Business Venture Advice Article:
ARE YOU PADDLING OR FLOATING?
Ask yourself are you paddling or floating your canoe down the river of your business life? If you're floating then you're on the defense, if you're paddling then you're on the offense - where do you want to be?
In today's business climate if you're not on the offensive then you're being whipped and buffeted from every side by the obstacles you encounter. If something isn't working in your advertising and you're a floater then you just wait until next week, or next month and see if it improves. But if you're paddling and guiding your business, then you're busy working out how to fix what's not working.
Take for instance that big boulder in the river known as "competitive intelligence", which refers to the knowledge needed to implement successful competitive strategies. If you haven't got a handle on this it can spell disaster to your business. Let's look at an example of what I mean.
Suppose you find out that a competitor has dropped the price on a product competing directly with your business' highest gross margin item. Before you drop your price to match, ask yourself whether this could affect your ability to compete. If the answer is "yes", you should do a bit of sleuthing to answer some key questions like:
Is the price cut an unequivocal comparison, or have certain features/services been modified?
Is the price drop sufficient to overcome customer inertia to change?
Does the competitor have the capacity to handle increased demand without damaging customer satisfaction?
Is the price change restricted to one territory or account, or is it across-the-board?
Effective strategy covers product design, branding, services, and a host of other variables that, in total, comprise your competitive edge. Protecting your edge requires a real-time stream of knowledge about the changing competitive landscape. The most significant fund of ongoing information, on an ongoing basis is your sales force.
Salespeople have the most direct contact with customers, and have customer feedback on the competition which is both real and perceived. However, their job is to sell, so it's important that you make them aware of their importance and involvement in gathering competitive intelligence.
For the successful collecting of information from the sales force, you must prove to them and their sales managers that the process is of value to them. This means you have some homework to do which is gathering information that is already available internally. Look at and analyze call reports, won-lost reports, and sales records for red flags and trends. A competitive move in one territory may seem insignificant until added to information from other territories, or as part of a global rollout strategy.
Augment these finding with public data from published sources and industry analysts, and you can offer your sales force tips on competing more successfully. By initiating the information sharing process, you will encourage reciprocity on the part of sales once they see what's in it for them.
In addition to the sales force, people from other functions in your firm are often repositories of useful competitor information. Accounting, procurement, HR, and other functions attend professional meetings with competitor counterparts and may have bits and pieces of the competitive landscape puzzle. Do they know how important this data is, and have you motivated them to share it?
This is but one little corner of your business life, but unless you're on the offense - paddling instead of floating - you'll lose your edge and be left in the dust by your competitors. Personally, I'd rather be paddling my little heart out instead of being tossed by whatever winds blow my way.
Related Business News and Articles From ezinearticles.com
Years ago I met Roy Ekrom, the vice president of Garrett Industries-a very large successful corporation based in Phoenix, Arizona. This was the man sent by Garrett to their subsidiaries around the world to fix internal problems. When we met, he had just returned from Japan after successfully restructuring a 600 employee branch of the company. Needless to say, Roy was the go to guy whenever the company needed a problem solved. His success parallels the amazing life and death insight Viktor Frankl, famous author of 'Mans Search for Meaning' learned while interred in the Auschwitz concentration camp in the mid 40's.
For first time entrepreneurs there is always much to learn. After a year in business, myself and my partners have learned a lot.
Thinking about starting a business? Well before you do it, make sure you have a conversation with your family and explain to them what you're looking to do. This is especially important if a spouse or other family member is going to provide financial support while you work to get the business up and running.
Business start-up in a recession can be quite rewarding if the pointers discussed are carefully considered. Be the wiser and follow your dream and watch your world unfold before you.
Many entrepreneurs, small business owners and other professionals find themselves focused on earning an income, finding new clients and the day-to-day struggle to survive. Having enough income and cashflow to grow your business rapidly is not an uncommon problem.
Are you a budding entrepreneur? Have you decided to quit your job and start something on your own? Well life can now be an interesting roller coaster ride.
While many websites offer opportunities that talk about how you can make money fast with little work, this is not realistic. A person who is going to be successful in business, must be willing to invest as much time as it takes to succeed. Internet businesses are a lot like the California Gold Rush.
Hey guys how are you doing? I have an awesome Numis Network Review lined up for you today. I know right now you're wondering whether or not this company is a scam, and the answer to that question is no, Numis Network is not a scam. With that being said, it's still not as easy to succeed as some might think.
In today's economy, most people live from pay check to pay check. Those who are fortunate enough to have a job or own a business are well aware of the fact that they are trading their time for the money necessary for their survival. They also know that if they stop working, they stop earning an income. Therefore, the attraction to passive income opportunities, which allow ordinary people like you and I create an income for themselves, by working once and continuing to get paid over and over again, is understandable.There are several passive income opportunities available today to take advantage of, but as you will soon see, they are not all created equal. The amount of money that can be consistently made from a given opportunity depends on what that opportunity actually is, and how effective the return on investment is. Some opportunities require a very large upfront investment, which pays a periodic dividend while others can be started with modest sums.
If the thought of a traditional retirement scares you and makes you think you should just "die with your boots on", there are alternative choices you can make. Learn how to reframe retirement and choose to do only those things you want to do.
