Guarantees, and especially those that are in some way even better than ‘money back’, are a proven way to attract prospects. But how to develop such a guarantee? The best thinking on the issue of developing guarantees now involves using the concept of ‘risk reversal’.   There is no better way to change the perceived [...]

The most successful businesses are ones that recognize the value of their customer base and exploit that value most effectively. All too often businesses, especially small businesses, spend most of their sales and marketing time and money trying to find new customers, not realizing the value of the ones they already have. It’s important to [...]

The following is a letter I sent to  a prospect after our first meeting It was good to meet you and learn about your business. I understand the challenges you are facing and will try to be part of the solution. It is my experience that business challenges never have a single source and that [...]

A successful emerging growth business is likely to display many of the following characteristics: Sensibly financed (with prudent mix of equity and debt) Strong cash position (with access to follow-on or contingency funds) Offers above-average profitability (in terms of return on capital invested) Aims for rapid growth in revenues (with profits lagging but in prospect) [...]

This post too is adapted from RANONE As you are no doubt only too well aware, some customers buy only once and disappear forever. You could say that their lifetime as a customer with you was just that one transaction. So their lifetime value to you was just the profit on that one transaction. But [...]

The following post is extracted from RANONE materials. It’s an organization I belong to. See my website for details Working ON your business is the difference between your business just providing you with a job versus helping you attain your personal goals. Think about why you went into business in the first place. Financial independence? [...]

  Every week and sometimes more often I receive a self promotional newsletter. It purports to inform and educate me but all it does is remind me that the sender exists. What’s wrong you ask? Isn’t visibility a good thing? The answer is “Search for value” The sender is not adding anything to my knowledge [...]

The more you know about your business, the less chance you have of being hit with an unexpected problem. How much do you really know? Overcoming the concerns you currently have about your business doesn’t have to be a problem you solve on your own.   Who do you turn to with the following issues? [...]

As an independent owner you are accountable only to yourself. As such it’s easy to be undisciplined and stay in your comfort zone   The Reality Factor As you will appreciate now, looking inside your own organization, at your own strengths and capabilities, as well as your weaknesses and liabilities, is often a difficult task [...]

Your business plan is a reality check on your vision and ideas; a tool for tracking your progress towards your vision; a marketing document to promote your firm to finance lenders, prospective partners, or buyers; and, importantly, a modeling tool to help you evaluate how changes in one part of the business, or the business [...]