Growing Your Business with 180 Degree Thinking
Submitted by
David Mills, Sandler Sales Institute
Suppose you wanted to grow your business. Where would you start? Typically, you would examine your business and look for ways to make it run more smoothly, more effectively, and ultimately, more profitably. You would look for more and better ways to serve your clients. You would also look for ways to make the business more efficient, ways to get more accomplished with fewer resources – principally, time, money, and energy.
If you’ve completed a self-examination of your business, you’ve probably identified a few areas for improvement and come up with a handful of ideas to accomplish those improvements. Do a little bit more of this - be more consistent with that - complete a marketing plan - be more diligent asking for referrals, and so on. You may have even started working on some of the ideas. But, with the day to day activities of doing business, the great ideas are eventually given the same degree of attention a New Year’s resolution receives on January 31st – not much.
Perhaps, it’s time to look at things differently - from a 180° perspective. Rather than attempt to determine how to grow your business – an activity which typically results in ideas of how to do what you’re already doing, only better or more frequently – ask yourself, “What would it take to destroy my business?” That’s right, what would it take to run your business into the ground? Certainly, the quickest way to ruin a business is to lie, steal, and cheat. But, without resorting to those tactics, and continuing to deal with people in a fair and ethical manner, what could you do to destroy your business? Here are a few suggestions:
- You could avoid any proactive prospecting activity and wait for prospective clients and customers to approach you.
- You could neither pay attention to the political, legislative, or economic conditions of your local business community nor determine the challenges for existing and prospective customers created by those conditions.
- You could maintain a superficial relationship with your clients rather than become more knowledgeable about and involved with their company and provide them with more service than they expected.
- You could avoid any activity that would help you become a better business owner, manager, or salesperson.
How many more items could you add to the list? Give it a try. Take a few minutes and write down as many ways as you can think of to ruin your business while still acting in a fair and ethical manner.
Have you completed your list? Was it easy to come up with additional items? (A bit too easy, perhaps?)
You may be thinking, “What’s the point of all this?” Here’s the point: When you stop thinking about how to grow your business and start focusing on how to tear it down, you begin to uncover some truths - things that will most likely make you feel uneasy.
Of how many items on your “destroy” list are you currently guilty? You can’t grow your business until you stop destroying it. How do you stop? Make sure that you’re not guilty of any of the things on the list. Choose one item of which you are guilty and commit to turning it around. Start immediately! When you’re well on your way with the first item, choose another, and then another until you’ve worked through the list.
Where else can you apply 180° thinking? Suppose you asked yourself, “What would I have to do to lose my clients?” or “What would I have to do to make my clients uncomfortable giving me referrals?” Here’s another: “How would I have to act to turn off a prospect during a meeting and lose the opportunity to do business?” Go through the same exercise of creating a list and determining what you’d have to do to eliminate any item on the list of which you are guilty. Then, do it!
Invest some time to take a 180° view of your business. Perhaps you’ll see some new solutions for growth. David Sandler once said, “There is no status quo -- you’re either growing or you’re dying.” So, employ 180° thinking and make sure you’re growing.
Fractional Sharing Makes Sense
Submitted by Cherie Kemper-Starner,
President of SailTime Philadelphia / SailTime Delaware
One of today’s hottest market trends is the fractional use of items ranging in scope from jets, cars, yachts, jewelry and even handbags. Whether it’s tapped for business or personal applications, in today’s go-fast world, this sensible solution meets the needs of the time crunched, upwardly mobile, and cost conscious individual.
The trend has evolved from the traditional timeshare of real estate investments to shared membership programs which provide guaranteed shared use of items which traditionally sat idle when their owners weren’t using them. Now, sharing these items is professionally managed through customer service oriented organizations that eliminate the work and ongoing responsibility, plus the long term commitment of dollars, which traditional ownership brings.
Offering more efficiency to executives, shared programs with jets provides flexibility for business travel because of the ability to schedule travel around one’s calendar. Conducting meetings within this private atmosphere enhances relationship building with clients, not to mention adding prestige, so it makes sense that this has become a popular program for many corporations.
Even the City of Philadelphia has taken advantage of the trend. In 2004 the government joined a regional “carshare” program significantly reducing the city’s fleet to save the taxpayers a couple of million dollars annually. All while promoting a more eco friendly solution to the government’s transportation needs.
It’s common to find corporate shared use memberships in boxes at sporting or performance venues. Used for entertainment of clients and employees this option goes a long way in maintaining valuable business relationships. A new entry into the market is shared corporate memberships on boats. While not having to own the vessel, but safely maintained and operated by professionals, a company can provide a memorable experience in a less formal, more pleasurable atmosphere. The company’s guaranteed shared use can alternately be used for a team building experience to develop interpersonal skills within a company’s team.
Fractional sharing can also provide accessibility to a standard of lifestyle that many have aspired to but couldn’t quite afford. For the high end car enthusiast, fee based sharing programs offer access to vehicles that don’t make sense for everyday use but fit the need for those times when one wants to satisfy a temporary whim. There are shared programs to access glamorous pieces of jewelry without the added expense of purchase or insurance. For a monthly fee, high end designer handbags can be used for a while and then turned in for something more extraordinary.
Recreationally, fractional boating suits many additional lifestyle needs. Not only is it a cost effective leisure option because it doesn’t tie up one’s capital, it also eliminates the precious time used maintaining the asset. The idea is to simply enjoy the lifestyle without dealing with the hassles of the behind the scenes maintenance. Because of the low cost of entry, it also provides access to a vessel that perhaps one couldn’t afford before. It’s a chance to try out the boating experience without investing in the long term commitment that traditional ownership requires. An additional benefit is the enhanced family experience achieved when, working together as a crew, they share the tasks needed to operate the boat. Lifelong memories can be created through the shared experience of navigating together on the water.
Meeting the multiple needs of today’s fast paced society, fractional sharing eliminates the wasted time and dollars needed to satisfy business demands while also maximizing the quality of our precious down time. Through the many innovative fractional options available today, we can make the investment into the enhanced experience, instead of the investment in the asset.
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