Doom and gloom, doom and gloom…

Yes, we are in an economic crisis, but when are business owners going to realise that their fate is in their own hands? You can either bury your head in the sand and blame the economy, or politicians, or anyone else you can find to blame, or you can focus on optimising your business to create growth, even in an economy like we have today.

Now is NOT the time to cut back on your marketing and stop hiring the right people.

Now is NOT the time to stop spending money.

But now IS the time to look at spending your money in the right areas.

How do you do this? It will take some planning.

Most people think they have a plan, but it is usually out-of-date, unrealistic or not being followed. I find that the biggest cause of this is that people don’t know where to start.

Here are the 5 key areas of any business which you should focus on to get things moving for you…

1) Financial Management – Understanding your cashflow and where the money is going to come from over the coming months is crucial. What costs do you have where you could save money? Look at utilities and especially stationery – you can usually find savings to be made here. Build yourself a buffer by planning to receive 10 to 20% LESS than your projections.

2) Marketing – Most businesses don’t know what marketing is working and bringing in a return on the investment. The temptation when times are tight to cut the marketing budget and stop altogether, but you can actually make things worse. Sample test your marketing – start small and increase your target once you have something which is bringing in business.

3) People - If you have the right people, your business will fly. Get a bad apple in there and it can sink you. Invest time (and where necessary money) into your staff to make sure they are the right people to move your business forwards – if not then get rid of them [hard but true - you MUST look after your business first if it is to survive]

4) Your Customers – Develop your existing client relationships, it will help reduce attrition rate and will also help you increase the amount they will spend with you – I’m sure you’ve heard it is six to seven times more expensive to get a new client than it is to sell to an existing one – Remember, lasting relationships are built during times of hardship.

Also here you want to get rid of unprofitable clients – every business has clients that cost more than they add to the bottom line. Make sure you identify them and either work out how to make them profitable clients, and if that’s not possible, politely hand (or even sell) them to your competitors.

5) Sales Process - Spend some time mapping out your sales process. If there are any areas which cause “sticking points” then you can guarantee they are costing your money. Go through each part of your process with a fine tooth comb and work on areas where you can see you can do something quicker, cheaper of easier – it will make your business more efficient.

These are the areas to start.

Make your processes more efficient and you will save money, but there is an added benefit. The processes you streamline now will keep working for you, so you will be able to deal with growth more effectively.

Now, onwards…

… to your success!

Jez