UKBA Newsletter Collection

Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 22 May ‘09

Taking Stock Of Your Biggest Asset: Your People

I am nervous when articles talk about cutting people costs by 10% as it implies a degree of indiscriminate cost cutting. The feeling of action taken (redundancy) may only put off the evil day of really looking at what you want your business to achieve. There are ways to reduce the salary bill – stop the use of temps, stop overtime, introduce flexible working (reduced hours, flexible hours, job share), reducing salaries (with consultation! and starting at the top), introduce unpaid leave, retire staff at 65 (following due process). This might be seen as window dressing but demonstrates to staff that the business position is serious and that you are trying to consider their needs so if, or when, redundancy occurs, staff are prepared and may even return during the eventual economic upturn. With the future in mind, there is the opportunity to deal with the problem children that you may have ignored in the past by managing them more overtly (out of the business?) rather than the compliant latest recruit. It costs money (which increases over time – so will be more expensive next year) yet sends powerful messages and may enable you to get others to resign before being pushed. Imagine the effect this will have on other staff.

If you are going to make people redundant then do remember that you are talking about the job that is no longer required rather than the person. And then what are you going to do with the core team who are going to help the company survive – tell them its OK and we’ll ride out the storm (do they believe you?) or are you going to do something more proactive? Some thoughts arise: 1. Sales & Marketing: You need more sales through either marketing or new product development. Fine, but if that were the case and it was that easy you would have done it already. What stopped you from doing that last year or the year before? What has changed, apart from declining sales or a fear of declining sales? What needs to be done differently, or, more specifically, what do you need to do differently? 2. Leadership & Management: Then what about your leadership team. What’s working and what isn’t? Until there is clarity on this the old adage will probably apply – “if you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got” – in other words back to where you are now.

3. Motivation: Assuming by the time you have read this you have already made redundancies, the remaining staff are not only worried that they are next, but they are also likely to be doing more of someone else’s job so they may now be both fearful and overworked. How are you going to turn this into positive energy, to get people to think and act differently because they want to? How are you and any other managers monitoring the situation for stress to, at the least, avoid long term absence and potentially at worst a stress claim.

4. Communications: How are you going to improve communications? Which of the following statements is likely to encourage staff to be more focused on the future and help you maintain the business: a. We are in trouble and you need to work really hard to keep the company afloat or; b. We need to generate £100K in sales a month (and this is likely to decline in the next quarter) and our costs are £80K a month – how can you help to make a difference? What ideas have you to cut costs or increase sales? Approach (b) creates greater ownership and if business really is dire, it makes the redundancy process much easier by managing expectations. Some of this may be counter-intuitive. The first step is to understand what the change is. The second step is for you to believe it and be committed to it. And then, thirdly, do it.

Telephone: 0870 420 2756 Fax: 0709 280 8482 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ukba.co.uk © 2009 - UK Business Advisors Limited - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved

Decision Making For Good Leadership Decision making is of prime importance for good leadership. Generally it is thought that a good leader takes all decisions and they have to be the best. In this modern age it is impossible for one person to take all the decisions and for all the decisions to be the best. There are too many unseen variables and too many people involved in implementation for a leader to take all the decisions and for them to be the best ones.

However, understanding the types of decisions and the people involved in making them can help the leader to manage the complexity of decision making. The factor that makes decision-making easier and the types of decisions are given below. Decisions are Data Based A good leader makes decisions based on data, which is analysed for patterns of information. The information is then used to make thought-through decisions. While it is true that you cannot know everything, doing an analysis of available data about a predicament will, nevertheless, lessen risks of failure. While all decisions need to be data-based, there are at least four different kinds of decisions. 1. Paradigm Decisions Paradigm decisions are those which provide guidelines for decision making for all people in an organisation or team. Decisions such as: Having a smoke-free organisation, having a non-discriminatory people policy, etc. are paradigm decisions.

They help team members and leaders to take the right decisions when they are faced with a dilemma. Such decisions need to be made with the involvement of everybody. The consensus process is a very useful methodology to make such decisions. 2. Policy Decisions Policy decisions are necessary to provide for resources and official permission for the operations of an organisation. For instance, if the Performance Appraisal Process needs to be reviewed, then a couple of policy decisions need to be taken. A decision needs to be taken to set up a committee which will analyse the existing process. The different teams in an organisation need to volunteer a representative to become members of the committee. The management team needs to allocate money and time for this team to function and come up with an insightful report. All decisions that are taken to ease the functioning of the teams are policy decisions. Policy decisions are taken in a participatory mode with the involvement of everybody who will be involved in the execution of the task. 3. Procedural of Functional Decisions Procedural decisions are taken by a few people who will be carrying out the plans/policies/goals of the organisation or who will be impacted by the decision. These are decisions that will help implement a process.

For instance, outlining the procedure of recruitment and selection in an organisation, is a process of detailing the actions that a team will take when they follow this procedure. It will also detail the actions to be taken if there are exceptions. 4. Structured Decisions Structured decisions are taken by individuals who are directly executing the plans of the organisation. These decisions are informed by the data available to the employee, the procedures/structures that have been put in place, and the knowledge of the policies and paradigms of the organisation. The decision maker could be the CEO or the security guard at the gate. Understanding the kinds of decisions, the number of people who need to be involved in taking them, provides the leader with a confidence to take decisions - sometimes alone and sometimes with others. This will also give the leader the confidence in the decisions of his team members - as they are taken with an understanding of the values and procedures of the organisation.

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Next month: How To Achieve Sales Targets :: Sales Techniques That Will Close Sales

Contact us now to find out how you can develop your staff and leadership skills to impact the profit and performance of

your business.

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Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 21 April ‘09

Getting Your Company Ready For Sale

Getting a company ready for sale is a bit like getting your car ready for sale. Polish it up, get rid of the rattles, make sure you can find the log book and the service record. How do you get your company ready for sale? We consider that the following points are key: 1. Vision - Do you have a compelling vision which an interested party can buy into? Is your business clearly moving towards the realisation of this vision? 2. How does the company generate its revenue? - Is this through a well honed process based on lead generation, qualification and closure which is clearly producing a regular flow of high quality new customers– or is it, like most companies, based on your own personality and the fact you’ve been in the market for 20 years. If the owners are the company’s greatest asset how are you ever going to exit? Do all your customers sign a contract, or will they simply walk away once they know you’ve left the business. Resolve to get all new customers to sign a contract. Do you have an unhealthy dependence on one or two large customers? Resolve to deliberately seek out a number of mid tier companies rather than a few larger ones. 3. How does the company operate? - Have you patented everything that you can? Do you have registered trademarks or any other intellectual property (licence agreements and the like). Are they secure? It’s not always easy to do this, but it does “lock in” the value.

Does it sometimes look like a series of random chances that your product or service ever gets out the door intact? If the owners weren’t there to supervise the business, would the staff know what to do? How well would the business run if the owners are away for a week/ a month? The better it could operate, the more valuable your business would be. What about your suppliers? Do you have access to favourable sources of supply, or excellent discounts? Are these formally agreed and tied down? Could a new owner benefit from them? 4. What are the resources like? - Do your staff have an employment contract, backed up by a staff handbook? Are there decent processes for recruiting staff into the company, motivating and developing them, and even removing them without involving an industrial tribunal. Can they cope with change and think for themselves – or do they really depend on your dictatorship? What about the buildings and equipment? You wouldn’t try to sell your car without at least putting it through the car wash – so does the office and or warehouse look a mess and what could you do about it? Are the IT systems coherent without dependency on the intuitive skills of Fred in the corner? Strong IT can help you and the new owner make better decisions faster.

5. What are the finances like? - Do you have sustained growing earnings, or do they make a roller coaster look like a walk in the park? Can you demonstrate financial control? Are the accounts useful or simply something to keep your accountant out of the way? Can you explain the trends? Even if you don’t sell the business you know that what gets measured, gets done. Resolve to take more notice of the accounts and use them as a signpost of progress. 6. Make a plan of what you’re going to do - Set aside some time and take a cold look at the business

• Where are we now? • Where do we want to get to? • How are we going to get there?

Its not rocket science, its not even very clever, but it is very difficult. In fact, in our view, you need help to do it. You’ve known you’ve had to do it and simply not got around to it. Working in the business, rather than on the business, you’d have done these things by now if you were ever going to without help.

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Call us now for a confidential conversation about how you

can maximise the value of your business.

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Improve Profits With Innovative Business Ideas

Innovative business ideas are key to sustain and improve your business profits. This ability is needed to stay ahead of competition even as competition responds to the ideas that you implement. How do you keep generating these ideas?

1. Involve in Activities to Trigger Your Mind Take a walk, go for a swim or read something that will get your creative juices flowing. Just sitting at your desk may not work. Albert Einstein used to day dream in the park. Thomas Edison used to go fishing. It seems like the mind works best when it is allowed to relax doing something else. Then somehow, it is able to come up with ideas relatively easily as compared to if you sat at your table and tried to force them out. 2. Apply Constraints Last When generating innovative business ideas, it is important to allow the ideas flow spontaneously. Focus on volume first. Do not worry about the cost, skill or the effort required. If you applied constraints as you are generating ideas, you will have a tendency of not listing out all possibilities that you can think of. Only after generating a whole list of ideas, then think through them and prioritise them. Then start looking at the cost, skills required and the effort. How can these be managed in way that the initiative will be profitable.

If the first one does not look like it will be profitable, then move down your list and pick one that will. Any more good ideas left can be filed for future use. 3. Involve Your Staff Sometimes, the people who carry out the operations are aware of some things that you may not be aware of. Involve these people to generate innovative business ideas. Brainstorming with the staff will provide you additional ideas that you could use. The important point about this approach is that your staff will be much more inclined to carry out ideas which they were involved in developing.

4. Do Not Be Afraid to Fail Having new ideas brings along with it the necessity to implement them. Some people freeze even before they think of any ideas because some previous ideas have failed. If you fear failure, then it is tough to scale greater heights in your business venture. Accept that you will fail at times, but there will also be times when you will succeed. Thomas Edison apparently failed 10,000 times before he got the light bulb working. J. K. Rowling submitted Harry Potter to more than 5 publishers before one decided that it was worth publishing. You can be assured that the best have had failures. They are but a way to know what doesn't work.

5. Keep Learning Learning cannot be restricted to just what we learned at school. It must continue beyond that. It will, of course, include learning in the area of your business. It should, however, include also learning in other areas. Sometimes, ideas come from an experience in life. The Internet provides information in a wide variety of areas and is also one place where you can get a lot of information. Generating innovative business ideas is a must for businesses to stay competitive. Not a question of choice. Try it out if you have not. You will enjoy it more than you think, and be very motivated when some of the ideas start succeeding.




Next month: Taking Stock Of Your Biggest Asset: Your People :: Decision Making For Good Leadership

Do you have a business idea that you would like to

profit from?

Call us now to find out how to exploit your

innovation.




Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 20 March ‘09

Evaluating Your Business Idea You may have several ideas for a new business or only one. Before you start pouring your effort and money into an idea you need to see if it will stand up to some analysis. Try a SWOT analysis. This requires you to think about the Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities your business will have, and the Threats it may face.

A high level of skill with a range of equipment, or a friend that is prepared to loan you some money would be strengths. If you have never run a business before that could be a weakness. A ready, enthusiastic market would be an opportunity, while several businesses almost identical to the one you are thinking of starting or a weakening economy would be threats.

This type of analysis can show you if your business idea is viable and should encourage you to exploit opportunities and help you decide how to tackle threats. Decide on your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)... Why should a potential customer come to you and not a rival? Will you specialise in a certain area? You should be able to identify where and how you can contact your potential customers and have an idea of the demand for your type of service or product. Write a Business Plan... There are many versions and it seems every bank and business advisor has slightly different requirements. However every version should keep you focused on what you want to do with your business and the strategies to achieve this in a certain time frame. It should identify the services or products you intend to offer initially, and those you hope to expand into later. Remember the plan is a working document. If you miss deadlines you should be able to modify the plan to get your business back on course. Once you have decided on the type of business you want to start do some research to see if there are any gaps in the local market. Find out your competitor's pricing.

You could get friends to ask for quotes from the competition, or use a more direct approach and have discussions with a local expert. Remember, a company could be a potential competitor or a potential joint venture partner. Perhaps you could approach them with an idea for a product or service that would complement theirs. When setting prices, do not immediately assume undercutting is the only solution. You need enough income to cover your overheads and a low price may give the impression that your skills and work have little value. Cash flow is another important element in starting and running a business. Make sure you do not have to make too big an investment before you get paid. You should know how much you have to earn to at least break even.


To help with your business idea, please go to our website and

download a free business plan template and free cash flow

template.

You will also find other useful resources to help your business

achieve sustained, profitable growth.

Reviewing Your Business Plan Proving that the plan is working effectively in the early stages is essential in demonstrating that the overall plan is achievable. So, check that every detail of your plan is being achieved. Not everything works out as planned, so you must find out the answers to the following questions: 1. - Did you achieve the financial goals for the period within the timeframe allocated? Maybe you achieved some, but not all of them. 2. - Did the systems that you used to complete the tasks work well? Maybe some worked very well, but others were not so successful.

Analyse the answers that you obtain. For those systems that worked successfully, continue working with them for the future tasks. For those items that did not meet the targets set it will be necessary to evaluate why they did not work ffectively. e

What went wrong? Was the system used flawed? What did you need to do to actually complete the task? You will need to adjust future tasks of the same type to accommodate the revised procedure adopted.

Continuous improvement is essential in a good business plan. Adjusting and tweaking the elements within the future plan based on your experience can only improve the effectiveness of the plan and generate confidence that it can be achieved. Plan your work and work your plan and you will be well on the way to achieving your goals.

It is essential for your business that you have a route map which shows exactly how you will achieve your business goals. Without a plan you are planning to fail.

The plan that you develop needs to be a living document that is constantly checked and updated. If not done on a regular basis then there is really no point in generating it in the first place. It is critically important that you know that you are actually achieving the plan. If not, then you will need to adjust the plan to accommodate any revisions that occur. The very basics in a good business plan are to detail the tasks and systems that you will use to progress the plan. You will need to review your plan on a monthly basis initially to ensure progress is being made as planned. You may choose to change the frequency of the review at a later stage when the initial kinks have been ironed out and the planned progress is being achieved. The initial goals in the plan are usually small in terms of financial profits, but it is just as important that they be achieved on schedule as the larger goals that occur at a later date.

Next month: Getting Your Company© 2009 - UK Business Advisors Limited - No un

What does a business plan do?

Gets the ideas from your head onto paper Gives you clarity and focus for your business Allows you to budget and manage your cash flow Helps you identify your products, services and the market

What’s in a business plan?

Vision – your future aspirations Mission – what you do for your clients Objectives – defined targets for your business Strategies – how are you going to get there Plans & Actions – what you are going to do to successfully achieve it

A working business plan need not cost the earth or take weeks to develop. We can do this interactively with the managing director/business owner in less than a day at a cost that is probably a lot less than you think.

CALL US NOW TO FIND OUT MORE




Ready For Sale :: Improve Profits With Innovative Business Ideas

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Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 19 February ‘09

The Truth About Sales & MarketingAt a time when the world is facing its biggest economic test in years and retailers are slashing prices to shift stock, it is valuable to step back and have a look at the sales and marketing process being deployed in your company.

Over the years, sales and marketing has been portrayed as a specialist art that only the few, naturally gifted, can excel in. Proponents of this view can often be found with CV changes every two to three years and a trail of organisations left with a feeling of disappointment that things “didn’t quite work”. To connect the powerful commercial ideas of the business to the necessary levels of sales or customer retention the sales and marketing function should be treated as a process that is 95% graft and science, 5% natural ability. An effective approach is based upon six universal principles of sales and marketing effectiveness that impact performance. These principles are relevant to all types of sales organisations irrespective of size, sophistication or location. The exact weight that each principle carries in producing final results will vary between markets and, to some extent, between companies. A critical foundation is forming a common view of those weights between customers, senior and front-line management.

• Knowledge

Having a full understanding of the marketplace and how your products serve its needs. Do your homework. This is usually the basis of your competitive advantage.

• Strategy

Providing a focus and direction for the sales and marketing effort commonly understood through the company.

• Structure

The division of work among individuals and the coordination of the work once it has been divided. Even if you only have one sales person, tasks have differing priorities.

• Marketing Operations

Relating customers’ needs to your products. Driving customers to being positively disposed towards your products. In many businesses this is largely driven by consistency and service delivery.

• Sales Operations

Making it easy for customers to buy your products.

• People

Recruiting, integrating and developing commercial people to achieve maximum performance (and removing any under performing people quickly).

All of these principles need to be incorporated into the process and actively managed to take control of the sales and marketing function.

Telephone: 0870 420 2756 Fax: 0709 280 8482 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ukba.co.uk © 2009 - UK Business Advisors Limited/Harold Forbes - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved

Is your sales team performing? Are you hitting your sales forecast? Do you have a sales strategy? These are just a few of the sales issues facing businesses today. The success of any company is very much dependent on generating revenue through your products or services in the market place. Are your sales people using some of the following key elements to sales success?

Promoting benefits, not features of your product or service

Being clear on your sales proposition and your unique selling points

Planning the sales meeting beforehand

Understanding the customer need and where they are in their “buying cycle”

Listening more than speaking Being open minded, not

defensive and welcoming objections

Working to sales targets

As the person responsible for sales in your business, maybe you should consider the following:

How do you motivate your sales team?

Can your sales people sell? Are the sales targets in place

and are they being achieved? Are you getting a return on the

investment for your sales channels?

Is your sales team being managed effectively?

Sales are essential for a company to survive.

Call us now for a no obligation review of the sales strategy within

your organisation.


Is Marketing A Luxury In Times

Of Trouble? Many small & medium enterprises- SME’s - (and some large ones for that matter) have difficulties when it comes to marketing. Quite a surprise, really, when Amazon in the UK alone lists more than 65,000 titles on the subject; but that may be where the problem lies. In difficult and complex areas of business it is sometimes difficult to see the wood for the trees. Over the years of working with SME and start up businesses with little or no marketing budget we have developed a simple view of what marketing is and the critical elements to be managed for success.

The first point is to understand what marketing really is and the authors view is that it is the process of defining who are the people in the market wanting to buy your product or service and why they should choose your offer; the action on that understanding is to communicate with them so that they are motivated to buy. A common error is to think that “everyone” is part of the target market: they are not. Virtually all businesses will derive about 80% of their business from just 20% of their customers. This is called the Pareto Principle and it turns up all the time. It is therefore critical to understand who that 20% are. Where do they live? What are their interests? What motivates them? What do they value in life? How frequently do they buy your product or service? What else could they choose to buy instead?

Really put yourself into their shoes to try and understand this and if you find it difficult have a conversation with some of them and listen to what they tell you (there are sometimes real benefits to getting a third party to do this for you so there is no “baggage” in the conversation). Once you have built this understanding, can you build a database of potential clients or customers? The second area of consideration is why should they choose you? Even if you think you have a unique offer for the market, people will have alternative choices even if it is simply to do nothing. Try to draw a picture of the choices available to your target customer. Some will be closer substitutes than others (e.g. tomato soup versus chicken soup or tomato soup versus sandwich). Try to write a single statement of the benefit to the customer for each choice and then add six points that differentiates each choice. For you own product or service, look to see how your customers can learn about your points of difference from how you present yourself to them. This can be hard work but do it well and you will be rewarded in the third stage. If you understand who and where the people are that may consider buying from you, what motivates them and how your product can satisfy them better than other offers, then the third stage of attracting motivated prospects is comparatively easy. The key here is to be consistent and to be seen (or heard). If you distribute leaflets, make sure you distribute them frequently.

If you go to networking events, make sure you go regularly; if you use advertising, it is better to be in every issue of the same publication or in several publications at the same time rather than taking a scatter-gun approach. Aim to have 8 to 12 communication activities running every year with clear messages and lots of opportunities for your prospective customers to see them. And make sure your staff understand what you are doing as well.

Finally, don’t forget that communication is a two-way process. You must measure what you get back from your activities to understand how effective you have been with getting your message across. And if you are not getting the results you wanted you are either not saying anything of interest or your message is not getting noticed. In either case, you need to go back to the start of the cycle because, if you are not saying anything of interest, you probably haven’t really understood your customer’s motives and if you are not getting noticed you probably haven’t understood where they are. Even when you are getting the results you want, make sure you are getting feedback from customers about how happy they are with your product or service and the relevance of your communications with them. The world is constantly changing and evolving and what was important yesterday may not be tomorrow. Marketing is not a luxury in times of trouble or at any other time: it is the bedrock of keeping your business alive.




Next month: Evaluating Your Business Idea :: Reviewing Your Business Plan © 2009 - UK Business Advisors Limited/Harold Forbes - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved



Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 18 January ‘09

Optimise Employee Training and Development With cost cutting being a common occurrence in business, it is important to optimise employee training and development to ensure that both the organisation and the employee can get the best returns. Employee development is too crucial to the success of the organisation to be sacrificed. However, there also are not unlimited funds for employees to attend every training that may be deemed useful. A proper program needs to be in place to identify important training stints required to ensure money is well spent. It will also be necessary to fit in the training programs within the work schedule of the employees so that work is not disrupted. The best way to do this is by having an employee development program on an annual basis. The key steps in this program should be as follows: 1. Employee Self Assessment The first step is for the employees to do a self-assessment of the kind of development required. The assessment will be based on the person's job scope and performance plan for the year. Based on this, the employee can review both internal and external training programs and identify those best suited. In addition to this, opportunities to work in specific projects should also be included. The employee should also consider the future role and function that he or she aspires for. The intent is to share this future plan with the manager so that they can also plan for the employee's future aspirations. All these should be documented in a self-assessment form. 2. Document The Employee Development Plan The manager will meet each of the people reporting to him individually, to go through the completed assessment form

by the employee. This provides the manager with an opportunity to review and provide feedback on the employee's plan.

The manager also has the opportunity to suggest other training programs that the employee may not be aware of. This includes opportunities to work with another team as part of skill development, as the manager probably has a broader view of the organisational activities. In cases where the number of training days exceeds the guidance provided by the organisation, it will be necessary to prioritise the training programs. This whole exercise provides the manager with an overview of the training cost. The employees will be able to identify the training programs that are already scheduled and block it off in their calendars, so that they can plan their work activities around this. While this helps, there might be times when the employee may have to forego some of the training due to work pressures. Feedback should also be provided on the employee's future plans. Knowing this helps the manager in two ways. In the immediate future, he could arrange for the employee to be assigned to some other project or team to gain experience and exposure on his or her desired future role.

The significance of this is also in the fact that this request can be noted down, so that when such a role becomes available, the employee can be recommended for it. An employee development planning form should be used to document the training and development plan details. An action plan should be included with planned dates for the training and subsequent reviews of the plan. 3. Periodic Reviews An employee development plan can be effective only if it is regularly reviewed to ensure that the planned actions are being done or changed as required. Even if the plan is done with the best of intentions, the daily activities take over and unless these reviews are done, the development activities will not get the priority that they should get. The employee development plan should be reviewed quarterly or at least every four months. It may sound like a laborious task, but doing these steps streamlines the employee development exercise. The employees also feel that the organisation cares for them. The best way to do this is to block off these activities in your calendar right at the beginning of the year. Your other activities should be worked around these. However, if you need to miss one of these due to some good reasons, then make sure you reschedule. Well-planned and executed employee training and development brings benefits to both the organisation and the employee. This, in turn, will benefit your customers who ultimately decide the continued success of the organisation.


Effective Training Techniques Through Employee Involvement

Employee involvement is key to effective employee training. Employees attending training are preoccupied with their own thoughts and problems. Some are willing to learn and some are not. There are those who are open to new ideas and others who resist. How can you get them involved so that they can take ownership of their own learning during the training? 1. Put Yourself In The Learners' Shoes When delivering training, there is course content to be covered. While this is important, priority has to be given to the fact that the learners are able to receive your content. What better way than to put yourself into the learners' shoes and ask yourself a few questions that these learners have when attending training: What is this session about? Will it be of use to me? How can I apply this to the real

world? What motivates me to attend this

session? Is the content delivered in an easy

and simple way? Are different teaching methods

involved or is it a boring lecture? Answering these questions to yourself will help you better prepare to deliver effective training. 2. Assessing Learner Needs Checking out on learner needs is essential to get learner involvement. This task could be difficult due to time, budget or information constraints. However, it is important and some kind of assessment will make a difference.

Some points for investigating learner needs are as follows: How many participants will be

attending the session? What are their current job

responsibilities? What are their skill levels as

applicable to the training subject? Is attendance voluntary or

mandatory? How will the training affect their

current or future job responsibilities? If this investigation is not possible before the training session, then when the session starts, it is a good idea to request the participants to introduce themselves and to mention what they would like to achieve from the training session. 3. Communicate With Your Learners Communicating the objectives and program outline to the course attendees before the session will help them prepare for the training. Properly written, this communication can also be used to motivate the learners such that they will have a positive outlook towards the training. If this is not done for some reason, then it is important that this be done at the start of the training. Communication is two ways. Therefore, feedback from the learners must be somehow incorporated into the training. This is extra work. It will be much easier to just deliver the content as is, but the purpose of the training is to enable the learner via effective training, not just delivering content. 4. Switch On The Learners However well you may be prepared to deliver the session, if the learners are not switched on, the training will not be very effective. Switched on learners will be ready to receive content, which means there is a need to conduct activities to achieve this.

Switching on activities include creative opening exercises that develop positive first impressions, which are crucial to gaining learner commitment. These warm up activities are learner-centred and content-relevant. The intent is to get learner involvement and for the trainer to develop relationships with the learners. These are not the same as icebreakers, which are usually used to entertain and energise learners. When people arrive at the training venue, they are probably still preoccupied with their own problems and thoughts. The warm up exercises will also be a means of addressing this. Employee training can be made effective with some extra effort in getting their involvement and hence ownership for the training. You will find that the extra work pays off because you will find the session much more satisfying and feedback from the attendees will be positive.




Next month: The Truth About Sales & Marketing :: Is Marketing A Luxury In Times Of Trouble?

Contact us now to find out about the extensive range of training programmes that we can offer covering all aspects of your business: Leadership Management Sales Marketing Finance Operations Personal Development Health & Safety IT …and many more areas




Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 17 December ‘08

Different Types of Funding

Finance for business can be obtained through a number of different sources. Let's review some of those channels to help you decide what's right for your business needs: Grants There are over 930 different EU and UK grants and loans available from over 100 issuing bodies. This is the cheapest form of finance and an important part of the funding package that companies and individuals need. We can help you find your way through this maze. Grant for Research and Development (R&D) - for businesses looking to carry out research or development of a technologically innovative product or process. This is quite carefully defined so don’t assume it’s available regardless. Amounts available: £5,000 to £500,000 35–60% of eligible project costs available. Grant for Business Investment (GBI) - To assist businesses to increase their productivity through investment in capital equipment and technology. For businesses looking to modernise, expand or diversify to maintain or establish sustainable growth and provide skilled jobs. Amounts available: £10,000 to £2m - in exceptional cases larger grants may be available. Up to 35% of eligible project costs dependent on area and case.

R&D tax credit - This allows a reduction in your taxable profit by 150% of the spend on R&D, or if you are making Corporation Tax losses to recover £24 in every £100 of R&D spend in cash. Export - To start exporting or moving into new markets grants of 50% of costs up to £20,000 each. Training and Education - Knowledge Transfer Partnerships, Achieving Best Practice in Your Business, Investors in People, Modern Apprenticeships, New Deal for various grants. Leadership and Management grant - £500 towards leadership development. Environment - BOC Foundation for the

Environment: 25% to 50% of Project cost, typically £20,000 to £100,000

Clean up Fund: Emission reducing equipment up to 75% of cost

Community Chest Fund: Up to £25,000 for projects near active SITA sites

High Impact Fund: £150,000+ for larger projects near SITA sites

Assisted Areas Regional assistance grants of between 10 and 35% for capital expenditure in less favoured areas of the UK.

Loans Loans are an excellent source of finance if you have suitable security to borrow against or a reliable earnings stream. This needs to be planned and presented well to obtain funds. Credit cards - Provides up to 56 days free credit if you play the game!

Overdraft - Banks are surprisingly supportive when presented with a well thought through plan and competent management. Bank Loans - Lenders tend to look for a good business plan and security. Typically the loan is approved by a centralised back office function rather than the person you meet. Terms and rates depend upon the risk. Repayments can be very flexible to meet your specific needs.

Mortgages - These can include flexible repayment terms to meet your business needs. This can even be incorporated into your overdraft finance so that you have one flexible account for both personal/ business mortgages and overdraft Small Firms Loan Guarantee Scheme - Up to £250,000 unsecured loan - these are much misunderstood and nothing like as easy to get as the name implies.


Different Types of Funding …..continued

Equity This is not as easy as the papers would have you know. Only 1% of business plans received by Venture Capital Funds are successful. However, a good business proposition consisting of a strong demand for the product or service, management track record and a sound financial plan will enhance the chance of success. Business Angels - These are high net worth individuals who are successful businessmen looking for investment opportunities. They can provide both time expertise and money. Typical investment size is £25,000 to £250,000 but can go as high as £2m for the right opportunity. Exit within 3-5 years. Microfunding is a new organisation supporting new innovations and inventions from entrepreneurs: http://www.microfunding.co.uk. Venture Capital - These are investment funds seeking high rates of return. However typically investments are over a million pounds. Some funds are targeted at lower amounts depending upon the sector and region. These funds are looking for exponential capital growth over 3-5 years. Asset backed finance This can cover machinery, sales invoices even sales orders. It can be a very flexible source of finance to the growing business Leasing - This will cover your capital expenditure and spread the cost over a three to five year period. It is particularly useful if you do not have taxable profits to maximise your capital allowances. Sale and leaseback of a property you own is another good source of funds. Factoring - Factoring offers a sales ledger administration and debt collection service. Up to 95% of an approved sales invoice is paid within 48 hours, quicker if required. Credit protection is also available to protect against a bad debt.

The Factor will own and place a first charge over the book debts and they might also take other charges, depending upon the strength of the financial information. Invoice discounting – is either Confidential or Disclosed; it depends upon the strength of the financial information. The service is the same as Factoring, except that the sales ledger administration and the debt collection is the responsibility of the client and not the Factor. Pre payment of the approved sales invoice is still up to 95% and the factor will still have a first charge on the book debt and therefore own the debt. This service can also have credit protection cover. All sales invoices need to be for a business to business debt, and some proof of delivery is generally required. Trade Finance - This is funding provided against stock purchases, signed contracts and orders whereby the funder will prepay a certain percentage of the value.

Payroll Finance - it is possible to borrow up to two months worth of your payroll provided you meet certain criteria. Pension fund - It may be possible to use your pension funds for a loan back to the business or as a way of reducing your exposure to tax.

Business Relationship Funding This is another source of funds that can be overlooked. It may be possible to introduce potential alliances to add value to both parties. It may produce an ultimate exit route in the medium to long term. Joint Ventures: Requires a legal

agreement embodying the deal and another company

Partnerships: Two companies collaborate with possible funding.

Joint working relationships: These are an informal partnership which may be more project specific where the parties can share resources.

Agencies: These can be geographical or product specific and generally incorporates a payment for the right to the agency.

Distributors: Very like an agency but may not necessarily involve up front payment.

Alliances: These do not require a separate company and can be embodied by a legal agreement to work together.

Trade investors: Otherwise known as Corporate Partnering. This can be a good way to involve a much larger company in the business with a view to possible trade sale further down the line.

Associates: This can be a loose arrangement with no fundamental commitments either way, rather like a preferred supplier.

Equity Swop: Two companies exchange shares to a similar value to develop both businesses.

Franchises: This can allow the business to grow without further direct investment.

Licensing: This involves licensing a product or service to enable others to sell it. This requires you to own the intellectual property.




Next month: Optimise Employee Training and Development, Effective Training Techniques Through Employee Involvement

Call now for a no obligation financial review of your

business.


http://www.microfunding.co.uk/



Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 16 November ‘08

Key Steps to Developing a Quality Business Plan

There are many important steps to consider when developing a business plan for your company, but the first step is to fully understand the main uses of a business-plan. The four main uses of a business-plan are as follows: • A Business Plan is a written document that you can use in your search for external financing. • A Business Plan is a tactical planning and management tool for your business. • A Business Plan is a document showing the capacity of your team to control and manage all the aspects of the company. • A Business Plan brings you new ideas to refine your project by checking and estimating the induced hypothesis. The necessity of Business Plans The drafting or update of your business-plan is essential to the good management of your company. It can be used when searching for a business partner, for obtaining external financing, and for defining some stages of the development of your company, such as: • The creation of your company. • The launching of a new product. • The establishment in a new market. • The transfer, buy-out, or the structural development of your company. Should you call in a consultant or write the Business Plan by yourself? You should be the main (if not single) author of your business-plan, because the Business Plan is, so to speak, your own "baby", it is a reflection of your personality; it is by this means that your investors will discover the person with whom they collaborate.

But your project may be too important and you may want to call in a consultant for help and consultation. Even so, you should stay in control of its development! Tips for developing a quality Business Plan. 1. To be credible, a business-plan must be coherent and each parameter in the Business Plan must be based on facts. 2. There are many methods to build Business Plans, but very few can help you correctly carry out reliable financial projections based on a preliminary commercial engineering and market study. Indeed, one frequent mistake when building Business Plan's is to first define the target in terms of market share, and then try to "find" the number of customers necessary to fill these objectives! This process should be reversed. 3. In addition, one essential point in a Business Plan is to define concrete policies and measures. This definition aims to gain a reasonable number of customers, based on a sufficient knowledge of the market. The quantitative estimate of this gain must be calculated on realistic monthly and annual increase rates. A well-founded pricing policy then makes it possible to estimate the sales turnover in the years ahead. The calculation of the costs of the planned actions in your Business Plan are essential and make overall financial projections possible. In short, financial forecasts – including those related to the financing of the project – must be elaborated from the basic elements of the project.

They should be proceeded by a commercial engineering study which projects a realistic estimate of sales. 4. In a Business Plan, the marketing plans as well as the financial forecasts require a basic understanding of how these important elements are calculated. You can use good software – some of which is free – to faciliate the development of your Business Plan. 5. The last point and certainly not the least significant: A Business Plan is never ended "once and for all". A regular follow-up and comparison between the theoretical Business Plan and the reality of its execution are essential. You can then modify your Business Plan and adapt it to improve performance and achieve your goals.


How Important Is Strategy In Your Business? On a scale of one to ten, having a good business strategy rates about a fifteen! No matter what kind of business you have -- whether you sell products or a service, as the saying goes, "if you fail to plan, then you're really planning to fail." Creating a strategy can mean the difference between you working 60 to 80 hours a week all year long -- and then breaking even, or worse, losing money. On the other hand, many successful entrepreneurs who have a strategy work fewer hours and make piles of money -- and they usually attribute their success to having a strategic plan and following it. So what is strategic business management? Very simply, it's the process of defining the goals and objectives for your business, creating an action plan so you can reach them and then following the plan. How do you create a strategic plan for you business? 1. First, know what your vision for your company is. If there were no barriers, nothing stopping you from taking your company as far as you could -- what would that look like? 2. Next, what are your company's core operating values? What are its guiding principles? In other words, why are you in business and how do you do business? 3. Now create a 3 to 5 year plan. Your long-term plan is based on the broad objectives that will help you get from where you are now, to where you want to be. 4. Develop a plan for this year. These are the specific objectives you plan to accomplish this year that will lead you closer to your long-term goals. Remember to be "SMART" when setting your annual goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time-oriented). Include a list of the barriers that are stopping you from getting where you want to go.

Figure out what resources you've already got, and what resources you need to get you past those barriers. And then create an action plan that clearly lays out how you will achieve your goals. Involve key employees with this part of the planning process.

5. Create a set of milestones or benchmarks. This is very important, so that you can measure your progress. 6. Share the plan with your employees, and anyone else who will be involved in the process. Your annual strategy is the roadmap that will make sure everyone ends up at the same destination - but to be effective, everyone needs the same map! 7. Put the plan into action. Now that you have the roadmap, it's time to begin the journey. 8. Check your progress. Just like any trip, you need to check the map every now and then; to be sure you're still on the right road. If something isn't working, the sooner you figure it out and make the necessary adjustments, the sooner you'll be back on track.

9. Follow the same cycle next year. (Dream, Plan, Act, Check). Creating a business strategy and following it will ensure that you enjoy the journey as much as getting to your final destination.




Next month: Different Types of Funding © 2008 - UK Business Advisors Limited - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved

Apply now for a no obligation, strategic review of your

business. A strategy review could help your company make a step change in its performance, productivity and profitability.

Our review will develop an agreed Business Development Proposal, which will identify the key steps needed to move the business forward, such as:

· Vision & Mission · The Marketplace · Sales & Marketing · Operations · Resources · Finance · Actions

What do we actually do? Plan: Meet to plan the review. This will provide us with the overview of the business. Assess: One-on-one reviews with company stakeholders. Feedback: This brings all the participants together for a two-hour session. From this a Business Development Proposal is facilitated. Implement: develop an action based, time lined plan to deliver the objectives.

Review: meet regularly with you to measure the performance to targets.

Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 15 October ‘08

Ten Tips To Improve Your Networking Skills

Think Beyond The Box. We tend to get a bit narrow-minded about where we should be networking but airplane trips, waiting in line, public events, weddings and any other place where people gather can present easy networking opportunities. Networking skills take time to perfect and even the best professional networkers can still make blunders. Learning new tools and practicing your skills will certainly make networking easier with time and probably a lot more fun too.

Effective networking makes the world go round so it is a vital skill for expanding business and making life easier. That is all very well but it is also an investment of time and energy and for some people this is a nightmare as they have to conquer their social fears and the desire to melt into the crowd until it's time to leave. Here are some simple tools and tips to make your networking more effective. They basically involve taking initiative and refining your conversation skills. Be Prepared. With a bit of light research before the event you can find out who will be there and what the occasion is. For a business event, you can brief yourself on the topic of the occasion and at least be able to hold a conversation. Be Positively Charged. Arrive at the function with a positive attitude and look like you are glad to be there. The host will appreciate someone who is not hanging around waiting to be entertained or introduced to someone. Help liven up the event with genuine warmth and enthusiasm and you will find yourself being invited to more events. Set Goals. If the thought of going to a social event where you might not know anyone leaves you in a cold sweat then setting a few goals can ease your anxiety. Decide on a minimum time that you can bare to stay for - like a hour. Then decide that you will not leave before making at least one new contact. You can amend the goals as you gather more confidence. Know Your Lines. Have a few opening lines prepared to help initiate conversations with strangers. Ask them how they know the host or if they've been to the venue before. This will usually lead the conversation to what you both do and why you were invited.

Improve Your Listening Skills. Ask questions and show interest in those around you, especially if you are at a seated event that includes a formal meal. Learn to ask questions with sincerity and interest and then keep quiet and listen to the other person's reply. Take A Risk. Most people are quite relieved to have someone approach them first, so do not miss out on meeting someone interesting just because they look a bit cold and disinterested. They are probably nervous and if you approach them with warmth and interest, they could turn into quite good company. Leave Gracefully. Always thank the host or organizer of the event before leaving and say farewell to guests you have spoken to. Promises Kept. Your integrity and reliability are resting on this. If you told someone that you will fax them, e-mail them, phone them or contact them after the event, then do so as soon as you can. Stay In Touch. Once you've made contact with someone stay in touch with them. People like to know that they are thought of and important enough to be contacted even if you do not need them for anything.

The Importance Of Networking

On a hot July day several years ago people gathered in droves to drink, talk, and do business. This wasn't a convention, reception or staff outing. The event was called Young Professionals, a local business networking group for, as the name suggests, young working professionals. This event acted as a magnifying glass on the importance of networking in business. The first thing you'll notice at an event like this will be the amount of people that attend. Discovering an opportunity like in the business world can be a refreshing feeling, especially to those that are constantly scrutinized at work. If nothing else, networking provides members of the business community an outlet to reassure one another that their current job doesn't have to be the only job they ever do. The first step in networking is putting oneself out there to be met by others, and engaging in conversation about business, and life with other likeminded individuals.


The Importance Of Networking

…..continued Business Networking Puts More

Money In Your Pocket The next thing you'll notice at the event are the prevalence of business cards. The importance of business cards in networking is essential. If you have business cards be sure to bring them everywhere, if you don't yet have a card, make one. Many of your employees might be people you'll meet networking for business. If they don't have a business card you won't be able to hire them. Having a business card and distributing it freely will help you become successful at networking. If you need reassurance, look at those that profit off networking the most, real estate agents, stock brokers, and other broker types. Do you ever see a drought in business cards among these individuals? Some people have stacks of cards high enough to hit an 11 foot ceiling. Another thing you'll notice happening at the event are the unabashed marketing of products, and services. Market your product when networking. What if you don't have a product for sale? You may have a service, or an idea, whatever it may be, market it while networking. You will be surprised at how many people can help you achieve your dream. A few things you'll want to bring to a meeting are a pen, pad, and something to hold things in, like a portfolio. While networking be sure to take notes if necessary, ask questions of others, and capture the moment. Many rely on fate to bring them to success in business, and life. But for those seasoned veterans of business, and life will tell you, diligence and hard work are as important as anything else. When you are networking try your best to get the most out of the situation. Next time you are at a networking event, instead of enjoying the free pigs in a blanket, make the most of it by actively networking.

Business networking puts more money in your pocket by helping you overcome the number one biggest problem facing new business owners - prospecting for new customers. Business networking events can go a long way towards making the whole prospecting problem go away. There are two main kinds of networking opportunities available to the average entrepreneur. Passive networking and strong networking. Both have unique benefits and drawbacks.

The most well known example of passive networking is your local chamber of commerce. You can find a chamber of commerce chapter in almost every major city worldwide. Your local chamber of commerce gives you the opportunity to meet with many of the movers and shakers in your local business community. Through the many events they plan on a monthly and yearly basis, they offer you a chance to connect with a number of potential prospects for your products and services. Weekly networking groups or clubs are an example of strong networking opportunities. These kinds of business networking events can be found in many major cities worldwide. A strong networking group will meet on a weekly basis for the sole purpose of exchanging business leads with one another and learning better ways of networking to grow their business. The most successful networking groups require your weekly attendance and insist that their members provide fellow members with referrals throughout the year.

They also allow only one person from each profession or industry to belong to the group. This keeps the quality of the referrals high. One such group is Business Network International (BNI). So what are the advantages and disadvantages of each kind of networking? They both have their place but strong networking groups represent a bigger commitment than passive networking groups. By belonging to a strong networking group, you are committed to be on the lookout for referrals for group members. Strong networking groups also usually meet on a weekly basis whereas passive networking groups usually meet monthly. Passive networks can have multiple people from one profession or industry as members. They also have no requirements for passing on referrals to other members. Referrals do occur in a passive networking event but it is not facilitated by the meeting and is totally up to the business owner to initiate. You can belong to multiple passive networking groups. Any business you get from passive networking will most likely be a result of the amount of effort you put in. Strong networks on the other hand restrict membership to only one person per industry or profession. This greatly increases the likelihood that you will receive referrals from participating members. Meetings are structured in a way to encourage referrals and there is a formal referral exchange that happens every week. It is strongly recommended that you only belong to one strong networking group in order to keep the quality of your referrals high. In either case, it is important for members of these groups to see you as professional and competent. Referrals will go to people the referrer knows, likes and trusts. Want more business? Start attending business networking events in your area.




Next month: Key Steps to Developing a Quality Business Plan, How Important Is Strategy In Your Business © 2008 - UK Business Advisors Limited - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved

Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 14 September ‘08 5 Ways Great Managers Improve Employee Performance The Bottom-line on Satisfied Employees

It may appear that all great managers know the secret to improving an employees performance. But what these managers know is no secret at all: everything you ever needed to know about enhancing the productivity of your employees is actually contained in a few simple techniques that are guaranteed to increase the efficiency of your business.

5 Things That Every Great Manager Knows These five things are not profit margin, gains, losses, tax deductions, or assets - but instead are the human factors of management. You cannot put a price or value on the factors that drive an employees performance. This is because most people remain with an employer because of the quality and satisfaction derived from a rewarding and balanced workplace. Great managers recognize and respect this "x factor" of the business world and work to improve it with these simple tips. 1. Motivation Every employee is unique; therefore the motivation to perform better will be different for each person. Identify the motivator for each employee and provide opportunities that encourage their interest and performance.

2. Setting Goals Make sure you have a vision for how you want your business to operate now and in the future. Communicate your vision to your employees so that they are directing their energies toward a common goal. They will feel like they are a part of the business and this will enhance performance. 3. Praise Take advantage of big and small opportunities to praise your employees for work well done. Your recognition of their performance means a lot and it is important that you acknowledge their efforts. 4. Feedback Be lavish with praise but selfish with criticisms -but do offer kind words of constructive feedback that makes your employees feel respected and valued. 5. Management Be available as a resource to your employees. They should feel comfortable to approach you with questions and concerns and not feel as if they are imposing on your time. They should be able to depend upon you for guidance and as a model of what excellent performance is all about. A Last Word... As you can see, there is no one secret to improving the performance level of employees. You can start today with these simple tips that are easy to implement into the everyday workings of your business. After all, your employees and business deserve anything and everything that will help them flourish and continue to grow.

The success of an organization does not solely depend on management but on the work of its employees as well. An employee that enjoys his or her position and feels rewarded by their efforts will ultimately be the most successful in their careers and the most beneficial to the company. There is nothing like being around happy, satisfied employees who bring their optimism and productivity to the organization. These are the employees who are the most attentive to the needs of the customer and strive to go that extra mile to be the most helpful.

A positive attitude is contagious and can change the attitude of every staff member around. However, just as a positive mindset is easily spread, so is a negative one. If a member of the team is unhappy, watch out! His or her negative attitude can become infectious - contaminating fellow co-worker and customers alike. Pessimistic employees can breed an atmosphere of low morale which equals decreased productivity, employee turnover, and unproductive time spent gossiping and complaining among co-workers. In order to combat negativity in the work place, it is essential that employees receive ongoing motivation from management to perform their work to the best of their abilities. Regular contact with employees is necessary to show that you care about their contributions.


The Importance of Performance Reviews The Bottom-line on Satisfied Employees

…..continued

If you employ people in your business, you're going to be faced with a number of tricky management issues - dealing with tardiness, sick leave, and keeping your staff motivated. Performance reviews can be useful for motivating employees, but only if they are accurate. An inaccurate review, which fails to recognize the employee's value to the organization, can be worse than no review at all. If a performance review fails to take note of an employee's shortcomings, it won't be taken seriously. If an employee consistently performs poorly, it's vital to document this, as well as any corrective action that is taken. Your staff may be genuinely unaware that their performance in some areas is poor (or exceptional!), unless you tell them. Most employers conduct performance reviews annually, in order to decide on salary increases and bonuses. Since performance reviews should build on previous reviews, it's better to conduct them more regularly - every 4 months is a good frequency. Employees thrive on feedback, and regular performance reviews provide a consistent framework for providing positive reinforcement. Under-performing employees can also benefit. Regular reviews can identify weak performance areas, and allow you to set clear goals and expectations, and to coach and mentor the employee to improve their performance. Objectivity is vital. You need to concentrate on measuring performance, and not on quirks of personality. The performance review should relate directly to the employee's job profile - your employees do have job profiles, or job descriptions, don't they? The job profile should identify the Key Performance Areas for the job.

For instance, some Key Performance Areas for a receptionist might be: answer incoming calls within 3 rings take messages accurately and pass

them on quickly type at a rate of 25 words a minute

The more measurable a Key Performance Area, the better. Some other measurable Key Performance Areas include: number of sick days number of absent days number of instances of tardiness number of customer complaints number of customer compliments number of co-worker complaints

Of course, you would have to keep accurate records of all of these, in the employee's personal file. You should prepare a performance review form for each employee, which lists the Key Performance Areas for the job, and provides a matrix for you to record the performance in each area. For example, you might rate the employee's performance in each Key Performance Area against a scale of 'Poor, Satisfactory, Good, Very Good, Excellent' Performance reviews should be a collaborative process - as far as possible, the employee should agree with your assessment .

Another way to beat low morale is to develop an employee satisfaction survey. This is an easy, anonymous way for employees to voice their concerns and problems without being identified. Issues that are brought up from the survey can be addressed during an organizational meeting. Other ways that an employer can create an environment that motivates employees include: Staff lunches Holiday celebrations Employee of the month Continuing education programs

An organization that recognizes that its employees are valuable and deserve to receive a certain amount of praise and recognition will benefit from increased productivity and employee satisfaction and retention, which in turn, will positively affect customer satisfaction. Otherwise, the expense of training each new employee so that they may excel in some other organization is foolish, time-consuming and expensive. Management with the "easy-come-easy-go" mentality creates conflict, confusion and quite a bit of turnover in the workplace. Nothing positive can be gained by treating employees in such a manner. It's no wonder that some employees treat their positions as a 9-to-5 job. Any organization can make changes for the better and help create an environment that is conducive to employee happiness. After all, the success of your business depends upon it. The organization with the right approach will be the one to reap the rewards of success.




Next month: Ten Tips To Improve Your Networking Skills, The Importance of Networking, Business Networking puts More Money in Your Pocket


Managing staff, being responsible for them and staying within

employment law can be a pain!

Contact us now for a no obligation review of your HR

practices.

Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 13 August ‘08

Are You Still Having Cashflow Problems? The Office AdministratorYou have agreed trading terms with your customers, you are invoicing your customers promptly, and you are chasing your debtor ledger in a structured way, thus ensuring you are paid promptly.

In addition, you have spoken to your suppliers, negotiated on their trade terms to you (including price), have looked around for competitive quotations, planned your cashflow for payment and sought their help in promoting their product(s).

But you are still having problems with cashflow!

Before turning to finance sources for more money then start to examine your cost base.

Produce an up-to-date set of management reports. Look at the total expenses of the business to date, and prioritise them starting with the largest expense and ending with the least. Starting at the top ask yourself the following questions about each line:

• Does this item contribute directly to my sales?

• Could I eliminate this item altogether (or reduce its cost by doing it another way) and still make the same sales?

• Is the item being paid for on a loan, HP, lease etc., if so would the finance source consider reducing the repayments in some way on a temporary (or maybe even permanent) basis?

• Does the 'sundries' line account for more than 5% of the total? If so it needs to be broken down and examined.

Are there any bad debts (either certain or potential)? Have I learnt anything from these?

Different items can be dealt with in different ways but it is normally possible to shave at least 10% from the overheads by doing this exercise firmly and objectively. This could make all the difference between success and failure.

If you are still finding it difficult to balance the books then there is one more question before you embark on getting into (further) debt.

Does the business really have any future?

If the business is just starting and/or going through a temporary lean period, then outside finance might be the right thing to do.

But you must look long and hard and possibly take outside objective advice before embarking on this road. It is so easy to delude yourself into thinking that there is a business there at all sometimes.

So go back to basics and do (redo) your market research and review your sales methods. Maybe this will highlight some modifications that could change your approach and improve the business.

There are a number of descriptions of the administrative function but quite often it is the oil that keeps a business ticking over efficiently. Without a workable administrative system amazing things can happen in a business. Some of the usual problems have to do with lost papers, lost vat returns, Inland Revenue dates missed and general muddle. What is worse is to discover that work has not been invoiced or records about jobs are lost or inaccurate.

There is many an MD who is well aware that administration is not his strong point and he will quickly get someone to help him. The essential skills of that administrative support person is an ability to multi task, to keep records straight, to be able to find essential bits of paper immediately and to keep the MD informed of any potential untoward happening while allowing him to get on with the essential business of the organisation. But, of course, there is much more to the administrative function than this.

There are a number of areas that loosely fit under administration, especially in a small company. This may include:-

Insurances. Most companies will have office and contents insurance, employer and public liability insurance. There are also special insurance policies to cover company cars, professional indemnity insurance and other key man insurance policies.

Pensions. All companies where there are more than 5 employees should be offering a pension to employees. These are usually Stakeholder pensions and can include pension contributions by the company to employee’s pension plans. Pension control sits loosely between the HR function, the payroll and the accountant – but whoever looks after the pension, the detail is important.

Telephone: 0870 420 2756 Fax: 0709 280 8482 Email: [email protected] Web: www.ukba.co.uk© 2008 - UK Business Advisors Limited - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved

A Purchasing FocusA purchasing strategy is not the domain of the larger company or corporation. Without an effective strategy to manage supply chains or coordinate the purchasing function you will never be in control of your costs.

The lack of strategy can result in poor customer service, missed delivery dates and reduced staff moral. This is largely never calculated but has a draining effect on the business.

Purchasing and supply chain management should never be seen as a back room function but a key area of business.

In today’s commercial environment purchasing can often redress the continuing lower price pressure from clients by maintaining or improving the cost of sale (COS) equation.

Cost reduction policies/ strategies over recent years have traditionally focused on what can be seen and touched,’ headcount’.

Their reduction has been the result of Productivity improvement, Automation investments, Outsourcing (sub contracting) and cutting out some activities see as unimportant. Headcount as a result has fallen and in many cases this has been a correct and modernisation process.

In some cases though it has been in blind panic to reduce costs and has obvious drawbacks. These polices have an effect of short-term cost increases, take time to administer and when not professionally implemented have a further drain on staff morale.

In many cases can also lead to industrial action and a skills shortage in the staff base. Once done Directors have to look else where for the next wave of cost reductions.

Procurement is the obvious place. Bought in services and material can amount to as much as 80% of the revenue base. With these sorts of numbers it is clear that a saving of 10% (which is very realistic) can have a

dramatic effect on the profitability of enlightened companies. As a model if a company spent:

• 50% on purchases, • 44% on other costs,

they would have• 6% profit.

By improving the purchase process by 10% the results are dramatic.

• 45% on purchases, • 44% on other costs,

they would have• 11% profit.

This doubling of profits has been achieved without any staff reduction or reduction in customer services.

In two of the recent cases we have been involved in, a small engineering company has improved the material purchase costs by 16% and in a larger company we produced savings of 26% the first year and 9% the second year.

A coordinated approach is needed to avoid supply failure. Increased rather than decreased costs are likely to result if the decisions are not consistent or inline with company ethos, structure and objectives. Companies should avoid jumping on the bandwagon of fads and fashions.

To get you thinking and moving forward to a purchasing strategy and lower costs here are six questions to ask yourself.

1. What is the % ratio between bought in goods / services and staff/facilities costs?

2. Who is responsible for purchasing, are they trained or qualified?

3. Are the purchasing decisions made in a rigid policy or is there flexibility to adapt to situations?

4. Are all purchases made centrally, does everyone involved know what is being purchased?

5. Are you confident you have the right buying process for both low and high volume /value items?

Are your confident you have the right policy to cope with the future needs and trends?

The Office Administrator …..continued

Health and Safety. Any company with over 5 employees should have a health and safety policy in place, and this includes having first aid available for employees. Keep in mind that, should there be a claim, the MD is the person who would be prosecuted.

Facilities Administration. In small companies, to have an in house IT support function is not usually one of the priorities, although it is essential for the smooth and efficient working of the office and someone will need to attend to computers, e-mail problems, printer malfunction and the like. Similarly the functioning of the telephones, alarms and security all fall under administration. Likewise, the ordering of essential supplies is vital to the efficiency of the business.

Accounting. A number of small companies will outsource the accounting function but even when this happens there are finance related functions in the office which need to controlled. One of the essentials is to have an easily visible record of cash in and cash out so that there is an at a glance view of current liquidity. Excel is a flexible vehicle for having these controls in place and easily managed. But some accounting software is very reasonably priced and user friendly and worthwhile investing in while the business is young.

Payroll. Payroll has become a complicated business. Most companies will outsource the payroll function but if it is kept in house it needs to be run by a competent trained person using software that is compliant with the Inland Revenue criteria.

There are so many more areas that will fall to an efficient administrator in a small business, areas that will, in the organic growth of the business be eventually hived off to an in house accountant, an HR manager, an IT consultant or a facilities manager. In the meanwhile those efficient administrators are like gold dust, so please give them the value they deserve.

UK Business Advisors LimitedWhite House, 66 Altwood Road

Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 4PZTel: 0870 420 2756 Fax: 0709 280 8482


Next month: 5 Ways Great Managers Improve Employee Performance, The Importance of Performance Reviews© 2008 - UK Business Advisors Limited - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved



Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 12 July ‘08

21st Century Leadership - A People Focused Approach Are You A Born Leader One of the greatest challenges of leadership is the definition. There are literally thousands of books, documents, and lecturers that have each defined what their idea of leadership is.

There are definitions for corporate leadership, civic leadership, home leadership, and more. We attempt to break down leadership and make it more complicated than it is. At its core, leadership is an individual achieving results through people. In many cases you are considered a leader if you hold a particular title, have a certain set of personality traits, a particular skill, or lucky enough to be a born leader. None of these by itself define leadership, mainly because leadership is an individual decision. Just because someone is in a leadership position doesn't mean they necessarily exercise leadership. In some cases the informal leader exhibits leadership even though they aren't in a leadership role. The people focused leader is adaptive and receptive to change. They understand the need to change in order to stay a step ahead in order to meet the demands and challenges of a rapidly changing marketplace. They have a vision for their organization that is clearly communicated throughout and the ability to influence at all levels in order to meet organizational goals and objectives. The people focused leader realizes that it's not just management that drives performance in the organization, but also its people. Happy employees are productive employees. The people focused leader understands the importance of creating an environment that encourages diverse views and stimulates employees to take initiative, work as a team, and continuously learn.

The people focused leader has the interpersonal skills to develop relationships throughout the organization especially in the new millennium where many workers have more knowledge than those that are leading them. The people focused leader is quickly replacing the autocratic leaders of yesterday. They recognize the importance of the people element to be critical to the success of the organization. With the marketplace becoming more global, competitive, and turbulent, characterised by a highly mobile, skilled, and educated workforce. The people focused leader will need to demonstrate their "people skills" to drive organizational performance and business success.

As we move forward in the new millennium leadership will be the differentiating factor between successful and unsuccessful organizations. Rapid innovation and quality improvements will require even greater effort from the workforce in the future, and those that are able to change, influence, and transform his/her organization will be ready to lead their organizations well into the 21st century.

People are not born with any particular skill. We are all born afraid of falling and of loud noises, but after that everything else is learned. So it is to become a leader. Leaders are made not born. Leadership skills are acquired over a period of time based on several factors. Here are 5 of them. 1. Leaders come in all different shapes and sizes. It is interesting to study effective leaders. At face value they are all different. They all have developed their own style based on their own personality and what works for them. 2. A true leader accepts responsibility. Everything from how they speak to how they act is part of being responsible. It is easy to follow them because you know where they are going and know they will lead you as well. 3. Leaders work at being leaders. They are always improving their skills and learning from the situations they are in. They study people and have learned how to effectively interact with them to get what they want. 4. Leadership starts at the top, but is best achieved when developing a team atmosphere. _________________________________

"Whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're probably right" - Henry Ford

__________________________________

Leaders know they can do better when people are working together for one common goal. Sharing in leadership is part of this process. Making everyone accountable for what they do, but judging success on the overall efforts of everyone.


Are You a Boss or Leader? Are You A Born Leader …..continued

__________________________________

“Man cannot discover new oceans until he has courage to lose sight of the shore” –

Andre Gide ______________________________ They care about and inspire, their staff, realizing that they are the front line ambassadors of the store. They not only see where the store is at now, but they also envision what it will look like or how it will impact their community ten years from now. Whether they actually own the store or not, they make the store their own. With a good leader, people usually feel drawn, or “pulled”, into the same vision. Have you ever gone into a store or restaurant and been treated so well by the staff there that you just knew that you would return again? Not only did you just receive knock-your-socks-off customer service, but you also met employees empowered by the vision of a true leader. A leader usually develops and motivates leaders under them. People who get “fired-up” and captivated by the vision and rise to the occasion. For leaders, leadership is a way of life. If there's leadership spontaneously required at a gathering, leaders will step up to bat, even if it's just to open a door as people arrive. Can a boss be a leader? Definitely. The question is: Which one are you? Or rather, maybe the question should be: Which one would you like to be?

5. Situations call for different types of leadership. A well-rounded leader is able to adapt to their surroundings and lead accordingly. Coaching a football team is an example of this. Sometimes the players need a kick in the rear and other times they need a pat on the back. 6. Leaders are respected for what they have accomplished in the past. A real leader can speak from a position of practical experience and know they will be listened to because they speak from that vantage point. A respected leader is able to command more from his people than a leader who is not. 7. Leaders seek opinions and compile ideas before forming a game plan. Good leaders know that they cannot come up with every idea that will work. By allowing input they are able to make a more responsible decision. As you can see leaders have skills and they use them to accomplish something every single day. You can become a good leader if you are willing to work and to learn how to become one.

__________________________________

"The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them." – Albert

Einstein

________________________________

There’s a difference between being a boss and a leader. Which one are you? Webster’s definitions of a boss include: A person who exercises control over others and makes decisions, usually the person of highest rank or authority, a supervisor, a person who commands in a domineering manner. In contrast the definitions for a leader include: A person who rules, guides, inspires, escorts, directs, influences, persuades, and is out and ahead of or at the head of others. They have influence, power, and commanding authority over those they lead. They tend toward a certain goal or result, are in the foremost position, and usually “pull” people toward what becomes a common vision. People usually follow a leader because they want to rather than have to. Influential leaders, who lead with great ethics, whether they are Presidents, Kings, corporate CEOs, Girl Guide or Scout leaders, bear some traits in common. They are passionate about what they do and what they believe in; they are visionaries, can see the “big picture," and are driven inside to draw people into what they believe – to jump on the train with them. A boss in a grocery store sees shelves that need to be stocked, employees that need to be scheduled, doors that need fixed, floors that need to be cleaned, and the year-end staff social that needs to be planned. They work toward these ends, seeing them to fulfilment, sometimes in very creative ways. A leader in a grocery store sees those things too, but he or she also feels excitement about being in business, or about making profit from people’s need for food and daily household products and how that profit can be poured back into the store to make it superior over other grocery stores.




Next month: Are You Still having Cashflow Problems?, A Purchasing Focus © 2008 - UK Business Advisors Limited - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved

We have extensive experience of working with managing director owners of businesses as well as our own knowledge of working with

teams and managing staff.

Contact us now to find out more about our leadership, management and coaching services.

Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 11 June ‘08

How To Conduct A Market Analysis For Your Business

The term "market analysis" is often confusing to entrepreneurs, especially for people who focus on a specific niche or market segment. In fact, many small business owners don't understand the process or complain that conducting a market analysis is too complicated or too expensive and wonder why or if it is necessary. What is market analysis? In the most basic terms, a market analysis is an assessment of: A particular problem or opportunity in

a market. The needs of the target market

relating to the problem or opportunity. Ideas for marketing a particular

product or service that fills the needs of the target market.

When should you conduct a market analysis? When you are starting a business. When you are entering a new market. When you are considering a new

product or service. Why should you conduct a market analysis? To minimize business risks. To understand the problems and

opportunities. To identify sales opportunities. To plan your marketing/sales

approach. The process of conducting a market analysis can be divided into three parts:

Part 1 - Understanding Market Conditions

This gives you basic information about your entire market – the size, the competition, the customers.

Part 2 - Identifying Market Opportunities

This gives you more targeted information about potential problems or opportunities in the potential market, and includes information about growth, current and future trends, outside factors and more information about specific competitors.

Part 3 - Developing Market-Driven Strategies

Here is where we get into what market research does for you. It helps you to pinpoint opportunities to grow your business. By understanding the market and knowing what opportunities are available you can create a marketing strategy that leaves your competitors in the dust!

Here are 10 questions that can help you get started: 1. What is the market I want to reach? Who are they? (Basic Demographics) What is their biggest problem in

relation to this market? Are their needs being met by the

products or services provided in this market?

2. Who is my competition in this market? Are they successful in this market? Are they marketing a similar product

or service? What is the market share of the three

biggest competitors in this market?

3. Is there room for growth in this market? 4. What is the size of this market? Is the industry growing? Stable?

Saturated? Volatile? Declining? 5. How is my product or service different from the competition? 6. How can I reach this market? How is my competition currently

reaching this market? Is it the most effective way? What are the alternative ways of

reaching this market? 7. What are the business models of my competition in this market? Are they effective? Is there a way to do it differently or

better? 8. What do customers expect from this type of product or service? What are the core competencies of

this product or service? What would make the product "new"

"different" or "better" for the customer?

9. How much are customers willing to pay for this product or service? 10. What is our competitive advantage in this market? Knowing the answers to these questions will not only help you figure out if there is a need for your product or service, it will help you figure out the best ways to reach your customers, price your products or service and ultimately make more sales!


Apply for your free market analysis from one of our independent marketing

specialists. Call us now.

Marketing - Back to the BasicsToo many entrepreneurs and small businesses dive right into the thick of operations without following basic marketing principles. In business, as in most things, it pays to occasionally take a step back and evaluate the bigger picture. Drafting a very basic marketing plan can help you focus on the right activities, target the right customers and set the best prices. The STP Process STP is an acronym for Segmentation, Targeting and Positioning. It represents the highest level of your marketing plan. Ideally, you should start this process before your product or service is ever brought to market. It can still be a worthwhile exercise for an existing product though.

Segmentation Segmentation is simply a fancy way of saying that you need to identify your customer. Think of every possible customer. Now, start slicing that population into smaller, more defined segments (thus the name segmentation). It's best to start big here – for example: split individuals from businesses. Now, go into each segment and divide it further. You could split individuals further by sex, age, socio-economic status, geographic location, interests and hobbies and so on. At this point, try not to pigeon-hole yourself by prematurely selecting segments. Remember, you're trying to find meaningful groups of potential buyers that will exhibit similar buying behaviour. Your goal is to identify opportunities.

Once you feel that you have subdivided the market finely enough, then you need to evaluate those segments. Try to quantify how large those segments are, how reachable they are and how unique they are from one another (i.e. is there considerable overlap from one to the next?). Targeting The next step in the process is to look at the segments you've created and make some decisions about which segments of the market you are going to go after. One of the first decisions you will have to make is whether to target a "mass" market or instead whether your marketing efforts will be more focused. That is to say, are you going for a larger, less defined segment or a smaller more defined segment. The general trend over the last decade has been to go after more defined segments. The extreme here would be to go after a "niche" market which is just a fancy term for a highly defined, fairly small segment. The reasoning being that there will be less competition for those segments. The segment you choose will have a profound effect on everything else you do. You need to carefully evaluate the most appropriate route for you business. When deciding between different market segments, you will want to try and identify the competition for that segment, the potential value of the segment (i.e. how large is it, how expensive will it be to reach it with advertising, etc.). Positioning You've segmented the market and you've chosen the segment that you are going to go after. The last part of your marketing plan will help you define how you are going to "position" your product or service to your selected target market. This is where you will invoke another handy acronym called the 4P's - Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. Product You need to focus your product towards your selected target. What do the people/firms in your segment want or

need? If you are working with an existing product, you need to make sure it fits your intended target market. If it doesn't, can it be altered so that it does? It's critical to match the right product with the right customer. Price Pricing your offering is an art. You must consider many factors, such as the stigma different price points carry - for example, being too inexpensive sends a message that your product may be junk. It's also critical to consider the competition here. It makes little sense to target the same market with a similar product at the same price as your competitors. Entire books have been written on the subject of pricing. The important thing to keep in mind is that you can't lock yourself into a cost plus profit margin way of thinking. Instead, consider the price independently at first in terms of your competition and the value your offering brings to the customer. Promotion This is what most people think of when they hear the word marketing. As you can see though, it takes a fair amount of work before you get to this point. Promotion is simply how you intend to get the message to your customers about your offering. Will you use commercials, magazine advertisements, radio, the internet, mass mailings? Place Lastly, you need to think about how you will bring your product to market. This is sometimes referred to as marketing channels. That is to say, will you sell directly to the customer or will you sell to distributors or retailers who will then sell it to customers? Where geographically will you sell your product? Will you sell entirely on-line or in a traditional brick-and-mortar location? Bringing it all together You probably already have some or most of your marketing plan in your head. However, following this tried-and-true process can help you formalise your marketing strategy and can help you to identify holes in your business and it sometimes can help you identify opportunities that you might not have thought to exploit.




Next month: 21st Century Leadership: A People Focused Approach, Are You A Born Leader?, Are You a Boss or Leader?© 2008 - UK Business Advisors - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved

Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 10 May ‘08

7 Techniques to Motivate Your Team Members How To Be A Team Player

You can motivate your team members externally or internally. External motivation relates to the working environment. However, internal motivation relates the interests, aptitudes and dreams of your team members. Here you shall find seven critical motivational techniques to get the best out of your subordinates. 1. Reward and Consequences: It is the most popular technique being used by the managers. It mobilises motivational energies in the team players. The reward can be in the form of special promotions, raises or words. However, excessive use of this tool may create jealousy amongst your subordinates to disturb the working environment. Fear of consequences also plays an important role. You need to be careful here too. A wrong consequence at a wrong time may backfire. Just create a balance. 2. Setting of Goals: Setting of well-defined goals helps your team members to do their best. Set meaningful and justified deadlines to get the project finished within time. You need to work at two levels. First, set your objective. Second, divide that objective into goals and sub-goals. 3. Advisory Techniques: No one is perfect. Being a team leader you must always be ready to offer advice when your team members face some stumbling block in their performance. Encourage them to remove their weaknesses and continue what works for them.

4. Praise and Criticism: This motivational technique is similar to 'reward and consequences' technique. A word of praise or criticism shall have definite results upon your subordinates. However, like rewards and consequences, this technique should also be used carefully. Sometimes your team members will do better with criticism and other times they will stop working. 5. Success and Failure: To motivate your team members, you should analyze their successes in open and failures in your office. Most of the people like to continue doing what is working for them. Don't try to change their style unless you find them failing to achieve what you desire of them.

6. Competition: It is the strongest motivational technique to get the best out of your subordinates. You can use this technique very effectively when combine with setting of efficient goals. Competitive circumstances will help your team members to perform the best. 7. Interests of Team Members: Do you know what interests your subordinates? Just find out those interests and entrust them with tasks that they love to do. It will increase their efficiency on one hand and speed of the project on the other. Random allocation of tasks may not be too helpful to all of them.

Team players are usually the people that are known for sacrifice, sharing, and hard work. Does this sound like a reputation you'd like to have? Many strive to be a team player in the work place, but it takes more than just having a desire, it takes hard work. One piece of advice from a father figure of mine that embodies the concept of team work that he used to say to me was, "Usually doing the right thing is the harder thing to do in life". Being a team player often involves doing the right thing by not always having your self benefit in mind. This article looks at several key principals to being a team player. To begin being a team player look at the team you are on and define the team goals. Often these goals will differ from your own personal goals. Be sure to keep the team's goals first on your list of priorities. Once you identify the team goals think about the best way you can contribute to the team by reaching these goals. Try to thing about reaching goals as absolute destination, rather than just a possibility. That is to say, look at meeting team goals as something that will happen, not something that can happen. With this attitude being a team player will become a reality. Team players must recognize their individual strengths in order to provide the team with something useful. If you have a great ability to work with numbers, nominate yourself the maths person, and try to work on all aspects of the project that deals with maths. Conversely if you're one that is not good at something, be sure to make that known to the team.


Teambuilding For Any Business

How To Be A Team Player

…..continued If you are shy and introverted, and the team wants to make you the sales person for the group, tell them that might not be a good idea. By establishing your strengths in the beginning one puts themselves in a better position to excel at a task for the team in the end. Always try to help out others in need within your team. Often times team members will become so engulfed in their own assignments that they fail to realize others are struggling. If one has the attitude that they will only do what they're being paid to do, then they may only achieve so much for the team. If one applies the attitude of helping a brother or sister in need, the team can build and succeed upon such efforts. The old cliche that teams are only as strong as their weakest member holds true in today's work environment. By defining goals, recognizing strengths, and helping others you will give your team a better opportunity of having no weak members what so ever.

Teambuilding can be an important way of developing your businesses most valuable assets, its employees. Especially when hiring new employees or starting a new business, building a relationship within your team is of prime importance. There are many companies that offer teambuilding courses, both residential and in house. Teambuilding courses can be expensive, so let us explore the options so that you are sure to choose the right teambuilding exercise or teambuilding course for your staff and company. In-house teambuilding, done on the site of your company, is the cheapest option as you have no accommodation fees to pay. If you need to keep the cost really low there are many teambuilding guides available on the internet that will allow your human resources department to create their own teambuilding course suited to your companies needs - all without employing an external teambuilding consultant.

Having a teambuilding consultant visit your company for a day or a week can be cost effective, however, only if you have no spare resource in your HR or personnel department. This can also be more convenient for employees who may not prefer to stay overnight away from home. Teambuilding exercises usually begin with an icebreaker, which is a term used to describe a 'getting to know each other' session. Each person will usually be asked to stand up and describe themselves in some detail. This is often surprising even when you have worked with a person for many years as there may be many things that you did not know about them. Other exercises throughout your teambuilding course will focus on interaction between members of the team. Common exercises include building bridges or crossing rivers. Tasks undertaken on teambuilding courses should be ones that would be impossible to complete as an individual, but easily manageable as a team working together.

Often members of a team will be struck by how simple exercises draw on the different strengths of team members. One person in the team may be a natural leader, another has good analytical or engineering skills, and another may have great communication or personal skills. All different skills come into play and will be brought out of your team members as they work through the exercises. Often after teambuilding sessions members find they have new found skills to apply to work situations, and are ready for new challenges, which is great for business!




Next month: How To Conduct A Market Analysis For Your Business, Marketing - Back to the Basics © 2008 - UK Business Advisors Limited - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved

Contact us now to find out how you can develop your staff

and impact the profit and performance of your business

through motivation and teambuilding.

Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 9 April ‘08

Sources of Finance

How to get money into any business is a problem as old as the hills, so don’t feel that your situation is unusual. There are four main ways of achieving this:

1. Don’t overlook the obvious!

There are things you can do with what you’ve got that will bring money in to the business.

• Is your marketing up to scratch? Re-examine how you bring customers into your business. Run a test before you commit too much money to it. There are a hundred different ways of generating new business, so don’t think that you are applying them all at the moment.

• Are you collecting in your debts quickly? Even a small improvement in your debt collection can be a source of funds for your business.

• Are you extracting maximum benefit from your suppliers? Could you extend credit with them?

• Could you reduce stock levels? Could deliveries be closer to “just in time”?

• Are you sitting on under utilised assets? Do you have a freehold or machinery that you could sell and leaseback?

So look at the obvious things before you start looking elsewhere.

2. Banks and other financial institutions

When you’re thinking of approaching banks and financial institutions remember:

• Have a decent plan to show them what you are trying to do

• They want your business. They have sales targets just like you. If you can put up a decent plan they will fight to get your business.

• Don’t leave it too late to approach these institutions. There are various different sources of funds from banks:

• Overdrafts: Never forget that this is a major source of revenue for a bank, and they want your business.

Make sure your bank manager knows what’s going on and they will be a lot more co-operative.

• Lease finance: This enables you to match the costs of buying the asset with the income you generate. However, do read the terms carefully and shop around.

Focus at what happens at the end of the lease as there are many options here.

• Factoring: Asset based debts can easily be assigned to a third party. This means they put you in finds immediately and collect the debt for you.

• Invoice finance: This is the same thing as factoring, except the customer does not need to know. This can be very flexible and do whatever you need.

• Loans: Again, presented in the right way, this can be an excellent source of finance, particularly as interest rates are so low at the moment. The small firms’ loan guarantee scheme may also be helpful in some situations.

3. The Government

Believe it or not, the government wants to help you grow. There are over 1,500 different types of grants available, and it is sensible to seek expert advice in teasing out what may be available. Main types are:

• People based: These tend to be support with training – such as the modern apprenticeship scheme for 18-25 year olds.

• Knowledge based: Various grants are available for research and development.

• Location based: The further you are from London the more likely grants are available. Again, this requires specialist help.

4. External investors

Do not assume that just because you have a good idea others will catch on quickly. Dealing with external investors is all in the presentation. You need something snappy to catch their interest and then well presented detail to hold their interest.


Sources of Finance …….continued 3 Strategies For Increasing Profits

Typically investors can break into three categories

• Business Angels: These are people who have made money who would like to use that money to back others. They will typically invest from a few thousand pounds up to about a million. No hard and fast rules and they can be difficult to find, let alone close a deal with.

• Venture Capital Funds: These are interested in investments of at least £500,000, and often a lot more.

• Other Companies: Another company may well be interested in investing in your company – perhaps with a view to outright purchase in a few years time.

All of these options will want to have a share in your company, and with that comes a loss of control.

Be prepared to discuss this early on in any conversation.

…and you must plan To improve your chances of success in gaining additional sources of finance you must have something in writing. Often the very act of writing something down will help clarify a course of action. It will also help to explain your thoughts to others in a rapid and coherent way.

It's a simple yet common question, "How can I make my business more successful?" Success can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people but when it comes down to it, the success of your business should only be measured by one thing - profit. At the end of the day, it's not how many people came in to your store or phoned in. It's not even how many widgets you sold. At the end of the day, what truly matters is how much of a profit you made. It would make sense then that your efforts focus on profit as the end result. With that in mind, there are only three strategies to increase profits for your business. 1) Increase the pound size of each order 2) Increase the number of times people buy from you 3) Increase the number of people who buy from you Most likely, your business is already primed to attack each of these three angles and implementing that attack should be fairly easy. Let's say that you are the owner of Happy Wicks Candle Store. Let your customers know that for every £50 they spend they will receive a free 4-inch candle. When they are eligible for the free candle, offer them the option of upgrading the 4-inch candle to a 6-inch candle for only two pounds. Implement a customer loyalty program. Whenever a customer spends £200 with your store they receive a 20% discount on their next order. Show loyalty to your customers, too. Create customer-only events and sales, even workshops on how to make candles at home. Candles are also popular gifts.

Be sure to place your contact info on each and every candle. This makes it easy for the gift recipient to purchase from you. Be sure to also use this tactic when co-promoting with similar businesses such as a flower and bath and body shop. Looking at the example Happy Wicks Candle Store, the tasks of increasing profits was not a difficult one. Truly, it's a matter of putting systems in place that generate increasing profits. Take a look at your business and examine the systems you have in place. Chances are, there are undiscovered profits laying about. Put systems in place to gather those profits and you'll find your business reaching new heights of success.




Next month: 7 Techniques to Motivate Your Team Members, How To Be A Team Player, Teambuilding for Any Business © 2008 - UK Business Advisors Limited - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved

For a free, no obligation review of your financial status, please

contact us now.

Don’t leave it to chance.

Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 8 March ‘08

Time Management: Accomplish More in Less Time Everyone gets his or her own 24 hours each day, but why is it that some people are able to squeeze more accomplishments into those selfsame hours? Is it because they have supernatural skills? Or is it because they work harder? Hardly. The secret to getting more done without necessarily working harder than others is proper time management. Truth be told, even some geniuses seem to struggle with managing their time and end up being less productive than those with great time management skills.

Time management allows you to get more done with less effort. It also helps reduce the stress that accompanies having to finish multiple jobs at the same time. If you truly are desperate to juggle all your responsibilities without having to sacrifice too much, then here are some tips and techniques to help you on your way. 1. Keep notes - Some of the best at managing their time have a handy notebook in tow in which they are able to keep track of the day and the things they need to do. Notebooks are a handy tool in organising a day. As the world becomes increasingly technology-based, more and more mobile organisers are becoming available.

These organisers help you schedule appointments and duties and make keeping appointments a snap. These are also good productivity tools. You never know when a good idea could hit you. So, if you are constantly armed with a pen and paper - or an organiser for that matter - you are in a better position to capture the idea and put it in motion. This is especially true when the idea you just came up with could make your work easier to accomplish and more efficient. The fatal mistake most people commit is to think that they can delegate all the organising and note-taking to memory. Unfortunately, just like you must have forgotten what you dreamt about last night, you are bound to forget whatever idea you whipped up a few days ago. 2. Modularise - The best way to deal with one major problem or multiple major problems is to divide and conquer. If you feel that a problem is too big to handle, then it probably is. Instead of buckling under the pressure, the best thing to do is to cut up the problem into more manageable parts and deal with them appropriately. One of the biggest reasons people are unable to handle large projects is their inability to subdivide the problem into modules that can be easily accomplished. After making the problem more manageable, you can then allocate resources such as schedule, finance, and effort towards accomplishing the project. 3. Delegate - Another way to manage your time wisely would be to delegate some jobs to other people and making sure that everyone can work in sync. This will take a lot of communication, skill, and effort - but ultimately, it is the only way to accomplish anything that may be too large for one person.

4. Prioritise - Time management relies upon good prioritising. This depends upon your understanding of your resource limits such as time, effort, and finance. Timely allocation of these resources to the module that requires them is of paramount importance when managing your time.

Time management is no easy task. It may even eat into quite a bit of your working time. However, you should realise that even though you spend much time planning and managing your use of time, it will prove to be well-worth the effort as good time management is the only way to successfully tackle any project.


“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and

expecting different results” Albert Einstein

To improve the way in which you manage your time and to help you

become more effective in what you do….contact us now.

A Fresh Look at “To-Do” Lists Hyrum Smith, author of The 10 Natural Laws of Successful Time and Life Management, suggests renaming the list a "Prioritised Daily Task List." The name's a bit long, but it suggests that more important items are going to be on the list along with daily maintenance items. Smith indicates there are three steps to making a meaningful prioritised daily task list: 1. Make a list of everything you would like to accomplish today, including tasks that are not urgent. Jot down anything and everything. 2. Give a value to each item on the list. It's called the ABC valuing system. Assign the letter A to anything that is vital and must absolutely be done today. The letter B goes next to tasks that are important and should be done. Last, letter C is given to anything that is relatively trivial and that could be done. If nothing else happens today, you will accomplish the A's. If near the end of the day all of the A's have been accomplished then you can do the B's. If at the end of the day you have time left over, you can tackle the C's. 3. Give a numerical value to each item on the list. Go through your list one more time and prioritise the A's, B's and C's.

That is, determine the relative importance of each task. For example, the most important A task would be labelled A-1, the second most important, A-2, etc. Do the same with the B's and C's.

So now you have a well prioritised list. But it's no good unless you use it properly. How good would you feel if at the end of the day all of the C's have been done, but the two most important things, A-1 and A-2, remain untouched? You've given the tasks their value; now proceed according to that ranking for a true feeling of accomplishment. This prioritised daily task list can be a powerful tool!

Planning is essential to making the best use of our time. A tool that many of us use to try and maintain a sense of priorities is a to-do list. Have you ever used a to-do list?

We decide to make a list, and then as we accomplish a task from the list we cross it off. What a feeling! And when we do something that wasn't on the list, we add it to the list so that we can cross it off - another great feeling! We just love to cross things off the list. Why do we love it? It feels terrific and studies show that when we cross a task off our list our brain produces a rush of endorphins, causing us to feel good. Of course we want to feel good, but this is a temporary high. Traditional to-do lists are just maintenance lists - it's what needs to be done to keep our heads above water. We often reach the end of the day and realise we didn't spend our time doing the things we most wanted to. That could be because the highest priorities in our lives rarely make it onto the to-do lists. Let's change that.




Next month: Sources Of Finance, 3 Strategies For Increasing Profits © 2008 - UK Business Advisors Limited - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved

“I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by”Douglas Adams

Find out about our leadership and management development courses, covering not only time management, but also including all skills and

aspects required for enhancing your performance as a leader or manager within your organisation.

Call us now.

Practical Business Advice from the Independent Experts Issue 7 February ‘08

Say “No” To Cold Calling Starting at the A's and working through the Z's of the local phone book is not the most profitable way to sales success. Your cold market is all the people you do not know. You have at best a 9 percent chance that your cold market will turn into your warm market. The odds are against you the moment you pick up the phone book. A survey of buyers discovered that:

91 percent of buyers never respond to an unsolicited inquiry

71 percent of buyers find cold

calls annoying 88 percent of buyers will have

nothing to do with cold calls Stop wasting your time on cold calling and start building your sales success with buyers that contact you. This is the best place to focus your energy. Your success begins by taking a creative look at what you are offering to your prospects.

Why does someone need your product or service?

Who would need your product or

service? And finally,

What makes you different from your competition?

When you determine who needs your product or service, you have pinpointed your niche market.

Take a close look at your ideal prospect.

Who are they? What do they act like? Why is this the type of prospect

you want? Consider the characteristics of your ideal prospect. You have selected your niche market and determined what your ideal prospect looks like. Now, ask yourself “How can I become somebody special to them in this area of sales?"

Your goal is to market yourself to this niche as the one that has the solution to their needs. It is time to market you along with your product or service. When you decide to target a niche market you have the opportunity to build a reputation for yourself as a specialist in your field.

This reduces the rejections and stimulates new business inquiries from others. To become a specialist you should use different types of marketing strategies. To build your reputation you must become involved in the niche you are servicing. Join organisations and trade groups of your niche market. Maybe become a member of their community. Obtain leadership positions within these organisations. You want to be visible and known. Create an awareness of you and your business. There are many opportunities to speak at lunches and weekly or monthly meetings of organisational groups. Get out there and be seen and heard. Write articles with information that your niche market would find informative. Submit these articles to trade publications for your niche. Contact your local paper about writing niche specific articles, start your own newspaper column. Write letters to the editor of your local paper about controversial issues. Always end your letters with your name and the name of your business. Write a reply to an editorial opinion in a niche specific trade journal. Develop educational flyers or brochures to generate awareness about your product or service.


For help with your marketing

activity and to learn about other low and no cost ways to promote

your business:

Contact us now for a free, no obligation review of your current

marketing activities.

Say “No” To Cold Calling …….continued

8 Secret Tips When Writing Sales Letters

If you are offering a new type of product or service, issue a press release. Stimulate inquiries from high-potential prospects by conducting seminars centred on your niche market. You do not want the seminar to be all about sales, you want to educate your prospects about you and your product or service. Advertise to your niche market. Advertising will be costly and must be ongoing in order to be effective. Start a newsletter based on your niche market. Participate in local radio interviews about your niche. Contact your local television station and find out if they produce segments on new businesses in the area.

Ask for referrals from community leaders. Explain to them who you are targeting, who your ideal prospect is, and ask if they could introduce you to a couple of individuals that may be interested in what you are offering. Host a small casual function so that you can be introduced to these referrals. Say "No!" to cold calling. Put the phone book back on the shelf and start using marketing strategies that work. Create a marketing plan that includes various strategies and you will have a steady flow of prospects calling you.

Did you know that fortunes were made or lost on the strength of sales letters? It is not "Build a better mousetrap" that will make you rich. It is "Create a better sales letter" that will lead you to fame and fortune. Secret one: Know your audience. This is often overlooked. You don't use the same approach to sell teenagers that you would use for senior citizens. Analyse your audience and find out how your product will solve their problems. Secret two: Headline. This is the most important part of your sales letter. You must draw your prospect in with your headline. If the headline does not interest them, they will not read your letter. Your product may be wonderful, but if the prospect isn't interested in reading your letter, there will be no sale. Secret three: Introduction. Introduce yourself briefly and tell the reader how you can solve their problems. Tell them how you have solved the problems for other people. Use stories to relate how you have helped people just like the reader. Secret four: Testimonials. People are sceptical and need convincing. Include several testimonials from people who have tried your product and liked it. The magic number for testimonials is three. If you have more, use them. Secret five: Benefits. Your audience does not care about you or your product. All they want to know is what will your product do for them. Do not describe your product here. Instead, tell all about the benefits and what the product can do for the reader. Tell them how their life will improve with your product.

Secret six: Guarantee. Offer an unconditional guarantee. Your reader does not trust you or your product. You must reassure them that they are not taking any risk by buying what you are selling. You must make them feel comfortable. You as the seller need to assume all the risks.

Secret seven: Close. Make it easy to buy and ask for the sale. Tell the reader how to order the product and how fast it will get to them. Include as many different kinds of payments as possible. If you streamline your payment process, it will make it easy for the customer to buy your product. Secret eight: Test. If the headline is the most important secret, this is the second most important. You need to test every aspect of your sales letter. It can be very time consuming to do these tests, but it is very important that you do this. Only test one thing in your sales letter at a time. You can test different headlines first, then test your guarantee, then test your price, but you must only pick one thing to test at a time.




Next month: Time Management - Accomplish More In Less Time, A Fresh Look At “To Do” Lists © 2008 - UK Business Advisors Limited - No unauthorised use of any of the contents of this newsletter is permitted - All rights reserved

Boost YourBusiness

Business Advice from the Experts Issue 6 January ‘08

Tel: 0870 420 2756 Email: [email protected]

£

It would be hard not to have noticedhow much of our production andeven service delivery is going offshore. One of the impacts from thisis the emphasis that is now placed oncommercial differentiators otherthan price. These differentiators fo-cus on the culture of the organisationand, more fundamentally, the people.

£This is where the concept of the‘human’ capital asset of a businessbecomes important and a real chal-lenge for any accountant. Given theimportance, how do you protectthese assets let alone value them infinancial terms?

The staff are the people who createand innovate, have the knowledgeand experience that set you apartfrom the competition, the style andquality that make you unique in thedelivery of your services. And ofcourse there is the fact that peoplebuy from people.

So most businesses are exposed to asignificant level of risk relating totheir ‘People Assets’. How well areyou managing this risk?

What are the risks?As with any risk assessment, theimpact of an incident is as importantas the likelihood. You’ll appreciatethat a low likelihood doesn’t mean itwon’t ever happen, the chances ofwinning the lottery are 14 million to1 yet there is at least one winneralmost every draw!

Most common: Staff leavingIf a key member of the team hands intheir notice a regular ‘knee jerk’ re-action is to rush in a counter offer.If this does work then in the majorityof cases it will only buy you time andmay add to your problems (not leastin that the psychological balance ofpower has shifted). Also considerthat for them to have handed in theirnotice they will no doubt have men-tally moved on already.

However, what about…Weather – Take this opportunity torefresh your thinking here. For yourstaff, weather can impact:

Your site,Whether your team get to work,The availability of your team(“next door’s tree knocked downhalf my house!”).

Whilst considering weather, althoughnot directly related to staff, give somethought to the impact on your cus-tomers, if they can’t sell, will they bebuying from you and will they beable to pay you? Also your suppliers,can they supply you?

Illness – Often overlooked until youget a phone call to say “I’m sorrybut….”. Take the time now to con-sider the impact in the clear light ofday, rather than the gloom when theproblem hits when you have to act inhaste and repent at leisure. Here area few ‘what if…’s to think about:

Short term illnessLong term illnessPermanent disabilityIllness of a close family member

Consider these for all of your staffand the likely effect. If there is littleimpact then what value are they add-ing to the organisation? If no valuethen it’s worth managing that situa-tion to turn it around.

If there is a considerable impactthen, as a smart business person,what are you doing to manage andcontrol that risk?

And why bother?As with any risk review you shouldbe able to identify opportunities thatgive you a double bonus to make theexercise even more worthwhile.

How much risk are your staff?

UK Business Advisors LimitedWhite House, 66 Altwood Road,Maidenhead, Berkshire, SL6 4PZTel: 0870 420 2756 Fax: 0709 280 8482Email: [email protected] Web: www.ukba.co.uk

More useful information, advice and tips coming up next month© TBBA Ltd

For those of us who drive, there islittle consideration given to chang-ing gear, it’s something we do toattain greater speed without de-stroying the engine or gearbox andalso to keep the the car operate atmaximum efficiency.

Yet what we do to change geargoes against basic thinking; we’retrying to go faster yet we take ourfoot off the accelerator! Not onlythat, we disengage the engine fromthe gearbox so there’s no powergoing to the wheels; we’re poten-tially losing speed!

No doubt some of you will knowwhere this is going and it’s worthgiving some time and thought toensure you’ve not fallen in to thatparalysis state that cripples somebusinesses without them realising.That state where you don’t daretake your foot off the acceleratorbecause the business has to keeppushing hard and stay ahead of thecompetitors.

Why Change Gear?It’s all about reaching capacitywithin an area. In a car usually theengine performs best at between

2-4,000 rpm, above this it will stilloperate but not as effectively or foras long as you might want.

It’s knowing what is the optimumoperational level for your business,then planning and building aroundthis knowledge that is most impor-tant. Plan your gear changes aheadand they will be as effortless as adriving an automatic.

When to Change Gear?

The BusinessWhen there is little spare ca-pacityWhen a minor issue had a sig-nificant impact on the business

The TeamWhen you don’t have confi-dence in their performanceWhen good members of staffleave

The MarketWhen you think you can’t in-crease your sales

And not forgetting....

YouWhen the business can’t func-tion without youWhen your quality of life is notwhat you wantWhen your work life balanceisn’t right for you

Of course, changing gear isn’t sim-ple in business, but does that makeit less important or critical? That’swhy change-management skills,knowledge and understanding iscrucial. Investing time and moneyon this will reap considerable bene-fits.

A lack of real appreciation or poormanagement of the process will belike changing from 4th gear to 5th

and ending up in 1st or neutral oreven reverse (I can almost hearthose gears disintegrating!).

Are You Going To Stay in 2nd

Gear?Of course you can stay in one gearand cruise but that does not meanyou can stop concentrating on theroad or switch off, it just meanseveryone else will pass you by.

When is a good time to change gear?

Boost YourBusiness

Business Advice from the Experts Issue 5 December ‘07


You’ll probably agree it’s not astraightforward job running abusiness. It requires entrepre-neurial, marketing, management,accounting and people skills!

On top of all that, we’re expected tobe creative geniuses finding newmarkets or offerings so the business-es continues to thrive and survive.

For some of us we’ve been able togrow our business sufficiently toemploy others to take up the reins insome areas, however it is the realmof innovation that the expectationfor new ideas falls to the owner-managing.

This is where the art of what is com-monly called ‘brainstorming’ bringsgreat rewards. As a note, the politi-cally correct expression is ‘thoughtshower’, as this is not widelyknown, for the purpose of this arti-cle we’ll use ‘brainstorming’.

No two individuals have had thesame experiences in life and no twoindividuals have exactly the samethought processes; that’s where thestrength of brainstorming lies. It isbecause of these differences thateveryone has a valid input. So thekey to any brainstorming session isthat it is an open environment whereeveryone’s input is relevant andmust be appreciated.

Consider each idea or suggestion tobe another stepping-stone to helpyou get across a turbulent and fastrunning river. Rather than lookingfor the next stone directly ahead, itcan work in your favour to move tothe side or even revisit a stone youpassed earlier.

There can be no bad or inappropriatecontributions. The only thing thatcan go wrong is that someone’s of-fering is shot down in flames; ittakes skill to manage one of thesesessions.

Perhaps the most difficult part isgetting the session going. We findit best to start on a completely dif-ferent topic to the one you want to‘solve’. This will help create theright state of mind for being themost creative.

Some useful starters are:The House brick - Come up with30 different uses for a house brickChalk and Cheese part 1 – comeup with the most inappropriateparings you can think of.

Chalk and Cheese part 2 – Whatwould make those parings appro-priate?

A truly open and interactive brain-storming session won’t necessarilyresolve the issue that brought thesession about. The beauty of thesesessions is that they can do so muchmore. They can bring about brandnew ideas or opportunities or solveother unrelated problems.

The greatest benefit of all from thesesessions is the difference it can makefor you and your staff. Managedright, you will discover hidden tal-ents among the team that you can putto good use. More importantly ifeveryone is positively encouraged topartake the staff will the staff willfeel more involved in the business asa whole so you are likely to see anincrease in productivity and a reduc-tion in staff turnover as they will feellike they ‘belong’.

All this is achieved for less than thecost (in both time and money) of aday spent paint balling!

You Probably Want Things To BeDifferent



How To Beat ThoseCash Flow Blues

With the current credit crisis, andthe Bank of England toying withincreasing interest rates, it is ap-parent that companies are startingto feel the squeeze with customerstaking longer to pay and overdraftinterest costs increasing.

Now would seem to be a good time tolook at a way to beat the cash flowblues.

95% of problems can be avoided byfollowing a fairly straightforwardprocess.

Of course, the best approach is to bepaid up front but this isn’t always anoption. As an alternative, we’d sug-gest the following approach:

1) Always get written agreementfrom your client for the sale or or-der. This could be a letter or note,e-mail or, even better, a numberedand signed purchase order. Somebusinesses fail here, taking orderson trust usually because they have agood history with the client. How-

ever, it can be the long-standingcustomers that cause the biggestdebt problems, especially if theyaccount for a significant proportionof your turnover.2) Deliver what the client or-dered and invoice immediately. Iknow this seems obvious but it’ssurprising how many companiesdon’t do this. If a debtor is lookingfor an excuse not to pay this is theone, it always puts you on the backfoot.3) Shortly after issuing the in-voice contact your client and check:

a. The invoice has arrived.b. That it is correct and in line

with your clients expectations.c. When payment will be made.

4) Two days before the paymentdate contact the client to check eve-rything is OK5) If payment hasn’t been re-ceived within 4 days of it being duecontact the debtor and establishwhat has happened.

To be effective this process shouldn’treally be undertaken by the office‘Rottweiler’. This is likely to putyour client’s back up. In addition,each contact you make with yourclient is a step toward your next sale.

There is a theory in selling that sayson average it takes seven separateinteractions with a prospect beforethey will buy. This not only appliesfor new clients but existing ones too.So maybe this work should be han-dled by your sales function.

So, your call to check that everythinghas been delivered OK is one stepcloser to another sale. The next call tocheck they are enjoying the benefitsof your offering is another step closerplus an opportunity to check every-thing is OK for payment at the end ofthe month.

When payment hasn’t arrived asagreed then your next call is a creditcontrol call.

This process is all about good custom-er service and building a positive rela-tionship. Follow this process or onesimilar that fits in with your clientprofile and you’ll put yourself in avery strong position. You’ll also findthat when times are hard for a client,your bill will be one of the first to bepaid. How good would that be?

If you don’t have the resources to dothis work then an ideal solution can bea factoring service that can also do thecredit control for you, there can bemore benefits than you think by fol-lowing this route. An advisor canhelp you decide the best course ofaction for you so don’t delay, act now..

Boost YourBusiness

Business Advice from the Experts Issue 4 November ‘07


Getting Sales Is The Most Impor-tant ThingMany businesses have struggled andfailed because they chased salesgrowth. This can easily lead to is-sues with cash flow, quality or cus-tomer service and the perceivedbenefit of increased sales is soonlost or even made negative.

Marketing Aimed At AnyoneWho Might Be Interested.Potential customers only becomecustomers if an offering solves aparticular problem. Marketing thatis general or broad in nature or fromanything other than the customer’sperspective is, and this may seembrutal, a waste of time and money.

Plans Are For Wimps!This can be popular among some ofthe perhaps more maverick entre-preneurs thinking that to be evenmore successful, they’ve got to op-erate outside the establish patternand therefore dispense with the staididea of planning!

The more successful entrepreneurs often say that it is the mistakes they make and the lessons they learn fromthem that helped them. There are some common mistakes that a lot of business owners and managers makewithout realising it throughout the life of a business (and that can be short if these aren’t addressed).

7 Common Mistakes in Business

“If you don’t know where you’regoing you will probably end upsomewhere else” (Lawrence J Peter).

We’re Not Interested In GrowthA company that isn’t trying to growis actually shrinking! Markets arealways developing or changing.Take, for example, the high streetCD shop which is rapidly becom-ing a thing of the past but peoplehaven’t stopped buying music.Therefore, if you aren’t looking togrow, the changing market meansthat, without you knowing or see-ing it, your business is shrinking.

Cutting Costs Is The Way For-wardSaving money is an easy win whenprofits are suffering but it can gotoo far. The measure of success forthe financially wise is return oninvestment. Given the choice ofspending £1000 or £5000 on mar-keting, the cost-focused businesswould take the cheaper option andwould be likely to see no return andthen be sceptical about the value ofmarketing, whereas the £5000project could see an increase to thebottom line for the long term.

We Don’t Have Any CompetitorsThere may not be any direct com-petitors but customers have otherinterests, issues and ideas yet only

a finite spending budget. If youdon’t keep close to your customersthey won’t be close to you. Yourcompetitors are then any other of-fering from any other company.

It’s Easier Or Better If I Do ItMyselfThis is a classic mistake that,among other problems, severely re-stricts growth. It’s important torecognise where your personal setof talents and skills delivers the bestrate of return and delegate the rest;not easy to start with but tremen-dously rewarding.

Are You Making Any MistakesThat You Can Learn From?

Take some time now to considerthese common mistakes with an ob-jective view. There is another com-mon mistake to justify what mightbe wrong decisions or actions thatmay not be for the good of thebusiness. Is it worth looking atthese aspects with someone who’snot so close to the business? Takeaction now.



How good a mechanicis your Accountant?

Imagine your business is yourcar. To keep your ‘car’ legal andperforming at its best there are anumber of areas you need tokeep on top of such as getting itthrough its MOT, insuring it,cleaning it, servicing it, taxing it,not to say the regular checks youshould be do-ing to keep itworking well.

Just as thereare differenttypes of serv-ice and supportto help keepyour car on theroad and per-forming at itsbest, there aredifferent accountancy services tohelp keep your business (or‘car’) a success and performingat its best. The following analo-gies should help you appreciatethe differences and identifywhere you may be missing atrick.

A Bookkeeper, in ‘car’ terms,will take the ‘car’ through the carwash for you and change the oil,they may well also clean out the

a good insurance deal (in businessterm this means they can helpmake sure you pay the rightamount of tax).

A Management Accountant islike a skilled mechanic and techni-cian. They service your ‘car’ on aregular basis, keeping it workingat its best. They can also recom-mend changes that will improveyour ‘driving’ experience and helpyour ‘car’ give you many miles ofhappy trouble free ‘motoring’.They are also able to spot earlysigns of trouble so your ‘car’ isless likely to leave you stranded orlet you down.

So what is your account-ant doing for your ‘car’?

Most business owners will makeuse of the services of a Bookkeep-er or an Accountant because theyknow they should or it’s a betteruse of their time. The really savvyones will add value to their busi-ness with a management account-ancy service.

Here is an opportunity to engage your imagination and openup an opportunity for yourself. You will also get to see youraccountant from a very different perspective.

interior. They will be able to tellyou how much fuel you’ve gotleft and when your road tax isdue for renewal. In additionthey’ll be able to tell you howmuch tread you’ve got on yourtyres and how much washer flu-id for the windscreen.

An Accountant who producesyour year-end accounts is effec-tively taking your ‘car’ throughits MOT, they will also be ableto tell you how much fuel and oilyou’ve used since the last MOT.

In addition to reporting on yourtyres and windscreen washerlevels they will also be able totell you about the state of thebattery and the cooling system.They are also able to help you get

Boost YourBusiness

Business Advice from the Experts Issue 3 October ‘07


If only they were more like youA major element of what makes an excellent business owner or managing director is the high level ofself-motivation. Indeed, it could be argued that the ability to define your own goals, map how to achievethem and then make it happen are what identifies a truly great Entrepreneur or Managing Director.

The challenge of making it happenrequires us to motivate others whohave their own interests, issues, andagendas.

Motivation is a very broad subject.With time being precious in businesswe’re going to highlight just 3 keyareas. However given the immensebenefits to be achieved, it is wellworth placing considerable focus onthis subject.

MoneyThis popular choice has its place;however, you will doubtless be fa-miliar with its short-term nature andits cost.

A. H. Maslow identified the hierar-chy of needs, the lowest being phys-iological, loosely meaning food,clothes and warmth. These are satis-fied by money. Our society has de-veloped so much so that these basicneeds are no longer a key focus.

People’s motivation now tends to befocused on the other needs; safety,social, esteem and self-actualisation(‘living our passion’). Hence, mon-ey no longer has the power it use to.

The good news is that there are othermotivators that cost comparativelylittle yet have a far more beneficialeffect. They do require some time,patience and persistence though.

RecognitionRecognising effort and involvementoften has a dramatic effect on moti-vation. It addresses several ofMaslow’s ‘needs’: safety, social,and esteem. Recognition doesn’thave to be a financial reward that isnotoriously very expensive. Thereare many other ways to do this veryeffectively and with little cost; evena simple face-to-face acknowledge-ment of good work does wonders.

RespectRespect addresses the social andesteem elements of motivation, be-ing made to feel part of the grouprather than having a ‘them and us’culture supports these needs.Strange but true, making the effortto say ‘good morning’ has helpedcompanies reduce staff turnovernumbers and increased profitability.

Your Pay BackDone properly, showing respect andgiving recognition will increase effi-ciency and help grow a business. Inaddition, business owners and man-agers will find they have more timeon their hands.

The ultimate pay back will beachieved when it comes to the exitstrategy. A well motivated teamwill add considerable value to thecompany and make for an easy saleand transition.

ActionIf you’re staff aren’t performing theway you want them to then it is timeto review what actually motivatesthem. The chances are it won’t bewhat motivates you!



Take your business to the Cinema!

The scenario that follows may well helpyou think differently about your busi-ness and move it forward.

Consider the scenario:Say you like going to see new films atthe cinema. You arrive at the multiplexand are faced with a list of new releases.You know nothing about the films andhave to rely upon the adverts and a briefdescription about each movie.

Showing Tonight!Film 1 – Crime actionFilm 2 – Fantasy musicalFilm 3 – Thriller (certificate 18)Film 4 – Family cartoonFilm 5 – Romantic thrillerFilm 6 – Adult comedyFilm 7 – Adult crime action thrillercomedy family musical fantasy biogra-phy romantic sci-fi costume drama car-toon !

Which one would you go andsee?Now, we all have our own preferencefor movie style or content, but for mostof us there will be films we definitelywouldn’t watch, some we maybewould, and then there are some that willalways rank high on our ‘must watch’list.

Films 1 to 6 are very clear about theirmessage and focused on their targetaudience so it makes for an easy choicefor the cinema goer.

Trying too hard

As for Film 7, in a bid to capture anaudience this studio has tried to suggestthat the movie caters for everyone!Indeed you may well find that the filmdoes include a bit of all the elements

mentioned, however,would you be encouragedto go see it?

I think I might come outof that screening feelingconfused and disappoint-ed. The studio will prob-ably find that far fewerpeople actually take the

film; the exact opposite to what theywere hoping for from the marketingmessage.

So What Can We TakeAway From This?

Consider what your marketing mes-sage is. Are you making life easy foryour potential customers to make adecision to contact you or buy fromyou?

Put yourself in the shoes of some-one who knows little about yourcompany or offering, someonewho doesn’t have your passion orunderstanding, they just need tomake a decision. Does your‘message’ work for that person orare they faced with somethinglike Film 7?

Quick Risk Review - ComputersThinking about all the computers you have in your business, imagine on

arriving tomorrow one of them refused to work altogether! What would be the impact on staff utilisation, customers and suppliers? How quickly could it be up and running again? What makes you think your back-up and support systems are effective? When did you last test your assumptions?If, when considering each computer, your response is that there would belittle or no impact then you should consider if that computer adds value

to the business. Could it be doing more for you?

It often helps to look at our businesses and our marketingfrom a different perspective. In doing this we open up oppor-tunities that catapult the business forward.

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