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    • You Need to Know >
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    • Eric's WarrenBDC Emails
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Story 2: Marketing Separates The Old Ways From The New

11/25/2019

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Excerpt from 'Just Tell Me More - Marketing Tips in 10 Minute Chunks'

​Tom and Joe are brothers who grew up working in the family business. Tom is conservative and, in his own words, not very creative. He chose to stay with the older, established company and continue in his parents’ footsteps, running the business as his father did for the past forty years.

He had no desire to change anything and felt that if he continued to run the company the way his parents did, he would have a nice lifestyle and hopefully be able to pass the business on to his children. Tom was not a marketing-oriented businessman. 

Every year, he followed the same marketing program, conducted seasonal sales, developed the same brochure (substituting a few new products), and worked with the same sales reps his father had employed for many years. Tom felt that if you built a good product, the customers would find you.

Joe, on the other hand, knew that there was more they could do with the business. He wasn’t sure what needed to be done, but he realized that marketing would play a large part in the future success of their business. Joe spent a lot of time out on the road, talking to customers, finding out what competitors were up to, and looking for new opportunities.

Joe often returned from sales trips and trade shows brimming with ideas. He told Tom that they needed to expand their marketing efforts to include new media and a social media program. But Tom insisted that they were doing enough marketing and had no reason to change. Sometimes when a business has been successful, the thought of new activities seems to be an unnecessary expense.

Unfortunately a business owner can wait too long, until the market requirements and competitors catch up to them and it’s then too late.

As time passed, the conflict with Tom became unbearable for Joe. He recognized the opportunities for the family business but knew that his brother would not change. Joe decided to start his own business. He knew that marketing was more than a brochure and the occasional sale. Over the years, he had learned that there are two key components to marketing:

1. Creating and using the various tools available.

2. Managing the marketing program from original strategy and design to the finished marketing materials.

Joe planned to stay in the same kind of business as his family. His first major commitment was to ensure that his business would be marketing oriented. 

He researched opportunities, became familiar with new marketing techniques, and established a long-term relationship with a marketing professional, who helped guide him and establish a team of suppliers to cover traditional, new media and social media marketing. Joe's strategy included using the best of the established methods and continually testing new marketing methods. 

Eventually, Tom’s business stagnated, sales barely kept up with expenses, and profits became a thing of the past. While Tom was suffering, Joe became more successful than even he had dreamed he could be.

Joe hired a marketing consultant. Together, they developed a solid sales and marketing strategy, embraced new technology by establishing a strong database, and conducted ongoing focused communication with staff, suppliers, customers, and prospects. They developed and updated sales tools on an ongoing basis to keep their sales force and customer service staff equipped with the latest in marketing weapons.

In time, Joe absorbed the family business into his own. Tom stayed on but acquired a new appreciation for marketing. Joe continued to manage the marketing efforts and his company grew large enough to create their own internal marketing team. Joe creates the company vision and the entire company carries out that vision.

These cases demonstrate how marketing plays a key role in the success of any small business. Ignoring the advantages that a structured, well thought-out marketing program offers could put your business in jeopardy. Make use of experts, try to benefit from their years of experience and keep up with the newest techniques.

​“Success or failure doesn’t randomly happen to you. You have a large say in when and how much.” EG


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Story 1: Smart Thinking Turns A Problem Into An Opportunity

11/25/2019

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Excerpt from 'Just Tell Me More - Marketing Tips in 10 Minute Chunks'

A sign in the window of a convenience store boldly stated ‘‘No Change.’’ The store had been inundated with people seeking change for the subway or for parking, and the owners felt that it was better to keep them out of their store.

By posting the sign, the owners were effectively driving away new business. If they had taken a more positive approach, they would have seen a great marketing opportunity, not a problem. If the people seeking change were viewed not as a nuisance but as potential customers, a completely different strategy could have been employed to bring in new business.

What the owners could have done was equip themselves with a supply of change and posted a large sign reading ‘‘Change Available.’’ It is likely that many of the people who initially came into the store looking for change could have become regular customers over time.
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23 Marketing Tips For Avoiding Small Business Failure

11/17/2019

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Excerpt from 'Just Tell Me More - Marketing Tips in 10 Minute Chunks'

Lists like this one are usually made up of financial reasons for the failure of a small business. Unfortunately there are also many sales and marketing reasons. Fortunately, there is a positive step that can be taken for each one that will greatly increase your chances for success.

“These actionable tips are the responsibility of everyone who works with you. Make sure they know and understand them.” EG

​1. Face Your Weaknesses. Failure to face up to your weaknesses and a lack of effort to take advantage of your strengths can keep your business in a no-growth mode. Take two pieces of paper and list your company’s strengths on one page and its weaknesses on the other. Note the ways you can make your staff, customers, prospects, and other business associates aware of each of your strengths. On the page of weaknesses, identify steps to correct each problem. Discuss the points with your staff and develop a schedule to address them. No, it’s not really as bad as you think.
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2. Take Action. Talking about the great marketing program you have been developing and following through with it are two very different actions. Implementing the program is the key to marketing success. Plan all you want, but be prepared to act on all the steps you have identified. Don’t be surprised to discover that there are some steps you hadn’t initially considered.

3. Accountability And Responsibility. Understand the difference between accountability and responsibility. Make sure your staff and suppliers recognize that by accepting responsibility, they are accountable to you and to the rest of the company. It is now their job to get the assignment completed.

4. Don’t Play At Business. Don’t play at being in business. It is not a hobby or a pastime. Think about the message you are sending to your staff, suppliers, and customers. A genuine commitment to the customer and to the success of the business will get you through difficult times. It will also pave the way for much more success in the future.
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5. Avoid Ad Hoc Marketing. Struggling from one idea to another without thinking your complete marketing story through will typically end in one failure after another. Prepare a program for the year or at least for a complete season. Build on previous efforts to ensure continuity.

6. Seek Employee Buy In. When your staff does not support your marketing program, you are usually destined for failure. Get them involved early in the planning process and incorporate
their ideas.

7. Appreciate Every Customer. A complete disregard for customers is a sure sign that a business is failing. There is nothing more irritating than walking into a business or past a booth at a trade or consumer show and discovering that the person behind the counter is having a personal telephone conversation or reading the paper. Immediately, you are made to feel like you are interrupting. Customers should be welcomed into your business and greeted with your full attention.

8. Spot Trends. Recognize trends, changes, marketing mistakes, etc. A new trend that is different from your product or service is a terrific opportunity to present something new to your customers. New ideas also refresh your staff.

9. No Egos. If you suffer from the ‘‘not invented here’’ syndrome,fix it right away. Great ideas can come from anywhere and fromanyone. Limiting yourself to ideas created only at your company is viewing life through a very narrow lens. Seeking outside assistance and not listening to it is equally dangerous.

10. You Don’t Know It All. The assumption that all of your ideas are right just because they were ‘‘invented here’’ is also dangerous. You may know your business better than anyone else but you don’t know everything. Seek outside help.

11. Control Sales Staff. Lack of control over sales staff will result in missed opportunities and wasted hours. If your sales reps have little direction or support, they could be selling to whomever they choose. Often, they spend much of their time with existing customers and miss large new opportunities. Develop specific sales plans with your reps and review them regularly.

12. Create Tools. If you don’t create proper sales and marketing tools for your staff, you will make their jobs much more difficult. Arm them with well-thought-out selling tools and train them to use the tools effectively.

13. Keep Tools Impressive. If the sales tools you have are unimpressive, out of date, poorly conceived, or lack strategy or focus, they are damaging to sales opportunities. Work with your staff to prepare useful selling tools. 

14. Prepare A Realistic Budget. Don’t force your marketing group to live with a low or non existent budget. Be realistic about your expectations and provide appropriate funding to increase your chances for success.

15. Don’t Try To Spend Your Way To Success. On the other hand, if you spend too much money on marketing, you may not get value for your investment. Carelessly spending dollars on marketing does not always guarantee sales. You may need to rethink the media and promotional offers that currently make up your marketing program. Introduce a social media program that starts with a real strategy and has the manpower to execute it over a sustained timeframe. At least 2 years and if possible forever.

16. Promote Your Website, Content and Social Media Pages In
Traditional Media And Within Each Other.
An important lesson recently learned by many participants in the internet is the need to go outside of it to traditional media. Aside from producing a well thought-out website, content and social media presence, the key to success on the net is to let your target group know where your site, articles and social media pages are located. Add your web address and social media pages to all of your communication materials: business cards, letterhead, invoices, flyers, packaging, and cross promoting between all your social media etc.

17. Answer The Telephone Properly. The habit of not answering the telephone properly or having an uninformed person answering it for you can be damaging. Customers and prospects become frustrated when they can’t get answers to their questions. Train your staff well and equip them with the most up-to-date information. If they shouldn’t be answering the telephone, don’t let them.
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18. Don’t Lose Orders. They are so hard to get these days how can you even think about losing them. The problems of lost orders or orders not completed on time can be easy to resolve. Create a step-by-step fulfilment process with checking systems to make sure that an order is controlled from beginning to end.

19. Promote Yourself. Some business owners believe that the product or service they offer should be as irresistible to others as it is to them and that customers should just come to them without promotion. Not promoting yourself will only serve to keep your business a secret.

20. Encourage Others To Promote You. It is just as important to encourage others to promote you. If someone else has a clear understanding of what your company does and who your target group is, they can help to promote you. Develop a brief statement that identifies who you are, what you do, who you do it for, and why you are different from competitors. Make sure that anyone who may be representing your company to prospects understands this message.

21. Face Negative Word of Mouth Head-On. Negative word of mouth statements can have a devastating impact on your sales, far beyond one or two unhappy customers. Solve the problem quickly and win customers back. Those customers will be your best salespeople. The internet can make this a huge problem.

22. Use Resources Around You. The failure to use readily available resources can lead to wasted opportunities. Seek out mentors government self-help offices, associations, consultants, internet sites, and libraries. Talk to customers and suppliers and study your competitors.

23. Be Better Than Competitors. Don’t just try to be as good as the competition, be better than them, offer something different, provide better service, etc.
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Intimate Roundtable with Eric Gilboord 'Growing and Selling Your Business'​

11/4/2019

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In Person
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Online
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Exclusively for Owners only, to explore their transition options in a confidential safe space. This is not a networking event. Attendees will be vetted.
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If you have questions about growing and or transitioning from your company and would like to get answers in a safe and confidential environment. Take a first step now with WarrenBDC and join us.

Attend a private by invitation only, limited seating event. Get on the list for our upcoming dates now. Our events are typically co-hosted with local trusted Advisors like Wealth Management, Financial Planners, Accountants, Insurance, Lawyers, Family Offices etc.

To learn more about hosting or attending email eric@warrenbdc.com.

COMMENTS ON ROUNDTABLE
​

Thank you Eric. Your warm and candid stories obviously come from your genuine desire to connect with your clients and your years of taking the time to care for their businesses and their families. You discussed complex issues with ease by making them relatable from the point of view of someone who may be unsure of how to go about transitioning their business either to family or to a third party. Thank you for taking the time to educate us in a warm and humorous way. You made a potentially anxiety-ridden experience an actual pleasure.

Regards, Anthony (Financial Planner Co-Host)

This is just a note to follow-up on yesterday’s lunch and dinner events. You engaged the audience so well with personal allegories that resonated with each of them. And thank you for showing such nice solidarity with Maricel, Anthony and me. Much appreciated.

I thought the “Safe Room” setting for our guests was particularly effective: we’ll set up another one soon.

Regards, Jody (Financial Planners Co-Hosts)

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When is 30% More Than 70%?

11/4/2019

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Not ready to leave your company just yet? There is an alternative. A way to take some chips off the table, stay involved and make a really nice bonus contribution to your retirement fund. Ease your way out while assisting the new Owners to drive the company to greater success.

A business model being used more often these days is for the Buyer to purchase 70%. The Seller retains 30% and stays on in whatever capacity they are most comfortable. Where required they provide a smooth transition to industry and customer relationships, while sharing their vision and insights for the potential of the business.

As the company increases in value the Seller will enjoy the benefits the new Owner brings to the table. At a predetermined time the remaining 30% is then sold to the new Owners or both parties together sell to another Buyer. Ideally at a much improved value. It's a win win.

There are many ways to transition a business. This is just one. It is in your best interest as the Seller to explore multiple sales opportunities available to you.

As usual, we are a phone call or email away and ready to help. Good luck.

Eric Gilboord eric@warrenbdc.com or 416-270-2466
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