“I know what we have to do.” “I know my customers.” “We’ve covered all the bases.” Have you ever said something like this? That what you already know is all you need to know. Read this wisdom from retired Marine General Jim Mattis: “If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and … Continue reading Can You Ever Know All You Need to Know?
Tag: growth
Two Days Two Heads An Explosion of Ideas
What can two congenial, smart and focused people create in two days? I am here to tell you, with the right mindset, it feels like two million ideas!Having just returned from two days of innovation and growth-minded development with my own business advisor, Mark LeBlanc, I have a notebook full of new ways to deliver … Continue reading Two Days Two Heads An Explosion of Ideas
Think INSIDE the Box?
“Conventional wisdom is conventional but not always wise.” When I said that a dozen business owners looked up from their notes. As I elaborated, they nodded their heads in understanding. We were in conversation at my recent VISION 2019 event and talking about how to make 2019 your best year ever. To get started, I … Continue reading Think INSIDE the Box?
The One Powerful Trait That Will Help Owners Create Growth
Whether I’ve been investing in real estate, creating restaurant quality meals for carryout, or working with hundreds of small/mid-sized company owners, one facet of my success stands out: CHOICE. I have had to choose how I spend my energy and intellect and you have to do the same. Choices abound. It’s the owner that chooses … Continue reading The One Powerful Trait That Will Help Owners Create Growth
How to Shake Things Up for True Growth
Shake Things Up to Achieve True Growth What do a jeweler, a niche consultant and a CPA firm have in common? They all have told me recently that they need to shake things up. That exact phrase was used by owners of quite different businesses. What did they mean and how can their lessons help … Continue reading How to Shake Things Up for True Growth
Cultivate Your Buyers for Evergreen Revenue Growth
Cultivating is Exciting I hope you feel, as I do, that cultivating growth is exciting, optimistic, and positive. When I work with owners to cultivate relationships for growth we get enthusiastic about creating ideal conditions that foster growth with their buyers. The point is that cultivating buyers should be joyful and exciting, even as it … Continue reading Cultivate Your Buyers for Evergreen Revenue Growth
Eliminate the Two Most Anti-growth Words to Ever Cross an Owner’s Lips
“Yes, but” “Yes, that’s a great idea, but I don’t have time.” “Yes, I see that has value, but it won’t work here.” “Yes, we need to do that, but it will have to wait until we finish what we’re doing now.” “Yes, I’d love that, but I don’t see it happening any time soon.” … Continue reading Eliminate the Two Most Anti-growth Words to Ever Cross an Owner’s Lips
How to Avoid the Three Tangents that are Disguised as Opportunities
Beware! Tangents May Be Disguised as Opportunities Business owners and chief executives are a hardy lot. They get up each day excited to create value that serves their buyers. I’ve been working with them for years and the most successful ones never say ‘never.’ They don’t dismiss new options because that’s not the way they … Continue reading How to Avoid the Three Tangents that are Disguised as Opportunities
The Big Mac: Is 50 Years Too Long?
McDonald’s iconic Big Mac is 50 years old in the summer of 2018. It’s hard to think of many other products that are so familiar, so ubiquitous in the US and globally AND that are 50 years old. So much of what’s front and center in our lives is less than 20 years old.
What’s interesting to me, as a leading advisor to owner-run companies, is that the 50th anniversary is not causing a great deal of happiness. The Big Mac is not the icon to millennials that it has been to their parents and grandparents. Its competition is what’s known as the “better burger” such as at Shake Shack and Five Guys. Away-from-home eating trends have clearly moved in the direction of fast casual, which means food that is more healthful, allows for complete personalization as a matter of course, and just bit more expensive. But observers do not see McDonald’s pivoting from the Big Mac any time soon.
I’ve been reflecting on the companies I’ve advised and how they recognized when the time was right to pivot away from their own tried-and-true into a new type or group of offerings. Here are some powerful examples:
The Power of Bundles
What motivates a buyer to approach your company? Most of the time buyers come to your company to meet a need or a want. “I need my tax return completed” or “I want a more energy efficient heating and air conditioning system” or “ We have to get our people on the same page.”
It’s perfectly understandable that your company would offer ways to fulfill these needs or wants.
Unfortunately, you get into the habit of selling a la carte: one item at a time, priced individually. This forces the buyer into a sequence of asks, and, more critically, it allows them to look elsewhere each time.
The most powerful source of new revenue is your current buyers. I have worked with hundreds of owners to capitalize on their current buyers and this is often where we start:
