Business Marketing | Corporate Speak, cousins ‘Management Speak’ & ‘Sales Speak’ are alive and well

Corporate Speak and cousins ‘Management Speak’ and ‘Sales Speak’ are alive and well

I am always interested in language usage and there is a case for jargon and short hand speech within an industry and its peers. When that spills out to a wider audience it can be frustrating or amusing depending on your view point. I am not saying language should be always plain although that can be admirable on occasions. There are many cases for using the rich heritage of the English language to create effect, or give slant or emphasis to make a point. An articulate facility with English is useful and valuable as well as enjoyable. However those who trot out the business clichés raise questions about their own understanding of their subject and their own security within their business world. Are they trying to be impressive? Are they sheltering behind familiar club or tribal terms to show they belong? I count myself fortunate to have come across two people in business who unconsciously originated these clichés.


It must begin somewhere and I was amused to see people in their audience making a discreet note with the obvious intention of using those phrases later.  To read the full Bob Shepherd assocaites article, just click here.  Simple really

Business Finance | Paperless Or Just Less Paper?

Business Finance | Paperless Or Just Less Paper?

In the 1980s we were promised a paperless office. I am not the best at technology but I have some of the tools and make an effort. Nevertheless, I have just spent 2 days sorting through some of that stuff that has accumulated. In the old days there was a pile on the end of the desk. ‘That’s interesting, I’ll read that later’ sort of pile. I have a pile like that and I have the equivalent in e-newsletters and emails as well.

When it comes to reading masses of text on screen I hunch up and eventually go to sleep. I need to make notes to keep myself awake and interested. So I still have masses of paper…

My Bank wants me..... To Read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd Associates, just click here.  Simple really

Business Planning | The big risky tickets in one basket

Business Planning | The big risky tickets in one basket

Small is sometimes better. Take the railways for example. The government has pinned a lot on HS2 the high speed line that will unzip economic miracles for that foggy bit they are unsure about up the M1 somewhere. £55 billion is big by any standards and I bet it's more by the time we have finished. It'll save a few minutes off journey times apparently.

Return on investment is a subjective interpretation in many ways . That money would be better spent financing smaller rail projects and rail regenerations. There is a stack of evidence that local rail regenerations work, and then some. The Ebbw Vale line to Cardiff is a local example for me. Lately the Midlothian "Borders railway" is a recent one.  To read the full LinkedIn Article by Bob Shepherd, just click here.  Simple really

Business Finance | Size doesn't matter

The FSB  (Federation of Small Business) has data that suggests businesses with less than 9 people are less likely to secure main stream finance. As with any data that needs interpretation.

Do Banks prefer larger businesses? In a way, yes.

To read the full LinkedIn post, please click here.

Business Expansion Has To Be Balanced

One of the greatest enemies of business expansion is simply the business balance. It is no good, for example having the orders come flooding in if the company cannot handle the work-flow. Equally the business resources are finite and you cannot have resources waiting for an expected work-flow which doesn't materialise.

Retail is an easy one to judge as we all use shops. Have you ever noticed a shop closing down and thought you knew why? Was it location? Or was the location right but just not for that sort of shop? If the business owner compromises on location because of cost perhaps the results can be disastrous.  To read this article in full on LinkedIn, just click here 

I‘ve got a Business Plan, have you.

I‘ve got a Business Plan, have you?

Give yourself full marks....If it lives in a drawer somewhere, take off 10 points. Take off 20 points for every three months since you looked at it. Take off 10 points if it is less than 3 pages long. Take off 20 points if you used a “business plan template”. Take off 10 points if it is a several generation old photocopied questionnaire type template. Take away 20 points if it did not have a monthly cashflow forecast that you update. Take off 50 points if you did not see the point when you did it. To read the full LinkedIn article, click here:

Time Is The Biggest Resource

Time Is The Biggest Resource

Many small businesses have started up in the last few months. Some born of opportunity and some born of necessity.  If they have been careful the owners have made sufficient headway to show they can maintain their course and develop their business. Planning and forethought is a major key to this.

Resources is the baseline for any progress. Directly or indirectly money is the lowest common denominator here and the business needs money at least to keep the domestic expenses going until the business can take up the load. Then the business itself needs money to get going. There are a hundred and one things to spend out on in the first set up stage.  Click this link to read the full post, on LinkedIn

Those Business Plans

There is a lot of nonsense out there calling itself a business plan. I see them regularly and I have come to the conclusion that many people, for a variety of reasons do not appreciate the power and reach of a proper business plan. 

In an effort to get people involved, various organisations have come up with templates and examples over the years, a lot of which, frankly, say more about their standards of understanding than they do about any business.

The result is that the whole reason for having a business plan is clouded by the dreadful examples that get passed around and in the end contribute to the pile of nonsense and lack of understanding that sparked off these templates in the first place! 

I have also seen the professionals who seem prepared to accept business plans that actually are a dis-service for the subject business. These are plans that have basic flaws in the business model. Others that have dysfunctional inconsistencies in the presentation and some others again that are predicated on complete misapprehensions of say, the abilty of the business to raise finance. 

The poor prospective small business owner (who may quite reasonably have no experience or knowledge in the background requirements of his business) is sometimes led up the path for weeks or months unaware that his business has no hope of success in its present guise.

I cannot stop all this. What I can do is ensure that Bob Shepherd Associates is party to practical, ethical and realistic plans. Our plans will always have integrity. They may be dressed properly for the occasion but will never be "written for the file" as I call it.  

Going back to some of the rubbish I have seen, while our plans may be dressed I would not be seen out in some of the outfits I have seen done by others!

The Thing About Business

Whatever the flavour, size, style or type of  business you have there are some common features - some common characteristics. This is the secret behind how I can contribute to a business. I do not actually need to know the technical and finer points of the business to know what needs some attention, needs a fix or needs some development. 

For example all businesses need to communicate with the outside world in an attractive and constructively encouraging way. The methods for doing that may have differences in detail and sophistication and will have a different focus on one channel over another, but still the principle is there. 

For another example all businesses need people, as staff, customers, service providers and representatives. In a small business the responsibility for these aspects devolves on to one or two people perhaps, but the principle is still sound. A small one man band has complete responsibility for all forms of representation which covers everything he/she does and every action taken. On a simple basis if you are rude and impatient with everyone you meet you are less likely to make a success of attracting customers. 

Exactly the same applies to big businesses who have dozens, hundreds, thousands of staff. The difference in the detail is that although the immediate responsibility is devolved to the one person dealing with the customer at that moment over the phone, or in that email, or in person, or in recounting some story in the pub about 'work' over the weekend, there are others in the chain of controls and in the team network who are affected by association and who also have the same responsibilities. There are probably controls in the form of line managers, reports and appraisals and all manner of monitoring devices. It can get complicated. 

I read something recently that came to the wonderful conclusion that a happy staff would perform better and benefit the business. How this comes to be a revelation is a sad refection of the state of business and the level of management understanding that exists today. 

Bob Shepherd Associates looks at the components of business and ensures they are both working and in proportion. If and when everything can be made to knit together properly the business can develop happily and successfully. Simple, yet complicated! 

Does It Work Together?

I have been asked twice lately if I can just do something quick for a small business client. In one case it was put together a marketing strategy and in the other it was a cash flow forecast.

The problem is that these things do not stand alone. These, and many other components of business depend upon and have connection with and have influence on other parts of the business. They are not modular components that can be plugged in.

If you owned a car that needed a new part you would go out of your way to get the right part. That is because the whole is made up of components that function together. So too with business.  

Clients have shown me wonderful Marketing Plans handed to me with the comment 'Of course we are not in a position to take this up yet, can you help?' I can of course. Throw it out and start with something you can afford now. Cut your cloth!

Whoever put those plans together had no appreciation of the position overall and frankly deserved to be shot.

Get a practical view of business with Bob Shepherd Associates. 

The Thinking Is Fundamental

I do business building and I do business finance. The two have much to do with each other. When you go to the Bank for finance the thinking required is much the same as when you start a business or want to take a business on further.The considerations to demonstrate the worth of the business, what is to happen next and why you are the one who can implement it are aligned closely with the requirements for the Bank. That is putting it simply but the business fundamentals are there. Similarly, in going for an Investor, or some other finance or support by anyone the same basics apply. They want to know who you are and why you think this is a good idea. What you say next makes or breaks it. When a business starts the owners eye is on these things so far as experience and knowledge allows. When the business has been going a while the focus is different but still the same basics apply. Having an external consultant with a knowledgeable perspective from outside the business is worth its weight, and worth a fee. The saving in time, money and energy will be significant. At Bob Shepherd Associates we make a speciality of putting businesses together with balance and proportion so that it is all tuned to the same note. Get practical help at a reasonable cost and Build your Business!

Collaboration

I had a meeting about a meeting this morning. This one was important because the various businesses involved are hoping to work together on a contract for a Creative Industry client. My angle is the stuff Bob Shepherd Associates does normally - putting it into perspective against the resources available. For Creative Businesses the first step is to come up with the idea. The second question should always be 'how are we going to resource the idea?'  The next question should always be 'does it add anything to us to make the wheels go round?'Some people would consider this keeping feet on the ground. There are plenty of useful analogies. I prefer to think it is about pulling all the strands together and ensuring it is a sustainable idea. Exactly the same principle applies to any Business and it typifies the line of thought Bob Shepherd Associates will take. 

Why You Need to Become Your Own Customer

Whenever you walk down a high street crammed with shops, restaurants, boutiques and other specialist stores, have you ever noticed that there is usually a certain business, a particular restaurant or a particular store that is nearly always full or has a queue of people waiting to get in?

Why is it that in certain restaurants it's impossible to book a table unless you do so days or weeks in advance, and certain shops and stores are so popular that they can't keep up with demand from their customers?

What is it that makes these small businesses so popular and special, while others around them always appear empty or never seem to have the same buzz associated with customers clamouring to buy their products and services?

The thing that sets these businesses apart is almost certainly down to one factor: they have managed to offer a standard of service that is over and above anything provided by their rivals.

In other words, they offer a service that is efficient, convenient and completely satisfying for their customers. They provide an enjoyable experience and a business encounter so pleasurable that their customers will go there over and over again, and urge all their friends and acquaintances to do the same.

The big mistake made by small business owners who do not satisfy their customers to this level is that they usually fail to look at their business in the same way that their customers do.

It never occurs to them that they should regularly put themselves in their customers' shoes and look for any faults, confusing information or ways to improve the efficiency and friendliness of their service - and hence improve their sales.

If you genuinely want to maximise your sales potential, you always need to look at your business as if you were a customer.

How should you do this?

As a small business owner, there are a few simple ways that you can experience what it's like to be a customer of your own. For example:

·         You could ask your staff what they know about your products and services.

·         You could send away for your own information.

·         You could buy your own product from your online store.

·         You could visit and download pages from your own website.

·         You could walk into your own shop, restaurant or office as if you were a visitor or customer, and try to see things as they would see them.

By doing this, you will spot ways that your standards of service, first impressions and a feeling of welcome could be improved.

If you operate in a highly competitive business sector (well, who doesn't these days?) the more that you do to improve your service and make it a pleasant experience for customers to do business with you, the more likely they will be to take out their wallets or credit card to spend with you.

Here are a few quickfire questions and pointers to consider which could help any small business improve the standard of its service.

·         Are all your staff knowledgeable and helpful to your customers?

·         Do your staff completely understand what they are selling?

·         Do your staff and your business appear to be an authority on subjects to do with your industry or trade?

·         Is your reception area tidy and well-organised? Is it always like this?

·         Do your customers ever have to wait an unreasonable amount of time to be served or to have their enquiry dealt with?

·         Do the employees who answer the phone do so in a professional, friendly and consistent manner?

·         Are your premises, or the parts of your premises that customers visit, impeccably clean at all times?

·         Do you, your business and all your staff operate a 'service culture' that will go that extra mile to help, please and astound your customers?

Give this a try if you can by putting yourself in your customers' shoes for a while. You'll almost certainly be surprised by what you see and if you get into the habit of doing this on a regular basis you will also be surprised at how quickly and profitably you can make improvements to your service.

Last of all, and not at all cynically, by having customers who think you are great you create the opportunities to 'upsell' or to 'cross sell' to them. This is a skill in its own right and not to be undertaken casually. It is the subject of another article.

BobShepherd Associates builds businesses from the first principles or improves businesses that have already developed.  Some of the techniques described above are used to pin point what's needed by a client.

A Bankable Proposition

I have been approached to assist in finding some finance. It serves as a good example for one major problem in cases like this. In this example the basic business is a substantial farm in Southern Ireland that wishes to clear some existing loans and finance a new building as well. 

The business' Accounts show some evidence that he can meet the cost of finance from his current trading but we are going to have to explain the position with these existing loans. I can think of a couple of scenarios where that might be okay still, but we need to establish why they can't raise the money locally as would be expected. 

If he is in dispute and can explain reasonably that is one thing. If he is in trouble financially that is another. The Accounts look reasonable but we are also told he has not made payments to the 2 biggest lenders in the last year. 

The basic question will always be – why does he want to borrow in the Uk rather than locally? There have to be good reasons and a sound background or no one will touch it. If local people won’t touch it why should anyone else? That’s the thinking. We have to explain around that with sound arguments.

Any thought that the local lenders are pressing or are chasing probably wrecks any chance that we can raise money to clear the existing borrowings let alone new money as well. 

Bob Shepherd Associates has the experience and background to turn a proposition into a bankable approach, but only if it is reasonable!

Money Gets Everywhere

A lot of people struggle with money. Some of them go into business and struggle with money there too.

One thing you must never do is to shove all your bills unopened behind the clock, as it were. The money gets everywhere in business. It’s the measure of how you are doing, how big you can be and a stream of business consciousness. It is the lowest common denominator for all business.

If you do struggle with money there are some things you can do to get to grips with it. Ultimately you can get someone else to look after your business for you but that is undesirable in many ways. You must retain an overview even if you have a bookkeeper for example. Above that the pricing, the investments, the procurements are all down to your day to day management anyway.

Business Tips 

Some straight forward procedures will take away the mystery, the time wasting and the disasters. Some simple ones for micro businesses are offered below but the implementation is up to you and differs from business to business depending on the number of people involved and the scale of activities.

• ·         Have on line banking
• ·         Look at every morning to confirm what is happening
• ·         Have a list of invoices, with a tick box for sent, paid, chased with the dates.
• ·         Have a set date or method of getting your invoices sent off
• ·         Have a set date to chase any outstanding
• ·         Make sure money is cleared at the Bank before you pay against it
• ·         Keep all your receipts in a tidy file
• ·         Keep a note of your mileage in your diary as you go along. Use the trip meter
• ·         Make sure you have a system for pricing and stick to it

In short just be bothered to keep an eye on it all.

For larger SME businesses the idea is the same but the systems need to be more organised. Even so they do not need to be complicated . Do not be fooled into buying some complicated bookkeeping software that you will struggle to keep up with. I see so many businesses unable to extract reports and information from their computerised bookkeeping I have to wonder if they would be better off with a hand written chart or two.

Bob Shepherd Associates has a background in business money. It's not straight forward and there is no reason why you should already be experienced in dealing with it. There is however every reason why you should pay it attention. 

Business Planning – What’s That Then?

Everybody’s different! So too, with businesses. So too, with business owners.  As a consultant I need to relate quickly to the position of my client. What seems important to me may not to them and vice versa.

The principal of what I’m doing is the underlying process of business planning.  The components of a business plan when it is done properly are of course the very things that a business needs to have right to enable it to run smoothly, profitably and realistically. 

When a new business starts the owners very often do not have a complete insight into all the ramifications of what they’re doing.  There’s no insult or disgrace in that.  Why should anyone know everything?

What usually happens is that I get called into a business at the point when the owners have decided it should be running better and is in need of development.  To do so we need all the resources in place and in proportion.  We need a complete set of skills and realistic overview of what has happened, what is intended and it is then up to me to help decide how we are going to get there.  While this may involve some coaching or training on my part as a business consultant it does not carry any patronising feeling from me and cannot be allowed to do so.  The business is my client’s and will always remain so.  What they get from their consultant is an outside view and an external perspective.

This reflects the position that any business owner is in whereby they are looking at their business from the inside.  It is very hard to step outside and look back in. 

I recently helped a high street gallery which of course is all about the display arrangement and how welcoming the shop front appears and what happens to the customer once they cross the threshold.  I actually took the owner across the street to stand there with me for 10 minutes while we discussed the appearance of the front of the shop and what passersby seemed to make of it.  Very illuminating!

As a consultant I am very careful to maintain the ownership of the business with the business owner.  So by doing a business plan it has to be done with the owner and not for the owner.  Equally it is important that a business plan is done with the business in mind.  This seems obvious until you realise that most small businesses have a business plan originally done using a template from a poor photocopy several generations old.  In effect they are answering someone else’s questions!

This exercise does not have to be expensive.  At an entry level I have helped businesses for £200 per month for three months which has been enough to give them sufficient guidance and perspective to lift the business to a new level of profitability and turnover (not the same thing but that’s another article)

See www.bobshepherdassociates.co.uk and make contact on 07747 758596 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            07747 758596      end_of_the_skype_highlighting  or by email mail@bobshepherdassociates.co.uk .. Expect a practical and meaningful business planning exercise from Bob Shepherd Associates that will retune your business approach. 

A Template For Success?

The index used for Inflation calculations is based upon a basket of purchases that most households are likely to buy. Not only is that a nonsense for an individual household but the shopping list alters as life evolves. The different requirements of families at each stage alter and hopefully their circumstances improve as they rise in their chosen occupation. Fashions change and technology develops. It is only a few years since people had routine access to a computer or even found the need to do so. Likewise they saw no particular urgency for a mobile phone.

As a benchmark for prices it is flawed but you have to start somewhere and every so often the basket of products changes to reflect the current society requirements.

So a template for a shopping list is not a particularly useful idea for an individual. Each shopper has different pressures, arrangements, and preferences.

This thinking hasn’t made it to the world of a small business. The business plan is downloaded, purchased as a sort of form or questionnaire, to be filled in as best as seems right and very likely stuck in the drawer and forgotten.  

The point seems to be that every business needs a business plan and many small business owners and starters don’t really know why. Sometimes it is done to appease the requirements of the Bank. Sitting on the other side of the desk in a former life my heart used to drop when seeming intelligent customer presented me with a business plan that was a badly drawn up or even a badly photocopied template on some occasions. The questions had peremptory answers in a misunderstanding of the point. ‘What are your Marketing aims?’ Answer – ‘To get more customers’. I could go on. You could almost hear the young people’s impatient catchphrase ‘duh!’ implying stupidity of a rare order.

The point here is that you cannot really have a template for a business plan any more than you can have a standard shopping list for anyone. That means a business plan (the clue is in the title, Duh!) has to be made for each business idea and development . What a disservice you do to you and your business if you present anything else to the bank for consideration!

The other get out is that the business is small enough or simple enough for you to run it on natural cunning. Not very impressive either is it? If it is ever going to grow and develop on a sound base then some thought needs to go in there on a continual basis.

The business plans I do with clients (not ‘for clients’ please note) bring them through a process of preparation and thought that ends up as a written document but has its main value in the process. There are many examples of this even to the point where it has been proved on paper that the business idea cannot proceed successfully. How much better to find that out with a good business plan before investing much time and effort? 

Bob Shepherd Associates gives every client an individual business plan - it is normally done with the client rather than for the client and it stays on the desk as a working document afterwards.