Brilliant at the basics of business 100:

Just had the IoD magazine hit my desk and out fell a neat little pocket book by Nicholas Bate (http://www.strategicedge.co.uk/) - 'Brilliant At The Basics of Business 100:'  I can't find a reference to it on his website but it's worth asking for a copy.  100 little pearls of wisdom to flick through as you wait on hold while making sales calls!

We have a 'DOH' list here at Centurion - things that are so obvious they can easily be forgotten.  I'm convinced that it never hurts to revisit the obvious.

Sending targeted email messages

If you do any level of email marketing you will understand the power of sending a targeted message. By knowing your customers, their characteristics and preferences, you can segment them to receive focussed messages.
Many companies can achieve this but in such a disjointed way that it is near impossible. Not only will a joined up approach make your marketing better it will save you time and money.
To achieve this you need five things;

1. an understanding of your customers and their preferences to work out the segments;
2. a way of recording and filtering by each segment;
3. an easy way to create a focussed email message for each segment;
4. a joined up way of merging the message and segmented contacts to send the email;
5. tracking to monitor activity and responses to your message.

Great examples of joined up systems are ACT! 2011 and Swiftpage or Sage CRM & Swiftpage. Use ACT! 2011 or Sage CRM to manage the segments & groups, then get Swiftpage to design, sent and track activity. Finally, Swiftpage records all activity back in ACT! or Sage CRM!

Compound training

I am experimenting with the idea of compound training. Most people have heard about compound interest - the idea of adding interest to your capital investment to earn more interest on the combined amount. Compounding is one of the best investment 'tricks' there is.

In the business software world, training is usually a one hit wonder - you get a system and get some training. This can be problematic since users are expected to go from no knowledge to expert in one leap. Some people are good at this but they usually have a background knowledge to draw from - have worked with systems before, like playing with IT etc.

I am trying an approach that gives a new user access to training in steps that can be compounded. For example - if we implement a new Sage ACT! system we might follow three steps:

Step 1 - get the users watching a short introduction video as soon as possible (preferably before they get access to the system). This makes them familiar with the look of the system in a low threat way and only takes a matter of minutes.

Step 2 - a short person led training session based on their job. During this session they only cover what they need to start using the system.

Step 3 - for the advanced student. This is where we cover the system in depth, going through functionality that they aren't using now but that could be of use in the future.

Subsequent steps cover specific areas of the system in great depth but only when the user knows they need it and will put it to use.

This approach allows users to build their knowledge and confidence. At any point they can jump off the training schedule and go on their own, but the key is not to jump off too early. Too little training is the main cause for businesses struggling with the systems they use.

Maybe there's no rocket science here but it seems to work. The key is to make training available in bite-sized chunks that are approachable and affordable.

10 ways to boost your sales

Tips & tricks - how to get the most from your efforts as a sales person. If you read this blog post, please do so on the understanding that it is largely here to remind me what I believe in and then to make me do it!

Have a plan and work at it every day
Top sales people know their targets, what they have got to do to achieve them and then focus on doing it. No chatting about reality TV programme at the coffee machine. They plan, set goals and constantly ask themselves “How can I achieve my goals today?”
Prospect for new clients every day
Sales is like a bucket with a hole in the bottom! If you stop filling the bucket, it will soon be empty. It doesn't matter how you fill the bucket - cold calling, networking, referrals, events, PR, marketing, direct mail or white papers - it needs to be topped up every day.

Be genuinely interested in your clients
It's hard to get motivated on the 47th call of the day, but if you can’t get interested in your client, then they wont be interested in you. Being genuinely interested in your client's business is a great way to differentiate yourself.

Ask great questions
Great questions come from two things: The first is being genuinely interested. The second is planning and preparation. Sometimes you have to rehearse your questions - this doesn't mean that you read from a script though. Make a record of your clients’ answers so you can build up a profile of them. Focus on this one area of your business over the next few weeks and it could well make a big difference to your sales pipeline.

Listen to understand
Two ears, one mouth - too many sales people work the other way around! Most sales people filter what they hear, listening for what they want to hear. For this reason, many totally mis crucial pieces of information because it wasn’t what they were wanting to hear at that time. This can kill a sale.

Know your clients
Few people know their clients well enough. This can lose business because if you don't have enough understanding how can you truly help your client.

The information you need could well include size, markets, customers, projects, turnover, values, mission, individuals, individual drivers, future growth plans, exit strategies etc. When you’ve gleaned this information, store it in a single, simple-to-access database that you and your colleagues can easily return to.

Sell solutions, not products
If you’ve ever had problems with trying to get clients to commit or had deals that seemed ‘on’ then went sour, then you were probably selling products not solutions.
As a rule, we shouldn't discuss specific products or solutions until we know our clients’ explicit needs. And these needs should be stated by the client, not you!

Target your perfect customer
Outline your perfect customer on a piece of paper… in detail. Check that there are enough of them to build your business to the size that you want to build it to. Work out how to reach them, and get to work! And don’t tie yourself to customers you don’t want anymore, as you’ll never find the time to approach those you do want.

Be proactive, confident and professional
The key word here is professional - not cocky! Set yourself high standards and strive to maintain them in everything you do. Another popular way of stating this is to be a player not a victim.

Never stop learning
Seek out people that you admire, who take responsibility for their own success. Find out what they believe in, understand how they behave and what they did to achieve their success. Then decide how you can use that information to improve what you do.

This post was based on an article written for Sage ACT! by Gavin Ingham (http://www.gaviningham.net) with a few twists of my own.

Now please excuse me because my bucket needs filling....

Digital native vs digital immigrants?

How do you view technology?

Apparently a chap called Marc Prensky argued there are two types of users of digital technology - Natives and Immigrants. There's an interesting discussion running on linkedin http://linkd.in/a8XHOr

Sage CRM Solutions relaunch

I have spent the last two days at a relaunch event for the Sage CRM Solutions division. Sage have been a big player in the CRM marketplace for many years but they haven't got the recognition they should have. Their systems are powerful, simple to use an reliable and as a Sage Business Partner we get to work with clients of all sizes. We specialise in their ACT! and Sage CRM systems.

The division relaunch is centred around a new General Manager, Carlene Jackson who has years of experience in CRM.

All good news so far but there's lots more to do.

The cost of complexity (aka KISS)

Human beings seem to like making things complicated, but when it comes to business systems this can be bad news.

System reviews often start with a simple, but pressing, requirement eg.

• get a better idea of what sales are being worked on;
• what marketing works;
• store all information centrally.

Then best practice says you should:

1. list your requirements;
2. assess what is available to meet those requirements;
3. meet with a shortlist of vendors;
4. evaluate and make your decision;
5. implement.

I don't disagree with any of the above but the work involved must be in proportion. There are traps to fall into at each stage:

1. List your requirements - if you sit down with a blank sheet of paper you will almost certainly produce a lists of 'must haves', 'wants' & 'would likes'. It's worth understanding the three categories as the longer the list, the more complex & costly the finished system.
2. Assess what is available to meet the requirements - if stage 1 went well then you have a good solid list. If you spend too long looking at the options then you will generate a mountain of information that will take even longer to filter through. Three or four options should usually be enough and please consider your budget at this stage. If a system is too expensive then it probably isn't right for you.
3. Meet with a shortlist of vendors - it sounds silly but the most common trap here is to have a short list that isn't short. If you invite 15 vendors to the party then nobody gets what they need - least of all you.
4. Evaluate and make your decision - if there is an obvious choice then that's OK, you don't need to look to make it more complicated. If it's not obvious, then a team meeting, a white board and simple scoring system might do the trick. List your requirements and score each system as to how well it meets them - 1 = doesn't, 5 = completely. This will highlight where you need more info and may give you an answer. Please don't rely on the vendor to do this exercise as they may be biased!
5. Implement - This is where it is crucial to keep the list from stage 1 handy. Systems people call it 'project creep' - new requirements added along the way will cause sleepless nights as well as cost and time over runs. Set your goals, make sure everyone sticks to them and have some measurable objectives if possible.

There is always a reason why an IT project goes wrong and being over ambitious or complex is up there at the top of the list.

Understand the costs of CRM in the cloud

There has been a big shift towards cloud computing in the CRM world. The company that has benefited the most from this trend is Salesforce.com. They claim over 75,000 companies use their online CRM system and I don't doubt this for one minute. However, I wonder how many of these companies really know whether it is the right place for them. Companies can be guilty of having a heard mentality - "..they are there so it must be right for me..".

I'm a firm believer in cloud based systems but would only recommend going for an online CRM system if it meets with the client's specific requirements and budgetary constraints. This approach is essential if a company is going to understand the options and make an informed decision.

Many business managers (understandably) get confused by the terminology - pay per use, SaaS, cloud, web technology etc... The right way to start a review is to separate what you need from what / how you want to pay. If you decide that you need a web based system then consider the pay per use model but remember not all web based systems are pay per use. For SMEs this is often a question of cashflow rather than ROI as purchased systems usually work out more cost effective over the lifetime of a system.

It's also worth looking in detail at what is included in the monthly rental - salesforce have systems starting at £3 per user per month but their most popular system costs £85 / user / month. For a 5 user system that's £5100 per year! There is a reason why it's the most popular - it's the one that has the functionality that people need.

In summary - there's no shortcut. Understand what you need, consider the options and don't get caught out by the hype - cloud is good but it isn't always right.

Making existing IT work for you

Most indicators show that the economy has turned and that we are in the early stages of a recovery. Companies are thinking about investing again to make sure they are in the best possible position to capitalise on the upturn.

With reduced headcount in many companies, business software needs to work harder to make up the difference. This often leads to a search for replacement systems but managers need to make sure that there is a real compelling reason for a change.

I am advising my clients to document what they need from their systems and make sure that existing systems can not do it. It can cost more than three times as much to implement a new system as it does to upgrade or modify existing ones. Sometimes, all that is needed is a bit of training which is a real saving compared to the upheaval of implementing a new system.

However, if there are compelling reasons to change, then investment is required. Whether you upgrade or replace it should be turned into a really positive event.

Making marketing work

I have just had a great meeting with the guys at The Marketing Eye (http://www.themarketingeye.com) who aim to bring blue chip marketing skills to smaller businesses in the South East.

If you are looking for some one to help with your marketing, I recommend you talk to Neil and his team. I haven't had first hand experience of their work but they come highly recommended.

10:10 - some ideas are so simple!

Centurion has just signed up to 10:10 (http://www.1010global.org/uk) and made a commitment to reduce our energy usage by 10% over the coming year. Our recent office move has given us a head start as we are now in a much more energy efficient building so we are looking at fine tuning.

We have always looked to minimise our impact and 10:10 will provide us with a great focal point. One area to get attention is our business mileage and as a starting point we needed to know the mileage for last year. This proved to be harder to do that I expected so we are about to improve our expense management system. Managing expenses online, using breatheHR, will give us the tools to monitor mileage and reduce admin.

As a business we are driven to create strong client relationships so it is important for us to meet with clients. However, we plan to use our IT systems to help reduce the need to travel. We have provided online support for a number of years are are adding online 1-1 bite sized training and even online installation services.

Where is all our data held?

Most companies have all the data they need to make informed decisions - it's just not in a format that can be accessed or used.

I had a great conversation a while back with a friend & business colleague about email - is it data or is it a bucket that has data in it? This may seem like a technicality but in my view it is essential to realise that it is a bucket!

How many emails do we all get in a day - 50, 100, more? Many are junk but some contain nuggets of data that are valuable. We need this data to make informed decisions. Most people store useful / important email in some sort of file structure - typically in Outlook folders. On the face of it this is great, but it falls apart when we want to access the data contained within the email. We can search by sender, subject or content - if we know where to look (maybe it is in folders that I don't have access to) and can guess at some of the words used. I would claim that unless you are really organised, or have time on your hands, much of the useful data contained in filed email is lost.

Document management systems have long been heralded as the key to a paperless office but they are expensive, difficult to set up and maintain. They can however provide a solution to the issue of managing data in emails (much more than managing a filing system for email).

We have been looking at ways to open up the document management tools to SMEs that don't have a huge budget and are really excited to have found KnowledgeTree.

KnowledgeTree provide affordable, easy to use systems to manage documents, promote collaboration, reduce paper and most importantly release data held in documents. We are just finalising our plans and will have more information about KnowledgeTree available shortly.

With information comes light.

I heard a senior executive from Facebook say this recently and it has stuck with me. Taking this saying and stretching it to its limits was an interesting exercise (sad I know, but my excuse is that I was stuck on a packed commuter train heading home from London).

If information brings light
then
knowledge must be an open door with the light shining through and the conviction to walk towards it
leading to
understanding as one recognises the source of the light.

To run a business we must have information but, to take informed decisions, we need to turn it into knowledge and act on that knowledge. Only after acting do we stand a chance of understanding.

Decision Making

How many decisions do we take in our business life? Many are taken without thought, as part of our daily workload. Some demand more attention and have a greater impact. There are only two outcomes to the decision making process - 'do something' or 'do nothing'. When I say 'do nothing' I include 'get more research', procrastinate and all the other things that result in no action being taken.

How any businesses consistently monitor the results of 'do something' decisions? The best businesses always measure outcomes and adjust decisions accordingly.

When it comes to 'do nothing' decisions, very few businesses consider the outcome. However, how can we as business people improve our decision making process if we don't do this? If we decide to not invest in a new server, we should measure what that decision is costing us (or not costing us). If a decision is taken to not invest in an ageing product then we must recognise that a drop in sales is possibly the reaction to that decision.

For the last couple of years it's been easy to take 'do nothing' decisions but if we were wrong then the consequences will show up sooner or later. Isn't it better to monitor the results of all high impact decisions (both 'do something' and 'do nothing') so that we can adjust our actions quickly?

I like the idea that there are no wrong decisions, only right decisions that are not reversed quick enough.

Apples & pears

There has been a long running discussion on LinkedIn about the merits of two CRM systems. It all started with a very fair question asking for a comparison between Microsoft CRM and Sage ACT! However, from many points of view they are incomparable - particularly in functionality, complexity, cost & technology used. The debate has rolled on for a couple of weeks with answers getting technical, heated and to be honest occasionally irrelevant. There have been several people arguing that they need to consider their requirements first. I wonder if the questioner regrets asking!

When an organisation is in the early stages of looking for a system there needs to be two parallel strands

1. basic product research; and
2. requirements definition

Basic product research must happen to allow the organisation to become familiar with the market place to answer questions like

• who are the providers
• what can the systems do
• basic costs.

After all there is no point in doing any more research if what you want can not be done. Also, when meetings are arranged with potential suppliers the organisation will be speaking from a position of knowledge.

Requirements definition is needed to properly understand what the organisation needs. There should be a 'must have' list and a 'wish' list of requirements but it is important to make sure that the wish list doesn't take precedence.

The next stage is how to choose the potential providers....

Multi-tasking is bad for you - apparently.

Stanford University researchers have found that compulsive mulit-taskers are harming their ability to focus on the task at hand. They were tested to see if they could ignore irrelevant information when given a task and apparently they couldn't.

I know I have good multi tasking days when I get so much done and bad days when I just get distracted, flitting from one thing to another. The bad days are usually a symptom of a lack of pre planning or focus for the day. It's not that I have lost focus by multi-tasking, it was never there in the first place!

Experience has taught me that I work best when I'm on the edge - preparing for things 'just in time' - but this only works if I get the basics right. I use our CRM system to hold as much info as possible about what I am doing. For example, if I arrange a meeting for a future date I need to clearly record what it's about and what my goals are, because I know that I will grab the info just before I set off to the meeting. This may sound like I am not preparing but actually I prepare long in advance. If I have all the facts in one place then I can use travel time really well - I get so much done on trains.

A top tip to reduce distractions - stop Outlook telling you that a new email has arrived. Check your mail every hour instead. A study by Microsoft found that it takes 25 minutes to return to the original task after an interruption by email. Another survey claims only 8 minutes but that's still a huge amount of time.

Snow stop play (2)

Back in February I wrote a post suggesting that work needn't stop because of a little bit of snow. Well here we are again - the broadcasters are advising people not to travel unless absolutely necessary. But what is 'absolutely necessary'? If you run your own business and have to make every moment count, then surely travel is absolutely necessary. One of my guys was due to see a client this morning and spent 1 1/2 hours trying to get there before turning around. A fantastic effort that meant a lot to me and the client. However, everybody needs to make individual decision based on their own circumstances.

What ever the weather, a good plan and capable systems really can help. We are by no means the best prepared but work goes on at Centurion. The office is not maned, but our phones are redirected so the few clients that are working can still be supported. We are working from home with access to email and CRM. Online training has happened this morning and client work continues all be it at a slightly slower pace. I can even go into our HR system, breatheHR, and prepare for next weeks performance reviews.

This sort of event is going to get more frequent so we, as responsible managers, need to constantly improve our processes. There are things that I have learnt over the last two days that I want to change for next time. We need to share the information about how to redirect the phones for instance.

Life goes on - and it does look very pretty outside!