THE REPORT BLOG

What is Holding You Back?

As small business owners, we have to get involved in a lot more detail than is optimal for a CEO. So we get stuck in the small stuff and can't think big as much as we need to. Everyone has heard that it is important to step back and think big without the clutter of day-to-day activity. But another thing that often holds us back is a lack of resources; the right employee, money etc.

The reality is many of those resources that we lack are in fact available. We can hire consultants on a part-time basis for many tasks and initiatives. And we can get credit lines and loans to invest in new projects. But still we hesitate... The question is, how badly to you want to get away from "business as normal" and how much risk are you willing to take to do so?

Are You Monitoring Your Cash Flow?

Sure, you check your bank balance often. But if you are using an accounting system (and I hope you are) such as QuickBooks, you can run a "Statement of Cash Flows" as a report. Run it for the fiscal year to-date.

Why? Looking at your income statement is a great way to check the "score" of your business, but to check the "health" of a small business you need to look at your cash flow statement (as well as your balance sheet). You cash flow will tell you where the cash has come from (like realizing your receivables, getting money from loans, and of course, profits) and where it has gone (paying down your payables, investing in equipment, etc.). Small businesses live and die by cash, not just profits. Just beware - if your chart of accounts are not set up properly, your statement of cash flows could have some errors.

How Not to Follow Up After a Trade Show

I recently attended a trade show for the publishing industry. We are in the market for a new reprint service and I checked out a few companies at the show. As I didn't want to get into a long discussion with anyone since I did not have much time, I just gave my card and told the exhibitors to follow up with me.

I got several calls from the exhibitors that I saw the following week. However, one company sent me an overnight FedEx with their company collateral. The letter in the package said to call them.

Why would someone do this? Does this seem like a smart approach? Not to me. They spent around $15 without even knowing if I am a qualified prospect. Also, by sending collateral, they just made the sales process about them and not me. The other companies had a much better approach - call me, find out my needs and then discuss how they can help.

Small Business is ALWAYS hot.

I find this funny. Many large companies that sell products and services to other businesses (B2B) have recognized the importance of the small business marketplace. Dell and many banks are good examples. But now, with slow growth prospects at larger companies, almost everyone is jumping on the small business bandwagon.

Problem is that many of these companies don't really understand the small business marketplace. It is a tough one to reach and serve. What does this mean to the small business? A couple of things. 1)some of these companies that are now waking up to the small business market don't really have the right product mix nor the ability to serve small businesses. So buyer beware. 2) Some of these business also don't understand how to market to small businesses. These situations will create an opportunity because they will cut their prices to buy market share.

If you have seen coverage on small businesses in the media lately, you will know that they are now saying that "small business is hot". Problem is that it leads you to believe that small business has not always been hot - which it has.

Does Your Marketing Collateral Suck?

When business owners have a new piece of collateral produced you can seeing them beaming as if they just had a new child. Unfortunately, most business get the "collateral thing" wrong. First of all, remember that collateral does not sell. At best it gets a prospect to take some sort of action. But not if the collateral sucks.

Does your collateral talk about all the wonderful products and services you have? Does it talk about all of the benefits of choosing your company? Well then it just might suck. Why? Because it is about your company and not the problem your prospect needs to solve.

The alternative is creating collateral about the prospect and the prospects problems. Sometimes these are called "whitepapers". These are just documents that have information about a topic of importannce to your prospects. They also serve as a way for you to show off your expertise. Just come up with a catch title like "10 Things You Must Do to Secure Your Small Business Technology" or "5 Marketing Mistakes to Avoid".

Are You Maximizing Your Opportunities?

Back in my running days, I usually purchased my sneakers and running gear from RoadRunner Sports. When I would call in an order, the telephone rep always asked me about the distances I was running and other questions. Based on those answers, they would ask if I needed other products. I was always amazed that the products they suggested (like long running pants as winter drew near) were exactly what I needed (even if I didn't know I needed them). This must have led to a lot of new revenue opportunities for RoadRunners.

I am pretty sure they did this 2 ways. 1) They trained their reps to ask questions. Those questions were never pushy-sounding and seemed very sincere. 2) They probably had a customer relationship management system (CRM) which would suggest items based on purchase history.

At The Report we have a lot of things we "sell"; advertising, subscriptions, events etc. So we are trying (we are not there yet) to always suggest and/or offer our products when appropriate. For example, if you register for an event on our website, you will receive an offer to subscribe to the magazine.

How can your company maximize its cross-selling opportunities?

Thinking Small for Growth

Like a lot of small business owners, I often hope for a couple of big things to happen that will change my business forever (in a good way). And there is a possibility that some big things could happen. But I realize that I cannot run my business waiting for those things to happen. In fact, I have to run my business so that I get "a lot of little things"; one subscriber, one advertisers at a time.

So when thinking about your business, consider focusing on how to get a lot more smaller sales. Not to say that you can't hope and try to get the big ones, but you just can't rely on them.

How the Internet is Affecting YOUR company

While most businesses now have websites, only a small percentage actually sell products on the Internet. So most of those who don't sell on the Net do not update their site that often. But you should -here's why.

The Internet is a lot more than selling products online. The Internet is now where people go to do research for offline purchases. Given this trend, which will only increase, ask yourself if prospects are likely to call your company after checking out your website. Also, are they likely to find your website when doing a search for one of the products or services you offer. Not sure of the answer? Do a search for some key phrases associated with your product. Where does your website come up? First few pages of the search results or on the 50th page? Do the your competitor's website provide more information that will likely lead to a sale?

If you are looking for information on how to improve your positioning in the search results AND how to improve your website, check our our series on Internet marketing at www.nyreport.com/emarketing.