Business Strategy - Page 11

In the last few weeks, we've encouraged you to study your capacity and the division of work in your business. As we've noted, the knee-jerk reaction for many businesses when things start to get busy is to hire, but it's not always the only solution. Below are a few internal solutions that can sometimes prevent the need to hire.

Last week, we asked you to start digging into why you think you need to hire by looking at the true problem.  This week, continue to get clarity around the problem your business has, which is capacity, by looking at the functions of your business by position.

Quote:  "If I had an hour to solve a problem I'd spend 55 minutes thinking about the problem and 5 minutes thinking about solutions." - Albert Einstein

This month we've focused on taking your prospects on a sales road trip. One that is clearly mapped with each step in the process identified in advance. By doing so, you and your prospects know what's coming next. The final piece is to make sure you do it consistently.

We want you to think about your last sales appointment. What was your objective? The most common response is, "to make a sale." But, is it really?

We want you to think about sales this month. Yes, we understand the year is almost half over and we know your sales goals for 2016 were set months ago. But, do you know how it will happen? How will you increase production if needed? How do you get back on track? Or, maintain current momentum? Ultimately how will you meet your year-end goals?

This month we've discussed technology, the point of view you have around technology, working with vendors, and resources to improve your tech abilities. As we wrap up this month, we want to focus on one more issue:  Implementation. It's one of our favorite words. 

This month we've discussed the point of view a business needs to have regarding technology and the importance of working with your IT providers. Once you've created the right mindset, it's important for your business to have basic knowledge. Again, you don't have to be an expert, but you have to be knowledgeable enough to ask the tough questions. So where do you get the knowledge? Thankfully there are many resources to learn about your technology needs. Here are a few of our favorites:

Quote: "The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency."  - Bill Gates