Tips and tricks for managing people in SMEs

Bob books a holiday - there has to be a better way!

2011-04-30T07:49:00.002+01:00

It's Saturday of the May bank holiday weekend and Bob has decided to plan his summer holiday. He and his wife Helen think about dates and start to look on the Internet. They find a package holiday that sound like a good deal and set about agreeing a date. There's two weeks availability starting 6 August, the kids are on holiday and they all get excited. They read the reviews, look at the videos and dream about relaxing in the sun. The only problem is that Bob has to check to see if any of his colleagues are off and then get his holiday forms signed. They can't do anything until Tuesday and even then Bob's not sure if Simon, who manages holiday booking will be in. Helen gets angry and an argument kicks off.

On Tuesday Bob bumps into Simon at the coffee machine. They talk about their weekends and Simon promises to look at the holiday spreadsheet after he gets out of his next meeting. The day goes by and both get involved in their work. It's only that evening that Bob realises Simon didn't get back to him. Helen has another go at Bob - why is organising a holiday always so stressful!

On Wednesday Bob makes a special effort to remember. Simon is at his desk, checks the spreadsheet and no one else has booked that time yet. However he's not too sure if Bob has enough days left to take the two weeks. What a frustrating waste of time! Bob heads back to his desk to find his holiday form which will prove it. After about 5 minutes of searching he finds it and he is right - he has 10 days left. Completing the form, he heads off to see his manager who needs to sign the form. Jane is busy but tells him to leave the form on her desk. She gets it back to him right at the end of the day - quicker than normal. Eventually Bob goes back to Simon on Thursday, form in hand. Simon takes one look at it and snaps that he will need to reconcile the form back to the spreadsheet so he'll get back to Bob - probably early next week!! Bob heads home expecting another ear bashing from Helen.

Aghhhhhh .... There must be a better way! There is .....

Saturday morning blog post.

2011-03-19T11:54:00.001Z

It's Saturday morning, the sun is shining and I've just got back from one of my most creative daily events - the dog walk.

The three most common subjects for my dog walking time:

People issues
How to add even more value for our customers
Nothing - just trying to be aware (probably the most valuable)

Today's subject? Being present in the sunshine and watching spring arrive. The great thing about times like this is that ideas tend to just arrive. Which brings me back to why I am writing a blog post - I had an idea about how to change the code behind the blog that would display it better in a Google search. I've made the change so now it's time to wait for Google to do it's bit - could be hours, days or weeks so I'll just have to be patient!

5 factors underpinning employee engagement

2011-03-18T18:22:00.000Z

I recently had lunch with Gary Miles from the Roffey Park Institute (www.roffeypark.com) discussing their work around employee engagemant. Much of this was carried out with very large organisations but I am convinced that it is just as relevant to much smaller companies. Just because a company is small it doesnt mean it's HR issues are any less complex.

Roffey Park carried out a research project last year to explore how key drivers affect employees in their day to day work and what the ultimate outcome is for organisations. The drivers being considered were leadership, management, communications and culture (drivers of engagement) and the more tangible outputs of employee engagement such as discretionary effort, energy, well-being and productivity.

The findings highlight that at the heart of employee engagement is a two-way relationship between the employee and the organisation. Key factors identified were:

The sense employees have that their relationships with their employers are fair and equitable, including the extent to which employees feel supported in their work.
How employees relate to their job roles, including the pride they take in their work, their sense of delivering a valuable service and how stimulating their work is.
Whether employees feel that they are respected and trusted and that their contribution is valued.
Whether they believe they are communicated to well and trust their leaders.
The quality of interpersonal relationships between colleagues, in how enjoyable and productive they are.

If thsi is a subject close to your heart then I recommend that you take a look at their study - The Human Voice of Employee Engagement

Time to get an HR system that works for you ....

2011-03-11T17:30:00.000Z

Institute of Directors article '...... In January, a report by consultancy Mercer found that while 65 per cent of HR professionals across Europe, the Middle East and Africa perceived themselves as strategic partners to the business, just 15 per cent of the activities they carried out related directly to strategy. Despite claiming otherwise, HR professionals were spending most of their time on compliance and auditing, HR services and record-keeping-tasks just about as far from the centre of the organisation as it's possible to imagine. ....'

Read more - Does HR add strategic value?

By 2012, 20 percent of businesses will own no IT assets

2011-03-10T09:45:00.002Z

In Jan 2010 Gartner predicted that '...by 2012, 20 percent of businesses will own no IT assets..' http://www.gartner.com/. By this they mean that businesses will adopt cloud computing but they didn't state business size.

One year in - are we are we getting there? Our experience with breatheHR suggeests that many more SMEs see the advantages of joining the cloud revolution with maybe 1 in 5 prospects telling us that they intend to have no office based servers. A long way off 20% of all businesses but a good step in the right direction..

Brilliant at the basics of business 100:

2010-10-05T09:15:00.001+01:00

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

2010-09-24T17:02:00.004+01:00

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;

an understanding of your customers and their preferences to work out the segments;
a way of recording and filtering by each segment;
an easy way to create a focussed email message for each segment;
a joined up way of merging the message and segmented contacts to send the email;
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

2010-09-17T09:20:00.004+01:00

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

2010-08-20T15:30:00.003+01:00

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?

2010-08-11T10:09:00.005+01:00

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

2010-07-22T18:49:00.005+01:00

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)

2010-06-15T15:57:00.005+01:00

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:

list your requirements;
assess what is available to meet those requirements;
meet with a shortlist of vendors;
evaluate and make your decision;
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:

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.
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.
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.
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!
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

2010-06-08T15:06:00.005+01:00

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

2010-06-03T14:31:00.005+01:00

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

2010-05-06T17:27:00.002+01:00

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!

2010-05-05T09:20:00.004+01:00

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?

2010-04-21T09:18:00.006+01:00

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.

2010-02-17T17:54:00.003Z

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

2010-02-10T19:07:00.004Z

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

2010-02-01T15:21:00.004Z

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

basic product research; and
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.

2010-01-22T17:36:00.003Z

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)

2010-01-06T13:09:00.002Z

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!

Lies, damned lies and statistics

2009-12-20T15:29:00.007Z

Lies, damned lies and statistics, the phrase attributed to Benjamin Disraeli (though not found in his work), could be applied to the Office of National Statistics reporting for UK GDP. I'm not suggesting that there had been any underhand dealings going on but rather a desire to be over cautious that the press capitalised on

You may remember that the ONS reported UK GDP to have fallen by 0.4% in the third quarter of 2009. This caused a public (press?) outcry against the government - why weren't they doing more? At the time I remember reading minor reports that the figures were likely to be revised up towards the end of the year for very valid reasons. But, being British, the bad news was over played.

So now that it is the end of the year, it seems that the true figure for the third quarter looks more likely to have been a fall of 0.1% and may even have been neutral. See "Office for National Statistics data suggests recession already over."

What has this got to do with running a small business? Two things - first, business morale took a further battering which we really didn't need and second there is a lesson about how to turn information into knowledge. The ONS knew the factors affecting the calculations accuracy and alerted us to the possible update, but the press decided to largely ignore this.

With any management information, if one relies on the headline figure and doesn't bother to understand the surrounding information, a bad decision can be taken. Every manager needs a set of key performance indicators (information) but they must be applied with understanding (knowledge).

Getting the focus right when implementing a new system

2009-12-18T12:16:00.010Z

When a new system is being implemented there are three elements that must be balanced:

Functionality - what it needs to do;
Speed – how quickly do you want it in place;
Price – what is the budget.

It's easy to say that we want everything, now, and at a rock bottom price but that's not the real world. It's also a recipe for a failed implementation.

In most cases, the answer is a blend of the three but the mix will determine how your project proceeds. For example, a project focused on price will almost certainly result in less functionality being delivered, whereas a focus on functionality will take longer to deliver and probably cost more. No implementation is the same so consider the triangle (right) and think about where your priorities are.

We find that there are 4 broad categories of implementation:

Balanced - requiring “a little of all of them”, is where most of our clients actually sit. They want a balance between a solution that is implemented quickly, but is somewhat tailored to their needs, with enough training to get both users and administrators up and running with a minimum of stress, effort, and delay.

Speed - A focus on speed means getting the system as fast as you can. This does not necessarily mean sacrificing functionality or quality, but can result in a higher cost. It may involve several consultants working together on a system. Speed focused implementations need careful project management.

Functionality - The functionality focus typically suits organisations that want the system configured to their specific needs, detailed user and administration training, and have lots of data to be migrated from one or more legacy systems.

Price - A focus on price looks for all options to keeping the cost down. This includes absolute out-of the-box functionality, and training to give administrators enough information to continue the learning process themselves in the use, setup and administration of the system, and to train the end users themselves.

The best route to understanding the right mix for your implementation is to meet with the vendor and discuss the options, your in-house skills and how critical the system will be. It's also worth pointing out that the mix will change from system to system and should not be a company standard

So many good causes but some just make so much sense.

2009-12-18T09:51:00.003Z

I know this is the time of year for good causes to tug at our heart strings, but every now and then I hear of one that just makes so much sense.

My friends at Trovus (http://www.trovus.co.uk/) introduced me to ColaLife (http://www.colalife.org/). Colalife is a campaign to get Coca-Cola to open up its distribution channels in developing countries to save lives, especially children's lives, by carrying much needed 'social products' such as oral re hydration salts and high dose vitamin A tablets.

They are looking to build a bank of supporters on Facebook.

One version of the truth.

2009-12-14T11:16:00.000Z

How many times have you questioned the information you use to run your business? That nagging feeling that a part of the management information might not be correct or you see the same information from two sources that doesn't agree. Would you expect sales information in your CRM system to match the invoicing totals in your accounts system? Probably, but there are legitimate reasons why it may not.

Businesses often have the same or similar data stored in different places and whilst this isn't ideal, it's not necessarily a bad thing. What it does mean is that greater care needs to be taken when compiling data. Time needs to be taken to understand the way each system holds data and to get a real understanding of the reporting tools provided.

Marathon Sponsorship

2009-12-11T14:44:00.001Z

Thank you to everyone who sponsored me for the Florence Marathon at the end of November and I raised nearly £500 for the folks at Kids Company which is fantastic. It's not too late to make a donation at www.justgiving.com/jonathan-richards.

I wont go into detail about my time except to say that I was only 3 hours over the world record time. I think it's safe to say that the winner was tucking into his second pizza by the time I finished.

Roll on the next one - but probably not until Autumn next year.

Information overload

2009-12-04T17:46:00.003Z

When I first started working as a management accountant I learnt that it was no good having loads of data unless you could turn that into information. But even information is pointless if you can't use it. For example - it's no use having all the data about your sales opportunities if you can't turn that into a report that helps you manage the sales pipeline. But even the best pipeline report is useless if it takes you hours or days to produce.

I was reminded this week that the information trail goes even further:

Data becomes Information,
Information leads to Knowledge
Knowledge develops Understanding
Understanding gives Wisdom

Data is raw and has no meaning;
Information is data that has been given meaning;
Knowledge is where information sources are gathered so that it becomes useful;
Understanding happens when knowledge becomes embedded and you can take action;
Wisdom is much higher. It allows us to determine the difference between right and wrong.

In business, nothing less than understanding is truly useful and wouldn't it be nice to have a bit of wisdom!

How often do you talk to your customers?

2009-11-23T09:50:00.003Z

When I ask this question to small business owners I often get the answer 'I don't know, probably not enough.' Who can blame them with all the other pressures - cashflow, closing sales, order processing etc etc..

We go to all the effort of getting customers to buy from us and the last thing we want to do is to leave them to it, hoping that they are happy. Most people know they need to keep in contact and do so, it's just that they can't monitor it. This type of information can be at your finger tips if you have a process and a system.

Logging calls, meeting notes and email can seem like a pain when you're busy but it really is essential if you want your customer service to be consistent. If you log every customer contact it is only a short step away from reporting who you are not in contact with.

Jonathan Richards is fundraising for Kids Company - JustGiving

2009-11-06T22:46:00.001Z

Jonathan Richards is fundraising for Kids Company - JustGiving

Posted using ShareThis

Keeping the green shoots alive through winter

2009-10-29T23:38:00.003Z

Whilst there are still two polarised views about the economy, many people I speak to are seeing a pick up in their business. Let’s face it, most small businesses have had a tough time over the past year and any sign of improvement is very welcome. For many companies an upturn sees a wave of pent up demand heading their way – the customer always needed your product but was unwilling or unable to pay for it.

To ride this wave you have you have three choices:

Carry on as you are but paddle faster – sooner or later you will fall off the wave. Or worse, it will overtake you..
Get another person to paddle with you – who wants to recruit right now when there are so many pessimists predicting a ‘w’ recession.
Work on improving your technique – match investment with income and build a better platform for the future.

Now is the time to look at how you are working and question if it is the most efficient way. This covers both what you are doing and how you do it.

In the HR world it is a good time to review how your organisation manages admin heavy processes. Is there away to automate tasks, leaving you to manage the people not the paperwork? HR professionals need to be out there building confidence in their teams rather than doing admin.

Sales and marketing people can always improve processes. We sales people hate to be tied down to a system but grudgingly admit that things work best when we are. I for one need to go through my sales pipeline to remove those deals that never seem to close – it was worth chasing them when I had the time but now I’ve got enough ‘winners’ to work on.

Biggest employer in the world.

2009-10-16T14:55:00.000+01:00

I've just been looking at the results of the 2009 Fortune Global 500 and it's quite sobering. The biggest employer in the world is Wal-Mart with 2.1 million employees! Can you imagine handing out the payslips?

Slightly more sobering - if you sort the results by the biggest losses our very own Royal Bank of Scotland comes in second with a stonking loss of $43.1billion. The 'winner' is Fannie mae with a massive $58.7 billion loss.

Top 6 most profitable companies in the world? All oil or gas providers.

Have a look at http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/global500/2009/index.html for more big numbers.

What use is social media?

2009-09-18T17:12:00.000+01:00

There’s a debate going on about the use of social media in a business environment and how that relates to relationship management. Three schools of thought:

1. It is personal and should never be used for business
2. Responsible use is to be encouraged
3. "I don’t get social media and it has nothing of use for business".

The middle approach is the one I support, provided it becomes part of a bigger relationship management strategy. If a customer goes to the trouble of maintaining a Linkedin profile, only a foolhardy sales person ignores it. However, Linkedin alone will not close a deal – we must co-ordinate all our activities to build a strong relationship with each and every client.

Like every aspect of selling we have to tailor our approach to individual clients. If a client regards Facebook as purely personal then the last thing we want to be doing is using it to sell to them.

In summary, social media should become another valuable tool in your relationship management toolbox. Use it where appropriate and make it part of your CRM system.

If you are firmly of the view that social media is a fad, have a look at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIFYPQjYhv8. Before you go - a word of caution. As with all things on the web treat the statistics with with some caution.

Boosting profits through customer retention

2009-09-04T13:22:00.003+01:00

Keeping customers happy has always been important - the theory goes that a happy customer keeps on buying. Marketing gurus tell us that there are degrees of happiness with the ultimate being an advocate - someone who raves about your company without any prompting. In practice most customers don't reach that stage, they end up being just plain satisfied.

But satisfied is good, in fact it is fantastic. A satisfied customer will keep buying so long as you communicate with them. They may get tempted to go elsewhere but regular communication will pull them back.

The great thing about communicating with your customers is that it isn't rocket science. All it takes a good procedure that is well executed.

Who manages your diary?

2009-07-15T11:15:00.001+01:00

I haven't met a CEO of a small business that hasn't got too much to do. Diary management is always a big topic and most people develop their own methods to suit the way they like to work. However, sometimes the way a diary is run has more to do with what others want - colleagues, clients & peers - rather than what is important to us.

I am always intrigued by the way that peers can affect how we run our businesses. I occasionally speak to CEOs who suggest we get our PAs to talk and arrange a meeting - I tell them that I don't have one and then suggest a date & time. They believe that this is the way it should be done but it often comes down to the fact that they don't have good access to the system they use - paper or electronic. They give the impression that it is not their job and are shocked that my diary is mine to manage. I take the view that if a meeting is worth arranging it should be booked then and there with little fuss.

Our CRM system is used by every employee and all meetings are recorded - both companies that I am involved with use the same system. Every employee sees my diary and can / must enter meetings when they need me involved. They are used to this and are very considerate but I have an office manager who juggles activities for me when needed. On school run days the system tells me when to leave and I try to get personal activities logged where relevant. I have access at home and on the move but as all employees can see my diary it is easy to call in and organise events.

This approach wouldn't work if every employee had their own diary but I haven't been in that situation since starting Centurion 15 years ago. I can see that sharing diaries may be scary at first but I personally couldn't manage without it.

Invest in systems support

2009-07-13T13:23:00.005+01:00

I have just taken on a new client whose system has been unsupported for the last year. I first spoke to them at the end of 2008 when they asked us to quote for supporting their business critical CRM system. However other more urgent issues got prioritised and it is only now that they have taken up my proposal.

It is all to easy to drop support for business systems now that we are all looking to reduce expenditure. However this can be a false economy. In many respects software support is like insurance - you don't need it until something serious happens.

People that know me will say that I am the first to recommend saving unnecessary costs. So I suggest asking yourself a number of key questions:

How critical is the system?
Can I manage without it?
What would happen if I am without the system?
How many users and processes would be effected?
What is the cost of support compared to the cost of down time?
Are we pushing the limits of what the system can do?
Do I have good internal resource to manage the system?
Does this resource have the right skills and time to apply them?

I would also suggest that there are a number of less relevant but still important questions such as:

Did I use support last year? - that is no guarantee that you wont need it this year. You probably pay for fully comprehensive car insurance and are glad you didn't use it last year.
Am I planning to replace the system soon? If it is currently a critical system that you can not do without then support should be maintained.
What is the cheapest support option I can get? Cheap is not always cheerful.

There are certain situations where costs have to be dramatically reduced in a hurry and I am not talking about these. However, in most circumstances system support should be viewed as an investment to manage a business risk. Talk to your provider to get the most out of a support contract and they should respond by working with you to get the most out of your system.

Investing in IT

2009-07-11T08:48:00.004+01:00

History shows that successful companies come out of recessions more productive than when they went in - productivity compared to the rest of their industry. Research suggests that no more that 3% of information available today is digitised, so investing in business systems to release corporate knowledge can give you real competitive advantage. Importantly, it is expected that the amount of information available digitally will double every 18months.

Companies that measure IT spend as a % of revenue are on the right track. But more than just spending on IT, it means focusing IT spend on growth projects rather than running IT. Growth projects can be though of as ways to use information to your competitive advantage - eg removing admin tasks from front line employees, driving targeted marketing campaigns using customer information, automation of management information.

Many commentators are starting to talk of 'post downturn' strategies and a companies IT infrastructure should be the most important. Companies need to be highly automated and quick take opportunities as they arise. In the same way, a companies IT systems must be nimble, cost effective and high quality.

Sharing data around your company

2009-06-27T08:34:00.003+01:00

I was party to a conversation last week where a 'traditional' salesman said ".... you expect me to share my contacts with everyone in the company? You re bl***y joking!...." This guy worked for a large corporate but I have come across the same attitude in companies of all sizes. Sadly, this view is all to common and can cause big problems if you are the owner of a small business.

It's all to easy for sales people to think that they own the opportunities they are working on. However, in a small company the manager or owner needs to know what is going on - it may be a case of survival when sales are tight. Operations need to know what to plan for, accounts need to be involved if there is a credit issue etc etc.

I don't subscribe to the view that all sales people are prima-donnas, only interested in themselves. If you talk to them about sharing their contacts and opportunities you should do it in a non threatening way - it's amazing how many sales people are a little insecure (the job sometimes demands it). Explain the reasons why you need to know what they are working on and give them an easy way to record information. Remember, you don't want them to be spending all their time on admin.

The 5 magic bullets of marketing

2009-06-19T16:45:00.006+01:00

Marketing gurus tell us that we are hit by over 3000 marketing messages in any one day. Most of them seem to tell us allot about what is on offer but little about how it will make our lives better. When it is done well the results can be superb.

The first time I wrote this post, I called it the '5 mistakes of SME marketing' but I think we small business owners are taking enough of a beating already - hence the change of name!

Marketing doesn't seem to come naturally to small business owners so it is fantastic to see it done well. We all welcome marketing that:

1 - focuses on what the customer needs and stays away from what we want to sell,

2 - is a co-ordinated series of events,

3 - is well planned and executed,

4. - is not just an exercise in spending money!

5. - that actually generates opportunities and ultimately revenue.

The key to achieving the above? Successful marketeers understand that they need to plan, measure results and value every opportunity generated.

Handling employee expenses

2009-06-17T17:45:00.001+01:00

With all the furore over MPs expenses it seems that many small business owners are looking at what goes on in their organisations. We are getting more and more interest in the expense management tools provided by breatheHR.

In good times, small business owners might be prepared to turn a blind eye but that seems to have changed with the focus on cost saving. Business Link have released a really useful section of their website that covers expense management - tale a look at their website...

Sales pipeline management

2009-06-12T15:06:00.013+01:00

Managing your sales pipeline is important at every stage of the economic cycle but is vital when sales are thin on the ground. There is a lot of nonsense written about designing a pipeline that largely comes from big company thinking. It can be a simple process so long as you keep in mind one key fact - you will never get it spot on.

Sales pipeline management requires employees to understand the process, be held accountable and to take activity. The results must be measured so a reporting process needs to be agreed.

I have worked through the process with a number of clients this month. It is a 6 stage process:

List the major stages that you go through when working with a sales opportunity. These should not be too detailed. For example:
1. Initial Communication
2. Needs Assessment
3. Presentation / meeting
4. Negotiation
5. Commitment to buy
6. Order received
7. Sales Fulfilment
Define what you mean by each stage. It is essential that all of your team understand how to classify an opportunity. For example, what has to happen when you first talk to a prospect to qualify for the 'Initial communication' stage? What has to happen for an order to be classified as 'Order Received' - verbal order or PO Number?
Attach a probability to each stage. You are trying to understand what the probability is of closing a deal at any stage. For example, you might say that 10% of new opportunities turn into orders. Or that 95% of opportunities where you get a commitment to buy actually turn into an order. This is the place where you don't want to worry too much about being spot on - all you are looking for is an an approximation.
Introduce a system to manage this whole process. There a many CRM systems that can do this for you but working on a tight budget one of the best is Sage ACT!

Keep the results updated. A sales pipeline will only be useful if you keep it up-to-date and regularly reviewed.

Refine the process. You will need to give the process some time to settle down but after a while you will want to refine the process.

You should end up with a table like this:

If you follow these steps you will have a measurable way of tracking opportunity progress and one measure for assessing the competency of your sales people.

Competency frameworks

2009-05-19T17:25:00.004+01:00

I have been doing some work lately to brush up my knowledge about competency frameworks - an area where I am sadly lacking!

This is a subject where clear definitions are essential but may be lacking. We work with hundreds of companies however, very few actually use a competency framework and, when asked, they come up with different definitions. In my reading I came across the following, clear, concise and helpful distinction:

Knowledge - Information that has to be learned to carry out a job
Skill - The application of that knowledge in a practical way to achieve a result
Competency - The application of that skill so as it results in work done to a particular standard

I realise that this might be very basic for the seasoned HR professional but when it comes to jargon it's often best to over simplify. One thing that is totally clear to me, is that if an organisation wants to implement a competency framework they need expert advice.

Training budgets

2009-04-27T11:27:00.003+01:00

Is it me or has there been an uplift in the tone of economic reporting over the last couple of weeks? The media can still come up with doom and gloom - giving a negative slant to a neutral / positive story, but the mood seems to be turning.

This seems to be reflected in the number of requests for training that we are receiving. Clients tell us that budgets are still tight but well justified training is getting funded. This is good news for our users and we are trying to help in whatever way we can. We tailor our training around clients exact requirements and always try to leave them with an immediate ROI. If we can save them even the smallest amount of time it can pay for the training.

The latest success we have had is getting training covered under the Train to Gain scheme. Not all training is covered but it's worth a try. This gets £500 paid for and a futher £500 matched. If you want more information feel free to drop me an email.

Managing HR in a small business

2009-04-22T11:29:00.005+01:00

Most small businesses can not justify having a dedicated HR person. The admin heavy and / or complex HR processes can be a real drain on management time. Companies often hire in a part time person to help with HR but this can cause problems:

Hire a highly skilled HR person and you run the risk of this expensive resource getting bogged down in HR admin (booking holidays, recording sickness etc..) or
Take on extra admin resource to help with HR processes and you run the risk of non core processes running out of control.

If you are a manager in an SME the chances are you didn't sign up to do HR - nothing wrong with HR, its just not your thing. You should be focusing on selling, operations or delivery. The solution can be found in automating the repetitive HR tasks and outsourcing the complex HR activities.

Tasks that can be automated include:

Holiday booking & authorisation
Sickness reporting (including back to work interviews)
Employee address and core data updating
Frequent tasks - appraisal reminders, new starters, leavers etc
Report production

Having a central system for HR data relieves management of a non core task, saves time, increases accuracy and satisfies data protection legislation. It is also an essential tool to maximise the efficiency of outsourced HR services.

Lastly, it provides management with reports and analysis on staff activity. Managers can easily combine data on various topics into one report on which to base decisions. Having access to pre-formatted reports on such topics as employee absence by reason, workers compensation statistics, and salary by department makes understanding the strategic "big picture" much easier.

One word of caution - not all HR systems have the ability to automate tasks. Some only act as an electronic filing cabinet. To get the maximum benefit from this approach you need a system that has employee self service functionality and has been designed for SMEs. Take a look at breatheHR.

Expensive software sitting on the shelf?

2009-04-17T09:56:00.008+01:00

All businesses are looking for that extra edge - the things that make a difference; whether it's increasing revenue, saving costs or just plain making life easier. One area that every company needs to look at is the software that is being used or in some cases not being used!

Research shows that businesses rarely use more that 20% of the functionality of any software system. This is great news as it leaves a whopping 80% still to benefit from. In addition to this there are many systems not being used at all - still in the box, never installed or never really understood and forgotten about.

A great example of this is Sage ACT! - with over 2.8m users there must be a whole host of companies out there not using it to its full potential. Every organisation needs to manage sales, improve customer service or just free up some admin time and a bit of training could make all the difference.

If you work for an organisation that has been in business for a while I bet there is some benefit to be gained from looking around your network or in the cupboard where your software boxes are kept. It may take a little research or some training but the potential is definitely there. There may even be government funding to foot the bill!

On the move

2009-03-19T12:45:00.006Z

I had a conversation earlier this week with a contact who was looking to get more connected. He is very successful salesman, working for a company that is bucking the downturn, but he knows he needs to stay better in touch with the office.

Whilst the web has been with us for many years, and applications have used the Internet for a good while there aren't many smaller business taking advantage of the benefits. CRM applications are particularly suited to using the web but sales people are often reluctant users. Sometimes it's a fear of the technology but most frequently it's a fear of being checked up on.

We are implementing Sage ACT! for his company that will allow them to co-ordinate all activities, keep travelling employees in touch with client activity and give the sales people access to relevant information. All for under £6k! Since their average deal size is around £20k and the average salary is £25k it wont take much to give an early ROI:

Increase close rate

Shorter lead to close time

Reduction in office admin time to support external staff

Tighter management of new leads

More accurate forecasting ....

Making the most of every sales opportunity

2009-03-05T09:17:00.005Z

One of the most common demands we get from new clients is that their CRM system must give them a better handle on new business opportunities.

Top sales people take a long-term view of the sales cycle. They don't get too hung up on any one stage - hitting the phones is just as important as closing deals or sending out proposals. Key to improving the efficiency of many sales teams is to model what the most effective sales people do, then replicate that process across the team. This typically involves identifying the stages that the sales people go through and what needs to be accomplished in each stage. Good sales teams invest in activities that generate sales opportunities and follow each opportunity from start to finish.

Studies of sales managers constantly report that their sales teams don't make enough sales calls to effectively discover and develop sales opportunities. The same studies show that many sales people struggle to manage opportunities as they move through the pipeline.

There are essentially three things to work on when you are managing a sales team:

Balance the focus between long term and short term results.
Apply discipline and actively manage the pipeline
Clarify expectations - set targets and carry out regular reviews.

Easy to say but near impossible to achieve without a CRM system such as Sage ACT! or Sage CRM.

Know who's knocking at your door

2009-02-19T10:00:00.001Z

Working with a website can be really frustrating. You can see hundreds, if not thousands of hits but you haven't got a clue who your visitors are. Analytics can only go so far in justifying your spend especially if you use PPC advertising. However, you must constantly justify your spend as the web can be a big black hole for marketing budgets.

I have been working with a new system called Trovus Revelations (http://www.trovus.co.uk/) and the results look really promising. In their own words "Trovus Revelations™ shows you exactly who's visiting your site and why. Your clients and prospects are showing you why they are interested in your company. Start a rewarding dialogue with them today."

In the short time that we have been using the system we have certainly identified a small number of visitors that have turned into clients but more importantly are seeing some interesting trends.

Take a look at the system and I would encourage you to start a dialogue with the guys at Trovus - and please tell them that I told you to.

Green shoots

2009-02-06T13:46:00.007Z

At the risk of being shot down (like business minister Shriti Vadera Telegraph online) is anyone else starting to see the green shoots of recovery?

I hear many more people talking about when (not 'if'') the upturn comes and now seems to be a good time to think about investing in our businesses. I'm not just talking about money, although that helps - a positive attitude is the first step. The much quoted comment by Sam Walton of Walmart applies. When asked what he thought about a past recession he commented "I thought about it and decided not to participate".

Given the magic of technology and the internet it is possible to achieve an increase in marketing output whilst saving money. Combine your CRM system with some old fashioned marketing savvy to generate well targeted and cost effective campaigns. If you don' t have a CRM system, vendors have some great offers at the moment! Looking at previous recessions it seems clear that organisations who invested in marketing towards the end of a recession benefited the most as recovery started.

If you want an interesting take on how to operate in a recessions I would recommend going along to one of the Shirlaws 'Thrive not survive' workshops.

Snow stop play

2009-02-02T17:24:00.005Z

Why does it always happen - a little bit of snow and the whole south of England grinds to a stop! OK so it wasn't a little bit of snow this time but you know what I mean.

The thing is, work doesn't need to stop (or even slow down) it can go on wherever your employees are - office, home, hotel or on the road. Businesses need to expect more from their systems. Many CRM systems can be accessed securely via the Internet so sales, marketing and customer service people are covered. Take today as an example - I have support being covered from Brighton, client service from Woking and sales from Crawley and Billingshurst. In addition some of our team made it into the office and two are at an exhibition in New York! However this isn't unusual, as we expect this functionality from our system - SageCRM.

If you are reading this and thinking that its all well and good for sales people, but HR systems don't work that way - think again. Our HR systems, breatheHR and HR.net, allow HR people, managers and employees to get access to the system from anywhere. Many of the HR people we help regularly work from home or travel between multiple offices.

How to beat the recession

2009-01-30T14:21:00.001Z

Sorry, but I guess you know as well as I do that there isn't a way to beat the recession. So why am I receiving so many emails promising recession beating tips? Could it be a marketing ploy?

First, let me apologise just in case we have sent you such an email - one may have slipped through our marketing filter. Gordon Brown has told us from the World Economic Forum in Davos that this is unlike any other recession - the first of the global age. However, I humbly suggest that the way through this one for a small to medium business is the same as the others - hard work, focus on the detail and an injection of confidence.

For a while we need to forget that we are British and talk the economy back into health. I talk to a lot of business people and the over whelming view is that it isn't as bad as it is! In other words we need to stop digging the hole and start building a ladder to get out.

So, in that spirit I want to share with you the view of two successful business people who I greatly respect. One says that the climb back will start April'ish and the other June / July. I want to believe them and can see some early indicators that point in that direction - new leads are up, existing clients are ordering and its getting lighter in the mornings.

Why CRM is even more important in a recession

2009-01-15T10:37:00.001Z

CRM becomes an even more essential tool in a recession as winning new business gets harder and costs are squeezed. Five reasons why you need an effective CRM system:

Existing customers 1.
You need to be in a position to offer the right product, at the right price and at the right time to existing customers. A well managed CRM system will help with this.
CRM systems are all about collecting and organising customer information. They put you in a good position to win new business.

Existing customers 2.
All customers are equal except some are more equal than others! Use the CRM system to identify which customers are worth the most (profit not turnover) and concentrate sales effort on them.

Categorise your customers by value. Focus on category 1 customers then work on turning category 2s into 1s.

Existing customers 3
How many times have you heard that it costs 7 – 10 times as much to gain a client than it does to keep one? CRM is an essential too to help keep customers happy – it can’t do it on its own though, it takes your input.

How to generate customer satisfaction? Keep your promises and meet their needs. Use your CRM system to remember your promises and record what your customers want.

Make the most of every lead.
Generating new clients still has to happen and a new lead is like gold dust. Manage them more efficiently using CRM and concentrate on the real prospects.

Smaller more agile teams.
Recessions often lead to redundancies but making the role redundant doesn’t make the tasks go away. Use CRM to improve efficiencies, share work and information. Understand and replicate the way that your best people work.

CRM doesnt have to cost a fortune either - we are just implementing a 12 user CRM system that will cost about £250 per month! Even the smallest efficiency will pay for that!

How well do we know our clients?

2009-01-12T10:05:00.000Z

When was the last time you took a long hard look at your client list? I have just done this and was shocked. I like to think that I have a good relationship with our clients but it seems not. I took a list of all present and past clients then graded them as follows:

1 = Close relationship with regular contact ("Hi, its Jonathan from Centurion. how are you?")
2 = good relationship with some contact ("Hi, It's Jonathan Richards from Centurion")
3 = we support their software but with infrequent contact (Hi, it's Jonathan Richards from Centurion, we look after your xxx system")
4 = they have purchased from us but are unsupported or no longer using software

Needless to say I found too many scored 3 or 4. I am planning to repeat the exercise with other colleagues so that I get a company wide score. This will then be recorded in our CRM system to support an upgrade drive - 4 to 3 to 2 to 1.

Having the CRM system well configured (and used) made it a doddle to get a client list that included what they purchased, when and where they are. I am aware of all too many companies where this is a real head ache. It's often the simple things that make a CRM system worth every penny.

Is the customer always right?

2009-01-08T13:56:00.005Z

I was travelling by train to a client's office yesterday and got caught in the problems at Euston station - if you missed it, all trains out of Euston were cancelled due to a powerline coming down. I was redirected via Marlebone station and the journey took 6 hours instead of 3!

The line was open again by the time I set off home but the trains still hadn't got back to normal. On the platform I overheard a woman shouting at an off duty Virgin Trains rep about how ridiculous this was and blaming them for all the problems. This individual customer was not right! Firstly it wasn't a problem caused by Virgin, it was the rail infrastructure company, and secondly this rep was doing a fantastic job of trying to help the woman - they were both trying to get home to the same place.

So, in the world of customer service the customer is not always right BUT it is our job to make them feel like they are.

The role of HR systems in a recession

2008-12-10T13:43:00.003Z

I had a discussion earlier this week about the rights and wrongs of implementing a new HR system when a company is feeling the effects of a downturn. The case was put that a company can't justify implementing a new HR system because there are redundancies in the offing. The system in question would substantially streamline HR processes and give senior management vastly superior information with which to run the company!

You may feel that I am slightly biased - and you would be right. BUT the case still stands:

HR is continually being told that it is a strategic function but is often buried with admin. If the system frees up time for them to think and act strategically it must be a good thing for the business;
Huge amounts of time is being wasted on HR admin that a system is better at (eg holiday booking, sickness reporting, expense processing, data updating). Often the time is being spent outside of HR - managers pushing paper.
Incorrect / incomplete data costs companies money and can lead to decisions based on bad information.
Even the most basic HR reporting is taking hours to prepare and is therefore not timely. How long does it take to prepare a report showing headcount & salary cost by location an division? It shoduo be at available at teh push of a button.

If company has over 30 people there is a good case for a system, especially given the low cost of online systems (eg http://www.breathehr.com/). If a company has over 100 employees and an inefficient system then there are almost certainly cost savings to be made. The key is to not get too carried away with the wish list - the bells and whistles can come later when good times return.

A different way to run a company and manage people

2008-12-03T11:16:00.001Z

For a while I have been hearing good things about a company called Patagonia, especially relating to the way they run their business. So to read a book by Patagonia's founder, Yvon Chouinard, was fascinating.

The company is run around eight philosophies:

design

production

distribution

image

human resources

finance

management

environment

Each philosophy is used as a guide rather than a set of rules and, for me, the approach can be summed up by their 'Let My People Go Surfing' flexitime policy - if the swell is good then go surfing in the afternoon or be there for the kids when they get off the school bus. Loyal happy employees wont take advantage of the system, and in fact will be more dedicated.

The whole plan seems to be around minimising the negative impact that the business has on the world and maximising the positive impact. They donate 1% of sales (not profit) to good causes.

If you are into finding out about different ways of managing people and business take a look at the book 'Let my people go surfing: an education of a reluctant businessman' by Yvon Chouinard. They also do great clothing! http://www.patagonia.com/

Great podcast

2008-11-14T17:46:00.002Z

I have just listened to a great podcast on 'Opportunity in the Failure of Design' by a guy called William McDonough. He is the co-author of a book called Cradle to cradle. I'm glad there are people like him out there to offer solutions to fix the mess the rest of us are making of the world!

Have a listen at http://ecorner.stanford.edu/authorMaterialInfo.html?mid=2073 and watch out for the piece about trees.

When to let someone else host your software.

2008-10-16T18:15:00.003+01:00

There are an ever increasing number of hosted / online / SaaS applications available to business and it can be difficult to decide if that is the right route to take.

In short - most businesses have the choice of whether to host a business application themselves or to let someone else take the hassle of managing the server(s). If the choice is to let someone else host it, there is often a further choice - buy the license or pay on demand (eg per use or transaction etc).

As you would expect, the vendors will have a convincing argument in favour of their chosen route. Salesforce.com say hosted on demand is the route, SAP will say never, host it yourself. Some vendors will offer you the same product by two methods - Sage CRM (license and self hosted) vs SageCRM.com (ondemand).

Ondemand is tempting

no up front costs
no server costs
usually easy exit route
regular monthly payments
BUT can be expensive over a longer term

The only way for a business to decide which approach to use, is by asking some common sense questions -

How much will we rely on the system?
Is it a long term investment in systems?
Will it be business critical?
How much do we have to spend?
Can the company afford the capex?
What options are available for the type of application we need?
What capacity do we have on our servers?
Does the company have the skills required to manage the application?
Do we have the bandwidth to access the application?
What level of support do we need?

There are a ton of other relevant questions but answering the above should give a good idea of the direction to take. And have this little Q&A session before you get too tempted by the salesman.

Hint: Talk to the consultants that implement the applications - they are more likely give you the true story and advise on the right approach for you. Beware though - if the consultant doesn't have a broad and unbiased knowledge they might send you to a favourite. Ever asked an Apple fan what they think of anything Microsoft!

Time to consider web based HR systems?

2008-10-10T17:43:00.002+01:00

In general, businesses have been slow to take advantage of fully web enabled HR systems.

There seem to be a number of reasons for this:

fear of loss of control of data
concerns over security of data over the Internet
and maybe the most important, the HR software industry hasn't provided really excellent systems!

Thankfully there is a good response to all of the above concerns and take up is increasing. There are significant benefits that web-based solutions offer over and above traditional systems

Top of the list of benefits when moving to a web system is that it allows HR processes to be deployed to all the appropriate members of the workforce wherever they are. Add to this the fact that the best systems allow users to configure and manage these processes from end to end. If access to processes is provided on a community basis there are huge time savings available. Managers will need to access a different range of processes (eg manage sickness) to their employees (eg book a holiday). And, of course, the HR department and key business managers will need access to a wide range of information across all areas of the business. When the ability to deploy and action HR processes to and from any location is combined with community based access, the result is like having an HR manager at every desk. Furthermore, with the demands on businesses to adapt to and support more flexible working practices continually growing, this remote access is crucial in enabling a mobile workforce.

At long last we are starting to see HR departments get the budgets and therefore the systems they deserve.

Putting HR back in control of their systems

2008-10-08T18:19:00.004+01:00

It is critical that HR systems put HR and the business back in control of their own processes. In my view, this must begin with a revision of the idea of configurability. The big enterprise sofrware vendors (PeopleSoft, Oracle, SAP etc) have made users scared of configuration - expensive, time consuming and rarely delivers on promise! Many HR systems will claim to be configurable. In reality, this means that they can be customised by developers who will build new code to define and support each nonpackaged process. This is a lengthy and prohibitively expensive process.

The latest generation of HR systems are succeeding in putting the business back in control. They allow processes to be easily configured by business users, and deployed in real time. If business users can easily map each common process, such as absence, holiday requests, appraisals, new contract offers, etc on to a configurable system, and then roll them out across the organisation immediately, the benefits that will result are far reaching. This should not be timeconsuming or expenseve and must deliver quick returns.

HR systems must free up HR to focus on strategic activities by significantly reducing the burden of repetitive administration without compromising on the business’ flexibility. Business users should be able to build in their own escalation and notification rules, meaning the system can manage data proactively to help informed and on-time decision making.

To read more about this topic you might want to visit my library page.

What is CRM?

2008-09-02T06:39:00.003+01:00

I was asked a few days ago to explain what CRM means - not the technology but the application to every day business life.

There are plenty of places where you can read that CRM is '..not a technology but a rather a mind set..'. Even this adds to the overall confusion though, as it tries to be too clever an answer in my book.

There are two types of CRM - transactional and strategic, reactive and proactive.

Transactional / reactive
This is where an organisation uses CRM to record and monitor transactions. Calls, opportunities, letters, complaints, orders etc... It's employees will then take action based on this historic record.

Strategic / proactive
Where an organisation plans the action it is going to take and uses CRM to monitor the response. For example - plan and execute a marketing campaign, then use CRM to monitor the response by, for example, the number of call received.

It doesn't take too much figuring out to see that the strategic / proactive approach is better. Both are very valid uses of CRM and I wouldn't want to sit here and say one is right and the other wrong. However, many CRM implementations barely make it past the transaction level and if they did they would release enormous value.

Getting to the strategic stage is all about using good business methods -

Having a vision for the system
Making it part of your business plan
Knowing what a successful system will look like
Understanding the effect change will have on customers and staff
Producing and sticking to a plan
Accepting that the work must be phased over time
Don't get carried away with the new toy
Celebrating successes and non judgementally understanding setbacks

CRM is not a tool that will solve all problems but it must help an organisation release knowledge about how it affects it's environment. It should provide the stimulus to take action and the knowledge to make decision making more comfortable.

Payroll - bureau or in house

2008-08-20T18:17:00.003+01:00

The last quarter of the year tends to be when a number of our clients consider bringing their payroll in house. Many mid-sized companies outsource payroll to a small bureau or one of the big players (eg ADP) and this costs them a packet. However, bringing it in house can be scary and will it actually save money?

In my experience the only honest answer is 'yes - but'....

Something as sensitive (critical) as a payroll can not be experimented with and many companies think of it as a project to implement software. Actually, its all about the people that are going to end up running the payroll. Projects to bring payroll in house must be resourced properly and if it is going to go wrong this is the most likely cause. A company that outsources its payroll usually has someone in house that does a large part of the work (bureaus rarely earn their keep) and this person can / should be central to the project. They will dislike software, be very nervous and fear for their job. Training this person must not be skimped on and a level of hand-holding after implementation is essential to build up confidence and experience (don't forget that the first tax year end). Even when they are up and running, someone to call on occasionally when a difficult question arises is important. In a few cases this person is simply not the right resource, so a change of personnel has to happen but this rapidly becomes obvious to all concerned.

CRM systems - Buy vs build

2008-08-14T05:54:00.003+01:00

One question I get asked quite often when talking to organisations needing to improve how they manage their relationships is should they buy an off the shelf CRM system or build their own.

There is no straight forward answer to this as it really depends on requirements. With some clients it is obvious that an off the shelf solution is right - maybe the system has exactly the features they need or there aren't the right skills available to build.

The decision to build from scratch tends to come from one of three positions:

"My requirements are so simple I don't need a system with all the extra
stuff."
"I want a system that matches all my requirements exactly and none of the packages do this."
"We can't afford a package solution."

In each case we suggest the client looks a bit deeper before making a decision.

Simple requirements - I don't need all the stuff
It is true that CRM packages have lots of functionality that never gets used but they are also designed to allow for this. Typically a company will only use 20% of a software system's functionality but every company uses a different 20%. The point to consider here is the over time you will no doubt want to add functionality - as your knowledge and confidence grows so will your requirements. It is also often true that as you get used to using a CRM system your understanding of what you really need will change - the power of hindsight. So the system needs to be flexible and easily changed - not always possible with a bespoke system.

Exact requirement - one size does not fit all
When CRM systems became the rage in the late 90s the trend was to try and make them do everything. This led to high profile implementation failures, as organisations pushed the boundaries, trying to implement systems to do exactly what they wanted and to include everything the CRM pundits said they should have. We advise our clients to carry out a dispassionate cost benefit analysis of their requirements - for example, linking CRM to an accounting system is great but exactly what benefit will you get, is it wort the extra cost?

We can't afford a package
This is a difficult one as it needs to take into account what is involved in developing a system. It is relatively easy for someone with good PC skills to create a basic CRM system using MS Access or similar. There are a number of serious questions that need to be considered before setting off down this route such as:

Have we really got a good handle on our requirements?
Can these requirements be documented in a way that they can be passed onto the person developing the system?
Are you happy to rely on one person developing the system - all eggs in one basket?
Is the developer prepared to work to a fixed price & time frame and provide support?
What happens when the system needs changing - will they be there, able to cope and charge a reasonable amount?

When all of these points are taken into consideration the cost of an entry level CRM package often doesn't sound so bad.

Buy vs Build is not a straightforward decision and should always be considered when you start the process of implementing. However, good off the shelf systems come with lots of the thinking already done and best practice embedded. They are also implemented by people that know about CRM and have valuable experience to pass on. You can read any number of articles that say CRM is about changing a mindset not just a system, and I suggest that buying an implementation from CRM expert using, a well proven package, is the best way to achieve this.

Getting away from it all!

2008-08-01T17:17:00.005+01:00

As I close things down for my summer holiday I face the same quandry as many business owners and managers - how 'in touch' do I stay?

I often go to the highlands of Scotland during the summer and until a couple of years ago the mobile coverage wasn't up to much. More recently I get better coverage there than I do in Surrey so the temptation to check mail is always there.

On the one hand I know that a complete break is best BUT will I relax better if I check in occasionally? I have a great team of people who would consider it a failure to have to contact me on holiday and I wouldn't insult them by calling in. So, this year the 'out of office' is on and I am determined to only check my mail once or twice a week.

Joined up HR systems

2008-07-28T14:33:00.007+01:00

There is a lot of buz around the subject of 'Talent Management', with any number of seminars, workshops and white papers available. As ever, the software world has latched onto this potentially huge market place and solutions are available from many vendors.

What I don't understand though, is that this new breed of system seems to be being implemented independently from an organisations HR system. This leads to an organisation having two (or more) silos of employee related information that may or may not speak to each other. Surely the business world knows that this is a bad idea so why is it happening?

The problem seems to lie somewhere between a lack of clarity as to what a talent management system (TMS) should look like and a lack of flexibility in many HR systems. Gartner have identified that many organisations implementing TMS, are doing so as a toe in the water effort to replace spreadsheets or Word Docs ('Unlocking the Strategic Value From Talent Management Application Investments' - Dec 2007). It is also well known in the HR world that traditional HR systems are cumbersome (aka expensive) to adapt so are not being tailored to handle TM.

Organisations are spending vast amounts of money joining up business systems, removing silos and sharing information. Lets hope we don't have to go through the whole process again combining HR data. HR and talent management systems must not be separated - information about the employee should be held in one place.

An organisation adopting talent management strategies is making an important investment but lets not forget that the ideas are not completely new - they draw on lessons from the past. In that same spirit, lets not forget the great IT lesson of the 90s not to create data silos.

Age discrimination

2008-07-28T13:57:00.002+01:00

I met a contact at the Employers Forum on Age today and he shared with me the idea that the debate over retirement ages could be solved by having three dates:

State pension age
Work scheme pension age
Actual retirement age

This approach would then allow the employer and employee maximum flexibility instead of the state dictated retirement age.

CRM and short term memory

2008-07-27T11:04:00.004+01:00

There seem to be two types of CRM users - those that use it to manage transactions and others that use it to organise their business lives.

I unashamedly fall into the latter group - I use my CRM system to manage my every move. In looking at ways to release more time for thinking and planning it came to me that I use CRM as the system equivalent of my long term memory - memory stored as meaning that can fade over time if it is not recalled on a number of occasions. CRM for me has become a memory store. With smart use of reminders and triggers I can get the system to recall information over time. The problem with this is that reminders can interrupt and overwrite what users are currently thinking, ie what is going on in short term memory. Smart use of CRM takes this into account but in this respect a system is only as good as its user.

Succession planning - inside outsiders

2008-07-21T10:19:00.005+01:00

Whilst researching succession planning I came across the idea of 'inside outsiders'. These are employees that have managed to keep an open mind and haven't been sucked in by company think. The argument is that they make excellent future leaders as they have an outside view of the business and its world. Listen to Harvard Business Online Episode 68

Once again, a great contact base is cited as essential. More evidence that, to succeed, a business must have a strategy to manage its relationships. See also Darren Shirlaw's article

Education / Business partnership

2008-07-11T16:32:00.006+01:00

I have just come back from speaking at a Surrey Education Business Partnership event near Dorking about using data to help develop client relationships. The audience was a group of Business Studies teachers and the aim of the event was to give them some some insight into areas of the business world. A really great bunch of people and a relief to know that future entrepreneurs are in good hands.

I had the pleasure of meeting Justin Urquhart Stewart from Seven Investment Management (http://www.7im.co.uk/) who was also presenting. You may have heard him on the TV or radio and he is well worth meeting if you ever get the chance.

His view on the economy? - have a look at http://www.7im.co.uk/InvestmentLibrarySubMenu.aspx

2008-07-09T12:01:00.004+01:00

I have been working on my Linkedin profile recently and am starting to see some interesting results.

Having played with Linkedin and ecademy I decided to concentrate on growing my Linkedin network. ecademy just seemed to be too hard to navigate and sent me too many 'update' emails.

It is taking a while but I am now making contact with past colleagues, clients and contacts. Starting with a view that quality of contact is far better than quantity, I am engaging with some really interesting people. For me it is essential that you know why you want to make contact with a person - business, personal or maybe just to say hi - but collecting names is not for me. For each person I link to, I am trying to find a way to engage with them outside of Linkedin. There seem to be some real 'professional' Linkedin'ers who have hundreds of contacts and it must be a full time job to keep in touch.

Some interesting tips at http://www.linkedinhelp.com/

If we are heading into a recession then business is going to become even more focused on who you know and I see Linkedin as being a great getting to know tool.

Apple iPhone - a generational thing?

2008-07-07T18:38:00.004+01:00

Had an interesting exchange with a colleague at the end of last week about the iPhone. It was prompted by an article on the web http://www.b2bm.biz/news/?groupId=&articleId=28579

To me, the iPhone is a personal phone that has an uphill struggle to be accepted as a mainstream business tool. Cool but useless for business was my view.

My colleagues is gen 'Y' and his take is that the iPhone interface is the way forward and the rest had better watch out. I was taking a thinking approach and he was taking a feeling approach - seems like a classic generation divide. Leaving aside the rights and wrongs of the argument it will be his generation in charge of corporate purchasing soon! Need I say more?

Talent Management

2008-07-04T16:49:00.004+01:00

I went to a seminar last week that was all about talent management. One of the talks was on managing 'troublesome talent' and that sparked quite some debate.

Questions from the audience included:
Are talented employees, by their very nature, troublesome?
Shouldn't all troublesome employees be moved on - whether talented or not?
Is troublesome the worng word?
Are all gen Y employees troublesome?

The test seemes to be to focus on the talented bit first - is an employee talented? If so, then you should spend more time and effort on accomodating them. The alternative approach being suggested was to work with a troublesome employee just in case they are talented!

Peanut Butter salary policy

2008-01-10T13:05:00.002Z

I have sat in on meetings with clients where the subject has been how to handle the annual pay round. Companies typically have a policy about how to award salary increases, but in essence many take a pot of money and spread it thinly across every employee. However, those self same companies will say that they reward performance - a real contradiction!

In doing some research around this subject it seems to be a common problem and has been dubbed as the 'Peanut Butter' approach. Spread it too thinly and it wont be as tasty. So why does this happen?

One typical cause seems to be management's ability to carry off the policy. If an organisation truly wants to reward employees based on performance they need to ensure that managers have the tools and ability to handle the situations that inevitably arise - how to handle under performers, how to get a difficult message across etc.

Pay for performance must be the right approach if organisations want to recruit and retain the most talented people and as is so often the case this starts with a mind set change followed closely by training.

Too fast with the product recommendation

2008-01-04T09:50:00.002Z

Happy New Year.

I have just responded to request on a networking site for CRM system recommendations. The request was posted on the 2nd and already a number of vendors have rushed in and recommended their offering. Well done to them for getting there before me but I have a problem with their responses - almost without exception, they didn't ask and questions. How can they know what is right without knowing requirements (eg what pain is being targeted?, # users, # contacts etc etc).

A few simple questions to understand more about the situation would make the recommendations useful rather than just a blunt sales pitch.

Target Marketing

2007-12-04T10:40:00.002Z

I got an email today at work that was offering to re-enamel my bath! A bit strange as, unsurprisingly, the office doesn't have a bath. Worse than that, it was sent to info@centurion-ms.co.uk so it lacked any kind of targeting. If I was being generous I could give them credit as at least they are in the south of England like me.

Why is it that so many companies don't understand that marketing, and particularly email marketing, must be focused, specific and relevant. This is so easy to do - marketing lists are easily purchased, and software to manage campaigns is not expensive. They have obviously put a lot of effort into this but the results have to end up disappointing.

Sadly for them, their good looking and well formatted email got filed in the bin.

Global warming and the generations

2007-12-01T08:17:00.000Z

I pick my daughter up from school 2 or three times per week and on one journey home this week we got talking about global warming. The conversation was sparked by a radio article covering a recent announcement that the situation was worse then previously thought.

She told me that all the talk of global warming frightened her and that if you listened to the news there was little to do to stop it. We, as a family, try to minimise our carbon footprint by reducing use, buying local, recycling etc etc - not the best, but certainly far from the worst. However, she hadn't put it together that this was our way of helping reduce global warming. We talked about what we are doing and agreed that if everyone did their bit it was a good step in the right direction.

When it comes to the generations, I found it an interesting thought that the 'Traditionals' created the problem, the 'boomers' continued the process but feel guilty and realise something needs doing, 'Xers' know the solution must start NOW but love all the stuff, so it seems left to the 'Ys' to turn it around. Here was my 'Y' frightened and a bit confused!

Persuasion

2007-11-28T17:44:00.000Z

I was told of an interesting system for measuring how much influence you have when trying to persuade someone to do what you want. My first thought was that persuasion is not the way to be working today, however almost everything we do in business involves it. For example, getting a meeting with a prospect means persuading them that you are worth seeing.

The technique revolves around two criteria - relationship and expertise. How is your relationship with the person to be persuaded and how much of an expert do they regard you as, for the subject being discussed. For example, I met a person earlier this week who is HR Director of a mid sized company. I had not met them before but the company use our HR software. At the start we had little relationship but she regarded me as enough of an expert in the system to have a meeting. My aim during the meeting was to strengthen the relationship.

New use for an old way of working

2007-11-23T20:41:00.001Z

I have been at a user conference run by a company we are looking to partner with. Amongst other presentations was one from BigHand (http://www.bighand.com/) who sell digital dictation systems. When I heard they were presenting, my first thought was that the age of the typing pool was long gone. However, they gave it a new twist - their sales team use the system to dictate messages, letters, proposals etc when out on the road. These are picked up by an admin person back at the office who processes them either into their CRM system or as letters etc.

The result of this is a more efficient sales team with happy clients and prospects who receive documents much quicker. An added bonus is that their admin person gets to know the business much faster being more involved.

Another speaker was a futurologist who was encouraging us all to watch 'An Inconvenient Truth'. Must get a copy soon!

My first blog post

2007-11-16T18:12:00.000Z

This is it - I have finally got a blog up and running!

I have had a number of people telling me that I should have a blog and post my thoughts about business and more particularly about implementing business systems. The final straw was a really interesting meeting with John Mell from Trovus. I finally realised that it was time to find out more.

My company, Centurion, has been implementing sales, marketing and HR systems for over 10 years. During this time we have worked for companies of all sizes throughout the UK. We have contact with many great people and the scope for learning is enormous. Hopefully I can share som eof that through thsi blog.

When I am not working I spend time with my family sailing, hiking or renovating our house. I took up running a couple of years ago and have run several 10k races and a 1/2 marathon last month.