Where is the script for your business? (Reprise)

This was one of my earlier and more popular blogs. I thought it would be appropriate to dust it off and republish it because it is invariably this time of year when business owners begin to reflect on the past year and the new one just around the corner. I hear these quotes most often: "Maybe we should do things differently next year." or "I'd sure like to feel like I am in more control of our growth." or "I am ready to take it to the next level." Maybe this article will add additional motivation to change. Enjoy.

I was speaking to a large gathering of business owners and was asked whether there was an inherent conflict between planning for growth and the more free spirited entrepreneurial-like approach - where you stay agile and react to opportunities as they arise (i.e., operate without a plan). This was a great question as it addresses a big misconception about planning - that it somehow hand-cuffs a business.

To answer the question I asked the audience to imagine themselves accidentally walking onto the set of a movie production. Then imagine grabbing the megaphone and asking everyone on the set to freeze for a moment and to please hold up their script for the day. In this case, none of us would be too surprised to see that the cameraman, the director, the soundman, the actors, and even the caterers will all be able to produce a script for that specific day.  The cameraman will know which cameras he has to have ready and where they should be staged.  Because of the script, the actors will know the lines and the scenes they are expected to be ready for.  And the script will reveal to the caterers how many meals they have to prepare for and where they will be served that day. You see, a movie will never come together without a script.

Now take that same megaphone into your own business and ask your leadership team and employees to produce their script for the day. How will they react to this request? I suspect most will give you that “deer in the headlights” look.

There is not a producer in the world or investor that would pursue a movie production without a well written script. The idea is simply preposterous. Yet most of us will run our businesses without one.

The script for your company is a plan - a simple concise document which aligns your team around a common objective or end-state that is consistent with your vision and market conditions. And, like the script for a movie, there are portions written specifically for specialized roles. Sales, operations, finance, human resources, marketing should each have a script which defines the specific tasks they must complete (and when) to keep your “movie” progressing.

The script governing the day-to-day operations are process documents which describes how a product or service is produced and delivered within your company.

You will find that businesses that grow consistently year after year operate to a well vetted long-term (3 yr.) and short-term (1 yr.) plan. It is the plan they refer to BEFORE making a hiring decision, investing in capital equipment, or spending precious cash on marketing campaigns and website improvements. It is also the plan that will guide them when building and executing a sales strategy.

These same growing companies also recognize that the process by which they produce a product or service can impact competitiveness. By documenting critical processes they eliminate the risk of being dependent on any one person’s memory or contribution. It also gives them a foundation from which to explore innovative changes that will improve efficiency and thus increase profitability.

Now I hope I have convinced you that, like a movie, your business too requires scripting. Can you imagine actors, cameramen, and set designers coming to a specific location and then left to their own to interpret the verbal instructions of the producer’s vision for a movie. It would be chaotic at best with numerous costly ventures down one frustrating dead-end after another. Entrepreneurial or not, is this the atmosphere for a growing thriving business? No.

So, where is the script for your business? It is worthwhile to note that since 1980 over 70% of the winners of the Academy Award for best picture also received the Oscar for best screenplay – the script.

Want help to build your "script"?  Let's talk over coffee about where you want to take your metro Atlanta business. Contact me here.

About the author. Mike Gomez is President of Allegro Consulting, a growth specialty firm helping businesses plan and execute aggressive growth strategies. He grew his very first client’s business from $8M to $35M in just two years. Mike is a sales process evangelist, prolific speaker, writer, three-time marathoner, a former military officer and pilot of both aircraft and helicopters. www.allegroconsultant.com

Is your business an orange among a lot of oranges?

I gave a talk to business owners about the importance of having a targeted marketing and sales strategy (#5 on my 10 Essential Elements to Long-Term Growth). In that talk I showed why companies who thrive are laser focused in defining to whom they want to sell their products or services. This is especially true with start-ups or small companies where a limited marketing budget and a small sales force is the norm. The analogy I use most often to stress this point is the game of darts. How silly would it be to play darts without a dartboard? Yet I routinely see owners liberally handing out darts to their sales team with no dartboard in sight - all the while still expecting them to regularly hit a bullseye (customer).

It was after this presentation that a question was posed, “How do I decide who to target?”

Bingo!  That is exactly the question I wanted these business owners to ponder.

I’m sorry to say that you won’t find the answer here in this blog. Why? Because the process to decide this requires an extensive internal company assessment and external market analysis.

I can, however, give you one step in that process. Answer this question, "How are you different from competitors in your industry or sector?" Figuring out what’s different about your business will then lead to identifying companies who value that difference - and thus whom you should consider targeting.

Unfortunately, most of us are in “commodity” businesses. In other words, within our industry sector we are simply an orange sitting on a stack of oranges. Unless you've intentionally done something to separate yourself, this is likely true whether you are a marketing firm, lawyer, dentist, any broker, web designer, staffing company, accounting firm, bank, dry cleaners, insurance company, real estate agent, etc ... Are you getting the picture? Even a company like Boeing is an orange. The difference for them is the stack of competing oranges is rather small (only four commercial aircraft builders in the world). If we could all be so lucky to compete against just four rivals.

The challenge for every business owner is to decide (1) do I simply compete as an orange - knowing I will have to out-market (advertise, SEO, etc...) all the other oranges in my sector and accept that price will drive most decisions or (2) narrow the competing field by specializing - become unique - a blood orange, naval orange, or clementine for example. There is no right or wrong answer here. The downfall comes by being unaware, in denial, or worse yet, think you have something unique when in fact you don't.

Here is a quick example. Cordell and Cordell is a law firm. I think we all know how many law firms there are in this world (that stack of oranges is a mile high). Recognizing this, Cordell and Cordell chose to specialize - they became a domestic litigation firm further specializing in men’s divorce - a blood orange (no pun). In doing so, they reduced the size of the competition significantly. And by fully embracing this strategy they know clearly who they want to serve (target) as a customer. They have even gone so far as to own and manage the content of mensdivorce.com and mensrights.com. Brilliant!

I have a friend who once defined his firm as a marketing company. He eventually recognized he was in a very crowded market (lots of oranges (marketing firms) here in Atlanta). Every engagement became a competitive race to the bottom in price. He decided to change course, to specialize in just one aspect of the marketing spectrum - marketing communications, even further specializing in presentations. He created a brand called Presentation Tune-ups and is now much clearer about who specifically he is targeting for his specialized service. And much like the lawyer example above his relationships, first built around presentations, eventually encompasses other marketing related services.

So ask yourself, are you an orange competing against other oranges? If so, how will your customer choose your orange from the rest on the stack? What does your dartboard look like? Or, have you made yourself a unique enough orange to warrant being placed in a different bin, with the ability to command a higher price, and a much clearer understanding of the bullseye your marketing and sales force are aiming at.

Tired of being an orange among all the other oranges?  Let's talk over a cup of coffee how we can define a way to make your metro Atlanta business unique.  Contact me here.

About the author. Mike Gomez is President of Allegro Consulting, a growth specialty firm helping Georgia business owners take their company "to the next level". He grew his very first client’s business from $8M to $35M in just two years. Mike is a sales process evangelist, prolific speaker, writer, three-time marathoner, a former military officer and pilot of both aircraft and helicopters. www.allegroconsultant.com

Is your sales strategy right or wrong? How do I know?

A prospective client was sharing some stories from an ongoing large sales opportunity they are pursuing. He concluded with this statement, “I think we have the right strategy now.”

I replied, “How do you know?” That caused a long thoughtful pause.

He admitted he had no way of knowing the answer to this question. And based on his use of the word "now" he had thought other strategies they had pursued was the "right strategy”. So how much confidence can you place in his latest declaration?

Let’s take a moment to explore what makes something right or wrong.

We have all taken test before and told whether we got an answer right or wrong. In this environment someone made a decision and documented what he/she views as the right answer to a given question. Your answer is deemed right or wrong by making a relative comparison against this known criteria. But what about passing a right or wrong judgment on something like the paint color your teenage son chooses for his bedroom. Most would say this is not possible as there are no hard rules from which to make a relative comparison. Not so fast my friends. I’d argue that if Dad has the final say on the paint color for the room then he and his personal tastes will determine right or wrong.

So where does a sales strategy fit in this spectrum. Is it vague and thus fall into the category of personal tastes or is it more concrete like a school exam?

My experience says it is a combination of the two. And the way you determine if the strategy you chose is right or wrong is by making a relative comparison to what you know about the formal and informal rules of how the buying decision will be made and the personal views and opinions of the people participating and/or influencing the process.

People make buying decisions not companies. And because they are people, their personal biases and interests will always be a factor.

Knowing which biases and how much of a factor is your sales challenge. Having a formal process in place to make this relative comparison is your company’s challenge.

Are you chasing an important complex sales opportunity in metro Atlanta?  Want to improve your chance of winning by subjecting your sales strategy to some outside seasoned scrutiny?  Let's talk over a cup of coffee.  Contact me here.

About the author. Mike Gomez is President of Allegro Consulting, a growth specialty firm helping businesses plan and execute aggressive growth strategies. He grew his very first client’s business from $8M to $35M in just two years. Mike is a sales process evangelist, prolific speaker, writer, three-time marathoner, a former military officer and pilot of both aircraft and helicopters. www.allegroconsultant.com

5 Lessons Building My New Fully Responsive Website

Every three years or so my company website starts to look and feels stale and dated. I don’t know if there is a study out there to back this up but this is what my 12 years of consulting experience (8 years with a website) has taught me. It has become clear that people’s expectations for a website “experience” are constantly evolving. Social platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, and Instagram, and YouTube have influenced the web audience to desire bite sized pieces of information preferably through media such as videos and telling photos. On line stores like Amazon too have influenced expectations along these lines.

I am a consultant. I help businesses who are struggling for one reason or another. My clients are serious people burdened and kept awake by serious challenges. If things have gotten to a point where they need an outsider to help you can bet they are prepared to research options. My old website was tailored to that research. It provided the client some things to think about in the way of solutions and why I was the best guy who could help. But now even this audience wants the same type of information presented differently - in meaningful bite sized nuggets.

Oh, and one other observation. Two years ago less that 1% of my web traffic came from devices other than a desktop. Today 21% of my traffic is from mobile or tablets.

My old content ladened, static website had run its course. (Good bye old friend - you served us well).

So you might be asking, because of the title of this article, why I took on the challenge of designing and building a website myself rather than contract the project to a web developer or marketing firm. I have three reasons for doing this. First reason, given the importance a website is to any business I feel as a consultant I must know enough about the process to credibly advise my clients through it.

Secondly, so I know what kind of effort and skills are involved and thus the value attached to such a project. And the third reason is to fully understand what a business owner must know about his/her business and customer BEFORE he/she begins this undertaking.

That said here are the top five lessons I learned from this one-month project:

1. Know everything about your business - your growth plan and your target customers. This is not something you casually hand off to a marketing firm or web developer to figure out. You should be able to articulate your 3-year strategy (your web presence is but a tool to help get you there), details about current state (customer/product mix etc...), your target customers, your competitors, and the landscape in which you compete. With regard to your customers, you should know how they shop, what they value about your company, what products and services they favor, and what their expectations are when they land on your site. (By the way, this is by far the most requested service of  Allegro Consulting - growth strategy development.)

2. Know the difference between the skillsets of a web developer versus a marketing firm. Web developers are best equipped to bring functionality to your website whereas marketing firms bring creativity and design. Asking a web developer about layout, colors or the appropriateness of artwork would be like asking the carpenter to design your house. Likewise, expecting a marketing firm to efficiently create the coding for a web form or transaction integration would be equally outlandish. To get the most out of this important marketing spend, task the experts to do only what they are most trained for.

3. Don’t outsource the content. Once again if you know your business and you know your customer then you know best how to connect with them. Sure it is ok to have a third party edit your writing but you have to take charge of the messaging. This is not something you outsource.

4. Web audiences will scroll. It used to be that you had to worry about putting the most important content “above the fold”.  This is no longer the case. Thanks to Facebook and Twitter people are now use to scrolling and will automatically do this when on a website. Here is a great article on this subject.

5. Preserve your URLs. If you have a strong Google ranking be careful about how you introduce change to your website - especially the URLs I learned it is very important that you do whatever you can to preserve your old URLs (exactly) even if they are not an ideal name for your pages. Don’t throw them away as there is valuable Google history there. If you can’t use them in your new rebuilt site use a 301 redirect rather than discard. Here is an article about that.
Let me know what you think of my new website. BTW - I used a pretty impressive tool to build it - a company called Webflow.

Remember, your website is a marketing tool and the role of marketing is to attract "qualified" prospects. It is incumbent on you to understand what is a "qualified" prospect and how they go about researching then buying your type of product or service. It is also your job to know what differentiates you from alternative choices. Don't spend the time or money creating a new website until you know this information cold. These are the topics covered in a well run strategic planning engagement. And this is what Allegro has been doing for metro Atlanta businesses for over 14 years.

Let's talk about your business over a cup of coffee.  The first cup is on me.  Contact me here.

About the author. Mike Gomez is President of Allegro Consulting, a growth specialty firm helping businesses plan and execute aggressive growth strategies. He grew his very first client’s business from $8M to $35M in just two years. Mike is a growth strategy and sales process evangelist, prolific speaker, writer, three-time marathoner, a former military officer and pilot of both aircraft and helicopters. www.allegroconsultant.com

The Worst Sales Direction EVER! “Treat it like it’s your own business.”

I've just heard this story too many times not to share it as a learning moment.
I received a call from a salesperson asking for advice as he struggled to meet his quarterly sales quota. I assumed he was calling looking for new sales techniques or particular guidance on moving a client to close. But this was not the case at all. Here is how the dialogue went:
Salesperson says, “I’m selling a product in a market where I have a competitor selling the exact same thing.”
I replied, “Same thing? You mean same features, same everything?”
“Yes”
“Are you more price competitive?”
“No, not really. We offer trade in of older equipment to bring the price down but so does our competitor”
“What about service?”

“Yeah, we do support the customer better than they do.”
”That’s good. But will your customer pay more for this better service?”
“No.”
“Interesting, so tell me what kind of direction have you received from the owner of the business you work for?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, given the market realities you’ve outlined, how does your owner expect you to win new business? Is he doing things to separate you from this competitor? For example, specializing in a certain niche (becoming experts and thus the preferred vendor) or using marketing and strong advertising techniques to build brand preference (aka, Colgate vs Crest toothpaste)?”
“No, the only guidance I was given was, “Treat it like it’s your business.”
Even the best salesperson will under-perform or fail under these conditions. It is not the salesperson's job to identify target customers and invent ways to differentiate. The role of the owner, President and/or CEO of a business is to equip your sales team with the tools to be successful. At a minimum this includes the following:

• A list of “target customers” 
• those inline with the customer mix outlined in your short and long-range growth plan
• who match the profile of those who will value your product, expertise and/or differentiators
• The compelling story to support why clients should buy your product over competitors
• Who are the competitors the sales team can expect to face and what differentiates us from each
• A supportive marketing (lead generating, branding, demo tools, social media, samples, brochures, etc...) strategy
• The right sales tools and support (travel budget, conference attendance, CRM, bid and proposal, quoting, etc...) - tools that actually help the sales team do their job versus those that help the owner monitor the sales force.

Given that only 28% of a salesperson’s time is spent in front of the customer and about 50% of that time is actually selling (the rest is prospecting (35%), relationship building (10%), and training (5%)), it is imperative, you the owner, equip him/her with the tools to ensure it is the right prospect and that he maximizes the productivity of that time.

In my 12 years of consulting "under-performing sales" has been by far the number one pain point with the blame typically placed squarely on the salesperson or VP of Sales. It is not long into the engagement when humility kicks in as the owner discovers it is their lack of a long-range plan, a clear understanding of what makes them different, a detailed knowledge of their competitors, and an ineffective or non-existent marketing strategy that are the real culprits.

Want to grow your metro Atlanta business?  Let's talk over a cup of coffee about what we can do to give your sales team the right tools for success? Contact me here.

About the author. Mike Gomez is President of Allegro Consulting, a growth specialty firm helping businesses plan and execute aggressive growth strategies. He grew his very first client’s business from $8M to $35M in just two years. Mike is a sales process evangelist, prolific speaker, writer, three-time marathoner, a former military officer and pilot of both aircraft and helicopters. www.allegroconsultant.com