuring and scaling your business.
Contact me at 0414 913 334 for more details.
