Download - Small Business Success Roadmap: A Winning Step By Step Guide To Extraordinary Entrepreneurship

SmallBusiness

SuccessRoadmap

AWinningStepByStepGuide

ToExtraordinaryEntrepreneurship

©2012JSJenner

JSJenner.com

Book cover includes images by:©MatthewCole&TAlex - Fotolia.comAllrights reserved. No part of this book may be copied, sold, reproduced,distributed or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, or by anymeans,mechanical or electronic including photocopying and recording, or by anyinformation storage or retrieval system, or transmitted by email without priorwrittenpermissionfromthecopyrightholder.

LimitofLiabilityandDisclaimerofWarranty:Thisbookispresentedsolelyfor educational and entertainment purposes. The author and publisher are notofferingitaslegal,accounting,orotherprofessionalservicesadvice.Whilebesteffortshavebeenusedinpreparingthisbook,theauthorandpublishermakenorepresentationsorwarrantiesofanykindandassumeno liabilitiesofanykindwith respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents and specificallydisclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness of use for aparticular purpose.Neither the author nor the publisher shall be held liable orresponsible to any person or entity with respect to any loss or incidental orconsequential damages caused, or alleged to have been caused, directly orindirectly,bytheinformationorprogramscontainedherein.Nowarrantymaybecreated or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. Everycompanyisdifferentandtheadviceandstrategiescontainedhereinmaynotbesuitable for your situation. You should seek the services of a competentprofessionalbeforebeginninganyimprovementprogram.

Trademarks: This book identifies product names and services known to betrademarks, registered trademarks,orservicemarksof their respectiveholders.They are the property of their respective owners and are used throughout thisbookinaneditorialfashiononly.Theauthorisnotassociatedwithanyproductorvendormentionedinthisbook.

TableOfContentsCanYouBeatTheOdds?

Don’tMakeThisFatalMistake

WhatIsThisBookAndHowCanItHelpYou?

FrequentlyAskedQuestions

AQuickOverviewOfWhatThisBookWillCover

HowToUseThisBook

Section1:StartingPositionsPlease:Where&HowYourBusinessFitsIn

1. WhyYouReallyNeedThisBook2. DiscoverTheTruthAboutYourCustomers3. HowToConquerTheCompetition4. 9ThingsYouMustKnowAboutYourMarket5. PlanningYourAttackWith4QuickQuestions6. HitThemWithYour‘Wow’Factor

Section2:DestinationSuccess-WhereItIs&HowToGetThere

7. Ready,Set,Go:ButWhereTo?8. The4KeyWaysToDelightYourCustomers9. GreatProcesses:You’reGoingNowhereWithoutThem10. GettingTheWordOut:3VitalTacticsNotToBeMissed11. Employees:YourMostValuableAssets-HowToNurtureThem12. Finances:TheNumbersThatReallyMatter13. HowToHomeInOnWhatIsTrulyImportant

Section3:DrivingYourBusinessToDestinationSuccess

14. DestinationSuccess:HowToKnowWhenYou’veArrived15. DestinationSuccess:TheStepsThatWillGetYouThere16. TranslatingYourPlanIntoAction17. HowToPeekAtYourResults30DaysFromNow18. YourWeeklyDashboardReport:UseItRight

AboutTheAuthor

PrintOffTheWorksheetPack

ThankYou

References

StepByStepGuidanceToBusinessSuccess

AreyoudeterminedtomakeyourbusinessaSUCCESS?

Thenyouhavecometotherightplacetostartyourjourney...Nottomorrow...Notin12months’time...ButNOW!

CanYouBeatTheOdds?ONLY51%ofnewbusinessessurvive5years.

(AccordingtoSBA.gov)

AND

“Themainreasonforfailureisinexperiencedmanagement.”(AccordingtoStatisticsCanada)

Typicallysmallbusinessownersaredo’ers.Theyknowhowtodosomethingormakesomethingandsostarttheirownbusinessdoingwhattheyknowbest.

Isthatyou?

Ifso,don’tforget thatwhateverbusinessyourun,youarefirstandforemostabusiness owner and an entrepreneur. As such, you need to work ON yourbusiness,notjustINyourbusiness.

DoyoumakethetimetoworkONyourbusiness?

If not, STOP spending 100% of your time worrying about the day to dayminutiaeandSTARTtakingactiontoensureyouhaveasuccessfulbusinesslefttoworryaboutin5years’time.

Take control of your business with a plan - a roadmap showing the way toDestinationSuccess.Withoutone,youareleavingyourfuturetochance.Someofyourcompetitorswillbeplanningtheirwaytosuccess,socanyouaffordnotto?

Ifyou’restillthinkingaboutburyingyourheadinthesand,considerthis:

“ThenicestthingaboutNOTplanningisthatfailurecomesasacompletesurprise...”

~SirJohnHarvey-Jones

http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/FINAL%20FAQ%202012%20Sept%202012%20web.pdf

http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/61-525-x/61-525-x1997001-eng.pdf

Don’tMakeThisFatalMistakePlanningisonlythebeginning.ImplementationistheKEY.

Ifyoudon’texecuteyourplan,yourplanwon’twork.

Manybusinessesplanbutneverimplementtheirplan,astheymissthevitalstepoftranslatingtheirhigh-levelplanintomanageableactionsteps.

Butthisbookguidesyouthroughthatcrucialstage.Youwillnotonlycomeupwithanoverallplanforyourbusinesssuccess,butyouwillalsocreatetwoKEYreportstoensureyouimplementyourplan:

1. aprioritized“ToDo”listcoveringtheKEYactivitiesyouneedtotackleinthenext12monthstoensureyouarriveatDestinationSuccess,and

2. aDashboardthatwillhelpyoutrackyourprogressalongtheway.

WhatIsThisBookAndHowCanItHelpYou?ItisNOTatheory-filledguidetowritinganoverlylongbusinessplanthatwilljustsitandgatherdust.

ItISapractical,stepbystepsystemfullofthought-provokingActivitySheetstohelpyou:

assessthestateofyourbusinessanditsmarketplacetoworkoutwhereandhowyoufitin,develop a different approach to your competitors to ensureyour businessachievesthesuccessyouenvision,identifymeasures thatyoushould trackregularly thatwillactasanearlywarningsystemforwhenthingsaregoingoffcourse.

It gives you a quick and easy way to create a roadmap that will help youproactivelysteeryourbusinessalongthepathtosuccess.

Youwill:

notbestaringatablankpieceofpaperwonderingwheretostartasthisonly leads toprocrastination. Insteadyouwillbeguidedeverystepof theway with practical Activity Sheets that all piece together to steer youtowardsDestinationSuccess.produceyourroadmapandthetwoKEYreportsasyouworkthroughthebook,soyouwillcomeupwithanactionplanstraightaway.Thereisnochanceforyou toread theentirebookonly toforget itallby the timeyougetaroundtoimplementingitaweeklater.endupwithpeaceofmind thatyouknowwhereyourbusinessisgoing,howitisgoingtogetthereandthatalarmbellswillgooffalongthewayifyouveeroffcourse.

FrequentlyAskedQuestionsIdon’thavethetime.WhatshouldIdo?

Iknowtimeispreciousandthatyourbusinessandfamilyarealreadycompetingfor any spare moments you have, but I really urge you to make the time tocompleteyourroadmaptosuccess.Afewdaysspentworkingyourwaythroughthisbookisasmallinvestmentinthefutureofyourbusiness.Youwillmorethanmakeupforitbyeliminatingthetimeyoucurrentlywasteonunimportantdaytodayactivities.

DoIneedastrongbusinessbackgroundtocompletethisbook?

No, it is easy to follow and will take you through everything you need toconsider.Restassured,noneofitisrocketscience.

Mybusinessisprettysmall.Isallthisplanningreallynecessary?

Due to their size, big companies can get awaywithmanaging their resourcesimperfectly onoccasion, but small businesses donot have any slack so are inevenmoreneedofaplan.Nobusinessistoosmalltofocusonitscustomers,tothinkabouthowitcanbeatitscompetitors,toenvisagewhereitwantstobein5years’timeandtotrackitsprogresstowardsthatgoal.

Ihaveabookkeeperwhosendsmemonthlyreports.WhatelsedoIneed?

Last month’s financial statements are not there to help you run the business.Theyrecordtheresults;theydonothelpyouplaythegame.Itisliketryingtodriveyourcarusinglastmonth’sdashboardreadings.Insteadyouneedtotrackmeasuresthathelpyoupredictthesuccessofyourbusiness(andmostarenon-financial).

Won’taplanbeawasteof timeasmybusinessneeds toadaptquickly tochangingcircumstances?

Planning isnotaoneoffevent thatyoudoand then forgetabout. It ispartofmanaging a business that is revisited as new information becomes available.Changeisexpected.

It’sallinmyhead.What’sthepointoffillinginalltheseActivitySheets?

TheActivitySheetswillhelpyouorganizeandmanagealltheKEYinformationthatisinyourhead.

Can’tIpayaconsultanttodothisforme?

Youknowyourbusinessinsideout,soyoureallyarethebestpersonforthejob.Unfortunatelysuccessisrarelyanaccidentsoyouneedtoworkatit.Sorry!

AQuickOverviewOfWhatThisBookWillCoverThebookissplitintothreesections.

Section1:StartingPositionsPlease:Where&HowYourBusinessFitsInAtthis very moment, you are competing with hundreds, thousands, maybe evenmillionsofotherbusinessesallfightingtogetyourcustomer.

Ifyouwant to findouthow tobeat them,Section1 isKEYreading.Youwillevaluatewhereyourbusiness isnow,before laying thegroundwork toachievethesuccessyoudeserve.

InChapter1youwillperformaquickexaminationofyourbusinessasitstandsnow.Whatworkswellandwhatdoesnot?InChapter2youwillget toknowyourcustomers intimately. If theyarenothappy,yourbusinesswillfail.It’sthatsimple.InChapter3youwillplaydetectiveand findoutwhatyourcompetitorsareupto.Byanalyzingwhattheyaregoodat,aswellaswheretheycouldimprove,youcanworkouthowtooutperformthem.InChapter4youwill investigate thesizeandstateofyourmarketplace,what ishappening in itaswellaswhere it isvulnerable, soyoucanplanaheadandtakepre-emptiveaction.InChapter5youwillbringalltheinformationfromthefirstfourchapterstogether.Youwill analyze your business environment towork outwhereandhowyourbusinessfitsinaswellasdeviseaplanofattackforhowyoucanachievesuccess.InChapter6youwill identifyyour‘wow’factor.Bydifferentiatingyourbusinesssoyoustandoutfromthecrowd,youwillattractbettercustomers.

Section2:DestinationSuccess-WhereItIs&HowToGetThereIfyouarelooking for a sure-fireway to achievebusiness success, thenworking throughSection2isimperative.

You will picture exactly where you’re headed before choosing which time-suckingactivitiestoditchandwhichKEYactivitiestomakethecenterofyourattention.

InChapter7 youwill picturewhere youwant your business to be in 5years’ time.Withoutaspecificdestinationinmind,howwillyouevergetthere?InChapters8through12youwillcomeupwithpossiblepathsyoucouldtaketogetfromwhereyouarenowtowhereyouwanttoendup.Theywillincludehowtodelightyourcustomers,creategreatprocesses,nurtureyouremployees,getthewordoutaboutyourbusiness,andfocusonthenumbersthatreallycount.In Chapter 13 you will identify which of the paths from the previouschaptersareKEYtoensuringyougettoDestinationSuccess.Youneedtoconcentrate your energywhere it is neededmost instead of getting side-trackedwithjustbeing‘busy’.

Section3:DrivingYourBusinessToDestinationSuccessIfyouarereadytoputyourplanintoaction,thenSection3givesyouthetoolsandtellsyouwhatit’sreallygoingtotaketoachievebusinesssuccess.

Youwilllearnhowtopredictyourfutureresults,measurehowcloseyouaretoDestination Success and create a ‘ToDo’ list of the exact steps and activitiesneededtocompleteyourjourney.

InChapter14youwillchoosemeasuresthatwilltellyouwhenyouhavearrivedatDestinationSuccessandtrackyourprogresstowardsit.Theywillkeepyoufocusedonadaytodaybasisandmakeyouaccountableforyourdailyactions.In Chapter 15 you will break down how to improve your measures ofsuccessintosmallersteps.Stopwastingtimeoneverythingelse.InChapter16youwilltranslateyourplanintotheexactactivitiesinvolvedin getting to Destination Success. How much work will be involved? Itmightbe less thanyou think,ornot! It’sbetter toknownow, eitherway.You will also prioritize your activities and create KEY Report 1 - amanageable‘ToDo’listcoveringthenext12months.In Chapter 17 you will pick measures that allow you to peek at yourresults 30 days from now, giving you plenty of time to take correctiveaction.

InChapter18youwillcreateKEYReport2 -adashboard thatyouwillrefertoweeklytodriveyourbusinesstowardsDestinationSuccess.Itwillgive you earlywarning of impending problems or give you comfort thatyouarestayingontrack.

HowToUseThisBookTheaimofthisbookisforyoutocreateaRoadmapofthepathyouwilltakefromwhereyouarenowtowhereyouareheaded-DestinationSuccess.

The18ActivitySheetsdotted throughout thechaptersaredesigned togetyouthinking.Theyareworkingpapers;youwillsummarizeyourKEYconclusionsinthe18Signposts.

SignpostsrepresentpointersthatwilldirectyoualongyourpathtoDestinationSuccess. There is one for each chapter that summarizes your thoughts on thatparticular area of your business. They form your overall plan and give youeverything you need to drive your business onwards and upwards. They willbecomeyourbusinessbible.

Signposts16and18arethetwoKEYReportsthatyoushouldkeephandyandrefertoatleastweekly.Theysummarizeyouroverallplanbutinanactionableformat.

Signpost16 (KEYReport1) isyourprioritized‘ToDo’listcoveringtheKEYactivitiesyouneedtotackleinthenext12months.

Signpost 18 (KEYReport 2) is a dashboard that will help youmonitor yourprogressalongyourchosenpathtoDestinationSuccess.

Booklayout

In keepingwith the theme, this book is laid out as aRoadmap.At the endofeach chapter, there is a map showing how much of the total path you havecompletedandwhatislefttodo.

PrintofftheworksheetpackAlthoughtheActivitySheetsandSignpostscanbecompletedbycopyingthemoutontoblankpiecesofpaper,tomakelifeeasier,IrecommendthatyouprintoffacompletepackofblanksforFREEfrommywebsitebeforeyoustart.Clickhereforthelinkandpassword.

File theminaringbinder tomake iteasier toflickbackandforthasyouwillneedtorefertopreviousexercisesasyouprogress.

If you do not have access to a printer at this time, you can use the Kindle’s‘ImageZoom’featuretoseetheActivitySheetsandSignpostsmoreclearly:

KindleKeyboard:Usethe5-waycontrollertopositionthecursorovertheimageandthenpressthecontroller.KindleFire:Pinchthescreentozoominandout.

IhavealsoincludedatextversionoftheActivitySheetandSignpostquestionsaftertheimage.Usethelinktoskiptheseifyouareusingaprintedversion.

ExampleanswersIt is often easier to learn by example, so I have compiled a complete pack ofActivitySheetsandSignpostsforanexamplebusinesssoyoucanseewhatsortof things to include and how they all fit together. This pack is available forFREEfrommywebsite.Clickhereforthelinkandpassword.

TimetocompleteIfyoureallytakethetimetothinkaboutyourbusinesswhilereadingthisbookandfillingouttheworksheets,Iestimatethatitwilltakebetweenoneandthreedaystocomplete.ThereislotstoconsidersoIrecommendthatyouspreadtheworkoutoveraboutaweekanduse the timeinbetweensessions toallowtheideastosinkin.

Ihopethatareyoukeentotakeactionrightnowhavingjustboughtthebook,soIsuggestthatyouusethisinitialmomentumtocompleteChapters1and2.This

isalargechunkofthebookandtheendofChapter2wouldbeagoodplacetotakeabreak.

After that it shouldbepossible tocompleteChapters3-6 inonesitting (ifyouhaveagoodunderstandingofyourcompetitorsand themarketplaceandsodonotneedtoperformmuchresearch).Sections2and3arethenidealtobeworkedonintwofinalsessions.

TimesaversIappreciate thatyouhaveabusiness to runand that time is limited,so Ihaveaddedafewtimesaverstospeedupcompletionofyourroadmap.

WhereActivitySheetsandSignpostscouldrunintohundredsofquestionsforanin-depthanalysis,Ihavelimitedthemtothemostimportant10.

CheatSheetsareincludedalongthewaytogiveyouideasifyougetstuck.

FastTrackAlertsarelinksyoucanclicktoskipaheadtothenextsectionifyoudon’thavetimeforthemorein-depthexplanationonthesubject.

QuickAlternatives are offered in a few sections where an in-depth analysiswould be quite time consuming. Whilst the more thorough approach isrecommended,aquickreviewisbetterthanskippingthesectionaltogether.

GlossaryI have tried to avoid the typical words and phrases associated with businessplanning,suchasstrategy,goals,objectives,competitiveadvantageetc,astheymeandifferentthingstodifferentpeople.

Themaintermsthatyouneedtounderstandare:

Roadmap - your plan for how to get from where you are now toDestinationSuccess.Paths-thepossibleroutesthatcouldbeusedinyourRoadmap.KEY Paths - the paths you identify as critical to success that must beincludedinyourRoadmap.

Steps-thesmallersegmentsthatmakeupeachKEYPath.Activities-theindividualactionsthatmakeupeachStep.

HelpThemostimportantthingtorememberwhencompletingtheActivitySheetsistoberealisticandhonest.Youareonlykiddingyourselfotherwise.

Ifyouneedhelpwithanyparticularsection,pleasecontactmeviamywebsite:JSJenner.com.

Remember,completingthisbookisthefirststeponyourjourneytoDestinationSuccessandisonestepmorethanmostofyourcompetitorswillevertake.

Nowlet’sgetstarted.

http://jsjenner.com

Section1

StartingPositionsPlease:Where&HowYourBusinessFitsIn

“Itpaystoplanahead.Itwasn’trainingwhenNoahbuilttheark.”

~RichardCCushing

Haveyoueverwonderedwhyyouhaven’tachievedthesuccessyoudreamof?

Coulditbebecause:

youdon’tfullyknoweverythingthereistoknowaboutyourcustomers,youdon’tknowhowtostandoutfromthecrowdofcompetitors,youdon’tmakethetimetostayontopofmarkettrends,youdon’tmakethemostofyourstrengthsandopportunities,you don’twork to improve yourweaknesses and avoid the threats facingyourbusiness,oryoudon’thavea‘wow’factorthatcompelsyourcustomerstochooseyouoveryourcompetitors?

If so, readon.By the endofSection1, youwill have laid thegroundwork toachievethesuccessfulfutureyoudeserve.

Chapter1

WhyYouReallyNeedThisBookLet’sstartworkingonyourbusinessbytakingitspulse.

Thisexercise isdesigned togetyou thinkingaboutyourbusinessandwillgetyour analytical juices flowing to help with the activities coming up in thefollowingchapters.

Takenomorethan10minutesonSignpost1andgowithyourgutreaction.Ifyoudon’tknowtheanswer,thendon’tworry-that’swhyyouboughtthisbook!

Youwillfindouthowtoansweranyunknownquestionsaswellasthesolutionstoanyidentifiedproblemsbythetimeyoucompleteyourroadmap.

CompleteSignpost1.

Irecommendthatyouusetheprintedversion.Youwillgetthemostoutofthisbook if youprint off the complete packof blanks forFREE frommywebsitebefore you start. CLICKHERE for the link. However, if you do not have aprinterhandy,theon-screenimageandtextversionsarecomingup.

Ifyouhavetheprintedversion,completeitandthenCLICKHEREtocontinuewiththenextstageofthebook.

If you do not have the printed version andwill bewriting your answers ontoblankpaper:

turntothenextpagefortheon-screenimageversion,ORifyoufinditeasiertoreadthetextversionoftheexercise,CLICKHERE.

***TEXTVERSION***

Ifthetextversionisnotrequired,CLICKHEREtocontinuewiththenextstageofthebook.

Signpost1-WhereAmINow?

PARTA

Whereisyourbusinessstrongandwheredoesitneedattention?

Rateasfollows:Agree,Disagree,Don’tKnow

Yourcustomers

Youunderstandyourcustomersandknowwhattheycareabout.You only focus on attracting, and gettingmore business from, the ‘best’customers.Yourcustomers’wholeexperiencewithyourbusiness(fromadvertisingtoaftersalessupport)isadream.

Yourcompetitors

Youimproveuponwhatyourcompetitorsaredoingwellthatworks.Yououtperformyourcompetitorswheretheyareweak.Youjumpinwhereyourcompetitorsarenotadequatelyservingthemarket.

Yourmarket

Thereare enoughcustomersnowand in the foreseeable future foryou totakeanadequateshareofthemarket.Youarecluedintomarkettrends,soyoucanidentifyopportunitiesaswellasdangersigns,tostayonestepaheadofthecompetition.

Your‘wow’factor

Theonethingthatmakesyoudifferent

You have a ‘wow’ factor that makes your business stand out from thecrowd.Your‘wow’factorissomethingyourcustomerscareaboutandcompelling

enoughforthemtochooseyouoveryourcompetitors.

Yourviewofsuccess

Youhaveaclearimageinyourheadofwhatyourbusinesswilllooklikein5years’time.

Yourbusinessprocesses

Examples: innovation, procuring supplies, production/service delivery,distribution

Youknowwhichinternalprocessyoumustshineatinordertodeliveryour‘wow’factorandbeatyourcompetitors.This process gets your daily attention to capitalize on its strengths andimproveonitsweaknesses.

Yourmarketingactivities

Yourmarketingmessages tell your perfect customer that you understandtheirneedsandthatyourproductsorservicesaretheperfectsolution.Your marketing messages tell your perfect customer about your ‘wow’factor so that they knowwhy you are different to, and better than, yourcompetitors.Yourmarketingactivitiesaregearedtowardsretainingandgettingmoreoutofyourexistingcustomersaswellasacquiringnewcustomers.

Youremployees

Or‘YOU’ifyouareasolopreneurandrunyourbusinesssingle-handedly

Youknowwhichroleswithinyourbusinessarecritical todeliveringyour‘wow’factoranddelightingcustomers.Youremployeesincriticalrolesaretherightpeopleforthejobandhavethenecessaryskillsandtoolsrequiredtoexcel.Youengageandmotivateyourteamsothattheywanttoworkwithyoufor

thelongterm.

Yourfinances

Youknowthatyouneed tobalance thevalueyouoffer tocustomerswiththevalueyoureturntostakeholders(eg,you,employees,investors).You know what your value-creating assets are (eg, ideas, knowledge,employees,systemsandrelationships)andyouinvestinthem.Youmanageandattempttoimproveyourcashpositionregularly.

Don’tworryifyou’vegotalotof‘thumbsdown’or‘don’tknow’ratings.

Themoreyouhave,themoreyouwillgetoutofthisbook!

PARTB

ThePast

Whathasgonewellinthepast?Whatfactorsledtothissuccess?Whathasnotworkedinthepast?Whatproblemsdidyouencounter?

TheFuture

Whatareyoulookingforwardto?Whatideashaveyounottriedyet?Whatareyourmajorworries?Whatchangesdoyouwanttomake?

YouwillhighlightissuesthatareKEYduringActivitySheet9later.

***ENDofTEXTVERSION***

Wheredoesthisfitin?Bythetimeyouhavecompletedyourroadmapattheendofthisbook,youwillbeabletogivea‘thumbsup’toallthequestionsinPartAabove.

You will refer back to Part B in Chapter 5 where you will address the KEYissuesyouhaveidentified.

YouhavecompletedChapter1.Turnthepagetoseeyourprogressalongtheroadmap.

Chapter2

DiscoverTheTruthAboutYourCustomers

Withouthappycustomers,youwon’thaveasuccessfulbusiness.

Theywillmakeorbreakyourbusinessandsoshouldbeattheforefrontofyourmind,ALLTHETIME!

Customersarethemostimportantpeopleinyourlife.

Itmaybeyourbusiness,butit’snotaboutyou.It’saboutthem.Rememberthatineverydecisionyoumake.

Doyoufocusonwhatyouaresellingorwhatyourcustomersarebuying?Lookatyourproductorservicefromtheirperspective.

Doyoutryandsellyourproductorservicetoanyandallcustomersyoucanfindorseekoutthebestcustomersthatfityourbusiness?

DoyouknowyourONEperfectcustomerintimately?Haveyoulistenedtowhattheywant?

Istheirwholeexperiencewithyourbusinessafrustrationoradream?

Inthissectionyouwillgettoknowyourcustomers.WARNING:itmaybeeyeopening!

Doyousellsomethingyourcustomersfindvaluable?

Whatdoyousell?Ifyou’reaphotographer,adaycareprovideroraconsultant,youprobablysaid:photographs,childcareoradvice.

Nowwhilstthatisnodoubttrue,rememberwhatIsaidintheintroduction,youare thinkingaboutwhatyousell rather thanwhatyourcustomerwants tobuy.Andyes,thereisadifference!

Customersdon’tbuyphotographs,theybuymemories;theydon’tbuychildcare,theybuypeaceofmindandchild-freetimethatallowsthemtogoouttowork;and they don’t buy advice, they buy the answer to something they have beenworryingabout.

This is what they value in your product or service. If you don’t make or dosomething thatcustomers findvaluable, theywillnotbewilling tospend theirmoneywithyourbusiness.

Whatvaluedoyousell?Whilsttherearemillionsofdifferentthingscustomersbuyeveryday,theywillonly spend their money on products or services that they find valuable. Andvaluecanbeboileddownto:

thereceiptofgoodfeelings,and/orthesolutionstoproblems.

Here are some examples of the value inherent in some standard products orservicessoyoucanseewhatImean:

Books - pleasure fromhours spent reading or satisfaction from increasedknowledge.Insurance-relaxationfrompeaceofmind.

Ahouse-satisfaction,comfort,statusandconfidenceinasafeinvestment.Lotterytickets-lowcosthope.AniPhone - relief at being able to communicate, joy at being connectedwithothers,andconfidenceatbeinginformedoftheday’snewsandmuchmore.

Think about the value ofYOURproduct or service as youcompleteActivitySheet1.

Irecommendthatyouusetheprintedversion-CLICKHEREforthelink.


Ifyoudonothavetheprintedversionandarewritingyouranswersontoblankpaper:


***TEXTVERSION***


Activity Sheet 1 - The Value Of My Product OrServiceThinkaboutyourproductorservicefromthepointofviewofyourcustomer.

WhatVALUEaretheyreallybuying?

PARTA:Whatgoodfeelingsisyourcustomerbuying?Tickupto3,oraddyourown.

Admiration,Certainty,Confidence,Contentment,Control,Courage,Creativity,Determination, Enthusiasm, Freedom, Hope, Inspiration, Pleasure, Pride,Relaxation,Satisfaction,Security

Isell...

butmycustomersarebuying...

Eg: I sell clothes, but my customers are buying ‘pride in an attractiveappearance’.

PARTB:Whatproblemdoesyourproductorservicesolve?Ifapplicable.

PARTC:Whatisyourcustomer’sdreamendresult?

Itcanhelptothinkaboutwhatyourcustomerdreamsofastheendresultofthempurchasingyourproductorservice.Thatiswhattheyarereallybuying.


Nowsummarizeyour thoughts inSignpost2,PartA and confirmwhether ornotyourproductorservicedeliversvaluetoyourcustomers.

***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost2,PartA-TheTruthAboutMyCustomersThe value of my product or service is made up of: GOOD FEELINGS +SOLUTIONSTOPROBLEMS

Mycustomerswant:

Goodfeelings...

FromPartA,ActivitySheet1

Solutionstotheseproblems...

FromPartB,ActivitySheet1

Thisdreamendresult...

FromPartC,ActivitySheet1

Myproduct or service delivers: Agree,Disagree,Don’tKnow*** END ofTEXTVERSION***

Wheredoesthisfitin?Your answers to Signpost 2, PartAwill be used to compare your business toyour competitors in Chapter 3, to analyze how your business fits into themarketplaceinChapter5,toconfirmwhyyourbusinessexistsandwhereitwillbe in 5 years’ time in Chapter 7 and what you need to do to delight yourcustomersinChapter8.

Howdoesthishelpme?Byswitchingyour thinkingfrom‘WhatIsell’ to‘Whatmycustomerwants to

buy’youwillalignYOURgoalswiththoseofYOURCUSTOMER.

Usethisinformationtoconnectwithyourcustomersandtogivethemwhattheywant.

Byconveyingtothemthatyourproductorservicegivesthemthevaluetheyarelooking for, you should be able to attract new customers and gain morebusinessfromyourexistingcustomers.

Whoareyourbestcustomers?Findoutin4easystepsIfyou’retypicalofmostsmallbusinessowners,youarealwaysreallybusybutnotmakingtheprofitsyoufeelyoushouldbe.

Unfortunately,workingcrazyhoursdoesnotguaranteethatyourbusinesswillbeprofitable.

BeingBUSYdoesnotnecessarilymeanyouwillbeSUCCESSFUL.

Youmustidentifythevalue-makingactivitiesinyourbusinessandthenmaketheconsciousdecisiontofocusontheseonadailybasis.Ifyoudon’t,youmayreceiveverylittlepayforyourexcessiveefforts.

Bytheendofthisbook,youwillhaveidentifiedwhattheseactivitiesare,butfornow,let’sconsideroneaspect-choosingtherightcustomerstoworkwith.

Choosingyourcustomers seemsanodd thing to talkabout,especially in thistougheconomy,butmore isNOTalwaysbetter, especiallywhen it comes tocustomers.

Seekout ‘better’business,not just ‘more’business,by looking forcustomerswho‘fit’yourbusinessandhavethegutsandvisiontoturntherestaway.

Let’sanalyzethedifferencesbetween‘thebad’and ‘thebest’customers:TheBadCustomers

Theycandriveawaygoodcustomers.Theycanhaveanegativeeffectonyour(andyourteam’s)morale.They can take up your precious resources that would be better spent onacquiringandretainingcustomerswhovalueyourproductsorservicesthemost.

TheBestCustomers

Theywillhelpyoucreatethebestproductorserviceyoucan.

Theywillgiveyourepeatbusinessoverthelongterm.Theywillspreadthewordbyreferringyoutoothers.

As you can see, customers that do not ‘fit’ your business candomore harmthangood.Thebestcustomers,ontheotherhand,maytakemoreconvincingtobecomecustomers,buttheywillpaveyourpathtosuccess.

Sowhoarethese‘best’customers?Theywill:

valueyourproductorservice,formalargeenoughshareofthemarkettomakeyourbusinessviable,beprofitablecustomers,andbepeopleyouliketoworkwith.

Let’sinvestigate.

Whowillvalueyourproductorservice?Customerswillvalueyourproductorserviceif:

1. they willBENEFIT from it (from the good feelings it produces or theproblemsitsolves)

AND

2. theyactuallyWANTthosebenefits.

Forexample:

All baldmenmightBENEFIT froma hair transplant but only those baldmenwhoworryaboutbeingbaldwillWANTahairtransplant.

AlldogownersinyourlocalareamightBENEFITfromyourdogwalkingservicebutonlythosewhocan’twalktheirowndog,perhapsbecausetheyareill,atworkoraway,willWANTyourservice.

CompleteActivitySheet2toconfirmwhowillvalueyourproductorservice.





***TEXTVERSION***


Activity Sheet 2: Who Will Value My Product OrService?Startwiththelargegroupofcustomerswhowouldbenefitfromyourproductorservice.Thennarrowthatgroupdowntothosecustomerswhoactuallywantit.

CustomerswhowillBENEFITfrommyproductorserviceare...

Customers who willWANT my product or service because they are worriedabouttheproblemorbecausetheyareinsearchofthegoodfeelingsitpromisesare...


Wheredoesthisfitin?Your answers to Activity Sheet 2 will be summarized in Signpost 2, Part Bbelow.

Howdoesthishelpme?Thisdistinctioniscrucialtounderstandsothatyourmarketingmessagesconnectwith your potential customers. They should focus on the reason customersWANT your product or service, not just the BENEFITS available to allcustomers:

Areyoulosingyourhair?-Thismessagewouldbetoogeneral.Areyousufferingfromhairloss?-Perfect!

Do the customers in this narrowed-down segment

makeaviablemarket?Identifyingcustomers thatwillvalueyourproductorservice isonestep in therightdirection,buttheremustbeenoughofthemtokeepyouinbusiness.

‘QuickAlternative’If you read the next section and are inclined to skip the in-depth analysisrecommended,thenmakeuseofthis‘QuickAlternative’ratherthanmissingoutonthethoughtprocessaltogether.

Areyousatisfiedthat:

there are enough potential customers in your marketplace to make yourbusinessviablegiventhemarketshareyoucanhopetoobtain?there are successful competitors operating in your exact marketplace(provingthatthereareenoughpotentialcustomers)?

Skipaheadtothenextsection.

***ENDofQuickAlternative***

If you have no ideawhere to start investigating the size of yourmarketplace,checkout theinformationavailablefromgovernmentagencies,suchas theUSCensusBureau’swebsite(http://census.gov)intheUS.Thereyouwillfindlotsof information about the individuals and businesses in your area or across allStates. Information is broken down in a multitude of ways, allowing you toidentify,morespecifically,yourpotentialcustomers.

ReferenceUSA.com is another priceless resource of free information. It is aleadingproviderofbusinessandconsumerresearchallowingyoutoinvestigateyourtargetcustomersandcompetitors.Theonlydownsideisthatyoumustvisityourlocallibraryforaccess.

Otherplacestolookformarketsizeinformationinclude:

mediakitsoflargewebsitesinyournichethatprovideinformationontheir

readership.magazinecirculationfigures-tryhttp://magazines.comtofindamagazinein your niche and then look at that magazine’s media kit for circulationfigures.tradeassociationpublicationsandindustry-focusedwebsites- theymightalsohaveinformationaboutcustomerspendinghabits,trendsandforecasts.yourlocalpublicorUniversitylibrary.yourlocalchamberofcommerce.yourlocaleconomicdevelopmentagency.theinternet-althoughIwarnyouit’saminefieldoutthere.marketresearchcompaniesifyouhavethefundstopayforinformation.forums in your niche - how many members do they have showing aninterestinyoursubject?Twitterersinyourniche-howmanyarethere?CheckTwellow.com.Lists.nextmark.com - howmany subscribers are there tomailing lists inyourniche?

Use these resources to helpyoucompleteActivitySheet 3.Youwill analyzehowmanypotentialcustomersthereare inyourmarketplaceandwhetheryourtargetmarketisviable.





***TEXTVERSION***


ActivitySheet3:IsMyMarketViable?

TYPEOfProductOrService

Itcanhelptobreakdownyourproductsorservicesbytype.

NumberOfCustomersWhoWouldBENEFIT

Usethemarketanalysisresourcestoinvestigatethesizeofyourmarketplace.

PercentageOfCustomersWILLINGToBuy

Usehistoricdatayouhavegleaned frompreviousmarketingcampaigns.Whatpercentage of enquiries did you get from your latest advertisement, mailing,cold-callingexercise,tradeshowetc?

Ifyoudonothavesuchdata,undertakeasurveyofyourpotentialcustomersandaskthem.Ifyoudonothavetime,takeastabinthedark.

ProbableMarketSHARE(%)

Not every customer willing to pay for your type of product or service willactuallybuy fromyou, soyouwill need to estimate themarket shareyou cantake. Ifyouare competingwithhundredsofotherbusinesses, themostyou’reeverlikelytogetisonequarterofapercent.Inthiscase,youmightwanttostartwithone-tenthofapercentinthefirstyear.

AnnualSPENDPerCustomer($)

Estimate thisusingthe informationyouhavegleanedaboutcustomerspendinghabitsfromyourinitialresearch,ormakeaneducatedguessbasedonthenatureofyourproductorservice.

For example, small businesses will not need a newwebsite everymonth, buttheremaybeadditionalservicesyoucouldprovide.

TOTALSalesRevenue($)

Multiply thenumberofcustomerswhowouldBENEFITby thepercentageofcustomersWILLINGtobuybythemarketSHAREpercentageyouarelikelytogain by the annual SPEND per customer, to give the Total Annual Sales

Revenue.


Wheredoesthisfitin?Your answers to Activity Sheet 3 will be summarized in Signpost 2, Part BbelowandusedagaininChapter14.

Howdoesthishelpme?Byestimatingthenumberofcustomersyoucouldserve,youcancheckitsoundsreasonableandthattheincomewillbeenoughforyouonceyouhavedeductedexpensesandtaxes.

Doesitsoundreasonable?

If you multiply the number of customers who would BENEFIT by thepercentage of customersWILLING to buy by themarket SHARE percentageyouarelikelytogain,yougetyourestimatednumberofcustomers.

Does this sound in the rightball park,whenyou compare it to a similar-sizedcompetitor?

Forexample:

If you are a consultant, how many consultancy jobs could your competitorpossiblyhandlewiththeirsizeofworkforce?

If you are a restaurant, how many customers go into your competitor’srestaurantonatypicalday?

Istheincomeenough?

Ifyourmarketisnotviable,STOPnowandre-thinkyourbusinessidea.

Whoareyourmostprofitablecustomers?Not all customers are created equal. You only have limited resources so youwanttotargetthosecustomersthatarethemostprofitable.Youmaythinkthisonly refers to direct profits over the long term but you should also considercustomersas ‘profitable’ if theyaddsomethingmore toyourbusiness,suchasnewcustomerreferrals,assistancewithproductdevelopmentetc.

InActivitySheet4youwillidentifyyourmostprofitablecustomersbylookingathistoriccustomersalesreportsaswellasansweringaseriesofquestions.

Recurring income is the lifeblood ofmany businesses. It ismuch cheaper toretain a customer than it is to acquire a new one, so your best customers arethosewhowill buy fromyouover andover andover again.Those that spendsmallamountsoronlybuyonceortwicearenotyouridealcustomers.

For example, if you design websites you may be used to targeting localbusinesseswithyourmarketing,buttheywillonlywantonewebsitesowillnotprovideyouwithrecurringincome.Youwillneedtostartyourmarketingagainafter each job has been completed. To find recurring customers, you need totargetlargerwebdesignfirms,SEOconsultants,eventplannersorPRfirmswithlots of ongoing client projects. Make a lasting relationship with one of thesecompaniesandyouaresetforyearstocome.

‘QuickAlternative’IfthesightofallthenumbersinActivitySheet4makesyourstomachturn,skipPartAandrelyonPartBtogiveyoutheinformationyouneed.

CompleteActivitySheet4.

Irecommendthatyouusetheprintedversion-CLICKHEREforthelink.(I’msureyou’regettingboredofthisrecommendationbynow,sothiswillbethelastone!)


Ifyoudonothavetheprintedversionandarewritingyouranswersontoblank

paper:


***TEXTVERSION***


Activity Sheet 4 - Who Are My Most ProfitableCustomers?

PARTA:Directsales

Doyouhave existing customers? Use theGuidanceNotes below to identifyyour 3 most profitable customers (or groups of customers) for the last 6-12months.

Areyouanewbusinessorventuringintoanewmarket?Thenmakeanoteinyourdiaryfor6months’timetoperformthistest.

Whoareyour3mostprofitablecustomers?1st,2nd,3rd

GuidanceNotes

Compilealistofincome(orgrossprofit)bycustomerforthelast6-12months.Ifyouhavelotsofsimilartypesofcustomers,groupthem.

Sortthelistfromthehighestincome(orgrossprofit)tothelowest.

Depending on whether you sell products or services, choose the relevantexercisebelowtoidentifyyourmostprofitablecustomers.

Ifyousellproducts, youneed to lookat grossprofits. Identify the customersthatbrought in80%ofyour totalgrossprofit. If the80:20principleholdsup,20%ofyourcustomerswillaccountfor80%ofyourprofits.

If you sell your time at an hourly rate, you need to look at your effectivehourly rate - in other words your fee income divided by the total number ofhoursworked(billableandnon-billable).

Ifyousellfixedpriceservices,youneedtolookatyoureffectivehourlyrate-inotherwordsyourfixedfeedividedbythetotalnumberofhoursworked.

Ifyousellsomethingwhereyourcapacityislimited,youneedtolookattheeffectivereturnonyourlimitedresource.

PARTB:Otherfactors

Choose your top 3 customers in each of the following areas. Use ‘types ofcustomer’ifyouareanewbusiness.

Consistentlyorderyourmostprofitableproductsorservices.Arenotoverlypricesensitive.Arehappytotryyournewproductsorservices.Taketheleasttimetodealwithforthegreatestreturn.Gainthemostvaluefromyourproductorservice,sowillpaythemostforit.Bringyoumorebusinessthroughreferrals.Will spend the most money with you over the long term (ie, recurringrevenue).Wanttobuildalongtermrelationshipwithyou.Haveevolvingneedsoverthelongtermthatyoucanfulfill.

Once you have identified your most profitable customers, write down thecharacteristicstheyhaveincommon.

These can be anything thatmakes sense to your business and your customersincluding demographics and psychographics (emotional and behavioralqualities).

MostProfitableCustomerCharacteristics:...

LeastProfitableCustomerCharacteristics:...


Wheredoesthisfitin?Your answers to Activity Sheet 4 will be summarized in Signpost 2, Part B

below.

Howdoesthishelpme?By identifying the characteristics your most profitable customers have incommon,youcandeterminethetypeofcustomersyoushouldbetargetinginthefuture,whilstavoidingthosethatarenotworthyourtimeoreffort.

Whatsortofpeopledoyouliketoworkwith?There’snothinglikeabadcustomertobringdownyourmood.Life’stooshort,so keep your bad customers to a minimum by either not taking them on orsackingthemoncetheyshowtheirtruecolors.

ThinkaboutthesortofpeopleyouliketoworkwithasyoucompleteActivitySheet5.




***TEXTVERSION***


Activity Sheet 5: Which Customers Do I LikeWorkingWith?Label the ‘best’and ‘worst’customersbelowwith thequalitiesofpeopleyouenjoyworkingwithandthosethatyouwanttoavoid.

IENJOYworkingwithcustomerswhoare:...

Eg:professional,organized,willingtolisten

IDISLIKEworkingwithcustomerswhoare:...

Eg:overlydemanding,fussy,badpayers


Wheredoesthisfitin?Your answers to Activity Sheet 5 will be summarized in Signpost 2, Part Bbelow.

Howdoesthishelpme?Notallcustomerswillbe the ‘best’ soyouwill endupwithamix. Justmakesure youwork outwhich of your customers you actuallywant to acquire andretainandgetridofthoseyoucandowithout.

SummarizeyourthoughtsfromActivitySheets2-5inSignpost2,PartBbelow.


***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost2,PartB-TheTruthAboutMyCustomersMybestcustomers:

...Valuemyproduct or service (fromActivity Sheet 2)CustomerswhowillBENEFITfrommyproductorserviceare:...

andtheyWANTitbecause:...

...Make a viablemarket (fromActivity Sheet 3)My estimated annual salesrevenueis$...

...Areprofitable(fromPartB,ActivitySheet4)Mymostprofitablecustomersarecharacterizedas:...

...ArepeopleIliketoworkwith(fromActivitySheet5)Iwanttoworkwithpeoplewhoare:...

Idon’twanttoworkwithpeoplewhoare:...


Wheredoesthisfitin?Youranswers toSignpost2,PartBwillbeusedtoconfirmwhyyourbusinessexistsandwhereitwillbein5years’timeinChapter7andhowyoucanfocusonthenumbersthatreallymatterinChapter12.

Now that youhave a clearer idea ofwhoyour best customers are, let’s get toknowthemintimately.

WhoisyourONEperfectcustomer?Foryoutobeabletoconnectwithyour‘best’customersthroughyourmarketingmessage and sales process, you need to get to know them intimately. If youdon’t,youmightconfusethem,andconfusedcustomersdon’tbuy.

Youneedspecifics.Whoarethey?Whatdotheywant?Howdotheythinkandbehave?Whataretheirhopesandaspirations?

Ifyouuse thisknowledge inyourmarketingmessage,youwillprove to themthatyouunderstandthemandcanhelpsolvetheirproblem.

So in this section, you will shift your focus from theGROUP of your bestcustomers to your ONE perfect customer - an individual with a face, apersonality,alife,feelingsandmotivations.

Youneedtovisualizethem,soyoucanplanforthem,talktothemandgenerallyconnectwiththem.

OnlyONEperfectcustomer?Whatabouttherest?Don’tpanic-byjusttalkingtoyourONEperfectcustomer,youarenotshuttingeveryoneelseout.

Ifyoulookat theadvertsforAmazon’sKindle, theyarequitebiasedtoyoungwomenandcouples.ButisitonlyyoungwomenandcouplesthatbuyKindles?Ofcoursenot.

Your aim is tomake yourmarketingmessage clear and consistent in order toinspire yourONEperfect customer. Thiswill then inspire otherswho feel anaffinity with your ONE perfect customer, want to be like your ONE perfectcustomeroradmirewhatyourONEperfectcustomer represents.And they toowillthenbecomecustomers.

Ifyoutrytospeaktotoomanypeople,yourmessagegetsdilutedandbecomesineffective.Youcan’tbe“allthingstoallpeople”,sodon’teventry.

If you havemore than one type of product or service, pick themain one, or

performthefollowingexercisesforeachmajorcategory.

Ifyourtargetaudienceisdiverse,workontheonethatyouthinkwillbuyfromyouthemost.

OKlet’sgettowork.

WhoisyourONEperfectcustomer?TakeaminutetorevisitActivitySheet2.Thinkofthelargegroupofcustomerswho will BENEFIT from your product or service and the smaller group thatactuallyWANTyourproductorservice.

Nowinyourmind’seyepicturetheONEpersonwhoisstrugglingthemostwiththeproblemyourproductorservicesolvesorwhoismostinsearchofthegoodfeelings your product or service provides. Picture this ONE perfect customerwhowillbeinspiredbyyourproductorservice.

Whoarethey?Bespecific.

Thiswillnotdo:

Awoman,aged25-30,wholikesreading.

Thisisperfect:

Claudia, aged 29, who likes reading romance novels on the Kindle. She ismarriedtoDavidandtheyhavea4yearoldsoncalledJake.Sheloveschildrenandisluckyenoughtohaveherdreamjobofmanagingadaycarecenter.Sheenjoysspendingtimewithherextendedfamilyandfriendsbuthatescookingforacrowd.

Doesn’tClaudiasoundlikesomeoneyoucouldtalkto?

CompleteActivitySheet6togetarealfeelforyourONEperfectcustomer.

Then inActivity Sheet 7 you can find out what they really want from yourproductorservicebypretendingtobeTHEMratherthanYOU.

Ifyouaresellingbusinesstobusiness,knowinghowthedecisionmakerthinks

andbehavesisjustasvitalsoyoustillneedtocompleteActivitySheet6forthedecisionmakerofyourONEperfectbusinesscustomer.





***TEXTVERSION***


ActivitySheet6:WhoIsMyOnePerfectCustomer?FindaphotographofyourONEperfectcustomer.

Quickly browse throughGoogle’s image library to find a photograph ofwhattheylooklike,orcliponeoutofamagazine.

NowstepintotheshoesofyourONEperfectcustomerandfillintheirprofileasifyouarethem.Therearenorightanswers.

DEMOGRAPHICS:Whoareyou?

Name:Age:Married?To?Kids/pets?Names/ages:Educationlevel:Wheredoyoulive?Whattypeofhousedoyoulivein?Whatisyourjob?Doyoulikeit?Howmuchdoyouearn?

PSYCHOGRAPHICS:Whatareyoulike?

RemembertostepintotheshoesofyourONEperfectcustomertoanswerthesequestions.Therearenorightanswers.

Howwouldyoudescribeyourself?Whatareyourinterestsandhobbies?Whatdoyoulikeanddislike?Wheredoyougetinformationfrom?Whatdoyouspendyourmoneyon?Doyouembracetechnology?Whatareyourgoalsforthenextfewmonthsandthenext5years?Whatstandsinthewayofachievingthesegoals?Whatfrustrationsdoyouencounterineverydaylife?Whatkeepsyouupatnightwithworry?


Wheredoesthisfitin?BygettingtoknowyourONEperfectcustomerintimately,youcanmoreclearlyanswer the questions in Activity Sheet 7 about what they want from yourproductorservice.

Howdoesthishelpme?Now you know your ONE perfect customer really well, you can begin toexamine everything you do through their eyes.Will your marketing speak tothem?Willtheylikeyourproductorservice?

Butlet’sstartwithwhattheyreallywant.

WhatdoesyourONEperfectcustomerwant?YounowknowalotaboutyourONEperfectcustomer(orthedecisionmakerinyourONEperfectbusinesscustomer),butlet’staketheprocessonestepfurtherandstepintotheirshoesastheybuyanduseyourproductorservice.

Witheverystepinthisprocess,youareclosingthegapbetweentheanonymousgroupofcustomerswestartedofftalkingaboutandyourONEperfectcustomerwhoyouunderstandintimately.

MakingthesaleImagine yourONE perfect customer has just seen an advert on Facebook foryourproductorserviceandhasclickedtoyourwebsitetoreadmoreaboutit.

GetintocharacterandlivethepurchasingprocessasyourONEperfectcustomerwould.Stopbeingyou,theseller,andbecomethem,thebuyer.

LookbacktoSignpost2,PartAtoremindyourselfofthevaluetheyareseekingtobuy-inotherwordsthegoodfeelingsorsolutionstoproblems.

CompleteActivitySheet7withanunbiasedmind.Don’twritedownwhatyouwanttohearasyou’llonlybekiddingyourself.




***TEXTVERSION***


ActivitySheet7,PartA-CanIMakeTheSale?WillyourONEperfectcustomerbuyyourproductorservice?

Get into character and live the purchasing process as your ONE perfectcustomerwould.

What is thedreamoutcomeyouarehopingfor ifyoubuy thisproductorservice?What would be the perfect steps for you to go through to achieve thisoutcome?Whatisyourmainworryaboutbuyingthiskindofproductorservice?Whatisyourmainworryaboutbuyingfromthisbusiness?What particular elements of this product or service are important or ofinteresttoyou?Whatdoyouliketheleastaboutthisproductorservice?Whatlooksbetterorworseaboutthisproductorservicecomparedtoothersyouhaveseen?Whenandhowoftenwillyoubuythistypeofproductorservice?Willyoubuyonimpulseorshoparound?Where and how do youwant to go about buying this type of product orservice?

Activity Sheet 7, Part B - HowDidMy Product OrServiceFare?DidyourONEperfectcustomervalueyourproductorservice?

Stayincharacterandpretendyouaretheperfectcustomerwhohasboughtand

usedyourproductorservice.

Did it solveyourproblemorprovide thegood feelingsyouwere lookingfor?How?Whatfeaturesdidyoufindthemostvaluable?Wasitworththepurchaseprice?Why/whynot?Which steps from marketing to after sales support caused you the mostfrustrationandwhy?How could the experience with this business have been made moreenjoyable?Wouldyoureferthisbusinesstoothers?Why/whynot?If you took over running this business tomorrow, what area would youfocusonfirst?Whatdoyouthinkthisbusinesscouldlearnfromitscompetitorsandtheirproductsorservices?How do you think this kind of product or service should evolve in thefuture?Whatisyourbiggestchallengeinthisarearightnow?


AnalyzeyourfindingsCompare yourproductor service, salesprocess andall interactionswithyourcustomertowhatyourcustomerwantsusingtheanswersinActivitySheet7.

Identifyalltheareaswhereyourbusiness:

isstrongneedsimproving,orcanbeexpandedupon.

SummarizeyourthoughtsinSignpost2,PartC.

***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost2,PartC-TheTruthAboutMyCustomersTheexperiencesofmyONEperfectcustomershowthat:Myproductorservice,mysalesprocessandallmyinteractionswithcustomersare...

(FromActivitySheet7)

Stronghere:...

Needimprovinghere:...

Canbeexpandeduponhere:...



Wheredoesthisfitin?Your answers to Signpost 2, PartCwill be used to compare your business toyour competitors in Chapter 3, to analyze how your business fits into themarketplace inChapter 5, to identify howyou canbeunique inChapter 6, toimaginewhereyouwillbein5years’timeinChapter7andtodecidewhatyouneedtodotodelightyourcustomersinChapter8.

Howdoesthishelpme?Bygoingthroughyoursalesprocessandusingyourproductorserviceasyourcustomerwill, you canbeproactive and ensure that you exploit the areas thatwork well, improve the areas that don’t and expand upon any opportunitiesidentified.

Isyourcustomer’stotalexperienceuptoscratch?Your customer’smotivations for purchasing are crucial to understand. If youunderstand why they are in the market for the product or service that youprovide,youcanprovethatyouareaperfectmatch for themandguide themeasilythroughthebuying,consumptionandafter-salesprocesses.

But remember - their experiencewith you is not just limited to enjoyingyourproduct or service. It starts way before that and includes everything frommarketing,toenquiry,toorder,deliveryandaftersalessupport.

Every interactionyourcustomerhaswithyourbusinesssparksemotions -whetherpositiveornegative.Thesecreatetheoverallimpressionyourcustomerhasaboutyourproductorserviceandyourbusiness.Justbywalkingintoyourstore,clickingontoyourwebsite,ortalkingtoyoursalesteam,theyaretickingoffpositivesandnegatives togiveyouanoverall scoreand theyhaven’t evenboughtanythingyet.

Solet’smakesurethatyourpotentialcustomer’scompleteexperiencewithyouispositivefromstarttofinish.

Walkthroughyourcustomer’slifecyclewithyourbusinessasyourcustomerdoes.Wheredonegativefeelingsemerge?Isitwithyourproductorservice,theambianceofyourstore,thefriendlinessofyourstaff,thelayoutofyourwebsite,your limited number of parking spaces, your office hours? Be objective andfocusonthedetailsthatneedtobeimproved.

Ifyourpricesarecompetitivebutcustomersarestillnotbuyingfromyou,then thechancesare theexperienceyourcustomersenjoy throughout their lifecyclewithyourbusinessisnotasgoodasthatofyourcompetitors.

Visualizing your customer’s life cycle as a ladder can help you to seewhererungsaremissing.Considerwhatyourcustomerwantsat allof thesecontactpointsanddistinguishyourselfbyfocusingonthetotalcustomerexperience.

Missing rungs cause potential customers to fall off the climb to the rooftopswheretheycanshouttotheworldaboutyourproductorservice,soyoushouldtryandavoidthem!

Bymakingiteasyforyourcustomer tobuyfromyou,youwillsellmorethanyourcompetitors.

Use the information you have already compiled about your ONE perfectcustomer tocompleteActivitySheet8 and identify themissing rungs inyourbusiness.




***TEXTVERSION***


ActivitySheet8:TheCustomerLifeCycleLadderWriteYES in the rungs on the ladderwhere you agreewith the question andyourcustomer’sfootingwillbestable.Ifyoudon’tknow,leavetherungblank.

Marketingmaterials

Eg:adverts,flyers,newsletters,freesamples,website,socialmedia

Aretheysituatedwheretheywillbenoticed?Are they written for your ONE perfect customer (ie, not everyone ingeneral)?Dotheyaddresstheirproblem/aspiration?Dotheypromisetheirperfectoutcome?Dotheyconfirmtheparticularelementsofyourproductorservicethattheyfindimportant?Dotheyquashtheirworriesaboutbuyingyourtypeofproductorservice?

Enquiry

List theways your perfect customerwould like to contact youwith theirinitialenquiries (eg,physical store, telephone,online,mail).Doyouofferthemall?Aretheypleasantandeasytouse/find?Doyourespondquicklyenoughtoenquiries?Isiteasyforyourperfectcustomertofindtheanswerstofrequentlyaskedquestions?Eg:howmuchdoesitcost,whatdoothercustomersthink,howlongdoesdeliverytake,isitinstock,willitdothisorthat?

Order

List the ways your perfect customer would like tomake their order (eg,physicalstore,telephone,online,mail).Doyouofferthemall?Listwhat is important toyourperfect customer in termsoforderingyourproductorservice(eg,easeandspeedoftheprocess,enoughcashregisters,no need to create an account, variety of payment options, adequateconfirmationoforder).Doyouprovidethemall?

Delivery

Listwhatisimportanttoyourperfectcustomerintermsofdelivery(eg,instorecollection,abilitytotrackdelivery,differentpricesfordifferentspeedsofdelivery,choiceofdeliverydays).Doyouprovidethemall?

Consumption

Does your product or service resolve your customer’s problem or satisfytheiraspiration?Istheirdreamoutcomedeliveredviatheiridealstepbystepprocess?List the features of your product or service that are important to yourperfectcustomer(eg,speedofsetup,easeofuse,quickstartguide,sparebattery for thedrill, extra attachments for themixer etc.)Doyouprovidethemall?

Aftersalessupport

List what is important to your perfect customer in terms of after salessupport (eg, ahelpdesk,offersonaccessoriesetc).Doyouprovide themall?


Summarize Activity Sheet 8 in Signpost 2, Part D. Decide whether yourcustomer’sexperiencewithyourbusinessisgoodorbadineachareaandlisttheareasthatneedtobeimproved.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost2,PartD-TheTruthAboutMyCustomersMycustomersexperiencemybusinessthrough:

MarketingmaterialsEnquiryOrderDeliveryConsumptionAftersalessupport

Ineachelement:

Theirexperienceis:Good,Bad,Don’tKnowAreaswhichneedtobeimprovedare:...


Wheredoesthisfitin?Your answers to Signpost 2, PartDwill be used to compare your business toyour competitors in Chapter 3, to analyze how your business fits into themarketplaceinChapter5,toidentifyhowyoucanbeuniqueinChapter6andtodecidewhatyouneedtodotodelightyourcustomersinChapter8.

Howdoesthishelpme?Howstabledoesyourladderlook?Isyourpotentialcustomerlikelytofalloff?Allthemissingrungsidentifyissuesthatneedtobeaddressed.

This simple visual exercise can often make you realize why you have beenstrugglingtomovepotentialcustomersalongthebuyingprocess.

HowtoavoidgoingoffdownthewrongpathYouhavecometotheendofyourworkongettingtoknowyourcustomers.Butitcanbehardtobeunbiasedwhenyou’replayingthepartofyourONEperfectcustomerinthepreviousexercises.It isalsoall tooeasy togetcompletely thewrongendofthestickwhenguessingwhattheyreallywantandtogooffdownthewrongpath.

Forexample:

Youmayhavebeenstrivingtomanufacturethestrongestwidget,whenallyourcustomerscareaboutishowquicklyyoucandeliver,orYoumayhave implementedasystem thatensuresyour insurancepoliciesare issuedwithin3daysofpurchase,whenyourcustomersdidn’tcaresothoseeffortswerewasted.

Inthissection,youwillcheckoutwhetheryourguesseswerenearthemarkornot.Theanswersfrom‘real’peoplecanbeeyeopening.

‘QuickAlternative’If youarekeen to carryonwith thenext section in thisbook rather than taketimeout toconfirmyoursuspicions in thewayssuggestedbelow,makeuseofthis ‘Quick Alternative’ to ensure you are collecting feedback on an ongoingbasis.

PutacopyofActivitySheet7inyourdiaryandremembertoaskadifferentquestionofeachpotentialorexistingcustomeryoumeetor talk to in thefuture.Identify your most amenable ‘best’ customer who might be willing toanswermostofthequestionsonActivitySheet7andtake5minutestodaytocontactthemtoarrangeameeting.Usethetelephoneifyoucannotmeetup face to face.Youwant tobeable todelvedeeper intoanyunexpectedanswers.Offer them something in return for this chat and youmight getlucky.



As well as actually talking to your customers as discussed in the ‘QuickAlternative’ above, there are variousways you can go about confirmingwhatyour customers are really thinking as opposed to what you assume they arethinking.Herearesomeideas:

Reviewonline review sites and scour customer feedback and comments.Amazon.comisanidealsourceifyousellproducts.Lookat5starreviewsto findoutwhat customers like and1 star reviews to findoutwhereyouneedtobebetterthanyourcompetitors.Offeryourproductorserviceforfree.Lookforonlineandofflinegroupsofpotentialcustomersorusesocialnetworkstoreachout.Givethemsomefreebiesandaskthemtosharetheiropinions.AlsotaketheopportunitytoaskthemacutdownversionofthequestionsinActivitySheet7.Setupashortsurveyonyourwebsite(useasitelikeWuFoo.com).Offerafreebieordiscountcodetoincentivizevisitorstocompleteit.Spreadthelinkonsocialnetworks,forums,Craigslistetc.Run a contest for existing customers. Make the entry requirements aquick survey that asks why they bought your product or service (give 5options)andwhytheydidnotbuyyourcompetitor’sproductorservice.Sponsoragiveaway.Findalargebloginyournicheandoffertoputupadecentprizeforacompetition.Ensurethatvisitorsmustcommentonwhattheylikeordon’tlikeaboutyourproductorservicetobeenteredintothedraw.Getyourselfsomefacetofacecontactwithcustomersbyspendingsometimeon the shop floororbymaking somesales calls.Whatquestionsdoyou get asked themost?What stops interested customers from followingthroughwithapurchase?Observeactualcustomerbehaviororuseafriendasamysteryshopper.Whichstepsinthebuyingprocessrunsmoothly?Whichcausefrustration?Howcouldyoumakeyourcustomer’sexperiencemoreenjoyable?Review customer correspondence. Are there any recurring questions,complaintsorpatsontheback?Wherearethingsgoingwrong?Howyoucanbetterserveyourcustomer’sneeds?

Analyzerefundlevelsandrenewals.Lookforproductsorserviceswhererefundsarehighorrenewalsarelowandinvestigatewhy.Consider past marketing campaigns. Which have performed the best?Whichoffershavecustomersrespondedto?Why?Identifya largeblogsiteorforuminyourniche.Browse it to findoutwhatfrustrationsyourcustomersarelivingwith,whattheytalkaboutandwhatideasormessagestheyrespondto.Confirmyour customerdemographics by plugging theURL of a largewebsiteinyournicheintoAlexa.com.Checkoutthe‘AudienceSnapshot’sectionforsomeinterestingdata.Youcanalsoconfirmdemographicswithtrade and professional organizations and using the media kits of largemagazinesinyourniche.Readsomemagazinesinyourniche.Thesecanoffermajorinsightsintohowyourpotentialcustomersthink.Try crowdsourcing, if you have the budget, where you can tap into thethoughts of potential customers for modest prices.AskYourTargetMarket.com will conduct online surveys for you from$0.95 per respondent and GutCheckIt.com will facilitate 30 minuteinterviewswithcustomersfromyourtargetdemographicfrom$40each.

Be careful with the conclusions you draw from the results of your research.Thinkabouthowreliabletheinformationis.ExistingcustomerswillbefarmorereliablethanasurveyonTwitter,andinformationfromalargegroupofpotentialcustomerswillbemorereliable than that fromarandompersonyoumet inanelevator.

Don’t be led down the wrong path - use your common sense to vet allinformationacquired.

ReviseyourassumptionsHowfaroffbasewereyouwithyourstabinthedarkguesses?Wereyousurprisedbywhatyourcustomerswantanddon’twant?

Goback,reviewandupdateyourcompletedSignpost2,PartsA-Dforanythingyougotcompletelywrongorforanynewinsightsyoudiscovered.

Pull together the KEY information from all of the work you have done inChapter2andcompleteSignpost2,PartE.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost2,PartE-TheTruthAboutMyCustomersKnowingeverythingInowdoaboutmycustomers,thetop3thingstheycareaboutwithregardtomyproductorserviceare:...


Wheredoesthisfitin?Your answers to Signpost 2, Part Ewill be used to compare your business toyourcompetitorsinChapter3,toidentifyhowyoucanbeuniqueinChapter6,todecidehowyoucandelightyourcustomersinChapter8,toworkouthowyoucandriveyourbusinesswithgreatprocesses inChapter9, to choosehowyoucangetthewordoutinChapter10andtoidentifyhowyoucanencourageyouremployeestoexcelinChapter11.

Howdoesthishelp?Signpost2,PartEsumsupwhatyourcustomers reallycareabout. In thenextchapter you will be thinking about how to differentiate yourself from yourcompetitorsandthisknowledgewillbeKEYtodecidingonyouruniqueness.

‘DiscoverTheTruthAboutYourCustomers’RecapCongratulations,hopefullyyounowknowalotmoreaboutyourcustomers.AsYOURCUSTOMERSareYOURBUSINESS,thisisprettycrucial.

Youknowhowtopitchwhatyou’resellingintermsofthevalueyourcustomerswant tobuy. (ActivitySheet1)Youknowyour targetmarket isbigenough tosupportyourbusinesssoyou’renotwastingyour time. (ActivitySheet3)Youknowthecharacteristicsofyourmostprofitablecustomers,soyoucanfocusonattracting more of them. (Activity Sheet 4) You know all about your ONEperfectcustomersoyoucan:

attract their attentionbybeing in theplaces theyhangoutor go towhenthey’relookingforyourtypeofproductorservice,talk to them inyourmarketingmessages in away that theyconnectwithandrelateto,designyourproductorservicetosatisfytheirneedsatthepricetheywanttopay;andmaketheirwholeexperiencewithyourbusinessadream.

(ActivitySheets6&7)

Youhaveidentifiedtheweakareasinyourcustomerlifecyclesoyoucanseektofixthem.(ActivitySheet8)Youknowwhatyourcustomerscareabout,soyoucanusethistodifferentiateyourselffromyourcompetitors.(Signpost2,PartE)Next,youwillcheckoutyourcompetition.Ready?

YouhavecompletedChapter2.Turnthepagetoseeyourprogressalongtheroadmap. It might look like there is still a long way to go, but the‘customers’chapterissoimportant,itactuallytakesupmorethan20%oftheentirebook,soyouaregettingthere,honest!

Chapter3

HowToConquerTheCompetition

Competitorsareaninevitablepartofdoingbusiness.Toignorethemwouldbefoolhardy.

Youneedtoinvestigatewhatexactlyitisthattheydo-notjustwhattheysell,buthowtheyservicecustomersatallstagesofthecustomerlifecycle.

Byanalyzingwhat theydowell, aswell aswhere they can improve, youwillhavealltheinformationyouneedtoworkouthowyoucancompeteandstandoutfromthecrowd.

‘QuickAlternative’Therestofthischapterisdedicatedtoanin-depthstudyofyourcompetitors.Ifyoualreadyhaveagoodunderstandinginthisareaorareshortoftime,makeuseofthis‘QuickAlternative’insteadofcompletingSignpost3.Yourcompetitorsimpactonwhatyoudoandhowyoudoit,soignorethematyourperil.

Option1

LookbacktoSignpost2,PartEandremindyourselfwhatyourcustomersreallycareabout.Giveyourtop5competitorsascoreoutof10forhowtheyperforminthisarea.HowdoesYOURbusinesscompare?

Option2

Consideryourmaincompetitor.Thinkabouthowyoucanimproveonwhattheydobest.Identifytheirweaknessesandwhatyouneedtodotoexploitthem.Howdotheirmarketingmethodsandadvertisingmessagescomparetoyours?

Option3

Performaquickreviewofthewebsitesofyourtop3competitors.Whatarethebestfeaturesanddoyouhavethem?Whataretheworstanddoyouavoidthem?Compare your product range, prices, certifications/endorsements, customer

interactionetc.

WriteupyourfindingsasSignpost3.



Usethefollowingsourcestofindoutinformationaboutyourcompetition:

Online

Thebestwaytostartyourcompetitorresearchisonline.Searchforyourproductor service or your industry (with your location if relevant) and see whatcompetitorsyoucanfind.

Checkouttheirwebsitestoseewhattheyofferandatwhatprices.Lookoutforcustomer reviews, comments, FAQs, service level promises, guarantees etc toidentifytheirstrengthsandweaknesses.

Seeiftheyhaveablog,newsorpressreleasessectionwhereyoucanlearnmoreaboutyourindustryoryourcompetitors’specificachievements.

AnalyzethevisitorstotheirwebsiteusingfreeserviceslikeAlexa.com.

Visittheirplaceofbusiness

Ifyoucan,visityourcompetitor’sstoreorofficeandpretendyou’reacustomerandasklotsofquestions.

Chatwithstaffandcustomerstofindoutwhatworks,whatdoesn’tandwhat’smissing.

Becomeacustomer

Forafirsthandexperienceofyourcompetitor’sbusiness,buytheirproductsorservices.Whatbetterwayistheretounderstandwhatthey’reallabout?

Talktosuppliers

Potential suppliersareanuntappedgoldmineof information.Theywillhavea

gooddealofknowledgeof themarketplaceand theplayers that serve it.Theymaybeabletoadviseyouofthecompetitionandtheiropinionastowhetherthemarketisunderorover-served.

Paysomeoneelse

Ifyouhavethemoney,acompetitive intelligencefirmwillbegladtoresearchyourcompetitionforyou!

Nowyouknowwheretolookforanswers,completethequestionsinSignpost3.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost3-ICanConquerTheCompetitionPARTA:IndirectCompetitors:WhoAreThey?

Indirectcompetitorsarethosebusinessesthatdonotsellthesameproductsorservicesasyoubutoffereither:

alternativesolutionstothesameproblem,oralternativegoodfeelingsobtainedbyspendingasimilaramountofmoney.

Forexample:

Abusinessconsultantwouldbeanindirectcompetitortothisbook.Abowlingalleywouldbeanindirectcompetitortoamovietheatre.

Questions:

Whoareyourindirectcompetitorsandwhataretheirproductsorservices?Isthereathreatofthemstealingyourcustomers?Isthereanopportunityforyoutocreateanewmarketforyourself?

PARTB:DirectCompetitors:AnOverview

Howmanyarethere?Howbigarethey?Smallorlarge?Localorglobal?Howsuccessfularethey?Thinkabouttheirmarketshare.Who are they? Where are they located? Create a list of the names andaddressesofyourmaincompetitors.

PARTB:DirectCompetitors:InDetail

Selectyour2maincompetitors.Compareyourbusinesstotheirs.

ReviewSignpost2,PartsA&C-Eforideas.

Whatdoyousell(orincludeaspartofyourcustomerlifecycle)thattheydonot?Whatdotheysell(orincludeaspartoftheircustomerlifecycle)thatyoudonot?Whatdoyoudobetterthanthem?Whatdotheydobetterthanyou?Whatdistributionchannelsdoyouusethattheydonot?Whatdistributionchannelsdotheyusethatyoudonot?Whatmarketing strategies do you use to attract new customers or retainexistingonesthattheydonot?(Incl.specialpromotions,freegiftsetc.)Whatmarketing strategies do they use to attract new customers or retainexistingonesthatyoudonot?Howdotheirpricescomparetoyoursforsimilarproducts?Whyarecustomersattracted to them insteadofyou? (Eg: product range,customerservice,reliability,guarantees,reputation,locationetc.)Whyarecustomersattractedtoyouinsteadofthem?Howdoyoudeliverwhatcustomerscareaboutbetterthanthem?Howdotheydeliverwhatcustomerscareaboutbetterthanyou?



Wheredoesthisfitin?

YouranswerstoSignpost3willbeusedtoanalyzehowyourbusinessfitsintothemarketplaceinChapter5andhowyoucanbeuniqueinChapter6.

Howdoesthishelpme?Younowhaveagoodfeelforwhatyourcompetitorsareupto,whattheydowellandwhattheydobadly.

You can seize the opportunity to replicate what they are doing that works,outperform them where they are vulnerable, jump in where they do notadequatelyservethemarket,whilstcarvingoutyouruniqueroleinthemarket.


Chapter4

9ThingsYouMustKnowAboutYourMarket

Building a business in amarketplace you do not understand is like building ahouse on ground that could be rock, sand or landfill - you’ve no idea as youhaven’tcheckeditout.

You might prefer to run your business with blinkers on, ignoring the worldaroundyoubutthatpathisnotgoingtotakeyoutoDestinationSuccess.

Youneedtoknowthesizeandstateofyourmarketplaceandunderstandwhatishappening in it so you can identify opportunities as well as danger signs.Armedwiththisinformation,youcanplanaheadandtakepre-emptiveaction.

Youraimsare:

tostaycluedintomarkettrends,tostayonestepaheadofthecompetition,andto identify how you can differentiate your business from the rest of thecrowd.

‘QuickAlternative’Therestofthischapterisdedicatedtoanin-depthstudyofyourmarketplace.Ifyouare inclined to skipover thedetailed investigativework,writedownyourstab-in-the-dark guesses inSignpost 4 rather thanmissing out on the thoughtprocessaltogether.

SkipaheadtoSignpost4.


Usethefollowingsourcestofindoutinformationaboutyourmarketplace:

Google

Searchfor“yourniche”and“markettrends”or“marketresearch”andseewhatonlineresourcesareavailabletoyou.Restrictyouritemsto‘News’byclickingonthelinkintheleftsidebar,oronlylookatrecentitemsbyclickingthe‘Pastmonth’link,againintheleftsidebar.

Tradeassociationsormagazines

Subscribetotheindustryjournalsorassociationsinyournichetohaveaccesstoallthedatatheycollectandcollateonyourindustry.

Freegovernmentdata

Thereisagreatdealofinformationfreelyavailablefromthegovernmenttohelpyou understand yourmarket and the current economic conditions. For the fulllistofsources,checkout:

http://www.sba.gov/content/understand-your-market-and-economic-conditions

PublicorUniversitylibraries

Takeatriptothereferencesectionofyourlocallibrary,whereyouwillhavefreeaccess tomarket reports forhundredsofbusiness sectors,businessdirectories,trademagazines andmore.University libraries often have evenmore industryspecificresearchanddata.

Payforit

If you have the money, you can pay for in-depth trend reports and forecastsrelated to your particular business. Check out existing reports at places likehttp://www.marketresearch.com or order a customized report from companiessuchashttp://www.forrester.com.

Nowyouknowwheretolookforanswers,completethequestionsinSignpost4.

Ifyouhavetheprintedversion,completeitandthenCLICKHEREtocontinue

http://www.sba.gov/content/understand-your-market-and-economic-conditions

http://www.marketresearch.com

http://www.forrester.com

withthenextstageofthebook.



***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost4-IKnowMyMarketAnswereachquestionandthenaskyourself:

WhatopportunitiesmightbecreatedthatIcouldbenefitfrom?Whatthreatsmightbecreatedthatcouldnegativelyaffectmybusiness?

Questions:

Istheoverallmarketexpectedtogroworshrink?Byhowmuch?Why?What changes are happening in your marketplace? Examples include:changing customer wants and needs, product or process innovations,availabletechnology,demandforvariety,emphasisonservice.Howreliantareyouonyoursuppliers?Doyouhaveanybargainingpower?Howreliantareyouonindividualcustomers?Dotheyhaveanybargainingpower?Whatlevelofcompetitiondoyoucurrentlyfaceinthemarketplace?Isthenumberofcompetitorsincreasingordecreasing?Arethemarketsharesofcompetitorschangingsignificantly?Why?Howeasywoulditbefornewbusinesses toenter themarketplaceandbecompetitive?What substitute products or services could replace your business or takeaway a large part of it? Note: This does not mean competitors’ similarproducts,butdifferentonesentirely.Eg,newtiresvtireretreads.What political, economic, social, environmental and legal changes arehappeningthatwillprotectorthreatenthemarketplace?

Highlight issues that areKEY. KEY issues will significantly impact on yourbusiness,meaningyouwillhavetochangethewayyouoperate.


Wheredoesthisfitin?Your answers to Signpost 4 will be used to analyze how your business canprotect itsposition in themarketplace inChapter5,howyoucanbeunique inChapter6andwhereyouwillbein5years’timeinChapter7.

Howdoesthishelpme?Youhavenowlearntaboutyouroverallmarketandcanprepareyourbusinesstobenefit from the opportunities available and to minimize the impact of anythreats.

Justbearinmindthatthisanalysis(andyourcompetitorinvestigations)shouldnotbeaoneoffevent.Youshouldkeepyoureartothegroundsoyoucanreactquicklywhentheneedarises.

Next, you are ready to pull all the information you have gathered about yourbusinessenvironmenttogetherintoananalysisofthestrengthsandweaknessesyouhaveandtheopportunitiesandthreatsyouface(aSWOTanalysis).


Chapter5

PlanningYourAttackWith4QuickQuestions

Bygettingtoknowyourcustomers,yourcompetitorsandyourmarket,younowhaveaclearerviewoftheoverallbusinessenvironmentinfrontofyou.

Tocomeupwithaplanofattack forwhereandhowyourbusinesscanfit in,youneedtoanalyzethestrengths,weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreatsyouarefacing.

Strengthsandweaknessesareinternaltoyourbusinesswhencomparedtoyour competitors, such as your product or service, customers, processes,employeesandassets.Opportunities and threats are factors external to your business, such ascompetitorsandthemarket.

Knowingwhereyouhaveanadvantageoverthecompetitionaswellaswhereyouarevulnerablegivesyouaframeofreferenceforyourroadmap.

This type of analysis will quickly point you towards your problems andopportunitiessoyoucantakeactiontoavoidorcapitalizeonthem.

Youalreadyhavea lotof the information tocompleteyourSWOTanalysis inSignposts 1-4 so let’s review each one in turn to pull out the KEY points inActivitySheet9.

Youwill thensummarizetheseKEYpointsanddecidehowtoworkwithyourstrengths,weaknesses,opportunitiesandthreatsinSignpost5.



***TEXTVERSION***


ActivitySheet9-PlanningMyAttackAsyoudonothave the time toworkonall the issuesyouhavediscovered inChapters1-4,youmustidentifythosewhichareKEY.Theyarethose:

thatmake youdifferent to your competitors - whether those issues aregoodorbad,ANDissuesyourcustomerscareabout,

OR

that are outside of your control but are going to change theway you dobusiness.

ReturntoSignpost1-PartB:WhereAmINow?

CircletheiconsiftheissuesareKEY(asdefinedabove).SummarizetheKEYissues below under the headings of: Strengths/Opportunities andWeaknesses/Threats.

ReturntoSignpost2-PartA:TheValueofMyProductorServiceYouhavean advantage over your competitorswhere you answered ‘Agree’ to the goodfeelings,problemssolvedandcustomerdreamssectionsIFyourcompetitorsDONOTdeliverintheseareas.Summarizethesestrengths/opportunities.

You have an issue to fix where you answered ‘Disagree’ or ‘Don’t Know’.Summarizetheseweaknesses/threats.

Return toSignpost 2 -PartC:MyPerfectCustomer’sExperiences Circletheiconsif theissuesareKEY(asdefinedabove).SummarizetheKEYissuesundertheheadingsof:Strengths/OpportunitiesandWeaknesses/Threats.

ReturntoSignpost2-PartD:MyCustomerLifeCycle

Youhaveastrengthcomparedtoyourcompetitorswhereyouanswered‘Good’to your customer’s experience IF your competitors DONOT deliver in theseareas.

Youhaveanissuetofixwhereyouanswered‘Bad’or‘Don’tKnow’aswellasinallthoseareasthatneedtobeimproved.Summarizetheseasopportunitiesorweaknesses.

ReturntoSignpost3-PartA:AnalyzingTheCompetition

Listthesignificantopportunitiesandthreatscreatedbyindirectcompetitors.

ReturntoSignpost3-PartB:AnalyzingTheCompetition

CircletheiconsiftheissuesareKEY(asdefinedabove).SummarizetheKEYissuesundertheheadingsof:Strengths/OpportunitiesandWeaknesses/Threats.

ReturntoSignpost4:AnalyzingTheMarket

Summarize theKEYissuesunder theheadingsof:Strengths/OpportunitiesandWeaknesses/Threats.


Wheredoesthisfitin?YouranswerstoActivitySheet9willbeanalyzedinSignpost5.

Howdoesthishelpme?There aremany issues affecting your business that could keep you busy fromnowuntiltheendoftime,butbyidentifyingthosethatareKEY,youcancomeupwitha‘ToDo’listthatfocusesonwhatistrulyimportantandignorestherestofthenoise.HaveagoinSignpost5.

Ifyouhavetheprintedversion,completeitandthenCLICKHEREtocontinue

withthenextstageofthebook.



***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost5-PlanningMyAttackSummarizetheinformationfromActivitySheet9intoquestions1-4.

Usetheinformationtoanswerquestions5-8.

1. KEYstrengths?2. KEYweaknesses?3. KEYopportunities?4. KEYthreats?5. Whatarethebestwaystouseorimproveyourstrengthstotakeadvantage

ofyouropportunities?6. What are the bestways to fix yourweaknesses so you can capitalize on

youropportunities?7. How can you use or improve your strengths to neutralize or reduce the

impactofyourthreats?8. How can you fix your weaknesses so that you can avoid the resulting

threats?


Wheredoesthisfitin?Your answers to Signpost 5 will help determine how you can be unique inChapter6,whereyouwillbein5years’timeinChapter7,howyoucandelightyour customers in Chapter 8, how you can drive your business with greatprocesses inChapter9,howyoucanget thewordout inChapter10andhowyoucanencourageyouremployeestoexcelinChapter11.

Howdoesthishelpme?Bydecidinghowyoucanexploityourstrengthsandfixyourweaknessestotakeadvantageofyouropportunitiesandneutralizeyour threats,youare laying thefoundationforhowyouwillbeatyourcompetition.


Chapter6

HitThemWithYour‘Wow’FactorYounowknowallaboutyourcustomersandcompetitorsandhaveanalyzedthemarketandyourownstrengthsandweaknesses.

ButhowDOYOUorWILLYOUstandoutfromthecrowdandattractbettercustomers?Howareyouunique?Howareyoudifferent?

Inthissectionyouaregoingtoanswerthequestions:

Whatmakesmyproductorservicebetterthanmycompetitors?Whywillcustomersbuyfrommeratherthanmycompetitors?

Therearevariousnamesfor thispieceof insight -customervalueproposition,competitiveadvantage,uniqueness,differentiatingfactor-butwhateveryoucallit,YOUNEEDONE.Icallityour‘wow’factor.

Your‘wow’factorMUSTensurecustomerschooseyouoverthecompetitionbybeingsomethingyourcustomerscareabout.

UseActivitySheet10tohelpidentifyyour‘wow’factor.Startbybrainstormingsome ideas using the information you have already gathered as well as someadditionalpromptsI’vethrownin.Thenanalyzeyourideastoidentifythosethatarethebest.

Note:youarenotnecessarilylookingtochangehowyouoperate;youjustneedto identify how you can stand out from your competitors. Perhaps there is avaluablefeatureofyourproductorservicethatyouhavenothighlightedbeforeormaybethere isanopportunity tocreateanewfeatureorproductorservicealtogether.

Before we begin, here is some background on the types of ‘wow’ factorbusinessesusuallyemploy.

FastTrackAlertClicktoskipaheadtoActivitySheet10ifyouprefer.

Businessesusually finda ‘wow’ factor’ tobeat theircompetitionbydeliveringeither:

aquality,innovativeproduct,ORagreat,customizedexperienceorsolutionwhereyourcustomers’wantsandneedsaretheprimaryfocus,ORagood,butstandard,productatthelowestpricepossible.

The correct one for each business depends onwhat your customers caremostabout.

ProductFocusedBusinesses

... differentiate themselves from the crowd by focusing on creating a superiorquality product or service,whether this is through unmatched functionality orthroughaconstantstreamofnewandinnovativeproducts.

Uniquenessherecomesfrom:

featuresandfunctions-morecustomerneedsaresatisfiedwitheachnewproductorservice.performance - new products or services are bigger, better or faster thanthosethatalreadyexist.newness-innovationandtheuseofnewtechnologyistheculture.designandusability-thelookoftheproductorserviceoritbeingeasytouseareprioritized.

Onthedownside:

competitors are also constantly innovating towards new and bettercapabilities,and

customersexpectaminimumqualitystandard,soyouhavetoreallyexceltoexceedtheirexpectations.

ProcessFocusedBusinesses

...standoutfromthe throngbydeliveringpredictable, reliableand/or lowcostproductsorservicesduetotheireffectiveinternalprocessesandoperations.


pricing - they offer the lowest prices aroundwith no frills as they don’tspendmoneyonthingscustomersdon’tcareabout.zerodefects-customersknowexactlywhattoexpectfromyourproductorserviceasproductionorserviceerrorsareeliminated.selection-awideselectionofproductsareavailable,thatarerarelyoutofstock.

CustomerFocusedBusinesses

... set themselves apart from the competition by being completely customer-centric. There is no upper limit on how customer focused they can be,whichmakesthisdifferentiatorthehardestoneforcompetitorstomatch.


puttingyourcustomerfirst - businesses think likeabuyer rather thanasellerandareuniqueintheareasthatcustomersfindimportant.Thisisraresocustomersnotice.customization - products or services are adapted to customers’ specificneeds.(ThisisidealforsmallbusinessesthatareperfectlyplacedtogettoknoweachoftheirKEYcustomersreallywell.)customer relationships - loyalty is built by developing a rapport withcustomers, listeningto themandbeingresponsive.Businessesare lookingforlong-termrelationshipswiththeircustomersratherthanlotsofone-timetransactions.prioritizingthecustomer’sentireexperienceofthebusiness -presale,

consumption and after sale processes all work like a well-oiled machinebuilttodelightthecustomerateverystage.

Wheredosmallbusinessesfitin?

Most small businesses do not have the resources to compete in the productfocused or process focused areas, so will find their ‘wow’ factor by beingcustomerfocused.Assuch,let’sconsiderthatabitmore.

Tobecustomer-focusedyouneedto:

putyourcustomerfirst,tryandaddvaluetoyourcustomerateveryopportunity,deliver a top-notch or outstanding total customer experience. In otherwords,ensureyourcustomersaretreatedroyallythroughouttheirlifecyclewithyourbusiness,treatcustomerslikehumanbeingswhoarespecialandindividual.Youmaywanttosell10,000satellitedishes,buteachoneissoldoneatatimetoan‘individual’customerwhoisshoppingforadifferentreason,aim higher than simple customer satisfaction. Instead seek out customerdelight.

Small service businesses are particularly likely to find their ‘wow’ factor bybeingcustomerfocused.Mostcustomerswillfindithardtojudgethequalityofthe products or services they receive from service businesses like doctors andaccountants.Theywillexpectacertainminimumqualitybutwillonlybeabletoscorethesebusinessesonhowtheyaretreated.

Whilst small businesses are likely to find their ‘wow’ factor in the customer-focusedarea,youshouldstillincorporateideasfromtheothertwoareastostayaheadofthegame.Forexample,evenifyoufocusoncustomerservice,youwillneedagoodqualityproductorserviceatanacceptablepricetosucceed.

Butdon’tgetoverlyhunguponproducingaqualityproduct.Customerstakeforgranted that your product will be good quality. They no longer only value aquality product, they want more.What is your ‘more’? Complete ActivitySheet10tofindout.

***ENDofFastTrackAlert***

Ifyouhavetheprintedversion,completeitusingtheadvicegivenHERE.


turntothenextpagefortheon-screenimageversionandcompleteitusingtheadvicethatfollowsthetextversion,ORifyoufinditeasiertoreadthetextversionoftheexercise,CLICKHEREandcompleteitusingtheadvicethatfollowsattheend.

***TEXTVERSION***


ActivitySheet10-IdeasForMy‘Wow’FactorBrainstorm for ‘Ideas’ using the following prompts. Be specific: “Customerservice”willnotdo.“Respondtoallquerieswithin24hours”wouldbebetter.

What value do you (or could you) offer to your customers that yourcompetitorsdonot?(ReviewSignpost2,PartA)What is your secret sauce? What’s new, cool or unique about yourbusiness?(ReviewSignpost2,PartsC&DwhereKEY)Which rungs of your customer life cycle ladder are firmer than those ofyourcompetition?Whichrungscouldbefixedandturnedintoanadvantageoveryourcompetition?(ReviewSignpost2,PartDwhereKEY)(Note:thisis particularly important where your products or services are fairlyhomogenous and so your only chance to be unique is in your customer’stotalexperiencewithyourbusiness.)Howareyou (orcouldyoube)better thanyourcompetitionatdeliveringthethingsyourcustomersreallycareabout?(ReviewSignpost2,PartE)Howcouldyoudifferentiateyourbusinessfromyourcompetitors?(ReviewSignpost3,PartBwhereKEY)Where do your competitors fail to deliver what customers really want?(ReviewSignpost3,PartBwhereKEY)Whatmarkettrendscouldyoucapitalizeontostayonestepaheadofyourcompetitors?(ReviewSignpost4whereKEY)What are yourKEY strengths and opportunities that help you deliver themostvalue?(ReviewSignpost5)Whatwouldyourcustomerssayisthereasontheybuyfromyouratherthanyourcompetitors?Howdoyou(orcouldyou)beremarkableandstandoutfromthecrowd?Howdoyou(orcouldyou)useyouruniquecapabilities(assets,skillsand

resources)tobeatyourcompetition?


Now that you have a number of ideas as to what your ‘wow’ factor IS orSHOULDBE,analyzethembasedonthefollowingcriteriatoseewhichoneisthebest.

Whicharecustomerfocused?WhichareyourcompetitorsNOTalreadyexcellingat?Whichdoyouhave the skills and resources to take to the ‘max’over thelongterm?WhichareNOTpricerelated?

Highlight those thatanswer‘Yes’ to thecriteria.Circle the‘thumbsup’ icon ifyouareusingtheprintableActivitySheet.

Whichideasarecustomerfocused?

Stepbackintoyourcustomer’sshoesandaskyourselfifthisideaissomethingtheyreallycareabout.Thereisnopointwastingtimeandeffortofferingvalueor being unique in an area that no one cares about.Work on setting yourselfapartinareastheydocareabout.

Forexample,don’twasteresourcesmakingyourrangeavailablein10differentcolors,whenallyourcustomerscareabout ishowquicklyyoucandeliver theproduct.

Youmay have come up with ideas such as your great reputation, your well-establishedhistoryorhowyouusetechnologytomakeyourproductorservicemore efficiently. But these do not affect your customer’s experience of yourbusinessandsoareunlikelytobesomethingtheycareabout.

Herearesomeexamples ofbrands thatknowwhat their customers care aboutandgoaboveandbeyondtodeliverittothemwhilsttheircompetitorsstruggletokeepup:

FedEx-Guaranteedovernightdelivery.Apple-Constantinnovation.IKEA-Affordableproducts,greatdesign.Domino’sPizza-Speedofdelivery.

Noticehowtheyareallcustomerfocused.

WhichideasareyourcompetitorsNOTalreadyexcellingat?

There is no point in choosing a ‘wow’ factor where you would struggle tooutperformyourcompetitors.

Whichideasdoyouhavetheskillsandresourcestotaketothe‘max’overthelongterm?

Make sure you are going to be able to live up to the ‘wow’ factor that youchoose. Making big promises and then not delivering will destroy therelationshipsyouarebuildingwithyourcustomers.

WhichideasareNOTpricerelated?

Being cheap, whilst being one way to differentiate yourself, is often not asuccessfullong-termstrategy,especiallyforsmallbusinesses.Alowpriceisnolonger enough to attract customers - these days, they want more - they wantgoodvalue.

(Note:Thereisonewaytocompeteonpriceandthatistooffercreativepricingstructures - such as fixed prices where these are not normally offered. Thisremovesuncertaintywhichcustomersdon’tlike,sotheyvaluethisidea.)

Wheredoesthisfitin?YouranswerstoActivitySheet10willbeanalyzedinSignpost6.

Howdoesthishelpme?Bybrainstormingandanalyzinglotsofideasforyour‘wow’factor,youcanbe

sure you are giving enough thought to the KEY decision determining yoursuccess:howyoustandoutfromthecrowd.

You have now eliminated the ideas that are not customer-focused, that yourcompetitorsarealreadydoingwell,thatyouwillnotbeabletoliveuptoorthatarepricerelated.

Complete Signpost 6 to review the ideas that remain and choose the best asyour‘wow’factor.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost6-My‘Wow’FactorChoosethe5BestIdeasfromActivitySheet10.

Ensuretheseideasmakeyoubetterthanthecompetitionusingtheadvicebelow.

Highlight those thatanswer‘Yes’ to thecriteria.Circle the‘thumbsup’ icon ifyouareusingtheprintableSignpost.

Which is themostcompelling reason for customers to choose you over yourcompetitors?Highlightit-thisisyour‘wow’factor.

My‘Wow’Factor

Weoffermorevaluethanourcompetitorsby:...

ThetangiblebenefitsorKEYfeaturesthatmakeupmy‘wow’factorare:...

Examples: themenu items,ambianceandparking (ina restaurant), the suites,views,roomserviceandspa(atahotel),themerchandise,experience,concierge(inadepartmentstore).


Reviewyourideas.Arethey:

easyforcustomerstounderstand,strong enough to ensure your success over the long term, even duringtougheconomictimes,goodenoughtoguaranteeyouprovidemorevaluethanyourcompetitor?

Wheredoesthisfitin?YouranswerstoSignpost6willconfirmwhyyourbusinessexistsandwhereitwill be in 5 years’ time inChapter 7, aswell as help determine howyou candelightyourcustomersinChapter8,driveyourbusinesswithgreatprocessesinChapter9,getthewordoutinChapter10,encourageyouremployeestoexcelinChapter11andfocusonthenumbersthatreallymatterinChapter12.

Howdoesthishelpme?By identifyingyour ‘wow’ factor,younowknowhow todifferentiateyourselffrom your competitors in away that your customers care about. This ensurestheirdecisiontobuyfromyouisano-brainer.

Nowyouneedtomakeaplanforstrengtheningyour‘wow’factorsothatyoucan widen the gap between yourself and your competitors. This will includereinforcing your ‘wow’ factor through everything you do, frommarketing, tohiring employees, to creating great processes. But crucially you need toremembertotellyourcustomersaboutit.

Theaim is tobe thebestyoupossiblycan in thatareawith the resourcesyouhaveavailable.

‘HitThemWithYour‘Wow’Factor’RecapWelldone.Youhavenowdonemorethanmostbusinessesbyworkingoutwhycustomerswill buy from you rather than your competitors.Without thisKEYpieceofinformation,youwouldhavestruggledtostandoutfromthecrowd.

InActivitySheet10,youbrainstormedlotsofdifferentideasforhowyouareorcouldbeunique.

Youtheneliminatedthoseideasthatdidnotfocusonwhatyourcustomersreallycareaboutorwhereyourcompetitorsalreadyexcel.

In Signpost 6 you decided which idea would be most likely to persuadecustomerstochooseYOU.Thisisyour‘wow’factor.

Youwillrefertoyour‘wow’factoralot.Itwilldrivedailydecision-makingandwillneedtobestrengthenedaswellasshoutedfromtherooftops!


‘Starting Positions Please: Where & How YourBusinessFitsIn’RecapGood for you! Section 1 is complete and you have laid the groundwork toachievethesuccessyoudeserve.

Youknowthetruthaboutyourcustomersandcanusethistocreatetheperfectproductorservice,toattracttheperfectcustomers,towritetheperfectmarketingmessage and to design a sales process that perfectly converts leads intocustomers.

Why?Toretain,getmorefromandattractthemostprofitablecustomers.

Youknowhowtoconqueryourcompetitorsandsocangrabyourshareofthoseprofitablecustomers.

YouhaveidentifiedtheKEYissuesaffectingyourmarketplacesoyoucanstayonestepaheadofyourcompetitors.

You have come up with a plan of the best ways to take advantage of yourstrengthsandopportunitieswhilstfixingyourweaknessesandavoidingthreats.Why?Thisisyourplanofattack.

Youhavealso identifiedyourweaponofchoice -your ‘wow’factor.ThiswillmakeyoustandoutfromthecrowdandforcecustomerstochooseYOU!

Next,youwill figureoutexactlywhereyourroadmapleads to: the lightat theendofthetunnel.

Section2

DestinationSuccess-WhereItIs&HowToGetThere

“Planningisbringingthefutureintothepresentsothatyoucandosomethingaboutitnow.”

~AlanLakein

Areyousickofbeingbusybutnotbeingassuccessfulasyou’dhoped?

Coulditbebecause:

you can’t close the gap between where you are now and where you’reheaded,asyou’venoideawherethatis,youhaven’tidentifiedtheKEYwaystodelightyourcustomers,youdon’tfixateontheKEYprocessesinyourbusinessthatdelivervaluetoyourcustomers,you don’t nurture your KEY employees so that they bring your ‘wow’factortolife,andyou’venoideawhichKEYfinancialnumberstocareaboutonadaytodaybasis?

If so,you’vecome to the rightplace.By theendofSection2,youwillknowexactlywhichtime-suckingactivitiestoditchandwhichKEYactivitiestomakethecenterofyourattention.

Chapter7

Ready,Set,Go:ButWhereTo?In Section 1, you did a lot of thinking about your customer and where yourbusinessfitsintothemarketplace.Thatiswhereyouarenowbutwheredoyouwant your business to be in 5 years’ time?Without a specific destination inmind,youcouldendupanywhereorjusttreadwaterwhereyouarenow.

Beforeyoudefine‘DestinationSuccess’,let’ssummarizetheworkyou’vedonealreadyintoastatementofwhyyourbusinessexistsinSignpost7,PartA.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost7,PartA-WhyMyBusinessExists

Wehelp...(thegroupofcustomersyouidentifiedinSignpost2,PartB)to/thatwant...(whattheydreamofdetailedinSignpost2,PartA)bygivingthem...(thevalue,orbenefits,ofyourproduct/servicedetailedinSignpost2,PartA)using...(your‘wow’factordescribedinSignpost6)thatfeatures...(theKEYfeaturesthatsupportyour‘wow’factordescribedinSignpost6)


Wheredoesthisfitin?Signpost 7, PartA should form a daily reminder of the fundamentals of yourbusiness.Stickitonyourwalloruseitasyourscreensaver!

It also forms the basic guiding principles behind delighting your customers inChapter8,drivingyourbusinesswithgreatprocesses inChapter9,getting thewordoutinChapter10andencouragingyouremployeestoexcelinChapter11.

Howdoesthishelpme?Itwillhelpyoufocusyourdailytasksonyourbestcustomerswhilstpromptingyou to tell anyone that will listen what value you deliver and how you aredifferenttothecompetition.

Whereyouwillbein5years’timeNowtryandpictureyourbusinessin5years’time.Thatway,youcanworkon

identifyingthebestpaththatwilltakeyoufromwhereyouarenowtowhereyouwanttobe.CompleteActivitySheet11tohelp.




***TEXTVERSION***


Activity Sheet 11:WhereWillMy Business Be In 5Years’Time?Imagineit’s5years’time.Youwakeuponemorningandgotowork.Whatdoyousee?

Try to be specific, realistic yet ambitious with your answers. Goals shouldrequireasignificanteffortiftheyaretobeachieved.Businessasusualwillnotdo!

What customers and markets are you serving? (Consider the impact oflifestyle/demographic changes on your target customers from Signpost 2,PartB.)Wherearetheylocatedgeographically?What are yourKEYproducts or services? (Considerwhat your customerwantsfromSignpost2,PartCaswellasanticipatedmarkettrends.)Howmanyemployeesdoyouhave?Whatisyourforecastsalesrevenuefortheyear?(Isitreasonablebasedonyour viable market workings in Signpost 2, Part B and what you knowaboutyourmarketfromSignpost4?)What is the sizeofyourbusiness (in termsofproducts, stores,customersetc)?In which areas are you leading the field? What is your most importantaccomplishment?(Considerhowyouhaveexploitedyour‘wow’factorfromSignpost6.)Whatopportunitieshaveyouseizedinthelast5years?(LookbacktoyourSWOTanalysisinSignpost5.)Whatchallengeshaveyouovercomeinthelast5years?(LookbacktoyourSWOTanalysisinSignpost5.)

Howhastechnologychangedinthelast5years?


Wheredoesthisfitin?YouranswerstoActivitySheet11willbesummarizedinSignpost7,PartB.

Howdoesthishelpme?Byknowingwhereyouareheaded,youhaveanendresultinmindandwillnotaimlesslymeanderaroundyourbusinesslandscape.Youwillalsohaveagreaterunderstandingof thescaleof thetaskaheadofyou, togetfromwhereyouarenowtowhereyouwanttobe.

UseActivitySheet11tocompleteSignpost7,PartB.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost7,PartB-WhereMyBusinessWillBeIn5Years’Time5YearsFromNow...(fromActivitySheet11)

Mybusinesswillearnanannualrevenueof...(yourforecastsalesrevenue)Itwillhave...(xproducts,xemployees,xstores,xcustomers-whatsizewillitbe?)Wewillservecustomers...(inwhichmarketsandgeographicallocation?)Wewill specialize in ... (yourKEYproductsorservicesandhowyouareleadingthefield)Wewillhaveconquered ... (opportunitiesyouhave seizedandchallengesyouhaveovercome)


Wheredoesthisfitin?Signpost 7, Part B forms the basic guiding principles behind delighting yourcustomersinChapter8,drivingyourbusinesswithgreatprocessesinChapter9,getting the word out in Chapter 10, encouraging your employees to excel inChapter11andworkingoutYear1targetsinChapter14.

Howdoesthishelpme?Nowthatyouknowwhereyou’reheaded,youcanworkoutexactlyhowyouaregoingtogetthere.

DrivingyourbusinesstowardsDestinationSuccesscan throwupmanyscenicpathsanddeadends.Youshouldbelookingforthemostdirectpathpossibleto

getyoutherefromwhereyouarenow.

There are many choices to make regarding the basic components of yourbusiness.TheywillincludeHOWto:

delightyourcustomers,creategreatprocesses,nurtureyouremployees,getthewordoutaboutyourbusiness,andfocusonthenumbersthatreallycount.

YouneedtoworkoutwhichpathsareKEYandthenplanyourjourneystepbystepalongeachpathensuringyoutrackyourprogressregularly.

Tobesuccessful,youneedtothinkaboutyourbusinessasawhole.Itisnogoodconcentrating on only one of the components above.Eachone is a cog in theoverallwheelthatisyourbusiness,andeachcogneedstobeworkingsmoothlyandintandemforyoutosucceed.

Let’sworkthrougheachcomponentinturnanddecideupontheKEYpathsyouwilltake.


Chapter8

The4KEYWaysToDelightYourCustomers

AsyousawinSection1,yourcustomersarethemostimportantpeopleinyourlife.Withoutthem,youwon’thaveasuccessfulbusiness.

Toachieveyourdesired sales revenue fromSignpost7,PartB,youcaneitherattract new customers,keep your existing ones and/or get your customers tobuymore from you.But there is no point in attracting new customers if youaren’tkeepingyourcurrentcustomershappy.

Manybusinesses focus exclusivelyonnewcustomer acquisition and leave therest tochance.But thecostofacquiring anewcustomer is farmore than thecostofretaininganexistingone,sodon’tleavethemanagementofyourmostvaluableasset(yourcustomers)tochance.

Thankfully, theworkyouneed todo to retainordevelopanexistingcustomerwillalsohelpyouacquirenewcustomers.Sowhatexactlydoyouneedtodo?What are the different paths you could take in relation to customers to ensureyouarriveatDestinationSuccess?

Thebestpaths are theones thatdefinesuccess the samewayyourcustomersdo.Customersdon’tthinkoftheirtransactionwithyourbusinessasa‘success’basedonthingslikehowmanynewcustomersyouhaveacquired.Theyconsideritasuccessbasedonthefollowingfourcriteria:

youunderstandingtheirneeds,yougivingthemvalue,howyoucommunicatewiththem,andtheirwholeexperiencewithyourbusiness.

By choosing paths that allow you to fulfill the above criteria, youwill createcustomerdelight and loyalty. Customerswill stick around for the long term

andbe constantly cravingmoreof yourproducts or services.Repeat business,moresalesfromcross-sellingandevenreferralsofnewcustomerswillbeyourfuture.

Sowhatyoucanyoudoineachoftheseareastoensureyourcustomersconsidertheirdealingswithyourbusinessasuccess?

Look back to the previous signposts you have completed for help to identifypossiblepathsyoucanincludeonSignpost8:

Signpost2,PartsA&C-E -makesure to includepaths thatwillensureyoudeliverwhatyourcustomersvalue,whattheywantandwhattheycareabout.Signpost8mayappeartoberepeatingsomeoftheworkyoualreadydid in Chapter 2, but the difference here is that Chapter 2 was theinformationgathering stage and now you are using that information tocomeupwith a specific planof attack in each area that creates customerdelight.Signpost5 - lookforpaths inboxes5-8 that relate toachievingcustomerdelight.Signpost 6 - make sure to include a path to exploit the only reason acustomerwillchooseyouoveracompetitor-your‘wow’factor.Signpost7-makesurethepathsyouchoosewillgetyoufromwhereyouarenowtowhereyouwanttobein5years’time.

CompleteSignpost8.

Ifyouhavetheprintedversion,completeitusingthe‘CheatSheet’givenHEREifrequiredand/orCLICKHEREtocontinuewiththenextstageofthebook.


turntothenextpagefortheon-screenimageversionandcompleteitusingthe‘CheatSheet’thatfollowsthetextversionifrequired,ORifyoufinditeasiertoreadthetextversionoftheexercise,CLICKHEREandcompleteitusingthe‘CheatSheet’thatfollowsifrequired.

***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost8-DelightingMyCustomersChoose paths you can take in each of the areas below to achieve customerdelight.

Start each path with a verb and make it specific to your business. Focus ondeliveringuniquevalue.Eachpathshouldbeaplanofattack,notanaspiration.Eg:"becomethemarketleader"isanaspiration,notaplan.

Usethe‘CheatSheet’belowifyouneedalittleinspiration.

Icanunderstandmycustomers’needsby:...Icangivemycustomersvalueby:...Icancommunicatewithmycustomersmoreeffectivelyby:...Icanensuremycustomers’totalexperiencewithmybusinessisexceptionalby:...


‘DelightingMyCustomers’CheatSheetClicktoskipaheadifyouprefer.

Herearesomepossiblepathsforeachofthewayscustomersjudgethesuccessof your business. It is best, however, if you focus strictly on ideas that arespecifictoYOURbusiness.

Howtounderstandmycustomers’needs

Gettoknowmycustomersintimately.

Identify the pain points of my customers and ensure my products orservicesrelievethem.Find outwhat customers like and don’t like aboutmy product or serviceandmybusiness.Investigatewhycustomersareleaving.Identify what customers are willing to pay for and deliver it moreeffectivelythanmycompetitors.Anticipateandrespondtomycustomers’changingneeds.Segment customers into groups (depending onmy product or service) sothatIcanbetterunderstandtheirdifferentneedsandofferthemcustomizedsolutionsanddealingswithmybusiness.

Howtogivemycustomersvalue

Helpcustomersachievetheirgoals.Offermorevaluethanmycompetitors.Increasemyrangeofproductsorservices,bothverticallyandhorizontally.Create the best pricing structure for my customers (ideas include fixedpricesandpricingpackages).Beinnovativewithnewproductsorservices.Bevigilantaboutmonitoringindustrytrendstostayaheadofthegame.Developexpertiseinnewtrendsbeforemycompetition.SingleoutKEYcustomersforapersonalandcustomizedexperience.Putlong-termcustomersaheadofshort-termcustomeracquisition.Ensure that the actions I take do not have a negative impact on mycustomers.Get rid of my worst customers who take up valuable resources for littlereward (only target the best customers, introduce customer acceptanceprocessesandtrytoturnpoorcustomersintogreatcustomers).

Howtocommunicatewithmycustomersmoreeffectively

Ensure they are fully aware ofmy range of products or services andmy‘wow’factorinparticular.Establishtwowaycustomercommunicationchannels.Tell KEY customers that I appreciate their business to make them feelvalued.Engage customers. Connect with what’s important in their lives. Sharethings with them to show we have things in common. Remind them ofpleasantandimportantthings.Developlong-lastingrelationshipswithKEYcustomersso that theycometomeforhelptoachievetheirgoals.Be proactive about customer contact in a non-sales way. Surprise KEYcustomerseverynowandagain.Perhapsturnupunannouncedtoaskthemhowit’sgoing.Improvethehandlingofcustomercomplaints.

How to ensure my customers’ total experience with my business isexceptional

Improvemycustomers’ experiencewithmybusiness inall aspectsof thecustomerlifecycle.Expand/amendmymarketingprogramsbasedonthebestwaytoreachmycustomers.Expand/amendmysalesprocessbasedonhowmycustomerswishtobuy.Respondtowhatcustomerslikeanddon’tlikeaboutmyproductorservice.Expand/amendmydistributionchannelsbasedonmycustomers’preferredchoices.Enhancemyaftersalessupportservice.Eliminateprocesseswithineachstageofmycustomers’lifecyclethattheyfindirritating.Ensuremybrandisconsistent,dependableandreliableacrossallelementsofthecustomers’lifecycle.

***ENDofCheatSheet***

Wheredoesthisfitin?YouranswerstoSignpost8willbeanalyzedinChapter12toseethecostsandassets required to delight employees and inChapter 13 to choosewhichKEYpathswillleadyoutoDestinationSuccess.

Howdoesthishelpme?Byunderstanding the four criteria your customers use to judge your business,youcanworkonthemanddelightyourcustomers,whichwillinturnattractnewcustomers,helpretainexistingonesandencouragethecrosssellingofproductsandservices.


Chapter9

GreatProcesses:You’reGoingNowhereWithoutThem

No doubt there are hundreds of processes that you perform every day whenrunning your business, but they are not all important in getting you toDestinationSuccess.

InActivity Sheet 12, youwill identify those daily processes that are directlyrelated to bringing your product or service to market. They make up yourproductorservice’slifecycleandtypicallyinclude:

identifyingopportunitiesfornewproductsorservices,researchinganddevelopingyourproductsorservices,procurementofallnecessarysupplies,productionordeliveryofyourserviceandmaintenanceofqualitycontrol,anddistribution.

TheninSignpost9,youwillworkoutwhichoftheseprocessesareimportant.Theyanswerthequestion:howareyougoingtodeliveryour‘wow’factoranddelightyourcustomers?

StartbycompletingActivitySheet12.



turntothenextpagefortheon-screenimageversionandcompleteitusingtheadvicethatfollowsthetextversion,OR

ifyoufinditeasiertoreadthetextversionoftheexercise,CLICKHEREandcompleteitusingtheadvicethatfollowsattheend.

***TEXTVERSION***


ActivitySheet12-TheLifeCycleOfMyProductOrServiceWrite down the life cycle of your product or service from invention, toproductionanddelivery.SomeareasmaynotberelevanttoYOURbusinesssoskipthem;othersmayhaveanumberofprocesses.

Aimtowritedownthe‘perfectprocess’foryourbusiness-soincludeprocessesthatyoushouldbedoing,evenifyoudonotdothemnow.

Starteachprocesswithaverbandbespecific.

TypicalLifeCycle

IdentifyopportunitiesfornewproductsorservicesResearchanddevelopproductsorservicesProcureallnecessarysuppliesProduceordeliveryourserviceandmaintainqualitycontrolDistributeyourproductorserviceOtherprocessesrelevanttoyourbusiness


Highlightthe1-2processesthatareKEYtoyourbusinesssuccess.

Therewillbeoneortwoprocessesthatyoumustshineat inorder toestablishanddeliveryour ‘wow’ factor, beatyour competitors andarrive atDestinationSuccess.

Look back to the previous signposts you have completed for help to identifythemandthentoanalyzetheminSignpost9:

Signpost2,PartsA&C-E-whichprocessesdeliverwhatyourcustomersvalue,whattheywantandwhattheycareabout?Signpost 5 - which processes were highlighted as KEY in your plan ofattack?Signpost6-whichprocessesdeliveryour‘wow’factor?Signpost7-whichprocessesareKEYforgettingyoufromwhereyouarenowtowhereyouwanttobein5years’time?

Do not fall into the trap of being internally focused and opting for efficientproduction, for example, as a KEY process. Your customers don’t care if theprocessyougothroughtodeliveryourproductorserviceisefficient;theycareaboutwhetheritgivesthemwhattheywant.

Imagine a webcam monitoring what you get up to all day. If your customerloggedintoseewhatyouweredoing,wouldtheybepleased?Whatwouldtheywanttosee?

Wheredoesthisfitin?TheKEYprocessyouidentifyinActivitySheet12willbeanalyzedinSignpost9.

Howdoesthishelpme?ByidentifyingwhichofyourdailyprocessesisKEYtodeliveringyour‘wow’factor,youimmediatelyknowwheretoprioritizeyourefforts.

Complete one copy of Signpost 9 for eachKEY process to work out whatworksandwhatdoesn’t.

Ifyouhavetheprintedversion,completeitusingthe‘CheatSheet’givenHEREifrequired,and/orCLICKHEREtocontinuewiththenextstageofthebook.


turntothenextpagefortheon-screenimageversionandcompleteitusingthe‘CheatSheet’thatfollowsthetextversionifrequired,ORifyoufinditeasiertoreadthetextversionoftheexercise,CLICKHEREandcompleteitusingthe‘CheatSheet’thatfollowsifrequired.

***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost9-MyKEYProcessMyKEYprocessis...

Thisprocesscreatescustomervalueinyourbusiness-nurtureit!

Buthow?Toensurethis‘value-creating’processdoesitsjobproperly,youneedtomakesurethatyoucapitalizeonitsstrengthsandimproveonitsweaknesses.

Writedownwhat theyareunder theheadingsof:Strengths/OpportunitiesandWeaknesses/Threats.

Write down paths that will exploit your strengths and opportunities andeliminateyourweaknessesandthreats.

Start each path with a verb and make it specific to your business. Focus ondelivering unique value. Each path should be a plan of attack, not anaspiration.

Usethe‘CheatSheet’belowifyouneedalittleinspiration.

Wecanexploitthesestrengthsandopportunitiesifwe:...

Wecaneliminatetheseweaknessesandthreatsifwe:...


‘MyKEYProcess’CheatSheetClicktoskipaheadifyouprefer.

Here are some possible paths for each of the typical life cycle processes of aproductorservice.Itisbest,however,ifyoufocusstrictlyontheprocessesyouhaveidentifiedthatarespecifictoYOURbusiness.

Identifyopportunitiesfornewproductsorservices

Identifyupgradesandadd-onservicesformyproductorservicetocreatealong-termrelationshipwithmycustomers.WorkdirectlywithKEYcustomersandsupplierstocreateinnovativenewproductsorservices.Incentivizeinnovationamongstmyemployees.Rigorouslytrackwhatcompetitorsaredoingwithregardtoinnovation.Keepabreastofinnovationsinotherindustriesthatcouldbeappliedtomybusiness.(Forexample,HenryFordtookhisinspirationforthemovingbeltassemblylinefromthemeat industry thatusedoverheadrails,chainsandhooks.)

Researchanddevelopmentofnewproductsorservices

IncreasethetimeavailableforemployeestoworkonR&D.Increasethenumberofnewproductsorservicesweareworkingon.Decreasethetimeittakestobringanewproductorservicetomarket.Improve the quality of my product or service (through new features,functionality,materialsusedetc)toensurewebecomethemarketleader.Investintechnologytoinnovateproductsorservicesorsystems.

Procureallnecessarysupplies

Develop better relationships with KEY suppliers to make the processsmootherandtoobtainbetterandnewsupplies.Reviewtheperformanceofcurrentsuppliers.

Produceproductsordeliverservicesandmaintainqualitycontrol

Systematizerecurrentprocesses.Implementinitiativestoincreasethroughput.Incentivizea‘howcanwedothisbetter’culture.Makethebestuseofcapacity.Ensureemployeesarefullytrained.Ensuremachineryiswellmaintained.

Distributeproductsorservices

Increasethenumberofeffectivedistributionchannels.EnsuredeliveryismadeinfullandontimetoKEYcustomerseverytime.


Wheredoesthisfitin?YouranswerstoSignpost9willbeanalyzedinChapter11toseehowtheKEYprocessimpactsonemployees,inChapter12toseethecostsandassetsrequiredtocreate andmaintain theprocess and inChapter13 to seewhichKEYpathswillleadyoutoDestinationSuccess.

Howdoesthishelpme?By understanding the strengths andweaknesses of yourKEY ‘value-creating’process,youcanworktoexploitorimprovethemtoensuretheprocessdoesitsjobproperly.


Chapter10

GettingTheWordOut:3VitalTacticsNotToBeMissed

Aswellasfocusingonthevalue-creatingprocessesinyourproductorservice’slifecycle, there isanotherprocess that isKEYtoallsmallbusinesses:gettingthewordoutaboutyourproductorserviceANDyour‘wow’factor.

But ‘getting the word out’ should not focus exclusively on finding newcustomers.AswediscussedinChapter2,itisoftenquickerandcheapertoretainand getmore from your existing customers than it is to find new ones. So inSignpost10,youwillidentifythepathsyoucanfollowto:

1. retainyourexistingcustomers,2. getmorefromyourexistingcustomers,and/or3. acquirenewcustomers.

CompleteSignpost10.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost10-GettingTheWordOutReview the paths (tactics) you could take to retain andgetmore from yourexistingcustomers.HighlightthestatementifyouDOitalready!

Tactic1:Retainexistingcustomersby:

Helping customers achieve their dream end result from buying yourproductorservice.(FromSignpost2,PartA)Everythingelseinthisbookshouldleadtothisoutcome.Nurturing yourKEY customers. Go the extramile to show them howimportanttheyare.Keeping in touch. Encourage two-way communication and ensure yourinputsareunique,memorableandpersonalized.

Tactic2:Getmorefromexistingcustomersby:

Cross selling: ensure customers know about all the ways you can helpthem, your complete range of products or services and new products orservicesastheybecomeavailable.Offerincentivessuchasfreesamplesorbundles.Sellingmorefrequentlytoexistingcustomers:understandwhycustomersbuy from you so you can encourage them to buy more often. Offerincentivesforfrequentpurchasessuchasdiscountsoraloyaltyprogram.Trading-up:createandpromoteapremiumproductorservice,anadd-onoracomplementaryproductduringthesalesprocess.

Whatisthebestwaytoreachyourperfectcustomer?(FromSignpost6&7,PartA)Tactic3:Acquirenewcustomersby:

Askingforreferrals:wordofmouthrecommendationsarehardtobeat.Employing a direct marketing campaign: unsolicited directcommunicationviatelephone,emailormail.

Networking: make contacts by getting involved with communityorganizations,throughsocialfunctionsandwithonlineinfluencers.Affiliatemarketing:leveragethecontactsofothersbyrewardingthemforcustomerstheyintroducetoyou.Collaboratingwithbusinesseswho reachout to the sameaudienceasyou: share efforts with non-competing businesses or leverage theircustomersbyoffering them somethingof value togiveaway in return forpromotingyourbusiness.Optimizingyouronlinepresence:ensureyourwebsitecanbefoundeasilyonsearchenginesandpromoteyourbusinesswhereappropriateelsewhereonline.AdvertisingandPR:payformessagesorplantnewsandinformationtobedisplayedviaavarietyofmediums.Becarefultoselectthecorrectmediumforyourtargetaudience.


Analyzewhatmatters:Revieweachofthepossiblepathsshownandchooseupto5 that are themost importantandappropriate toYOURbusiness.HighlightthemasKEY(orcircletheiconontheprintedversion).

HighlightwhereyouneedtoTakeAction.

Review all theKEY paths and ensure you have highlighted them as ‘WeDOthis’.Ifnot,actionisrequired.

Acquiring new customers is all about building awareness of your brand orproductsandservices.Thisisanon-goingjobsoasasmallbusinessyoushouldtypically:

Employfrequentmarketingcampaignssopotentialcustomersdon’tforgetaboutyou.Tryreachingthemusingavarietyofdifferentmedia.Encourage new customers to try your products or services in a low-riskway,perhapswithdiscountsorfreesamples.Buildalistofpotentialcustomersandkeepintouchwiththemsoyouare

topoftheirmindwhentheyneedyourproductorservice.

MarketingMessagesYounowknowhowyouaregoingtoretain,getmorefromoracquirecustomers.Youalsoknowallaboutyourtargetcustomersandhowyouwilluseyour‘wow’factortobeatyourcompetitors.

It is crucial that you integrate this information into themessages you use topromoteyourbusinesstotheworld.

Makesureyourmarketingmessagesconvey:

that you understand your customers’ needs and that your product orserviceistheperfectsolution,andyour ‘wow’factor so thatcustomersknowwhyyouaredifferent to, andbetterthan,yourcompetitors.

Ifyouhavemorethanoneproductorserviceorcansegmentyourcustomers,itis wise to consider coming up with different messages targeted morespecifically.

Wheredoesthisfitin?YouranswerstoSignpost10willbeanalyzedinChapter12toseethecostsandassets required toget thewordoutand inChapter13 toseewhichKEYpathswillleadyoutoDestinationSuccess.

Howdoesthishelpme?Bybetter establishing the aims of yourKEYgetting theword out campaigns,youcanensureyouchoosethemostappropriatemarketingmethods.


Chapter11

Employees:YourMostValuableAssets-HowToNurtureThem

Alotofthissectionisaboutemployees,butdon’tbeputoffifyouhavenone.Youmay be a soloprenuer, youmay use outsourcedworkers or youmay hirepeopleinthefuture.Whateveryoursituation,youdefinitelyhaveoneemployee-YOU,sokeepreading!

Ifyouareit-thesoleemployee-readYOUinsteadofemployeeintherestofthischapter.

Employeesmayappear tobe justcosts (andI’msurewe’veallhada fewthatwere just that) but ideallyyour employees are theenablers of yourbusiness.They make your business work using their skills, expertise, capabilities andloyalty.Theycreatethevalueinyourbusiness.

Employeesareassets,buttheyarenotassetsthatyouownsoTHEYdecidehowandwhere toput theirknowledgeandskills touse. Ifyoudon’trespect them,nurturethemandkeepthemsatisfied,theirdissatisfactionwillruboffonyourcustomers.Theinevitableendresultisamassexodusofcustomers,employees,andsubsequentlyprofits.

Howyoudevelopyourpeoplecouldputyouonestepaheadofthecompetition.Great employees will help you deliver your ‘wow’ factor and delight yourcustomers. But which roles within your business are KEY to these twoimportanttasks?

InSignpost11,PartA,youwill findout. Ifyouarecurrentlywearingall thehatsfortherolesyoudiscover,atleastyouwillknowwhatyourmostimportantactivitiesareeachday.

Ifyouare thinkingof recruiting, thisanalysiswill tellyouwhichrolesare themostimportant,soyoushouldrecruittofillthemordothemyourselfandrecruitsomeonetoperformsomeofyourotherduties.

ForeachKEYrole,youwillthenidentifythegapsyouneedtofillbetweentheskills,toolsandinformationyouremployeecurrentlyhasandthosetheyneedtoexcelattheirjobanddeliveryour‘wow’factor.

Note: Even if you are a one person business, you still need training and thetools/informationtodoyourjob.

CompleteSignpost11,PartA.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost11,PartA-TheKEYRolesInMyBusinessReferbacktoSignpost9,toremindyourselfwhichprocessisKEYtoensuringyoudeliveryour‘wow’factor.

Whicharethemostimportantroles thatensurethisKEYprocessisdeliveredeffectively?

CompletethisSignpostforeachKEYrole.

MyKEYroleis:...

Toexcelattherole:

Theskillsrequiredare:...

Thetoolsandinformationrequiredare:...

Theseskills,toolsandinformationareavailable:Yes,No,Don’tKnow

Successionplanning

Wehave a plan in place to dealwith the unexpected loss ofKEYemployees:Yes,No,Don’tKnow


As well as having the skills and tools necessary to do their job, your KEYemployeesneedtobeengagedsothattheywillbemotivatedtostickaroundforthelongterm.TherestofyourteamalsohasanimportantroletoplayinyourjourneytoDestinationSuccess.

CompleteSignpost 11,PartB to identify thepathsyou can follow to ensureyourecruitandengagegreatemployeesandkeepthemonboardfortheride.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost11,PartB-NurturingMyEmployeesReview the paths you could take to recruit and engage great employees andkeepthemonboardfortheride.HighlightthestatementifyouDOitalready!

Recruitment

Weonly recruitquality staff that ‘fit’ourbusinessby recognizing that attitudeandcapabilitiescanoutweighcurrentskills.

We offer employees more in terms of development and job satisfaction thanotherbusinesses.

EmployeeDevelopment

Our training programs cover industry specific, personal development andexecutiveprogressioncompetencies.

We strive to ensure employees reach their full potential through training andmentoringprograms.

Tools,Information&WorkingEnvironment

Weensureemployeesunderstandwhatourcustomerscareabout and that theytrytoenhanceitateveryopportunity.*

Weprovidethenecessarytoolsandinformationemployeesneedtodotheirjobsuccessfully.

We encourage open and honest communication and empower employees tomakedecisions.

We encourage idea sharing (particularlywith regard to process improvements,innovationandcustomerdelight)andprovideemployeeswithtimetoreflectonwhatthey’redoingsotheycanidentifybetterwaystodothings.

Weencourageknowledgeworkerstodeliverqualityoverquantity.**

Westrivetoprovideapleasantworkingenvironmentandencourageawork/lifebalance.

EmployeeRecognition

Weregularlytellouremployeesthattheyarevalued.

Employeeshaverealisticgoalsthatalignwithhowthebusinesswillachieveits5yearvision.

Weuseincentiveprogramstorecognizeandrewardemployeesthatconsistentlydeliverexcellentresults.

* Take a leaf out of FedEx’s books and ram home how important it is tounderstandyourcustomersbyprinting‘Asatisfiedcustomermadethispossible’onyouremployees’paychecks.

** See the ‘Fast Track Alert’ below for more information on knowledgeworkers.


Analyzewhatmatters:

Revieweachstatementandchooseupto5ofthemostimportantKEYpolicies.Highlightthem(orcircletheiconontheprintedversion).

KEYpolicieshelpyou:

deliveryour‘wow’factoridentifiedinSignpost6,delightyourcustomersusingthepathsidentifiedinSignpost8,createandmaintaingreatprocessesusingthepathsidentifiedinSignpost9,orgetthewordoutusingthepathsidentifiedinSignpost10.

Highlightwhereyouneed toTakeAction to startemployingpolicies thatareKEY.

ReviewalltheKEYpoliciesandensureyouhavehighlightedthemas‘WeDOthis’.Ifnot,actionisrequired.

FastTrackAlert-KnowledgeWorkersClicktoskipaheadifyouprefer.

Itislikelythatsomeofyouremployeeswillbeknowledgeworkers-peopleyoupay for their ideas rather than their productivity. These workers typicallyproducethevalueinyourbusinessandsoneedtobetreateddifferently.

Whenmanagingknowledgeworkersyouneedtoensurethat:

you focus on helping them increase their effectiveness by working withthemtoeliminateirritantsanddistractionsandstartdoingthingsthattheybelieveisKEY.youprovideanenvironmentwheretheycanworkautonomously,decidingwhat to do and how to do it, whilst taking full responsibility for theiroutcomes.theirworkandgoalsaremeasuredbyvalue,notbyhoursworked,asoneideaalonecouldbeworthmanythousands(eg,aheartsurgeonshouldbemeasuredbasedon the improvement in thequalityof lifehispatients,notthenumberofoperationsheperforms).theirgoalsarebasedonqualityasmuch,ifnotmorethan,quantity.innovationispartoftheirjobdescription.theyfocusoncontinuouslearningandtheteachingofothers.youhelpthemprogressalongtheircareerpath.

Only then will you ensure your knowledge workers want to work for yourbusinessforthelongtermandwilldeliverwaymoreintermsofvaluethantheycostyouintermsofsalary.


Wheredoesthisfitin?YouranswerstoSignpost11(PartsA&B)willbeanalyzedinChapter12toseethecostsandassetsrequiredtonurtureyouremployeesandinChapter13toseewhichKEYpathswillleadyoutoDestinationSuccess.

Howdoesthishelpme?KEY employees need the skills and tools necessary to excel at their job. Byanalyzingthegapbetweenthosethattheyhaveandthosethattheyneed,youcanworktocloseit.

Alsoby recruiting, engaging and retaininggreat employees, youhave a betterchanceofdeliveringyour‘wow’factorandbeatingyourcompetition.


Chapter12

Finances:TheNumbersThatReallyMatter

Customersdonotdecidetobuyfromyou,ratherthanyourcompetitors,basedon your profits. So it seems crazy that I’m even talking about the financialrewards of running a business in this section about how to get toDestinationSuccess.

Butattheendoftheday,ifyourbusinessisnotseeingdecentfinancialreturns,yourstakeholderswillnotbehappy. (Forstakeholders,readyou(ifyoucan’tafford to live), suppliers and employees (if you can’t afford to pay them) andinvestors(ifyoucan’taffordtopaythemback)).

Your business cannot survive without offering value to customers, but at thesame time, you cannot offer so much value to customers, that you are notreturninganytostakeholders.Thereisafinelinetodraw.

Financialmeasures tell youwhether thepathsyouhave chosenwith regard toyour customers, processes and employees are in fact leading to better bottomlineresults.Ifnot,thenyourplannedpathtoDestinationSuccessisflawed.

So it is important that you understand which financial measures are worthworryingaboutandwhy,aswellaswhattheytellyou.

There aremany financialmeasures you could lose sleep over, but for readerswhodonothavefinancialbackgrounds,IwillrecommendthosethatIbelievetobethemostcrucial.Theyare:

Profit-thefinancialreturnsforyourefforts.Value-creating assets - how much your ideas, knowledge, customers,employeesandprocessesareworthandhowtoensureyouaregettingthemostfromthem.Cash-cashisKing,thelifebloodofanybusinesssomanageitwisely.

Let’s consider howyou should analyze them andwhat towatch out forwhensettingtargets.

ProfitYouroverridinggoalasabusinessowneristoearnmorefromcustomersinsalesthanyou shell out to suppliers and employees in costs.Thedifference is yourprofit.Butprofit,whilstmeasurable,isnotsomethingyoucanmanagedirectly.

Tomanageprofit,youneedtomanageitsdrivers-salesandcosts.Butdon’tgetcaught inthetrapofassuming that increasingsalesand reducingcosts is theanswer.

Apart from anything else, they pull in opposite directions. How can you sellmorebyspendingless?IfyoucutyourspendonR&D,thestreamofinnovativenewproductsorserviceswillrundryandyourcustomerswilllookelsewhere.

Profitshouldalsobeanalyzedrelativelyratherthanabsolutely.Whilstincreasedprofits are abusinessowner’sdream, if theydonot exceed the cost toyouoryourstakeholdersofinvestinginyourbusiness,thentheyareactuallynogoodatall.

IncreasingsalesYoushouldconsiderthefollowingwhenlookingtoincreasesales:

moreisnotalwaysbetter,andgrowthshouldbemeasuredrelativetoyourcompetitors.

Moreisnotalwaysbetter

Increasingsalesrevenuebyincreasingsalesvolumemaynotbethebestplan-remembermore is not always better (fromChapter 2). Instead you should belookingforbettersalesfrombettercustomersasyourresourcesarelimited.

Examples:

Sellmoreofyourhighermarginproductsorservices.Sellmoretoexistingcustomerstoavoidcustomeracquisitioncosts.Attractmoreofyour ‘best’customers toachievebetterprices, tobring inmore referrals, to keep employees happy, to build long-term relationshipsetc.

ConfirmwhatbettersalesmeanstoyouinSignpost12,PartA.IgnorePartBoftheworksheetfornow.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost12,PartA-IncreasingSalesWhatdoes‘bettersalesfrombettercustomers’meaninYOURbusiness?

LookbacktoSignpost2,PartBtoremindyourselfofyourbestcustomers.

Ifyoucouldonlymakeonesaleinthenextmonth:

Whichcustomertypewouldyouwanttosellto?...

Whichproductorservicewouldyouwanttosell?...

Whenplanningtoincreasesales,prioritizethesetypesofcustomersand/orthesetypesofproductsorservices.


Relativegrowth

Increasedsalesincomeisallverywell,butifyourincomehasnotincreasedasmuchasthemarketaverage,youwillbefallingbehindyourcompetitors.

Forexample,ifyouachievegrowthof10%butyourcompetitorsareaveraging20%growth,thenyouarelosingmarketshare.

ReducingcostsReducingcostscanalsobethewrongpathtofollow.Youarenotinbusinesstosavemoney,youare inbusiness toaddvalue toyourcustomer.Assuch, it isunwisetocutcostsonactivitiesthatprovidethatvaluetoyourcustomer.

Forexample,youcannotsellgourmetcuisinemadewithcheapcutsofmeat.

Investmentsinvalue-creating(butintangible)assetswillprobablyhityourprofitand lossaccountasexpenses thereby reducingyourprofits.Theseoutflowsofcashmaylooklikeexpensesthatcouldbecutintoughtimes,buttheyarewhatcreatesvalueforyourcustomersover the long term.ThinkaboutAmazonandGoogle - the costs to develop these companies were spent years before theirvaluecametofruition.

Confirm which of your costs should be controlled and which should bereducedinSignpost12,PartB.



pagebacktothepreviousimagefortheon-screenversionandcompleteitusingtheadvicethatfollowsthetextversion,ORifyoufinditeasiertoreadthetextversionoftheexercise,CLICKHEREandcompleteitusingtheadvicethatfollowsattheend.

***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost12,PartB-ControllingCostsBrainstormyourcostareasusingthefollowing‘Prompts’.

Reviewbankstatements,creditcardstatementsandyourprioryearaccountsforcosts such as product input costs, occupancy, travel, employees, equipment,R&D,technology,businesseducation,bankandborrowingcosts,insuranceandnewcostsforKEYpaths?

Highlightthosethatmakeupmorethan10%ofyourtotalcostsas‘MyMajorCosts’.


AnalyzeyourMAJORcosts:

AretheyKEY?TheyareKEYiftheyhelpyou:

deliveryour‘wow’factor?delightyourcustomersusingthepathsidentifiedinSignpost8?createandmaintaingreatprocessesusingthepathsidentifiedinSignpost9?getthewordoutusingthepathsidentifiedinSignpost10?ornurtureyouremployeesusingthepathsidentifiedinSignpost11?

DotheyneedCONTROLLINGorREDUCING?

IfthecostisNOTKEY,itisacandidateforcostREDUCTION.IfthecostISKEY,itshouldbekeptundercloseCONTROLwithregularmonitoring.

Value-creatingassetsPart of your role as a small business owner is to invest in long-term value-creatingassets.Goodshort-termresultsareallwellandgoodbutyou,andyourstakeholders or potential purchasers of your business, are probably in thisbusinessforthelongterm.

Long-termvalue-creatingassetsareintangible,inotherwords,youcannottouchthem.Theyarenotcomputers,productionmachineryorthelike.Theyareideas,knowledge, employees, systems and relationships with customers, suppliers,regulatorsetc.

Examplesinclude:

long-termcustomerrelationships,aprofitablecustomerportfolio,havingtherightemployeesintherightpositions,innovativeproductsindevelopment,developmentprocesses,productiondevelopmenttouselessresources,reliability/flexibility/leadtimesofyoursuppliers,reliabilityofITinfrastructure,numberofusablesuggestionsforfutureproductsordevelopmentsfromusergroups,numberofmarketingpartners,thevalueofyourbrand.

Theyareyourmainassetsbutwillnotfeatureonyourbalancesheetandwouldrequireexperthelptoputavalueon.Iamnotsuggestingthatyouhireanexpertvaluer every fewmonths, but I am suggesting that youmake some efforts toensurethat:

youknowwhatyourvalue-creatingassetsare,andyouareinvestinginthem.

Look back to the previous signposts you have completed for help identifyingYOURvalue-creatingassetstoincludeonSignpost12,PartC:

Signpost 6. Which asset is the basis of your ‘wow’ factor or helps youexploitit?Signposts8-11.WhichassetisthebasisforhowyouwillachievetheKEYpaths related to your customers, KEY processes, KEY employees andgettingthewordout?

CompleteSignpost12,PartC.IgnorePartDoftheworksheetfornow.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost12,PartC-Value-CreatingAssetsWheredoesthevaluelieinYOURbusiness?

CustomerrelationsProductinnovation&productiondevelopment&maintenanceIntellectualpropertySupplychainrelationsEmployeerelationsInformationresourcesTechnologyAlliancepartnerrelationsOther

Highlightthecategoryofvalue-creatingassetthatisKEYtoyourbusiness.

NotedowntheexactassetthatisspecifictoYOURbusiness.


CashYoumustunderstandthedifferencebetweencashandprofits.Youmayhavemade the biggest sale in your history but you can still go bust before thecustomerpaysyouincold,hardcash.

Goingbustisoneofthemostrealthreatstoasmallbusinesssomanagingyourcash position is a KEY day to day activity. Knowing what drives your cashpositionmakescashmanagementeasier.

Examplesofcashdriversinclude:

Credittermsyougranttocustomers,Averagetimeyourcustomerstaketopayyou,Earlypaymentdiscountsoffered,Borrowingarranged,Credittermsyoureceivefromsuppliers,Averagetimeyoutaketopaysuppliers,Levelofstockthatyouhold,Timingofpaymentstoyourself,Investmentsmade.

Examplesofcashmanagementtechniquesinclude:

Arrangefinancingforfutureprojectssuchasexpandingyourstore.Prioritizecashcollectionfromcustomersonadailybasis.Formulateapolicyforallowingcustomerscreditterms.Negotiatefavorablecredittermswithsuppliers.

ConsiderhowtoimproveyourcashpositioninSignpost12,PartD.



pagebacktothepreviousimagefortheon-screenversion,ORifyoufinditeasiertoreadthetextversionoftheexercise,CLICKHERE.

***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost12,PartD-CashManagementWhatdriveshowmuchcash:

goesINTOyourbankaccount?goesOUTofyourbankaccount?

Howcanthisbeimproved?


Wheredoesthisfitin?YouranswerstoPartsA-DofSignpost12willbeanalyzedinChapter13toseewhichKEYpathswillleadyoutoDestinationSuccess.

Howdoesthishelpme?By appreciating that you need to balance the business equation of providingvalue to your customerswhilst providing value to your stakeholders, youwillensure that your business delights its customers whilst paying you and yoursuppliers,employeesandinvestorsasatisfactoryreturn.


‘Destination Success - Where It Is & How To GetThere’RecapWelldone,younowhaveaclearerpictureofwhereyouareheaded.ByknowingwhatDestinationSuccesslookslike,youwillknowwhenyouhavearrived.

Youalsohave lots of ideas for howyouwill get there.Youknowyouneed aplan for each of the following components - customers, processes, employeesandfinances-toensurethateachcoginyourbusinessworkssmoothlywiththeothers.

Customers

Youknowthe4KEYwaystodelightyourcustomerssoyoucanretain,getmoreoutofandattractthemostprofitablecustomers.(Signpost8)Processes

Youhaveidentifiedthedailyprocessesthatyourbusinessgoesthroughtobringyourproductorservicetomarket.(ActivitySheet12)Youhaveworkedouthowto improve upon and exploit the KEY process that delivers value to yourcustomerssotheywillchooseyouoveryourcompetitors.(Signpost9)Youhavedecidedonthebestpathstochoosetogetthewordoutaboutyourproductsorservices.(Signpost10)

Employees

YouhaveidentifiedtheKEYrolesinyourbusinessthatshouldbeprioritizedifyourKEYprocessesaretobedeliveredeffectively.

YouhaveworkedoutwhereyourKEYemployeesneedmoretraining,toolsandinformationsothattheycanexcelattheirjobs.(Signpost11-PartA)Youhaveconsideredhowyoucanbetterengageandmotivateyourteamsothattheywanttoworkwithyouforthelongterm.(Signpost11-PartB)Inotherwords,youknow exactlywhat your employees need, to ensure they give your customerseverythingTHEYneed.

Finances

You are aware of what drives profit and appreciate that increasing sales andreducing costs is not always the answer. You know the best areas to look toincrease sales and to reduce costs if that is the path to success you choose.(Signpost12-PartsA&B)Yourealizethatyouneedtoinvest inyourvalue-creating assets (such as ideas, relationships and systems) to ensure long-termsuccess and have identified these types of assets specific to your business.(Signpost12-PartC)Youarecommittedtomanagingandimprovingyourcashpositiondueitsvitalimportanceinrunningasmallbusiness.(Signpost12-PartD)Overall,youunderstandwhich financialnumbersdeserveyourattention soyoucanreturnvaluetostakeholdersaswellascustomers.

Next,youwillhome inonwhat is trulyKEY to the successofyourbusiness.Let’sgo!

Chapter13

HowToHomeInOnWhatIsTrulyImportant

Youhavenowidentifiedthepossiblepathsyoucouldtakeforeachcomponentof your business - customers, processes, employees and financial returns - toclosethegapbetweenwhereyouarenowandwhereyouwanttoendup.

It is unlikely, however, that you will have the resources necessary to followeverypossiblepath.Assuchyouwillhavetoprioritizebetweenthem.

Whichonesshouldyoupursueandwhichonesshouldyouputontheback-burner?WhichareKEYtoyoursuccessandwhicharenot?

Ifyour‘ToDo’listislong,itiseasytogetside-trackedwithbeingbusyanddroptheballontheonethingthatshouldhavebeenyourtoppriorityfortheday.

ThesameistrueofyourKEYpathstosuccess.Withoutidentifyingthehandfulof tasks that youMUST focus on each day, theywill get overlooked as yourbusydayoverwhelmsyou.

YourKEYpathsmustreceiveyourconstantattention.

Don’tfallintothetrapofthinkingthateverythingisimportantoryouwillenduptreatingnothingasimportant.YourbusinesswilltreadwaterandyouwillnotmakeanyrealprogressonyourpathtoDestinationSuccess.

Remember, all the paths that you have identified so far are important to thesuccessofyourbusiness,butnotallofthemareKEY.Youwillnotbeignoringtheothers-theywilljustnotgetyourdailyattention.

Let’sstartbysummarizingyourpossiblepathsfromalltheworkyou’vedonesofaronActivitySheet13.

***TEXTVERSION***


Activity Sheet 13 - The KEY Paths Leading ToDestinationSuccessReferbacktoSignpost8andchoosethetwomostimportantpaths fromeachsection.

Customers-FromSignpost8

Howtounderstandmycustomers’needsHowtogivemycustomersvalueHowtocommunicatewithmycustomersmoreeffectivelyHow to ensure my customers’ total experience with my business isexceptional

ReferbacktotheSignpostsdetailedandpullouttheKEYpathsfromeachone.

Processes-FromSignpost9

ExploitstrengthsandopportunitiesofmyKEYprocessesEliminateweaknessesandthreatsinmyKEYprocesses

GetTheWordOut-FromSignpost10

ToretainexistingcustomersTogetmoreoutofexistingcustomersToacquirenewcustomers

Referback to theSignpostsdetailedandcopyacrosswhereyouneed toTakeAction.

KEYEmployees-FromSignpost11,PartA

Improvethe‘No’sand‘Don’tKnow’s

SkillgapsTool&informationgapsSuccessionplanninggaps

RetainEmployees-FromSignpost11,PartB

RecruitmentEmployeedevelopmentTools,informationandworkingenvironmentEmployeerecognition

ReferbacktoSignpost12toanswerthepromptsandidentifytheKEYpaths.

FinancialRewards-FromSignpost12

Increasesalesto:Increasesalesof:Controlthesecosts:Reducethesecosts:Investinthesevalue-creatingassets:Improvecashmanagementby:


AnalyzethepathsyouhavetakenfromSignposts8-12asfollows:

Removeduplicates.Lookforthosethataresubstantiallythesameidea.Cross-referencethem.

SelectuptotwoKEYpathsfromeachsection(customers,processes,gettingthewordout,employeesandfinancialrewards).Thereshouldbeamaximumof10intotal.

KEYpathsare those thatwillhelpyoucreateorexploityour‘wow’factor thequickest–directlyorindirectly.

Whereyouhavecross-referencedduplicates,only include1of themaspartofyourtotal10.Allocatethemtowhicheversectionhelpsyousticktothe2pathspersectionrule.

Theeasiestwaytobecomfortableaboutignoringsomeofthepathsistolookforthose that are actually ‘steps’ along another path. Highlight any ‘steps’ youidentifytoworkoninChapter15.

For example, you may have ‘Ensure KEY customers are contacted at leastmonthly’asa‘CustomerPath’butthiswouldactuallybeasub-pathor‘step’oftheoverall ‘Systematize thedeliveryof our successpartnershipprogram’pathwithinthe‘Processes’section.

IfyouareaonepersonbusinessandyourEmployeessectionismissingaKEYpath,chooseimprovingyourknowledgerelatedtoyourKEYprocess.

IftheFinancialRewardssectionismissingaKEYpath,chooseimprovingandexploitingyourmostimportantvalue-creatingasset.

Wheredoesthisfitin?Youranswers toActivitySheet13willbesummarized inSignpost13 toshowwhichKEYpathswillleadyoutoDestinationSuccess.

Howdoesthishelpme?Just look at theKEYpaths for a business such asContinentalAirlines - landplaneson time,minimize lost luggageandreducecustomercomplaints. Ihopeyour paths aremoredetailed and specific but you shouldget the idea -worryabouttheKEYpathseachday,andtherestwilltakecareofitself.

Byprioritizingthepossiblepathsyoucouldtaketogetfromwhereyouarenow

toDestinationSuccess,youwillnotgetsidetrackedwithunimportanttasksandcanfocusallyoureffortsontheKEYareasthatmattermost.

CompleteSignpost13tosummarizeyourKEYpaths.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost13-MyKEYPathsToSuccessSummarizetheKEYpathstosuccessfromActivitySheet13.

Ineed toputmajor time, effort, energyand resources into the followingKEYpathstomakemybusinesssuccessful:

CustomersProcessesGetTheWordOutEmployeesFinancialRewards


Wheredoesthisfitin?Signpost13formsthebasicframeworkyouwillusetochoosemeasuresthatwilltrack your progress towardsDestination Success inChapter 14 aswell as thestepsandactivitiesyouwilltaketogetthereinChapters15and16.

Howdoesthishelpme?Signpost13shouldformadailyreminderoftheKEYpathsyouneedtofollowtodriveyourbusinesstowardsDestinationSuccess.Itgivesaclearpictureofthedaytodayareasthatyoushouldbefocusingon.

Print it out and review it to helpwith decisionmaking or to stop you gettingsidetrackedwithunimportanttasks.

FreeingupsometimeEvenwhenyouknowwhatisKEYtofocuson,itcanstillbehardtostopdoingthe things you’ve always done and to break the habits you’ve spent yearsestablishing.

ButinordertogiveyourKEYpathstheconstantdailyattentionthattheyneed,youwillneedtomakesometime.

CompleteActivitySheet14 tohelpyousay‘No’ to those time-sucks thataremoretroublethanthey’reworth.




***TEXTVERSION***


ActivitySheet14-FreeingUpSomeTime

Customers

Whichcustomerswouldyoubebetteroffwithout?Whichproductsorservicesarenotcoretoyourbusiness?Which products or services are draining your resources but not creatingcustomervalue?

Processes

Whichprocessesarenotworking?Whatshouldyoustopdoingtoeliminatetheproblem?Howcouldyoudothingsdifferently(ornotatall)?What activities areusingupvaluable resourcesbutnot creating customervalue?Whichmarketingactivitiesarenotworking?Whichdistributionchannelsarenotworking?

Employees

Whichemployeeswouldyoubebetteroffwithout?


Wheredoesthisfitin?YouranswerstoActivitySheet14willenableyoutofindadditionalresources,ifyouneedthem,inChapter16.

Howdoesthishelpme?Aswell as freeing up time andother resources, decidingwhat to leave out ofyourbusinesswillmoreclearlydefineit.

Getridofwhat’snotworkingandconcentrateondoingthefewKEYthingsyouhave identified to thebestofyourability.Bybeing thebestatsomething,youwillstandout.

‘How To Home In On What Is Truly Important’RecapWelldone!Youhavedevisedtheperfectplantomakeyourbusinesssuccessful.

Youhave jumpedaheadofyourcompetitors.Theyprobablystopaftercomingupwithalaundrylistofpossiblepathstofollowandthinktheirjobisdone.

You,however,havetakenontheharderchallengeofhominginonwhatistrulyimportant to arriving at Destination Success. You don’t have the time orresourcestocompletethe‘laundrylist’socannowfocusyourenergywhereitisneededmostinsteadofgettingsidetrackedwithjustbeing‘busy’.

YouidentifiedthehandfulofpossiblepathsthatstoodoutasKEYandensuredthey were balanced across all the areas of your business. (Signpost 13) Youidentifiedsometimesavingideastogiveyourselfahead-startonyournewdailypriorities.(ActivitySheet14)Youshouldnowbegettingaclearerpictureoftheframeworkthatwillgovernyourdaytodayprioritiesandactivities.WorryabouttheKEYpathseachdayandtherestwilltakecareofitself.

Avoid theoverwhelmofbeingbusywithanythingandeverything that crossesyourdeskandfocusonwhatistrulyimportantinyourbusiness.

In the next section, you will identify measures that tell you when you havearrivedatDestinationSuccessaswellasworkoutexactlywhatyouneedtobedoingtodaytodrivetheresultsyouaretryingtoachievetomorrow.


Section3

DrivingYourBusinessToDestinationSuccess

“Ittakesasmuchenergytowishasitdoestoplan.”

~EleanorRoosevelt

Howwouldyouliketotranslateyouroverallplanintoanactionable‘ToDo’listoftheexactstepsandactivitiesneededtoarriveatDestinationSuccess?Soundsperfect,buttoogoodtobetrue?

Well,it’snot!Allyouneedtodois:

pickmeasuresandtargetsforeachKEYpathfromSignpost13,choosethestepsneededtoimproveeachmeasure,decideupontheindividualactivitiesneededtoachieveeachstep,prioritizetheseactivitiesbasedontheresourcesyouhaveavailable,peekatyourresults30daysfromnowtoensureyouareheadedintherightdirection,trackyourprogressalongtheway.

By theendofSection3,youwillhavedone just thatandbe fullyprepared todriveyourbusinessstraighttoDestinationSuccess.

Chapter14

DestinationSuccess:HowToKnowWhenYou’veArrived

MeasurestellyouwhenyouhavearrivedatDestinationSuccess.

If you cannot define success in terms that you can measure, one person’sopinionofwhereyouarecoulddifferimmenselytoanother’s.Hardnumbersaremoredifficulttoarguewith.

Measures are objective, not subjective, and should be used to monitor yourprogresstowardsDestinationSuccess.Theykeepyoufocusedonadaytobasisandmakeyouaccountableforyourdailyactions.

Whatmeasuresdoyoucurrentlyrelyontoknowifyou’rebeingsuccessful?

Youprobablyknowhowsalesaregoingandhopefullykeepaneyeonyourbankaccount.Ifnot,doyouwaitforyouraccountanttotellyouthatyousoldvirtuallynothinglastyearordoyouwaitforyourbanktotellyouyou’reoverdrawn?Ihopenot.

Let’s say you know that your sales aren’t as high as you’d like.Whether youmeasurethisformallywithadailysaleschartoryoujustknowbecauseyouarethebusinessowner,you’reeffectivelymeasuringthenumber.

Whenyouknowthey’relow,you‘manage’it,todosomethingaboutit,right?Youchaseupsomeleads,callexistingcustomers,planapromotionetc.

Youcanmanagewhatyoucanmeasure(asMcKinseysaid).

Beforeyoustart identifyingappropriatemeasuresforyourbusiness, let’scoversomerulesforwhatmakesagoodmeasure.

FastTrackAlert-TheBasicsOfAGoodMeasure

Clicktoskipaheadifyouprefer.

Agoodmeasureistypically:

Basedonresultsratherthanactivities-

Example1 - there isnopointmeasuring thenumberofsalescallsmadebyanemployee as he can game the system by calling anyone just to get his callnumbersup.Whatyoushouldmeasureistheresultsofthesalescalls-perhaps,thevalueofordersreceivedfromKEYcustomers.

Afterall,wouldyoupreferyouremployeetocall100peopleinadayandgetnosalesor spendhis timeworkingoutwhichKEYcustomerwouldmostbenefitfromwhatyousell,draftinganexcellentsalespitchandvisitingthecustomertogettheorder?

Example2-itisnogoodmeasuringthenumberofhourstraininganemployeeundertookasthisistheactivity.Whatmattersistheresultsofthattraining.Howdidheperformfollowingthetraining?

Results over activities is particularly relevant for a knowledge-based businesswherehoursspentonataskbearlittleresemblancetothequalityoftheoutput.Itmaytake10minutestocomeupwithanawesomenewidea,oritmaytake10hourstocomeupwithnothingusable.

Customer-focused - for customer-facing experiences, try and define themeasurethewayyourcustomerwould.Forexampleasupportdeskshouldnotbemeasuredonhowmanycalls theyanswer,but ratheronhowmanyqueriesthey resolvewithin 5minutes, the first time the customer contacts the supportdesk.Thecustomerwantsspeedandsuccess,theydon’tcareaboutthenumberofcallsyouanswer.

Non-financial-financialmeasuresarebackwards-looking.Theyaretheresults,notthedriversofsuccess.Howdoyouknowwhetheranincreaseinprofitisdueto the successful implementation of KEY path 1 or 2? By measuring andworkingtoimprovethenon-financialdriversofsuccess,theresults(orfinancialmeasures)willtakecareofthemselves.

Remember theKEYpathsandmeasuresusedby theairline industry -on timeplanes,minimizelostluggageandreducecustomercomplaints.Noticethereare

no financial numbers in sight.Why? Because these paths predict success. Bygettingtheseright,thefinancialreturnswillmostlikelyfollow.

Numeric-forexample,thepercentageofontimedeliveriestomeasuresupplierperformance,ratherthansubjectivemeasuressuchasgood,badoraverage.

Obtainable - it should not cost more to measure than the value of theinformation you are acquiring. Is the measure really worth collecting? Whatvalueareyougainingfromknowingtheresultversushowmuchtimeandmoneywillbespentcollectingit?Cananaccuratemeasureevenbecollectedinatimelymannerwithouttheneedfornewsoftware?Ifyoufeelthatameasureisreallyimportantbutthatitwouldbetimeconsumingtotrack,considersamplingwhereyouonlymeasureitforonedayaweek.

Explainable - ifyouhaveno ideawhat themeasure tellsyou,youwillnotbeabletotakeactionbasedontheresultsoitisnotworthcollecting.


Business health warning: Don’t choose the wrongmeasureIf you have employees, choosing the wrong measures can be seriouslydetrimentaltothehealthofyourbusiness.

Your businesswillBECOME what youmeasure as your employeeswillDOwhat you measure. Think through your measures as if you are a waywardemployee.IftheydoEXACTLYwhatyoumeasure,whatistheimpact?

Forexample:youmaybepleasedwithyoursalesteamseffortsatgainingnewbusinessbutifallthesenewcustomersarethoseyouwoulddefineasthe‘worst’type,whateffectwillthishaveonyourabilitytodelightyour‘best’customers?Your measure should have been ‘new business written with the ‘best’ type ofcustomers’.

Themeasuresyouchoosetellyouremployeeswhatyouconsidertobeimportantfor them to do each day. They will focus on it whether it is right or wrong.Incentivizingyourstaffdoeswork-justbereallysurethatyouareincentivizingthemtodotherightthing.

IdentifyingyourKEYpathmeasuresByidentifyingameasureofsuccessforallofyourKEYpaths,youcanbegintomanageyourcoursetowardsDestinationSuccess.

CompleteSignpost14.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost14-MeasuresForEachKEYPathListtheKEYpathsfromSignpost13.



CHOOSEasuitableandspecificmeasurebyaskingyourself:

howwillIknowifI’msuccessful?whatwouldbetheendresultofthispath?whatamItryingtoaccomplish?

For example, oneofmyKEYpaths is to increase thenumberof books I havepublished.Asuitableandspecificmeasureforthispathis:thenumberofbookssellingmorethan1,000copiespermonth.NoticeIhavenotchosenthemeasureofthe‘numberofbookspublished’asthatwouldincludebooksthatdidnotclickwithcustomersandsowerenotsellingwell.InsteadIhaveincludeda‘qualityfactor’asIwillnotheadtowardsDestinationSuccesswithaportfolioofbooksthatdonotsell.

SomeKEYpathsmayrequiremorethanonemeasurebuttrytoavoidthiswherepossible.

Atthisstage,thereisnoneedtohaveatargetinmindforeachmeasure.Youwillgettothatlaterinthechapter.

Usethe‘CheatSheet’comingupnextforinspiration.

ANALYZEthemeasuresyouhavechosen.Highlight(orcirclethe‘thumbsup’iconontheprintableworksheetfor)measuresthataresuitable,basedonqualityandtieinwithyour5yeardream.

Suitable -measures are suitable if theymeet the criteria described at thestartof thechapter, ie,results-basedrather thanactivity-based,customer-focused,non-financial,numeric,costeffectivetomeasure,explainableandincentivizeemployeescorrectly.Quality -measures should comprise a quality factor tied to the behavioryou are trying to encourage.For example: You are not just trying to getmoresalesleads,youaretryingtogetmoreKEYcustomersalesleads.Youare not just trying to increase your product range, you are trying toincreaseyourproductrangewithqualityproductsthatcustomersvalue.5YearDream -measures should only encourage behavior thatwill takeyoutowhereyouwanttobein5years’timesoneverlosesightoftheendgoalfromSignpost7.

‘ChoosingKEYPathMeasures’CheatSheetClicktoskipaheadifyouprefer.

Herearesomeideasformeasuresyoucoulduseforeachareaofyourbusiness.Itisbest,however,ifyoutakeYOURKEYpathsandaskyourselfhowyouwillknowifyou’resuccessful.

CustomerMeasuresSkiptoProcess,EmployeeorFinancialMeasures.

Howtounderstandmycustomers’needs

Number/percentageofcustomersinterviewedandprofiled.Number/percentageofcustomerssurveyedaboutyourproductorservice.Number/percentageofcustomersaskedwhytheyarenolongercustomers.Number/percentage of employees with access to KEY customerinformation.

Howtogivemycustomersvalue

Number/percentageofrepeatcustomers.Number/percentageofreferralsfromexistingcustomers.Customerdelightfeedbackscore.Number/percentage of customers lost (it costs a lot more to acquire acustomerthanitdoestoretainone).Number/percentageofcustomerssigninguptoyourloyaltyprogram.Number of features that customers care about not being offered bycompetitors.AveragenumberofsolutionsofferedperKEYclient.Number/percentageofcustomersyouareworkingwithtoofferthematotalsolution.Number/percentage of customers with whom you have a lastingrelationship(morethan12months).Lead time to bring new products or services to market in response tocustomerdemand.AveragepricecomparedtoyourKEYcompetitors.Numberofpricingstructuresoffered.NumberofproactivevisitsorphonecallstoKEYcustomerstoofferthemacustomizedservice.Percentageofthe‘best’typeofcustomer.

Howtocommunicatewithmycustomersmoreeffectively

Number/percentage of customers advised of all relevant products or

services.Numberofinitiativestoencouragecommunicationfromcustomers.Number/percentageofcustomersadvisedthattheirbusinessisappreciated.Number/percentageofcustomersengagedwithinanon-salesmanner.Number/percentageofcustomersdelightedaftercomplaintresolution.

How to ensure my customers’ total experience with my business isexceptional

Percentage of customer preferred channels for enquiry/order/delivery etcoffered.Number of initiatives in place to update our product or service based oncustomerslikesanddislikes.Percentageofsupportcallsresultinginafirsttimesolution.Percentageofirritantseliminatedfromthecustomerlifecycle.

ProcessMeasuresSkiptoCustomer,EmployeeorFinancialMeasures.

Efficiencyisagreatbuzzwordwhenpeopletalkaboutprocessesbutrememberyouwanttobeeffectiveatcreatingvalueforyourcustomermorethanyouwanttobeefficientatyourprocesses.

For example, a high-end coffee shop might consider employing a pianist toserenadetheircustomers.Thisisnotefficient,butitaddsvaluetotheexperienceenjoyedbycustomers.

Identifyopportunitiesfornewproductsorservices

Numberofideasinthepipeline.

Researchanddevelopmentofnewproductsorservices

Numberofnewproductsbeingdeveloped.Numberofuniquefeaturesandfunctionalitynotofferedbycompetitors.Time taken from the development of an idea to the distributionof a newproductorservice.Numberofnewproductsorservicesthatdidnotexist2yearsago.Number of new features presented in each product or service that satisfyidentifiedcustomerneeds.Numberofcustomersolutionsimproved.

Procureallnecessarysupplies

Numberofsocialinteractionswithsuppliers.Numberofnewsuppliesrecommendedbysuppliers.Numberofontimeandinfulldeliveriesreceivedfromsuppliers.NumberofstockoutsfromKEYsuppliers.

Produceordeliverourserviceandmaintainqualitycontrol

Numberofsystemscreatedtoensureuniformityindelivery.Turnaroundtime/yield.Defectrate.Numberofworkableideasinthepipelinetoimprovesystems.Idletimeofmachinery/employees.Percentageofmachinery/employeesrequiringmaintenance/training.

Distributionofproductsorservices

Percentageofoutofstockitems.Percentageofincompletedeliveries.Percentageofdelayeddeliveries.Numberofcustomercomplaints.Numberofqueriesresolvedonthefirstcall.Numberofabandonedtransactions.

Gettingthewordout

Percentageofrepeatcustomers.Number of cross-selling opportunities vs those converted (identify thosecustomersthatareperfectforcrosssellingotherproductsorservicestoandpinpointhowmanyyouhaveactuallymanagedtoconvert).Percentageofcustomerstradingup.Number/percentageofreferralsfromexistingcustomers.Numberofpotentialcustomersreachedviamarketing.Numberofsalespromotionstoencouragenewcustomerstotryproductsorservices.Percentage of existing customers that are aware of all your products orservices.Percentageofexistingcustomersthatareawareofyour‘wow’factor.Numberofsalesleads.Numberofnewslettersubscribers/Facebookfansetc.Percentageofnewcustomerscomingfromeachpromotionchannel.Conversionrateofsalesleadsintopayingcustomers.Numberofthe‘best’typeofcustomersacquired.Number/percentageofnewcustomers.Numberofhelplinecallsperproduct(togaugeinterestandconfusion).

EmployeeMeasuresSkiptoCustomer,ProcessorFinancialMeasures.

Recruitment

PercentageofKEYrolesunfilledorinadequatelyfilled.

Employeedevelopment

Numberofemployeeswholog‘agreatdayatwork’.Percentageofemployeesevaluatedashavingtheskillsneededtoperformtheirjobwell.Percentage of employees evaluated as demonstrating the new skills orknowledgetheyacquiredthroughtraining.Percentage of employees evaluated as having the differentiating corecompetenciesneededtodeliveryour‘wow’factor.Percentageofemployeeseducatingothers.Percentageofemployeesbeingeducatedbyothers.Percentageofemployeeswhowillbemorevaluable toyourbusinessandyourcustomersthisyearthantheywerelastyear.Percentageofemployeesrequiringmorethan25%supervision.

Tools,information&workingenvironment

Percentageofemployeesthatareawareofallyourproductsorservices.Percentageofemployeesthatareawareofyour‘wow’factor.Averageageofequipment.PercentageoftoolsandITcapabilitiesownedversusneededtodeliveryour‘wow’factor.Percentage of employees participating in two way communicationopportunities.Numberofworkableideasinthepipelinetoimprovesystems.Percentageofemployeestakingpartinthecorporatefitnessprogram,socialeventsetc.Evaluationscoreoftimespentdreamingupinnovativeproductsorservicesorsystems.

Employeerecognition

Numberofemployeesrecognizedforoutstandingeffortstowardsdeliveringyour‘wow’factor.

Successionplanning

PercentageofKEYrolescapableofbeingcoveredbyexistingemployeesbeingtrainedtotakeover.

Overall

Employeehappinessfeedbackscores(resignvshoutfromrooftops).Customerfeedbackscoresonteammembers.Levelofabsenteeism.

FinancialMeasuresSkiptoCustomer,ProcessorEmployeeMeasures.

Increasingsales

PercentageofsalestoyourKEYcustomers.Percentageofsalesofyour‘best’productorservice.Averagelifetimevalueofacustomer-increasedbyextendingthelengthoftime that a customerwill buy from you and/or increase the amount theyspendwithyouoneachoccasion.Shareholdervalue-takesaccountofthecostofcapitalshareholdersusetoinvest in your business. Does a new injection of funds generate enoughprofittoincreaseshareholdervalue?Forexample,anewstoremayresultingreaterprofits,butaretheysufficienttocoverthecostoftheinvestment?Averageprofitperstoreorcustomervisit.Revenuefromnewproducts.

Relativegrowth

Marketshare.

Costcontrol

It iseasiertomeasureandcontrolcostsbyturningthemintorelativemeasuresthatrelatetotheirreasonforbeingaKEYcost,suchastoincreasesalesorsalesleads.

Inthatway,youwillnotpanicwhencostsarerisingjustbecauseyouaresellingmore, but you will also not be fooled into thinking that rising costs are OKbecauseyouaresellingmore,wheninfacttheyhaverisentoomuch.

Examplemeasures:

Sales revenue per $ of salaries - more employees or higher paid employeesshoulddriveincreasedsales.Ifafterasettlinginperiod,youarenotincreasingthismeasure, then your employeesarenot contributingwhat you thought theywould.

Sales leads per $ of marketing costs - themore you spend onmarketing, themoresalesleadsyoushouldhopetoachieve.

Newbusinesssalesrevenuepersaleslead-themoreleadsyouhave,themoresalesrevenueyoushouldhopetoachieve.

Notice how in the last two examples, I could have said: New business salesrevenue per $ of marketing costs and this would have been a fair measure.However,if themeasurefell, itwouldnothavetoldmewhetherthemarketingcosts were not generating the sales leads or whether the sales leads were notbeingconvertedintorevenueandsoIwouldnotknowwhichprocesstofix.

Value-creatingassets

Youneedtocomeupwithsomewaytovalueormeasure the intangibleassetsyou are creating - such as customer and employee relationships, intellectualpropertyetc.

Ifyouwereamulti-milliondollarbusiness,youcouldgetexpertstodothisforyou,butifthatisn’tthecaseyouneedtodosomethingelse.

Theeasiestmeasureisoftenhoursspentoncreatingthesevalue-creatingassets

butthatbringsusbacktofocusingonactivitiesandcostsratherthanresultsandvalue. Italsomeans thatyouwillbemeasuring those10hoursyouspentonawastedideawhenthatwastedideaisnotavalue-creatingasset.

So instead identify all your ‘actual’ value-creating assets andguesstimate howmanyhours/howmuchmoneyitwouldtakeanotherbusinesstoreplicatethem.Alternativelythinkabouthowmuchyouwouldpayforthisassetbasedonhowmuchitisworthtoyou,howmuchtimeitsavesyouetc.

At thevery least,counthowmanyvalue-creatingassetsyouhave thatyouaremakingthebestuseof.

Cash

Averagetimeyourcustomerstaketopayyou.Averagetimeyoutaketopaysuppliers.Cashdividedbycurrentliabilities.(Thismeasurewillgiveyouanindicatorofhoweasilyyoucanpayyourdebts.)


Wheredoesthisfitin?TheKEYpathmeasures fromSignpost14willbeused inChapter15 toworkoutthestepsyouneedtotaketogettoDestinationSuccessandinChapter18aspartofyourReportingDashboard.ButfirstyoumustidentifyatargetforeachonethatwillensureyouarriveatDestinationSuccessonschedule.

Howdoesthishelpme?By identifyingmeasures and targets for yourKEY paths, youwill be able tomonitoryourprogresstowardsDestinationSuccessandyouwillknowwhenyouhavearrived.

ToidentifytargetsforeachKEYpathmeasure,youmuststartbybreakingdownyour goals from Signpost 7 into something more manageable. How manycustomers, products or services and employees are required to achieve thedesiredrevenueresult?

CompleteActivitySheet15 to findout.Remember to take intoaccountyourfuture plans andKEY paths from Signpost 13. Alsomake sure you have notforgottentoincludeproductdevelopmentasaKEYpathifyouareplanningonsellingnewproductsorservicesinthefuture.


***TEXTVERSION***


ActivitySheet15-AnnualRevenueBreakdownBreakdownyourannualrevenuefromSignpost7byproductorserviceacrossthefollowingcolumns:

A:TypeofproductorserviceB:SalesrevenueC:Averagecustomerspend -Estimate the‘Averagecustomerspend’foreachproductorservice.ReferbacktoActivitySheet3.D:Numberofcustomersrequired-DividecolumnBbycolumnCtogetthe‘Numberofcustomersrequired’.E:Numberofcustomersyouhavenow -Confirmthenumberof repeatcustomersyouhaveNOWthatyouexpectwillkeepbuyingfromyou.F-J: Years 1-5 - Allocate the ‘Number of customers required’ betweenYears1-5 to showhowyouexpect customernumbers togrow.Column JshouldequalcolumnD.Willcustomernumbersincreaseacrossallproductsorservicesequallyover thenext5years?Willyouconcentrateoncertainproducts or services first and not even release other products or servicesuntilafewyears’time?Spreadoutyourworkloadsensibly.K:Year1Gap -Howmanycustomersareyoumissing thatyouneed toacquirebetweennowandtheendofYear1?ColumnFminusE.L:Numberofcustomerswhowillgivemore-Existingcustomers(E)youcangetmorefromtomakeuppartoftheYear1gap(K)?RefertoSignpost10forhow.

Activity Sheet 15 - Products/Services & EmployeesBreakdownProducts/Servicesbycategory.

Breakdownthegrowth in thenumberofPRODUCTSorSERVICESyouwillofferoverYears1-5 (if applicable)basedon the information fromSignpost7,PartB and the number of customers youwill need from theAnnualRevenueBreakdown.

AddacolumnforthenumberyouhavenowandtheYear1Gap(beingtheYear1targetminusthenumberyouhavenow).

Employeesbyteam.

Break down the growth in the number of EMPLOYEES you will need overYears1-5(ifapplicable)basedontheinformationfromSignpost7,PartBandthenumberofcustomersyouwillneedfromtheAnnualRevenueBreakdown.

AddacolumnforthenumberyouhavenowandtheYear1Gap(beingtheYear1targetminusthenumberyouhavenow).


DothenumbersontheAnnualRevenueBreakdownstackup?

DoesthetotalofcolumnBequalyourannualrevenuegoalfromSignpost7?Do thenumberofcustomers required incolumnD tie inwith themarketsizeandshareyoucanexpecttotakefromActivitySheet3?

Wheredoesthisfitin?TheYear1GapsfromActivitySheet15willbeusedtoidentifytargetsforallofyourKEYpathmeasuresinActivitySheet16.

Howdoesthishelpme?Bybreakingdownyourannualrevenuegoalintothenumberofcustomersyouneedtodelight,thenumberofproductsorservicesyouneedtoofferaswellasthenumberofemployeesyouneedtokeephappy,youbegintoseethescaleof

thejobathandandcanmoreeasilyidentifytargetsforeachKEYpathmeasurethatwillensureyouarriveatDestinationSuccessonschedule.

IdentifyingtargetsforallKEYpathmeasuresByidentifyinganappropriate target foreachofyourKEYpathmeasures thatwillleadtoDestinationSuccess,youcantrackwhetheryouaremovingtowardsorfurtherawayfromyourgoal.

InActivitySheet16youwillusetheYear1gapsforthenumberofcustomers,products/servicesandemployeesyouhavealreadyworkedoutonActivitySheet15tocomeupwithtargetsforeachofyourKEYpathmeasures.

Somewillbestraightforward to linkback toActivitySheet15,somewillnotneed to be linked as they are just ideals (such as the percentage of customerswhohavegivenfeedbackor thepercentageofmeetingsheldonline)andsomewillseemdownrightimpossibletoconnectinanyway.Butyoumusttryoryouwillhavenoideahowbigeachstepneedstobeifyouaretomeetyourrevenuegoal.

Youmaybeinclinedtooptforaroughincrementalincrease,suchas‘more…’,rather than a defined goal. But don’t give up. Force yourself to think, as if atargetisundefined,youwon’tdothework.

Fast Track Alert - How To Identify SeeminglyImpossibleTargetsClicktoskipaheadifyouprefer.

IfyourtargetdoesnotcomeeasilyfromActivitySheet15andisnotanidealorbasedonquality(likeafeedbackscore),youwillneedtoaskyourself:“WhydoI want to achieve this KEY path?”. Then keep asking ‘Why?’ until you drilldowntoananswerthataffectscustomers,products/servicesoremployees.

With enough thought, you will find that it will tie in with your requiredcustomer,product/serviceoremployeenumbersinsomeway.Whenyoufindthelink,youhaveanumbertoworktowards.

Example1

Ifabusinesswantedtoaddvaluetotheirproductorservicebyhavingusefulor

entertaining information on their website, they would know if they weresucceeding if visitors signedup to theirnewsletter tobekept informedofnewcontent.Thiswouldbetheir‘measure’.

Choosinga‘target’forthismeasurecouldhavebeenasarbitraryashopingfor10%ofallvisitorstosignup.Butbyasking‘Why?’afewtimes, theyfindthattheirwebsitealsoservesanotherpurpose-tocross-sellexistingproducts.[Whydoyouwant toaddvalue?Todelightmycustomers.Why?Sotheytrymoreofmyproductsandservices.]

FromActivitySheet15,theywouldknowhowmanycustomerstheyneededtogetfromcross-selling(say25)andsocouldworkouthowmanynewslettersignupsthey would need to achieve the cross-selling target (say 1,000 with a 2.5%conversionrate).So1,000wouldbethetargetfornewslettersignups.

Example2

One of themeasures formy publishing business was the ‘size ofmy businesssuccessknowledgebanktodrawonforfuturebooks’.SoIthoughtaboutwhyIwantedthisbankofknowledgein the firstplace.Theanswerwas‘tospeedupbookproductionandgetmoresolutionstosmallbusinessesquickly’.

Thatwasmyclue-Ineededaseparateknowledgebankofinformationforeachfuturebook.But first I neededbook ideas. I decided thatwithmy5 yeargoalbeing10books, Iprobablyneeded20 ideas fromwhich tochoose thebest10.SuddenlyIhadnumberstoworkwith.

I knew the ideas needed to be evaluated as there was no point having aknowledge bank full ofmediocre ideas, and even less point researching ideasthatweremediocre.

There also needed to be some structure to my research - detailed criteria,quantitiesetc.Irealizedthiswouldbetrickyasnotallthebookscouldbeforcedintothesametemplate.Idecidedthatafter the ideahadpassedtheevaluationphase, Iwouldbrainstormadetailed tableof contents for eachbookand thatthiswoulddrivetheresearchthatwouldpopulatetheknowledgebank.

AgainIneededsomehardtargetstobeguidedbysodecidedontheneedfor3sub-topicsforeachsectionofthetableofcontents.

Suddenly I had turned a nebulous ‘knowledge bank’ measure into a detailedsystemwith targets linked tomy 5 year revenue goal that I couldmonitormyprogressagainst.


NowtryitwithyourKEYpathmeasuresinActivitySheet16.




***TEXTVERSION***


ActivitySheet16-TargetsForKEYMeasuresListthemeasuresfromSignpost14bybusinessarea:


UsethebreakdownonActivitySheet15todeterminetheYear1target.


Wheredoesthisfitin?TheYear1TargetsfromActivitySheet16willbeusedtohelpidentifythescaleoftheworkinvolvedtogettotheendofeachKEYpathinChapter16.

Howdoesthishelpme?ByidentifyingtargetsforeachKEYpaththattieinwiththerevenuegoalfromDestination Success, you can ascertain howmuch work is needed to get youfromwhere you are now towhere youwant to be and you can track how faralongthepathyouhaveprogressed.

InChapter15,youwillbreakdowneachKEYpath into thesmallerstepsyouneed to take to increase or decrease the relevant KEY path measures and inChapter 16, you will break down the steps even further into the detailedactivitiesyouneed toperform toensureyouachieve the targets foreachKEYpathmeasure.

Chapter15

DestinationSuccess:TheStepsThatWillGetYouThere

Byidentifyingthestepsthatdrivetheresultsyouaregoingtomeasure,youcaneasilyidentifythedailytasksthatyouneedtobedoingtoensureyourbusinessarrivesatDestinationSuccess.HaveagoinSignpost15.

Rememberourdefinitionof‘Steps’fromtheintroduction-thesmallersegmentsthatmakeupeachKEYPath–and‘Activities’-theindividualactionsthatmakeupeachStep. In thischapterabout ‘Steps’,youwillkeepyourplanata fairlyhighlevel.Thedetailed‘Activities’andactionplanningcomesinChapter16.

HaveagoatSignpost15.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost15-StepsINeedToTakeAlongEachKEYPathListthemeasuresfromSignpost14bybusinessarea:


Confirmwhetheryouneedtoincreaseordecreasethemeasuretobesuccessful.


Choose thestepsyouneed to take to raiseor lowereachmeasureandachieveeachKEYpath.

Think about what you need to do well to improve the measure and whatobstaclesaregoingtogetinyourwaythatneedtobeaddressednow.

Guidelines:

Keepyoursteps fairlygeneral, forexample,“Publishmorebooks”,notadetailedproductionplan.ThatwillcomelaterinChapter16.Cross reference steps that appear in more than one component of yourbusiness.Formeasuresthatneedmorethanonesteptobeachieved,writethemalldown.

Whereyourmeasures involve influencingcustomers, therewill oftenbetwo steps required - (1)making the customer aware of you orwhat youwantthemtodoand(2)gettingthemtotakeaction.Where yourmeasures involve improving productivity or working moreeffectively,establishingsystemsareagoodsteptotake.

Look back to Activity Sheet 13 and incorporate any steps you have alreadyidentifiediftheyarenotalreadycovered.

Dotheendresultsdescribewhatyourbusinessdoesandhowitdoesit?Isthereanythingmissing?

Wheredoesthisfitin?The‘stepsyouneedtotake’identifiedinSignpost15willformtheframeworkforworkingout thedailyactivitiesyouneed toperform toachieveyourKEYpathsinChapter16.TheywillalsohelpyoupredicttheprogressyouwillmaketowardsDestinationSuccessinthenext30daysinChapter17.


Chapter16

TranslatingYourPlanIntoAction

YounowknowthestepsyouneedtotakealongeachKEYpath togetyou toDestinationSuccess.Butthisplanisstillprettyhighlevel.

Totranslateyourplanintosomethingactionableyouneedtoknow:

thelistoftheindividualactivitiesthatmakeupeachstep,andthescaleoftheworkinvolved inperformingeachactivity toachievethetargetsforeachKEYpathmeasureyouidentifiedinActivitySheet16.

Let’sstartwithyour‘GetTheWordOut’plan.

‘Gettingthewordout’actionplanYouknowthetargetednumberofcustomersyouneedbytheendofYear1(fromActivity Sheet 15) and the KEY paths and steps you are going to follow toachievethattarget(fromSignposts14and15).

Nowyouneedtofleshouttheplanbyworkingouttheindividualactivitiesthatmakeupeachstepandhowmuchofeachoneisneededtoensureyouhityourtarget.

Let’stakeasimpleexample:

Yourdesired sales revenue is$50,000peryear.Youselloneproductpricedat$1,000andcustomersonlyeverneedoneofthem.Youneedtosell50productsto50differentcustomerstoachieveyoursalesrevenuetarget.

YourKEYpathisto‘Acquirenewcustomersbyemployingadirectmarketingcampaign’andthestepyoudecidedtotakeisto‘Sendpotentialcustomersusefulinformation on a monthly basis with time-sensitive offers on the purchase ofyourproduct’.

Buthowmanypotentialcustomersdoyouneedtotellaboutyourproducttoget50buyingcustomers?

Let’sassumethat1%ofthepotentialcustomersyoutellaboutyourproductendupbuying.Soinordertoget50sales,youneedtotell5,000potentialcustomersaboutyourproduct.

Butwhataretheindividualactivitiesyouneedtoperformtotell5,000potentialcustomersaboutyourproductandtoconvincethemtobuy?Exactlyhowmuchworkisinvolved?

Someactivitieswillinvolvefindingthe5,000potentialcustomers-possibilitiesincludebuyingalistofleads,runningacontestorgiveawaywhereyoucollecte-mail addresses in exchange for the entry, asking previous customers torecommend a friend, having a booth at an event and collecting the contactinformationofpotentialcustomers.

Other activities will involve contacting the list of potential customers –

possibilities include creating the useful information to giveaway each month,designing the time-sensitive offer, emailing/posting/telephoning the potentialcustomer.

Note: There is an element of guesswork involved in choosing appropriateconversionratesforthesestepsandactivities.Butbyusingcommonsenseandinformation you have to hand (perhaps from prior marketing promotions,historicdataoreveninformationyoucangetaboutbusinessingeneralfromtheinternet),youshouldbeabletocomeupwithaprettygoodestimate.

MakingyourplanactionableIhopeyoucanseefromtheaboveexamplethatitwouldbetoughtokeepatightreinonyourbusinessusingonlyahighlevelplanof‘Acquire50newcustomersby employing a direct marketing campaign’. It is not detailed enough to beactionable.

Having a list of activities that lead to you telling 5,000 people about yourproduct,however,allowsyoutobreakthejobdownintomanageablechunksaswellastotrackyourprogresstowardscompletion,allthewhileknowingthatifyouaresuccessfulyoushouldachieveyourdesiredrevenuetarget.

Onlybydrillingdowntothislevelofdetaildoyouhaveanyideaofthescaleofthejobathand.Onlybyknowingthescaleofthejobathandcanyoucomparetheresourcesyouhaveavailabletotheresourcesrequiredandeitherprioritizethemorarrangeformoretogetthejobdone.(YouwillgettothisattheendofthechapterinSignpost16.)

Itisunlikelythatyourbusinessisassimpleastheoneintheexampleaboveasyouwillprobablyhavedifferentgroupsofproductsorservices,customersandsales channels to consider.Make sure you break your business down into itsmostbasicgroupsandworkoneachoneseparately.

Your KEY paths may also involve developing new products, finding a newcustomer base or investigating new sales channels. If so, remember toincorporatethesechangesintotheActivitySheetsthatfollow.

Makingdecisionseasier

This whole process can be very enlightening, especially if you are trying todecidebetweentwocoursesofaction.Bybreakingdownbothoptionsintothislevelofdetail,youwillhavemoreideaoftheamountofworkinvolvedineachone. You can then choose the option that appeals to you most, whether it isquicker,cheaper,withinyourskillbaseetc.

Nowitisyourturn.

InActivitySheet17,youwillworkoutexactlywhatyouneedtodotoretaintherepeatcustomers thatyouhavenow, togetmorefromyourexistingcustomersandtoacquirenewcustomers.

CompleteoneActivitySheet17foreachofyour‘GettingTheWordOut’KEYpaths (and separate ones for each type of product or service if the plan willdiffer).




***TEXTVERSION***


ActivitySheet17-GetTheWordOutPlan

Productorservicecategory:KEYpath:(FromSignpost14).Number of customers to retain, getmore from or acquire inYear 1:(FromActivitySheet15)ThestepsyouneedtotakealongthisKEYpath:(FromSignpost15)Howmany customersdo youneed to get theword out to, to achieveyourYear1target?Bearinmindthelikelyconversionrate.Whataretheindividualactivitiesthatyouneedtoperformtocompleteeachstep?Bespecificabouttheexactscaleoftheworkinvolved.Considerhowyouwillfindandcontactthecustomerstogetthewordoutto.*Estimateddurationofthework:


Note:The‘Estimateddurationofthework’sectionsfoundinActivitySheets17and18canbeshowninhoursordaysandshouldrepresentyourbestguessofhowlongitwilltaketocompletetheactivitiesmarkedwithastar(*).

Wheredoesthisfitin?The individual activities that you need to perform, marked with a star (*) inActivitySheet17,willbeaggregatedintoa‘ToDo’listinSignpost16andwillbeusedasthebasisforapredictivemeasureinChapter17.

Howdoesthishelpme?

ByidentifyingthespecificactivitiesneededtoachievetheYear1targetforeachgettingthewordoutKEYpath,youwillcomeupwithanactionable‘ToDo’listforthenext12monthsthatwillsetyouonyourwaytoDestinationSuccess.

NowyouneeddetailedplansforalloftheotherstepsalongyourKEYpaths.

DetailedactionplansforallotherKEYpathsByworking through eachKEYpath fromSignpost 14,whilst referring to therelevant target from Activity Sheet 16 and steps from Signpost 15, you canidentifytheindividualactivitiesneededtofleshouteachstepandhowmuchofeachoneisneededtoensureyouhityourtarget.

Asyouwork throughall theKEYpathsandsteps,youwillprobably find thattheyareinter-linkedorcoveredelsewhere,evenifyou’vecalledthemsomethingslightly different. Don’t duplicate effort - streamline your thoughts and crossreferenceanyduplication.

CompleteonecopyofActivitySheet18foreachKEYpathtoworkoutexactlywhatyouneedtodo.




***TEXTVERSION***


ActivitySheet18-DetailedActionPlans

KEYpath:(FromSignpost14)KEYpathmeasure:(FromSignpost14)Year1target:(A)(FromActivitySheet16)Whereareyounowinrelationtothistarget?(B)Year1gapyouneedtofill:(A-B)StepsyouneedtotakealongthisKEYpath:(FromSignpost15)Whataretheindividualactivitiesthatyouneedtoperformtocompleteeach step? Be specific about the exact scale of the work involved. Foraction-basedstepsconsiderhowyouwillmakepeopleawareoftheactionyouwant them to take,what percentagewill take action, howmany youneedtoask,howyouwillfindthem,howyouwillaskthem,whatyouneedtodooncetheyhavetakenaction.Fordevelopment-basedstepsconsiderwhat percentage of ideas for the product/service or assetwill be useable,how many ideas you will need to start with. For system based-stepsconsiderwhichminisystemsthatmakeuptheoverallsystemarethemajorroadblocksandwouldbebeneficialtoimproveupon.*Estimateddurationofthework:


Wheredoesthisfitin?The individual activities that you need to perform, marked with a star (*) inActivitySheet18,willbeaggregatedintoa‘ToDo’listinSignpost16andwillbeusedasthebasisforapredictivemeasureinChapter17.

Howdoesthishelpme?

ByidentifyingthespecificactivitiesneededtoachievetheYear1targetforeachKEYpathmeasure,youwillcomeupwithanactionable‘ToDo’listforthenext12monthsthatwillsetyouonyourwaytoDestinationSuccess.

Makingithappen-daybydayCongratulations, you are now ready to complete the first of your twoKEYreports -Signpost16 - a prioritized ‘ToDo’ list detailing theKEY activitiesyou need to tackle in the next 12months to ensure you arrive at DestinationSuccess.

It is a summary of the ‘steps I need to take’ and ‘individual activities’ to beperformedasdetailedonActivitySheets17and18.

CompleteSignpost16.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost16-MyYear1‘ToDo’ListCopy therelevantinformationfromActivitySheets17and18intocolumnsasfollows:

StepsINeedToTakeIndividualActivitiesHoursBudget,ie,estimateddurationofthework.

Calculatethetotalhoursnecessarytocompletethework.

Estimatethe$spendneededtocompleteeachstep.Calculatethetotal$spendnecessary.

RanktheactivitiesincolumnEusingtheadvicebelow.

AllocatetheactivitiesbetweenQuarters1-4basedontheirranking.


Calculate the resources you have available over the next 12 months andcomparetothetotalhoursandfundsrequiredasshownonSignpost16.

Rememberthataswellastheactivitiesshowninthe‘ToDo’listyouwillhaveyourcorebusinessworkflowtotakeintoaccount.Signpost16isonlylikelytoshowactivitiesthatdoNOTfallintothecategoryof‘businessasusual’asthesearewhatwilldriveyoutowardsDestinationSuccess.

Doyouhaveenoughresourcestocarryouteverything?

Foranyshortfalls:

Lookback toActivitySheet14 to seewhereyoucan freeupsometime(andanyassociatedfunds).Compare the activities shown in Signpost 16 to the initiatives you hadunderwaybeforestartingthisbook.Whatactivitiesareyoucurrentlydoingthatyoudonotneed to continuewith as they are not important? STOPthemtofreeupvaluableresources.Consider taking on more resources. Hire a temporary employee oroutsourcesomeoftheactivitiestogetthingsdonesooner.Lookforwaystocarryouttheactivitiesmoreeffectively.Forexample,youwould need to make less sales calls if (a) the quality of the leads wasimproved,(b)youhadmoresalestrainingor(c)youwereofferingasalesincentive.Seektoobtainfunding.

Rankyouractivitiesbyimportance

Yourmostimportantactivitiesarethosethatensureyouenhanceordeliveryour‘wow’ factor. By prioritizing those over the rest, you can become morecompetitive giving you more resources with which to work on your otheractivities.

Foractivitiesthatareequallyimportanttodeliveringyour‘wow’factor,priorityshould be given to those requiring the least resources so that they can beimplementedfirst.

Usethisprioritizationtoallocateactivitiesacrossthefourquartersinthecoming12months,bearinginmindtheresourcesyouhaveavailableineachquarterandactivitiesthatleadonfromoneanothersocannotbedonefirst.Whatyoudon’tgettothisquarter,youwillgettointhenextthree.

Wheredoesthisfitin?Signpost16isthefirstKEYreportfromyouroverallroadmapthatyouwillwanttorefertodaily.

Howdoesthishelpme?Signpost 16 ensures you allocate your available resources in themost optimalmannerandthengivesyouanactionable‘ToDo’listforthenext12months.

BybreakingtheworkdownintoquartersyouwillnotbeoverwhelmedandwillprogressalongyourKEYpathstoDestinationSuccess.


Chapter17

HowToPeekAtYourResults30DaysFromNow

The measures you have been working with so far (from Signpost 14) recordhistoric performance. Whilst these are vital to track your progress towardsDestinationSuccess, theydonothelpyoudriveyourbusinessonaday todaybasis.

TheytellyouhowwellyouDIDatdrivingyourbusiness,onceit’stoolate.

Assuch,youneedanewkindofmeasure-apredictivemeasure.

PredictiveMeasuresPredictivemeasuresarepowerfulastheytellyouwhatyouneedtodooverthenext30days.Theyactlikeacrystalballandgiveyouapreviewofyourresults30daysfromnowifyoutakenoaction.

They measure your planned activities today, rather than your actual resultswhenitistoolatetodoanythingaboutthem.

For example, would you rather know today that you have no meetings withpotentialcustomersplannedforthenextmonthorwouldyouratherknowin30days’timethatyouhavenotsignedanynewbusiness?

Whichcanyoudosomethingabout?Atleasttodayyoucantakedailyactiontocallupsomeprospectsandgetyourselfsomemeetings.

Here are somemoreexamples of predictivemeasures alongwith the relatedsteponthe‘ToDo’list:

The number of new products to be launched in the next 30 days - toincreasetheproductline.Thenumberof social eventsplannedwithKEYcustomers in thenext30days-toimprovecustomerrelations.

Predictivemeasuresactlikeanearlywarningsystem.

Think of them as a smoke alarm for your business - at the earliest sign oftrouble,youwillbealerted.Theygiveyoutimetoadjustyourdailyactivitiesintimetoensureyourfutureresultsarethoseyoudesire.

LinkingpredictivemeasurestohistoricmeasuresExample1:

Say your ‘wow’ factor and customer delight rely on you never missing adeadline, so one of yourKEY historicmeasures is “The number of deadlinesmissed”.

Today itwouldbegood toknowthenumberof initiativesyouhaveunderwayforthenext30daystoalleviatesomeoftheproblemscausingmisseddeadlines.Thisisyourpredictivemeasure.

Example2:

AnotherKEYhistoricmeasureis“ThepercentageofKEYcustomersretained”.One of the steps to increase thismeasure is to getmore face timewithKEYcustomers.

As suchyour predictivemeasure, orwhat itwould be good to know today, ishowmanyvisitstoKEYcustomersareinyourdiaryforthenext30days.

Example3:

AKEY historicmeasure for authors is the “Average customer review score”.One of the steps to increase this measure is to get more feedback from betareadersorexpertspriortopublication.

Assuchauthorswouldbenefit fromknowing today thenumberofprospectivebetareaders/expertsreadingorscheduledtoreadtheirbookinthenext30days.

Acombinationofbothhistoricandpredictivemeasures isrequired for thebestcontrolofyourbusiness.Historicmeasuresdon’ttellyouhowtorunyourbusinessandpredictivemeasuresdon’ttellyouwellyouranyourbusiness.

Nowit’syourturn.InSignpost16,yousummarizedthestepsyouneedtotaketodriveyourbusinesstoDestinationSuccess.

InSignpost17,youwilltakeeachstepyouhavedecidedtoworkoninQuarter1andyouwillcomeupwithapredictivemeasureof‘whatitwouldbegoodto

knowtoday’soyoucanpeekatyourresults30daysfromnowandensureyourplannedactivitiesaregoingtotakeyouintherightdirection.

CompleteSignpost17.




***TEXTVERSION***


Signpost17-PeekingAtMyResultsListthe‘StepsINeedToTake’fromSignpost16thatareallocatedtoQuarter1.

Copythe‘MeasurefortherelatedKEYPath’,the‘KEYPath’andthe‘Year1Target’foreachstepfromActivitySheets16-18.

‘TodayItWouldBeGoodToKnow’whatwashappeninginthenext30daysto ensure the step was on schedule? Review the ‘Individual Activities’ fromSignpost16forclues.

Choose a ‘30DayTarget’ for the predictivemeasure.What do you hope toachieveinthenext30daysthatwillhelpyoureachyourYear1Target?


Wheredoesthisfitin?Thepredictivemeasuresand30daytargetsfromSignpost17willformthebasisof the secondKEY report to come out of this whole process - your weeklyreportingDashboard-inChapter18.

MakesureyoucreateanewSignpost17onaquarterlybasis.

Howdoesthishelpme?By using predictive measures to drive your business, you are proactivelyensuringsuccessbyworkingontheactivitiesthatwillleadtothatsuccess.


Chapter18

YourWeeklyDashboardReport:UseItRight

You have now completed your roadmap to Destination Success and have aprioritized“ToDo” list covering theKEYactivities youneed to tackle in thenext12monthsinSignpost16.(KEYreport1)

In Signpost 17, you have identifiedpredictivemeasures and targets for thestepsallocatedtoQuarter1toensureyouareproactivelydrivingyourbusinessintherightdirection.

So you now know ‘what’ to do but let’s not forget aKEY part to thiswholeprocess - tracking how you are getting on. Are you moving in the rightdirection?

Ifyounevercheckonyourprogress,howcanyouhopetogettotheend?

You know the targets you are aiming for with your historic and predictivemeasures, so all you need now is your second KEY report - a ‘Dashboard’report that shows you at glance, how you are doing. This will make youaccountableforyouractions.

Ihavefoundthetrafficlightsystemtobeaveryeffectivevisualwarningsystem.

Ared lightonyourdashboard immediatelywarnsyouof impendingproblemsandagreenlightgivesyoucomfortthatyouareontracktoarriveatDestinationSuccessonschedule.

Thinkofitlikethedashboardinyourcar.Aredwarninglightilluminateswhenthere is something toworry about.Otherwise you keep an eye on things, likefuel,tomakesureyoucangettoyourdestination.

Signpost18isanexampleofa‘Dashboard’report.Youcouldmakeitprettierordesignittoyourowntastesbutfornow,thisisfunctional.

Itissplitintotwoparts:

KEYPathMeasures-historic-howyouranyourbusiness,andPredictiveMeasures-forwardlooking-howtorunyourbusiness.

CopythehistoricKEYpathmeasuresandtargetsfromActivitySheet16.

CopythepredictivemeasuresandtargetsfromSignpost17.

On a weekly basis, update your ‘Actual’ results and compare them to the‘Target’.Colorthecircleinthe‘Status’columnredorgreenandusearrowsormini-charts in the ‘Trend’ column to show how the ‘Actual’ results areprogressingovertime.

Prepareyourreportsinrealtime.Datathatisafewdaysoldisnotideal.

ReviewtheprintedversionofSignpost18ifyouhaveitorturntothenextpagefortheon-screenimageversion.

‘Dashboard’ReportAnalysisThisDashboard reportwillbenouse toyou ifyou justupdate itonaweeklybasis.Youmustalsoanalyzeitandreacttoit.

Trends are KEY to predicting future results so pay close attention to yourbusiness performance in each area over time. Add charts as back up reportswhereverpossible.Whenyoustartoutwithan initiative, itmay takeweeksormonths to get into the green zone, but by charting historical data you can seewhetheryouareconsistentlyimprovingdaybydayorjusttreadingwater.

Bymonitoringyourmeasuresregularly,youcanscanfortrends,fix issues thathavegoneawry,tweakissuesthatlooklikestrayingoffcourseandsteamaheadwithactivitiesthatareworkingasplanned.

Enjoy the overview of the health of your business that you now have at yourfingertips.

Wheredoesthisfitin?Signpost18isthesecondKEYreportfromyourroadmapthatyouwillneedtoupdateandanalyzeonaweeklybasis.

Howdoesthishelpme?Signpost18monitorsyourprogress towardsDestinationSuccess. ItwarnsyouofimpendingproblemsandgivesyoucomfortthatyouwillarriveatDestinationSuccessonschedule.Donotdriveyourbusinesswithoutit!

ImplementationYou now have everything you need to drive your business to DestinationSuccess. But it is your commitment to implementing your roadmap that iscrucial.

Anyonecancomeupwitharoadmap.Followingthroughwithitonadailybasisiswheremostbusinessesfalldown,evenbigones.

FortuneMagazinesays:9outof10businessesfailtoimplementtheirplan.

Ifyouarethe1outof10thatdoes,youshouldbeabletogenerateexceptionalresults.

Youcanhavethebestroadmapintheworld,butifitisnotimplemented,itwillnothelpintheleast.

Don’twasteallthetimeyou’vejustspentworkingthroughthisbook.

Don’tfileawayyourtwoKEYreportsandworkingsorleavethemonashelftogatherdust.

Don’tstopnow.Youarenotfinished.Youmustliveandbreathethisroadmapifyouaretosucceedandbeatyourcompetition.

Recapof‘TheSmallBusinessSuccessRoadmap’Congratulations,youhavecompletedalltheActivitySheetsandSignposts.

InSection1youcameupwithyourplanofattacktoachievebusinesssuccessbydelighting your customers, beating your competitors and managing yourmarketplace.

InSection2you fleshedoutyourplanwith specificsonhow toclose thegapbetween where you are now and where you need to be in the areas KEY tobusiness success - customerdelight,greatprocesses,motivatedemployeesandfinancialmanagement.

InSection3,youworkedoutexactlyhowtomakeithappen,daybyday,weekbyweek.

You chosemeasures thatwill tell you categoricallywhen you have arrived atDestinationSuccessandwilltrackyourprogressinthemeantime.

Youbrokedowntheoverallplanintospecificstepsandindividualactivitiessoyouknowthescaleofthejobathandandexactlywhatyoushouldbedoingeachday.

You producedKEYReport 1 - a prioritized “To Do” list covering the KEYactivitiesyouneedtotackleinthenext12months.

Youknowhow to look intoyour crystalball andpeekatyour results30daysfromnow,sothatthefuturedoesnotcomeasanastysurprise.

You craftedKEYReport 2 - a ‘Dashboard’ that will help you monitor yourprogressalongyourchosenpathtoDestinationSuccess.

Remember torevisitandupdate the targetsonKEYReport2eachquarterandthoseonKEYReport1everyyear.Butdon’tfeelrestrictedinbetweenupdates.Being a small business is an advantage when it comes to being adaptable asunexpected future events present themselves. Just stay true towhat you knowyourcustomerscareaboutandhowyoucanbecompetitivewhenweighingupoptionsandmakingdecisionsandyoushouldstillbeabletoswitchgearsveryquickly.

Allthat’slefttodonowistocommunicatetheoverallmessagesinyourroadmaptostaffatalllevelsaswellastheactivities,measuresandtargetsthatarespecifictothem.

You will then be ready to take the first step on your journey to DestinationSuccess.Goodluck!

AboutTheAuthorI am aCharteredAccountant and have been helping small businesses achievesuccessforthelast10yearsduringwhichtimeIdevelopedtheapproachtaughtinthisbook.

I find thatmost business owners have all the answers they need to steer theirbusinessesintherightdirection.Theyjustflounderbecausetheydon’tmakethetimetostandbackandworkontheirbusinessortheydon’tknowhowtoidentifywhatisKEYtotheirsuccess.

Thisiswherethisbookcomesin.YouCANdoit!

Inmysparetime,Ienjoyspendingtimewithmyfamily,walking,cookingandreading.

Pleasefeel free tocontactmewithanyquestions,commentsorsuccessstoriesviamywebsite:JSJenner.com.

http://jsjenner.com

PrintOffTheWorksheetPackHere’sthelinksoyoucanprintofftheFREEworksheetpack:

http://jsjenner.com/worksheets/

Thepasswordis:SUCCESS

PrintOffTheExampleAnswersPackHere’sthelinksoyoucanprintofftheFREEexampleanswerspack:

http://jsjenner.com/example/

Thepasswordis:SUCCESS

http://jsjenner.com/worksheets/

http://jsjenner.com/example/

ThankYouIgreatlyappreciateyoutakingthetimetoreadmybook.Iwouldbehappytoansweranyquestionsyoumighthaveaboutthesystemandwouldlovetohearyourthoughts.Whatdidyoulikebest?Whatdidyouliketheleast?Doyouthink

thesystemwillworkforyou?

Pleasecontactmeviamywebsite:JSJenner.com.

Whilstyou’rethere,whynotsignuptobenotifiedwhenIreleasethenextbookinthe‘SmallBusinessSuccess’series,aswellastogetaroundupofthetipsand

adviceIaddtothesite?

http://jsjenner.com/

OneLastThing

Onthelastpage,youwillgettheopportunitytoratethisbookandshareyourthoughtsonFacebookandTwitter.Ifyoubelievethebookisworthsharing,

pleasetakeafewsecondstoletyourfriendsandacquaintancesknowaboutit.Ifitturnsouttomakeadifferenceintheirlives,they’llbeforevergratefultoyou,

aswillI.

Allthebest,JuliaJenner

ReferencesBalanced Scorecard Step-By-Step: Maximizing Performance and MaintainingResultsbyPaulR.Niven

Key Performance Indicators: Developing, Implementing and Using WinningKPIsbyDavidParmenter

TheBalancedScorecard:TranslatingStrategyIntoActionbyRobertS.KaplanandDavidP.Norton

TableofContentsTableOfContentsStepByStepGuidanceToBusinessSuccessSection1Chapter1Chapter2Chapter3Chapter4Chapter5Chapter6Section2Chapter7Chapter8Chapter9Chapter10Chapter11Chapter12Chapter13Section3Chapter14Chapter15Chapter16Chapter17Chapter18AboutTheAuthorPrintOffTheWorksheetPackThankYouReferences

Download - Small Business Success Roadmap: A Winning Step By Step Guide To Extraordinary Entrepreneurship

Top Related