Predict and plan: work out in detail when you can expect cash to come in and plan how you will spend it. It will help you to see where you can generate extra cash to fund new projects if you are growing, or even pay off old creditors if you are stressed. While this applies whatever the size of business, it is particularly critical if you are a micro businesses or a small businesses with significant order-to-ship lead times, buying materials and selling products on credit terms, when you will have a significant working capital - cash - requirement to fund the work in process. On this article we'll show you how to put together a cash flow management workbook that will help you to manage your cash, month by month. Start with your order book and prospect list Starting with cash coming in, you'll know your order book, but what about beyond that? This is the hard bit - study your prospect list and write down when you can expect to get new orders from those clients. For this you have to … [Read more...]
Selling into export markets
Occasionally you come a cross a business that reminds you of what it takes to be successful. Here was a export business that was selling process control instrumentation into a well defined global niche market. Selling was done by a UK-based sales engineer who had intimate knowledge of his market place, and with a market-leading technology, the company had been able to price its products to make a handsome profit. Support costs were low and the products were made entirely in the UK. What more could a government want - a tax-paying export-led business that created employment in the UK! Many different ways of selling into export markets However, for most businesses, growing an export business is not going to be quite that straightforward. A product that someone wants; selling it to them; shipping it; getting paid; low aftercare costs; and making a profit - in principle doing business overseas is the same as doing business at home, but it is certainly more complex, and it is the … [Read more...]
What do you do when a customer makes a complaint?
What will you do if your product or service fails to meet your client's expectations and they make a complaint? You certainly don't put it in your desk drawer and hope it will go away - that's a sure way to trash your reputation. And don't hide behind your Terms and Conditions. We've all experienced being given the brush off when we thought we had a legitimate complaint - it makes you think twice about using the same company again. Actually, you get back to them promptly and talk to them about the issue: you promise to try to resolve it within a given time-frame, and try to keep that promise. Your client might still be unhappy with what you supplied, but they'll be happier with you and your company as they will know you have responded to their complaint and their issue is being addressed. Put in a Complaints Handling System And you should do this systematically for every complaint. Faced with this, recently, a client asked me what was meant by a Complaints Handling System that … [Read more...]
Collecting cancellation fees
People don't like paying cancellation fees even if they are aware of them when they book their appointment, to the extent that charging a fee often results in the client going elsewhere. No easy remedies Apart from asking for a non-refundable deposit, there are no easy remedies. Charging a cancellation fee to their credit card leaves you open to the client disputing the charge and claiming a refund, the excuse being: they did not receive your service, they were not aware of your cancellation policy (even if you did tell them), and they did not authorize the charge. Avoid cancellations in the first place So, by far the best way of reducing lost revenue is to avoid the cancellations in the first place. Send the client a reminder 24 hours before the appointment either by SMS, email or phone and get a confirmation of the appointment; Ensure your staff are well trained to handle objections and secure the appointment; Survey the clients to find out why they cancel and address the … [Read more...]
>How to manage Distributors
>My previous article, "Distributors, Good Bad and Indifferent", talked about distributors and the various options and routes to market. This article is aimed at those companies who have decided the Distributor route is right for their strategy. For ease of understanding, I will describe the 'supplying company' as the 'Supplier' during this article. I have previously explained how important up front research, due diligence and general strategy is when selecting a partner to be your Distributor. Indeed the word 'partner' is deliberately chosen, as the relationship must be considered one of joint responsibility. The day a Supplier describes a Distributor as a 'Customer' is a sad one, as the motives for selling to them will be misguided.A Supplier will never have control over its Distributor, and it should not try to do so. However with thoughtful and planned management, the Supplier can influence significantly the thinking and strategy of the Distributor.A shared vision is important, … [Read more...]
>How to manage Distributors
>My previous article, "Distributors, Good Bad and Indifferent", talked about distributors and the various options and routes to market. This article is aimed at those companies who have decided the Distributor route is right for their strategy. For ease of understanding, I will describe the 'supplying company' as the 'Supplier' during this article. I have previously explained how important up front research, due diligence and general strategy is when selecting a partner to be your Distributor. Indeed the word 'partner' is deliberately chosen, as the relationship must be considered one of joint responsibility. The day a Supplier describes a Distributor as a 'Customer' is a sad one, as the motives for selling to them will be misguided.A Supplier will never have control over its Distributor, and it should not try to do so. However with thoughtful and planned management, the Supplier can influence significantly the thinking and strategy of the Distributor.A shared vision is important, … [Read more...]
>Distributors, Good, Bad and Indifferent.
>Many Companies operate through distributors and stockists. There can be many reasons why a Company chooses this route to market.Some Suppliers do not have the ability to serve the wide and varied market place, and it makes sense for third parties (Distributors) to offer their products. In others it is used as a strategy to secure business in overseas markets, or places/market sectors that are remote from the Supplier. The down side is that a significant profit margin is given away, to allow the Distributor to operate profitably.So, how do Distributors come about?Many have been past friends, or friends of friends! Others have come as a result of an Exhibition meeting, answering an advert, or some simple research. A few have been placed by seeking Commercial Attaché services provided by the Government.What is a Distributor? Ideally, it is a company operating in a sector that is key to the Suppliers target market (or one of the key markets). They will have a vested interest in selling … [Read more...]
>Distributors, Good, Bad and Indifferent.
>Many Companies operate through distributors and stockists. There can be many reasons why a Company chooses this route to market.Some Suppliers do not have the ability to serve the wide and varied market place, and it makes sense for third parties (Distributors) to offer their products. In others it is used as a strategy to secure business in overseas markets, or places/market sectors that are remote from the Supplier. The down side is that a significant profit margin is given away, to allow the Distributor to operate profitably.So, how do Distributors come about?Many have been past friends, or friends of friends! Others have come as a result of an Exhibition meeting, answering an advert, or some simple research. A few have been placed by seeking Commercial Attaché services provided by the Government.What is a Distributor? Ideally, it is a company operating in a sector that is key to the Suppliers target market (or one of the key markets). They will have a vested interest in selling … [Read more...]
The Seven Deadly Sins of Sales
All companies need to increase sales and improve their performance on a continuing basis if they are to survive. Most companies lose between 10-20% of their customers per year due to bankruptcies, mergers and simply because the customer stops buying. Studies show that 66% of companies consider that sales and marketing are the key issues for their business right now. But they are less likely to do something about it than cutting costs. Here are the 7 deadly sins – mistakes that many companies make in trying to improve their performance. “Get out and do more sales calls.” This is the normal reaction of most sales managers. When their teams are not performing well they will require redoubling of efforts in either sales visits or telephone calls. But doing more of the same thing will necessarily get more of the same result: below target performance. A review of their target customers, messages and better understanding of benefits is more likely to achieve results required. They need to … [Read more...]
>Metrics in Sales management
>How do you measure your sales personnel's performance? The majority of sales managers will answer that question by saying that they look at the results (i.e. orders) either on their own or against arbitrary targets. Some may even monitor billings or sales as after all orders do get cancelled or the size of the order gets reduced. However these performances have occurred as a result of efforts applied anything up to 6 months earlier. So what then is the answer?One way to look at the performance of sales personnel particularly those on the road is to establish a series of metrics that give the manager a good idea of what and how they are doing BEFORE the results come in. Typically a sales manager on seeing below target results will exhort his teams to 'get out there and redouble your efforts' as if doing more of the same thing will improve results.Typically metrics for sales people involve three main areas:• The quality of what they are doing.This comes down to their skill levels and … [Read more...]
