24/02/2009 by admin.

We came across the following which some of you may have seen before but struck a cord with her with respect to requirements of members of your team.

Mathematical view point:
This is a strictly mathematical viewpoint…it goes like this:

What Makes 100%?
What does it mean to give MORE than 100%?Ever wondered about this?We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%.
How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?Here’s a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:
If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.Then:H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%

But,

A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%

We have edited the rest of the mathematical proof!

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22/02/2009 by Geoff.

Forecasting sales (the top line) is key to forecasting what the result of the business (the bottom line) is going to be.

There are two elements to this - the science and the art!

Most companies focus on the science - they analyse what has happened in the past (actual - trends) and project forward to generate a forecast - hopefully they’ve got some assumptions to justify any significant changes.

The forecast can be made more robust by considering what is or might be happening in the market place (market intelligence). As well as being close to the market, there is an art to this. It’s essential that there are assumptions that you can check back to during the year.

Of course your forecast will be supported by a tactical plan which you follow!

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16/02/2009 by admin.

Written by a recovering John Hill.

Whilst doing a little reading during my convalescence from an appendectomy I came across a new definition of cash flow.

“watching your money going down the toilet!”

I’m sure business owners and investors can see where the originator is coming from in the current climate.

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16/02/2009 by Geoff.

You may be getting board with people saying that Networking is the route to a better business and more sales? You might be doing this physically (working a room) or via a business networking site like LinkedIn - recommended and referred to by Phil in previous blogs.

But it doesn’t necessarily work - in which case you get demotivated and potentially miss an opportunity!

Effective use of networking as a business tool primarily needs there to be a fit (something in common - not always obvious) with the person or organisation you meet. If your satisfied you’ve filtered these people from the contacts you’ve made then you must be prepared to help them and work at the relationship. It matters. Always do what you say you’ll do. Develop a meaningful and productive relationship.

If you do that, then be prepared for networking to work for you and your business.

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09/02/2009 by Phil.

The only problem with continuous improvement is that you have to keep changing things. The question many of you will ask yourselves is ‘will this change improve things?’. Hopefully you will have gathered your data and based your plan on sound logic, so don’t worry too much, as the chance of any of us getting any change right first time is pretty slim. As long as you have set up so that you can monitor the effects of your change and modify where you need to, then get on with it. The worst thing that can happen is that you procrastinate. That can only lead to stagnation and in today’s climate it’s the companies and people that are moving forward who will be in the best shape to survive. Don’t wait until you are 100% sure or that the solution is 100% right, make that change now. You can perfect it the next time you change. Tomorrow.

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09/02/2009 by Geoff.

Of course you wouldn’t! You’d find a nice patch of fertile land and sow them successfully there?

So why not the same with your sales activity? You probably have plenty of data about where and what markets your current clients are in - analyse it! In doing this you potentially will identify the fertile ground (markets) or maybe ones that your product/services have not been exposed to yet.

Potential result = focus in the right place and more sales at no extra cost. You don’t have to re-invent the wheel!

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03/02/2009 by Geoff.

So you’ve identified the major problems in your business and one of these is the need to improve skills in certain areas. To address this you send people on a training course in the relevant skill.

Unfortunately after the course nothing changes! The people who have attended the course immediately get embroiled in their day to day jobs, do what they have always done and do not find the time to think about how their new skills can be applied to improve their environment. Result no improvement in the business and demotivated employees. 

The problem is not with the people or the course. Its just that an obstacle to improvement has not been addressed. What is the problem in the area and how might new skills be applied to improve it (hopefully remove it)? Training courses alone are not enough. They must be followed up in the work place (on the job coaching?) so that benefits to the business are realised.

While this might costs a little more, surely its worth it to improve the business and have motivated employees?

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