Not a day goes by that I don’t get asked “what exactly do you do?”.
When I explain that I help business owners get the most out of their business for the same time, effort and expenditure that they are currently putting forward, they often ask how that’s even possible.
I go on to explain that I primarily start by doing 3 things:
1 – I look at what they are already doing. I then throw away what’s not working and optimize (improve) what is.
Most times, a business owner is delightfully annoyed to know that for the same $/time/effort they are currently putting into something, say an ad, we often get a 3, 5, 10X better return. That’s “bonus money” for the same effort.
It’s amazing how many people keep pouring money into something that’s not working, thinking that more volume will solve the problem.
2 – Once I’ve optimized the business “as is”, I do a deep and thorough “cat scan” of the business to discover hidden assets or under-utilized opportunities where I can put systems or strategies into place that can drive real results.
Often, business owners are so “IN” the business, it gets hard to see the opportunities that lie right in front of them. Or they only have experience in that field and have a limited realm of what’s possible, but i bring experience from multiple industries.
This head-to-toe analysis allows me to discover the cost of acquisition, lifetime value of each client, the areas that can be innovated, assets that aren’t being used or acknowledged, and so on.
3 – I measure everything, and I keep them accountable. I’m always amazed at how many marketers are nothing more than salespeople, and it really destroys the industry.
It’s easy for me to sell you a radio spot, because it’s tough to turn around and measure it’s result. It’s easy to sell some fancy website, because most won’t tell you how to measure if it’s worth it. It’s easy to sell some new videos and commercials, because most won’t take the time to explain how to make sure it’s even going to carry it’s own weight.
I’m always willing to be the first to tell you that most marketers are crap, they’re nothing but slick salespeople who’ll sell you on the idea of marketing, without taking the time to explain how to measure the results and make sure what we promote actually works.
I know this doesn’t sound very encouraging, and that’s okay. I’m not trying to pump up my industry. In fact, I’d rather expose it for what it is… There are many crappy, bottom of the barrel, blood sucking leaches in it. (In case you missed that, the blood in this metaphor is your hard earned dollars!)
But, I’m not naive enough to think that only my industry is like that.
There are good and bad salespeople.
There are good and bad phone companies.
There are good and bad restaurants.
There are good and bad confectionery stores.
There are good and bad photographers.
There are good and bad tech companies.
There are good and bad spouses.
There are good and bad people.
In all areas of life, there are good and bad. Some, more bad than good, some, more good than bad. That’s life, and that’s not “good or bad”, it’s just “the way it is”.
And lastly, usually grouped with number 3, is I keep everyone accountable. As the owner, the entrepreneur, the BOSS, we don’t need to “answer to anyone”, and that is very often the biggest set back to being at the top.
When I come into a business and together, with the owner, come up with a strategy and action steps, I do everything in my power to keep everyone involved accountable.
If that means calling once a week to humorously harass, I will.
If that means showing up un-announced to make sure everyone’s on the ball, I will.
If that means sending in secret shoppers to go through your customer experience or selling process, I will.
Often, we’re not here to teach anything new, we’re here to remind you of what you already know and make damn sure it gets executed on.
Listen, it doesn’t matter how much you know, how many ideas you have or what your plans are. All that matters is action. And if you have a million dollar idea, but you keep it in your head, it’s worthless.
This week, this MONDAY, take some time to step back and think about your business, to work ON your business instead of just IN, and plan out your next 1, 5, 10 years.
Figure out what your goals are, and figure out how to get there. And if you can’t put it in writing in a way that what you need to do to get to your goal is clear as day, call us and we can help.
Remember, a goal to make a million dollars this year is nothing without knowing how you’re going to get there.
Don’t wait until January, do it now.
To your success,
Al