Showing posts with label Business Plan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business Plan. Show all posts

Wednesday 11 May 2016

Key Account Management Strategy!

Anyone in business will tell you that it is easier and cheaper to sell more products and services to an existing client than it is to go out and find a new client.

Key Account Management or “KAM” is all about focusing on your key existing clients – your very best customers. In theory, this is the perfect way to increase your profits and develop better relationships with your most valuable clients. If we apply the 80:20 rule then, in an average business, 80% of profits tend to be generated by the top 20% of the clients. So, these key accounts are the most valued customers of a business.


KAM strategy

A KAM strategy is a marketing and business development approach which focuses on taking special care of these customers. Each key account should have a business plan, dedicated resources (such as an account manager or single point of contact in your firm) and should be identified throughout your business as being a strategically important relationship.

Choosing Key Client

The most important thing here is to select the right customers for investment. Many businesses tend to underestimate the importance of this step and often show a casual attitude when it comes to selecting the right clients to develop. Some firms simply select all their big clients. There is nothing wrong with that strategy; however, they often fail to consider the potential to grow those particular relationships. After all, just because a client is big doesn’t necessarily mean it is particularly profitable.

Key Client Relationship Plan

In creating a KAM strategy you should also consider resources. There is no point in creating a strategy to develop 60 key clients if you only have the resources to actively manage 10 key clients. These key client accounts will need to be managed in an active way and this will require time and effort. Ideally, you will want to create a specific business plan for each key client relationship and you will need to dedicate some financial and people resources in order to execute these business plans.

Key account management, if executed well, can be a very effective marketing strategy in that it focuses your firm’s business development and marketing resources on the targets where you are likely to make the biggest impact.

Are you looking to develop your business but struggling to find the key client and manage them? 
To know how we can help you, please contact us at:
☎ 020 89310165 ☏ 07900537459  info@apjaccountancy.com 

Tuesday 10 May 2016

First Impressions Count!

You only have one chance to make a good first impression.

Here are a few tips to help you to make a good first impression with new clients, contacts and during business meetings:

Focus 

Being known as a 'natural' at interpersonal communication is not just a gift that a select few enjoy. We can all enjoy the reputation of being a great communicator.
Focussing the conversation on the other person takes the pressure off you.
Avoid interrogating your new acquaintance, and even if you are nervous, make sure you always slow your speaking rate down.

Presentation is everything

Adjust your posture, stand up tall and adjust your voice and gestures to a positive setting.
Establish rapport with your new contact by mirroring their head nods and tilts.
Speak at their pace and volume level.
You'd be surprised by just how many different 'voices' a successful salesperson uses in a day - they spend a large amount of time mirroring the other person's gestures, voice, language, pace, intonation and volume.

It’s about them

Encourage your contact to talk about their business, their successes and their achievements.
Don’t make it about you - give them the opportunity to talk about themselves.
Do your research before you meet your new contact.

If their firm has been in the press for positive reasons then refer to it and compliment their business. Then step back and let them talk.

Ask questions and listen - you have two ears and one mouth so aim to use them in that ratio.

If you have any questions, please contact us at:
☎ 020 89310165 ☏ 07900537459  info@apjaccountancy.com 

Tuesday 19 April 2016

Tips While Planning Your Business's Exit Strategy!

Building a good business is one thing. Knowing when it is time to sell it is an entirely different matter. For many entrepreneurs it's not enough to build a business, they have to make sure to have an exit strategy, a way to get the money back out.


Depending on who you are and what kind of business you have, an exit strategy may mean something completely different to you compared to somebody else. Is it a retirement plan or are you ready to move on to your next venture?

Without a proper exit strategy, you risk losing some of the value that you have created. You could miss the perfect opportunity to sell your business as a result of being unprepared.

Here are a few things to consider when creating your exit strategy:

Options 

Consider the various options that will be available to you.

You can

  1. Sell the business outright and move on. 
  2. List the business on the stock exchange through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). This would allow ownership of the business to transfer to shareholders but you probably wouldn’t be able to walk away immediately. 
  3. Perhaps you want to pass your business on to the next generation. In order to do this you may need to set up a family trust so that you can structure the transfer of ownership to your children in an appropriate manner.
  4. Wind the business down, extracting cash over a period of time and eventually just close the doors.

Timing

Only you will really know when it is time to exit your business. You may feel you have had enough, are too old or perhaps or are ready for your next challenge. You may see the potential to expand into other markets and need to find a way to fund that opportunity. Regardless of when you are ready to sell, make sure that the timing of the sale is right for the market. You should also build enough time into your plan to allow for professional advisors to complete due diligence, etc.

The Right Team

Consider the team of advisors that you will need to successfully complete the transaction. The business will need to be valued, you will need tax and legal advice. There will be lots of administration required and you may also need to consider financial planning to create appropriate structures to manage your wealth as a result of the sale.

Cost

Regardless of the type of exit strategy you choose to develop, there will be an element of cost to consider. Whether professional advisor fees, tax bills or transaction fees, make sure that you have enough cash provisions to cover the exit costs.

We'll help you exit the business in the best possible way!
Contact us via:
☎ 020 89310165 ☏ 07900537459  info@apjaccountancy.com 

Wednesday 16 March 2016

Business Process Outsourcing - Yes or No?

Are you looking to outsource any of your business's processes? Read this before making a decision.


Social selling 

Outsourcing is not just a strategic option for large international corporations, small and medium sized firms can benefit too from the efficiency, functionality and cost savings of outsourcing. Outsourcing simply means "contracting out" various functions of your business. A common misconception is that outsourcing is always done overseas. Moving your IT help desk to India can save a lot of money, but there are many providers in the UK that can provide an IT help desk that is cheaper than having an in-house support function.

Cost Savings

By outsourcing functions that were previously performed in-house, businesses can reduce their employee levels and related costs such as recruitment, salaries and benefits. By outsourcing a capital intensive function, you can also reduce the costs of equipment obsolescence and depreciation.

Quality of Service

Because your firm is the outsourcer's customer, they will want to keep you happy. You can therefore benefit from a more “can-do” approach, which may not always be what you get from an in-house team.

State-of-the-art Technology

Outsourcers have to spend time and money on the most up to date equipment and on employee training to remain competitive. By outsourcing certain areas like website hosting, virtual desktops, social media or email, you are ensuring that your firm will always have access to the latest technology platforms. Taking IT as an example, an outsourcer is likely to have more up to date technology such as the latest servers and software.

Price Stability

By signing a contract to outsource, you will be able to lock the supplier in to a pricing agreement. This gives the business certainty in terms of costs. As a result, the firm will be able to budget operating expenses and capital purchases more accurately, while reducing the likelihood of unforeseen costs.

More Time to Focus on Core Business Activities

If your firm is to be successful and profitable, the management team needs to spend time planning and directing the company's business strategy and not wasting time worrying about managing administration, payroll, IT or HR. Outsourcing these functions allows the business to focus its management resources on driving the business forward.

Business Builder NewsletterOutsourcing isn’t for Everyone

Some might argue that outsourcing creates loss of control, less flexibility, questionable savings and the risk of over dependence on external vendors.

  • Signing up to and implementing an outsourcing arrangement takes considerable management time. 
  • Finding and selecting the right outsourcing company can even take months. 
  • Outsourcing companies need to be given overall direction and guidelines in terms of what needs to be done, and therefore, some level of supervision by management will ultimately be needed. 


It is important to be careful when deciding what business functions to outsource and to whom. The management team needs to be clear in terms of its expectations and the cost savings must be attractive and worthwhile for the business.


Wednesday 17 February 2016

6 Easy Tips to go Paperless at your Business!

Many businesses recognise that going paperless is the future. Converting physical into digital files and storing them in an organised system has multiple benefits, not least protecting the environment. A firm can also benefit from reduced operational costs, increased working efficiency and protection against data loss as electronic files can be backed up quite easily.


1. Don’t go paperless too early

Going paperless is a big change for any business. Don’t make the mistake of rushing to buy a scanning solution and rolling it out across the business without preparation time. Take time, plan out filing systems and map processes with your management team. A working group should be established and tasked with understanding how best to implement a paperless solution that works for the business.

2. Include management and employees in your decision

The working group should present its plan to the business and ask for feedback. The employees who will be working with the paperless solution should be involved in the planning process and management needs to champion it. Explaining the time and money-saving benefits to staff across the whole firm will go a long way in ensuring the project is adopted.

3. Map out a process for new paper and electronic documents

The working group should create suitable plans for the paper that is currently in the office or stored off-site. The group should also create processes that cover new paper and electronic documents that come into the office after the document management system has been put in place.

4. Rolling out the solution in a phased manner

Attempting to go paperless in all departments or locations at the same time can be problematic. Most businesses find they gain additional experience and knowledge as they fine-tune their programme during initial setup and use. The working group should outline, as part of its plan, how the rollout will come into effect. The group should regularly ask managers and teams for feedback so that systems and processes can be continuously improved upon and refined as the rollout progresses.

5. Use the right scanning solution

For most document imaging applications, scanner speed is going to be an important driver of efficiency.  Ideally, the working group should speak with a knowledgeable consultant before purchasing any scanning hardware. If your business has an IT department or an IT manager, they should be fully involved in this conversation.

6. Consider legal and regulatory compliance matters

Before signing off on your paperless plan, you should consider any legal or compliance obligations that your business must adhere to. Most businesses are regulated in some way or another and you should consider seeking legal advice to ensure that you comply with regulations relating to customers records, filing, financial data management and data protection laws. It is important to be proactive in this regard as non-compliance can prove to be an expensive mistake for any business.

Is your business paperless? Let us know your experience, thoughts and comments below.

Wednesday 10 February 2016

Marketing Messages - How to make them stand out?

Regardless of the type of business that you run, your customers will have one thing in common.  As a result of technology, they are bombarded by marketing messages. Customers are more time-poor than ever before so if you want your marketing communications to stand out, you should consider cutting down the length of your messages and getting to the point.


Identify the message that matters most and make sure it's memorable.  Marketers have known for decades that there's value in identifying and driving home the most important point or benefit. It goes all the way back to when the best businesses began to identify their unique selling proposition (USP) for every client.

The difference today is the way that viewers and readers consume media. Today's reader or viewer is overwhelmed with an astounding number of media choices and channels. In fact, consumers are exposed to so many messages that they notice fewer of them.  Here are a few tips to help you get your point across.

1. Focus on what is most relevant to your customers 

Focus on what your target audience see first and outline what is most important and relevant to them. Avoid the temptation to use that first impression to deliver what you or the management team finds most interesting, unless you're also the target audience.


2. Write active rather than passive sentences

Active sentences are more vigorous and put more life into the message. Here's an example: "We deliver shipping services to clients nationally." This is much punchier than saying "Shipping services are delivered by us to clients nationally."

3. Avoid jargon

Try to avoid formal, overly corporate language. Where possible avoid using big words with several syllables. The business world is now very much a global market and English may not be your customer’s first language.

4. Make it about them

Use the words "you" and "your" much more than "I" and "we." If you catch yourself saying "I" and "we" a lot, then you're talking about yourself too much. Get back to being focused on your reader and their needs and concerns.

5. Be concise

If you can say something in 10 words don’t use 120 words instead. Cut out the fluff and keep your message concise. Remember, your potential customer is time-poor so you need to keep the message relevant.


Saturday 19 December 2015

How to Write a Perfect Press Release?

A well-written press release should be short, to the point and contain all the essential information in the first paragraph.  Most importantly, it should be a complete story that could be published without too many changes, as all the facts are there and the content is well structured.


Here are a few tips to help you to put together a good press release.

Put in the most newsworthy information

Who, what, when, where should be at the top, with the least important information at the bottom - this is called the inverted pyramid model and it is how journalists are trained to write.

Facts and photos

Boost your story with relevant data and good photos (ideally taken by a professional photographer, not taken on a smartphone). Include one photo and say “more available” rather than clogging up journalists’ inboxes with big files.

Call a spade a spade

A journalists’ job is to untangle professional jargon before it reaches the press. You can make their life a bit easier by avoiding technical terms and writing in plain English.

Quotes

Quotes are important but they need to add something to the story without repeating information contained elsewhere. Try to avoid being “thrilled” “honoured” or “excited”.

Don’t attach your story, put it in the body of the email

Don’t send one line emails saying “See Attachment”. It may not be opened. Always paste the press release directly into an email so it can be easily read on a smartphone or tablet.

Give it a good headline

Your headline should tell the story even if a person doesn’t actually read the rest of the article. If you want ideas on how to write a good headline, just pick up a newspaper and have a read. Which headlines catch your eye and why? Now try to write a similar headline for your press release.

Are you ready to write your business Press Release yourself? Let us know your experience and the response. Also share with us if you have any more points to add.

Thursday 15 October 2015

Half My Advertising Is Wasted, I Just Don’t Know Which Half”



I read an interesting (and disturbing) statistic recently from Forbes. It stated that 45% of CEOs agree that ‘marketing efforts are wasting money’.

Yes, I’m an accountant (and proud of it) but I’m also a business owner. In many respects I’m in a unique position. I not only have to run and build our firm, I also get to advise dozens of other business owners (our clients) on growing their firms, making sure their financial management is as good as it can be, and ensuring they don’t pay a penny more in tax than they have to.
However, we are different to most accountants because we take an active role in helping our clients grow. That’s why we invested a considerable sum to give our clients access to one of the world’s leading sales and marketing systems (the BGSvault).
But when I read that statistic from Forbes, it reminded me of a famous quote from department store mogul John Wanamaker, who said: "Half my advertising is wasted, I just don't know which half".

It’s fair to say I have this discussion regularly with a number of our clients. They don’t measure the results of their marketing, so they have no way of knowing what’s working and what isn’t makes my team and me very ‘number conscious’. We do measure everything. That includes our marketing. I want to know if I spent X on a strategy, what return did I get?
Why is that important? Well, it means I know which strategies to invest more of our hard-earned money into and which strategies to ditch or try and improve. It’s not rocket science, but as small-business owners we have to watch the pennies and leverage as many things as we can.
I also smiled when I read that statistic from Forbes. I wonder how many CEOs actually know what their marketing results are and which strategies work. It is highly likely they are just like John Wanamaker—they haven’t got a clue.
This one simple act of measuring the results (or lack) of ALL your marketing is so simple, yet it will have a significant effect on the growth of your firm.  It’s your job to make   sure   you  put  in  place  a  mechanism that  gives  you this  data.  In   my   experience,  I can  tell you, it is TRANSFORMATIONAL!

Wednesday 30 September 2015

4 tips to Optimise your Email for Mobile Devices!

74% of smartphone owners use their devices to check their email (Source: Gartner)

It has been estimated by Radicati that by the end of 2018, mobile email users are expected to total over 2.2 billion & 80% of email users are expected to access their email accounts via a mobile device.

Rather than the statistics, if you check at how you check your email versus how you were doing it just a few years ago, you will realise the importance of smart phone email compatibility.
Mobile Email Usage! Source: PanoramaStock
Mobile Email Usage! Source: PanoramaStock

The rate at which emails are opened on a mobile device is rapidly increasing. So, when it comes to your business’s approach to email marketing, you need to make sure your messages look great no matter what size screen your audience is using.

Here are 5 easy but important tips to optimise your email so that it is responsive to both small and big screens alike:

Formatting

An easy way to make your emails more mobile-friendly is to use a single-column template. This will make it easy for people to see all of your information without having to click to zoom in. People consume information differently on a smaller screen. One of the biggest differences is how quickly they can scroll through and scan information. As such, you should format your email content for people who like to scan. Start with a short header message that sets up the content people are about to read. The copy that follows should be clear and concise. Replace lengthy paragraphs with short, snappy sentences that let people know what you’re doing, why it’s important to them, and what action you’d like them to take. You should also avoid lengthy paragraphs that can slow down the reader and distract them from giving your content the attention it needs.

Images and Branding

Include an eye-catching image that helps the reader connect with the message you’re sending out. Bear in mind that on many mobile devices, images won’t display automatically and some will turn off displaying images by default. As such, it is important not to overload your email with too many images and to always make sure you have text to provide the details people need.

Include High Resolution Images

High resolution images will ensure images are sharp and crisp. Readers will be pleased with the content present. More than that, it will improve the click-through rate of images' hyperlink!

Strong Call-to-Action

Now that you’ve set your message up to work well on mobile, the last step is to make sure your readers clearly understand the action you want them to take. If you want people to show up to an event, or call to place an order, it is important to clearly state what you want them to do and give them the information they need to take action. If the next action is online - to visit your website, register for an event etc. then you should include a link that’s visible and easy to click on any screen size. Remember that on mobile devices, your readers need to be able to use their finger to click or scroll. Avoid stacking multiple links or putting different links too close together. Whenever possible, add a button that’s easy to click from a phone’s small screen.

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Saturday 22 August 2015

How to keep your clients happy? 8 Simple Steps!

Keeping existing clients happy is a lot easier than acquiring new ones. But that’s easier said than done.

Think of yourself as a customer. When you walk into a shop, you expect to be treated in a certain way - a smile, a small greeting, “Hello, how are you?” and you want to feel like you matter.

You don’t want to be treated as just another customer. Excellent service makes a difference to how you perceived the experience and if you return to that store again.

Opposite our office we have a coffee shop called Rise. If I ever want a coffee, I go there and wouldn’t think about going anywhere else. This is all because of their excellent customer service.


Even before you are at the counter ready to order, you’re greeted with a friendly “Hello” and the staff make you feel valued and appreciated. Here are a few ways you can keep your clients happy so they are amazed by your service and never want to leave…

1. GIVE FREE ADVICE

If you come across as only wanting fees from your clients, they’ll run in the opposite direction. Giving free advice shows that you care about your clients’ success. It doesn’t mean you have to be on the phone with them every day answering a list of questions, but if they know you’re available to give advice when they need it, you’re more likely to be referred.

Don’t think about trying to sell them other services - treat it as a form of developing the relationship with your clients.

2. UNDER-PROMISE AND OVER-DELIVER

We say this a lot to our clients, but it’s true! If you promise someone too much, you’re putting pressure on yourself just to impress.

If you can see them for one hour a week, but you tell them they’re entitled to 30 minutes of your time every single week—they’ll be blown away when you over-deliver.
 
That’s a lot better than making promises you can’t keep (even though your intentions are never to break them).

3. COMMUNICATE CLEARLY WITH CLIENTS

If there is anything clients like - it’s to be kept informed, even if you have some bad news to tell them. Don’t let months go by without speaking to them. And this goes for your team too. Make it part of your team ethos to regularly keep in contact with clients about their workload. No matter how small the situation may seem, if a client’s work changes, they should be informed. 

It will go a long way in creating excellent customer service. 
Feedback emails are a great way to check in with clients to make sure they’re happy with the service provided. Ask your team to send an email to clients every few months making sure that everything is running smoothly. (This is a great way to keep your firm moving forward.)

4. BE AVAILABLE

Similar to point 3, communication is key to developing a strong relationship and making sure everything runs smoothly. 

You can’t be available every hour of every day, but there’s nothing worse for a client than not being able to get in touch with their accountant. Set aside a few hours a day when you are free to chat to clients if they ever need you and let them know that you’re unavailable any time outside of these hours.
 
People don’t like to be left in the dark about things, and if they haven’t received a response back from you within a few days, then they will lose confidence that you care.

5. DELIVER WORLD-CLASS WORK

This goes without saying really, but if clients aren’t satisfied with the service provided, they will cancel.
The primary reason clients came to you is because of the service you provided, and not how great your customer service is. Keep track of any work your team might do for clients, so you are always aware of the status of their work.
 
If your service isn’t up to scratch and they don’t see results - you can expect a cancellation.

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6. ASK YOUR CLIENTS QUESTIONS

The only way to know what your clients want is to ask them. Feedback emails (as mentioned earlier) are an excellent way to over-deliver. And it goes a long way that you made the effort to ask.
 
Ask questions about their company too - find out the best times to communicate with them, what excellent customer service means to them, what their goals are and more. Establish what their expectations are and exceed them. Treat this as an opportunity to get to know your clients too.

7. MAKE EVERYTHING PERSONAL

People like personalisation and not being treated as just another client (think back to what I said about Rise earlier). This means every moment of truth with the client should be personal - from their name on letters to a personal touch to emails.
 
Make all of your clients feel appreciated. If you’re holding an event - invite them along. Invest time in building a relationship with each and every one of them.

8. UNDERSTAND THEIR POINT OF VIEW

Your clients are busy people and you won’t always get a response from them as quickly as you’d like. If you know that you need something from them, then asking the day before isn’t sensible. You have to put them first. 

Put yourself in their shoes. If they’re upset with how a member of the team has spoken with them, empathise and do everything you can to turn the situation around. Get the facts from your team and see the situation from the client’s side. (This doesn’t mean they’re always right, but look at things from their side)

PJ
For Accounting, Marketing, Business Building help, contact us:
020 89310165 ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com

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Monday 27 July 2015

The Huge Pitfalls Of Reducing Your Price & What To Do Instead!

As the economy struggles to recover, and competition gets more and more fierce, we thought it was important to bring to your attention the problems you encounter by reducing your prices in the hope that this will bring you more sales.

One of the most common and most costly traps business owners fall into has to do with the perception that the quickest way to increase cash flow when sales are down is to have a ‘sale’.


On the surface, the concept itself seems to make sense. We need more sales, so we lower our prices.
Lower prices will attract more buyers who will purchase more of our products at the reduced prices. And we’ll make up for the money we’ll lose with the lower prices by the increased number of sales.

But the reality is, rarely is this strategy a success.

Having a sale, reducing prices in order to attract more customers, can often be the kiss of death for businesses unaware of the bigger picture.

In reality, there is rarely a good reason to reduce your prices. No matter what you think, most people do
NOT buy on price and price alone. In fact, research over the last 6 recessions has shown that only between 5% and 20% of people buy on price. Most people think it’s the other way around! So let’s take a look at the effects of reducing your prices...

Let’s assume, for illustration purposes, that your business operates on a 30% margin and you want to reduce the price to increase sales. If you lower the price just 10%, you’ll need to increase the number    of sales you make, or the number of customers you sell to, by 50% just to maintain the original profit.

Don’t believe it? Let’s walk through the numbers…

Let’s say that you sell an item for £100, and that your total costs to acquire that product and get it out the door comes to £70. That leaves you with a net profit of £30 on that item.

Now, let’s say that you reduce your price by 10%. You now sell that item for £90.

You didn’t do anything to reduce your product costs or your expenses. All you did is reduce the amount you charged your customers.

If you subtract your £70 costs from the £90 sale price, you net £20.

Now, if you subtract this £20 from your previous profits of £30, you end up with a £10 difference. Divide the £10 by £20, and you get 50%.

So to get back to the same profit level that you were enjoying before you lowered your prices, you’ll have to sell more items  or the same number of items to 50% more customers.  Now, here’s another problem most businesses fail to take into account. No one knows you’re having a sale unless you tell them about it.

So you need to advertise or send something out to let everyone know you’re  having a sale.

And if you expect to attract more customers and sell more goods, you may need to beef up staff, salespeople, delivery, packaging, money processing, accounting, stocking, signage and any number of additional things that you may not initially consider and all of which further increases your costs.

So when you look closely and carefully at having a sale, you may have to sell considerably more than the 50% to even come close to breaking even.

IMPORTANT
REDUCING PRICES IS THEREFORE SOMETHING YOU NEED TO THINK VERY CAREFULLY ABOUT. REMEMBER, VALUE AND PRICE ARE LINKED – SO PROVIDE MORE VALUE AND YOU’LL STILL GET THE SALES!

The Value Of Increasing Prices


In our estimation, we believe that 90% of ALL businesses charge too little for their products and services.

Often people are scared to increase their prices, and business owners rarely test different price points (do you?). 

But having carefully targeted your prospects and customers (like we always advise you do), you are in a position to charge premium prices because you are seen by the market as THE go-to company for their specific requirements.

And there is no quicker way of increasing your profits and the success of your business than by increasing your prices. Let’s take a look...
Using the same 30% margin as in our previous example, instead of decreasing prices by 10%, you raise them by 10%.

The result?

You can now maintain the same profit margin with a 25% reduction in sales volume… either in the number of items sold, or in the number of customers sold to.

You could actually lose one out of every four customers and still make the same money.

Now, let’s compare two identical businesses which sell exactly the same products. Business A lowers prices by 10% and Business B increases prices by 10%.

As was pointed out, Business A has to sell 50% more, and Business B can sell 25% less, and they’ll both make the same profits as before.

While the owner of Business A is working his/her tail off just to break even, Business B owner is cruising along without all the stress, worry and other problems, and yet is making the same net profits.

Furthermore, what is often surprising to business owners is that when they do increase their prices, the opposite of what they expect actually occurs. Instead of losing customers, they actually gain more customers.                                   

Why?

Because the higher prices are met with the perception  that your products or services are worth more and therefore this perception of ‘added value’ gives the business a welcome influx of sales it would previously never have received.

We have numerous examples of this. For instance, a photographer was charging just £450 per day for his wedding service.

With very little change to the way he carried out the service, he increased his prices to over £3,000 in three months.

A restaurant owner increased her prices by 20% and saw an immediate increase in bookings .

A jewellery store increased prices 15%, resulting in an increase of £25,000 a month in sales.

These are not isolated incidents. If you get your target market right and you deliver a good-quality product or service, increasing your prices and increasing your sales is NOT a pipe dream.

So what if you’re selling a commodity-type product or service, whereby people can easily shop for the best price? Well, it’s no different. What you have to do, though, is create a level of service that is unmatched by any of your competitors.

This includes offering superior delivery times, quicker service or using a powerful guarantee which no other competitor offers and creating ‘premium’ products or services that customers will be happy to pay more for.

So even if you’re reluctant to increase your prices, concentrate on giving more value and you’ll still get many more sales.

As long as you create a gulf of value between you and the competition you’ll be able to increase your prices.

Believe us no matter what you sell, increasing your prices is something you should look at doing now.

Of course, don’t just make a wholesale increase right across the business. Increasing your prices is a tactic that should be approached like all your other tactics. Test small and then roll out when you have sufficient evidence that it works.

Tuesday 21 July 2015

9 Tips on How to Face Difficult Conversations in Business Avoiding Stress!

We all have to face up to difficult conversations at times that we’d sooner not have. Whether it be an employee, a client, a business partner or someone else, the thought of being the bearer of bad news, facing up to the elephant in the room or handling an error, can lead to many a sleepless night. Here are some tips on how to reduce the stress and get a better outcome.

How To Lower The Stress and Improve Your Outcomes When Discussing Real Issues?

 1. Is the conversation necessary?

This isn’t a cop-out! On occasion, a major issue today may be a lesser one tomorrow. You should decide, without fooling yourself, whether time is on your side or whether this is something that isn’t going to go away. If it’s the former, then schedule a moment for you to revisit it - say, a week ahead - and forget about it until then. If the latter, then let’s carry on…

2. Choose your conduit

Face-to-face discussions are usually going to be best. Telephone or email may seem the easier option but the absence of visual signs depersonalises the conversation and makes misunderstandings far more likely whilst, physically, people remain in their own defensive camps. Practicalities or security may require otherwise but, even then, video and online conferencing can allow a degree
of ‘face-to-face’ benefit.

3. Choose your location

If you are driving the conversation, then you will want to be on your home turf, so that you can control more aspects of the meeting and have the benefits of being the home team. However, if your position is weak - let’s say you are trying to address an error by your firm - then being the visitor can have its advantages. By going to them you are already taking a conciliatory tone. You are holding your hand up. If neutral turf is required, then make sure you’re the one who organises the practicalities, giving you that element of control again.

4. Plan your approach

This does not mean lying awake at night going through imagined conversations. Three areas of preparation should be in focus:
  • Be clear with your objectives. What outcomes are you looking to achieve? This is the most important point, as it will help to guide the conversation.
  • Do your homework. Make sure you know the history and the facts from your end.
  • Consider your options. Be clear what is acceptable to you and have a Plan A, Plan B, Plan C…….

5. Plan your meeting

Nobody likes nasty surprises. Planning an ambush may work in Westerns but is unlikely to result in a positive outcome for you. Arrange a meeting in advance and with at least an indication of the topic for discussion. Make sure that the time requirement is clear so that attendees don’t have an excuse to rush off.
Prepare for your guest's arrival. Make sure that you have everything to hand that you will need, ensure that your location is welcoming and devoid of distractions and make their attendance as easy as possible with a convenient time, clear access instructions and a friendly welcome.

6. Getting into your meeting

Keep your introduction short. After the formalities, explain clearly and briefly what you are together to discuss. Don’t keep your attendee waiting for the topic to come out, it will only add to the pressures. Explain what you intend to cover and ask if they wish to add any topics or points of their own.

7. Style

Your manner and body language is vital throughout. You should be clear, calm and composed and your body language should be open and neutral. No folding of arms, leaning back in your chair or raising your voice. This may be difficult at times but lose control and you lose the meeting.

8. Don’t make assumptions

Don’t assume that you are right, don’t assume that your option is the only one and don’t assume that you know how they will react. Instead:
  • be prepared to listen...and do listen
  • be prepared to be flexible (within your objectives)
  • be prepared for a range of emotions (and don’t assume the immediate reaction is the true one)

9.Sign off properly

The key to such discussions is always to be clear and unambiguous. That applies just as much when you close the meeting. If a resolution or action plan has been reached, then summarise this and follow it up in writing. If the matter is unresolved, then be clear on what happens next, whether it be further discussion, a cooling-off period or a proposal to be made. Again, follow up in writing.
Thank your attendee….it’s just business!

PJ
☎ 020 89310165
☏ 07900537459
pushkar.joshi@apjaccountancy.com

Monday 20 July 2015

Delegate For Happier Employees & To Reduce Your Stress!

Delegate: To entrust a task or responsibility to another person, typically one who is less senior than oneself.
Sometimes you’ll feel overloaded, and there’s only so much you can do. One hundred things need doing, and unless you’re superhuman, it’s physically impossible to get everything done.

So what do you do? Well, you do something. Anything that makes you stressed can’t be ignored! You weren’t born to place a heavy burden on yourself all the time.


Take action by delegating. The very word ‘delegate’ can send a shiver down your spine. But delegating isn’t a bad thing. It can benefit you and your team.
It benefits you by:
  • Saving you time
  • Relieving stress
  • Employees acknowledging your leadership skills
It benefits your employees by:
  • Developing their skills in new areas
  • Testing their imagination and how they handle more responsibility
  • Retains your hard workers
These are just a few of the advantages. There is, however, a fine line between delegation being beneficial and detrimental to your relationship with employees.

If you don’t delegate properly, you risk employees feeling like you’re overloading them with work. They become stressed, unhappy and feel ill-treated. But doing it correctly actually enhances your employees’ job satisfaction.
There will be a point when you have to delegate with your team because you have new projects, the firm is growing or you need to balance the workload. Change your mindset from thinking ‘I have too much do to and need someone to help’ to ‘How can I challenge my employees so they’re happy and feel fulfilled whilst enabling me to focus on other things?’ 

When To Delegate:

The process should never just be about you. Handing out extra work due to your poor timekeeping will decrease employees' loyalty to you.

But don’t hold a huge weight on your shoulders just because you’re worried about how employees will react (more on how to approach employees later).
Have you considered your team’s workload? Are they in the middle of a huge project right now? If so, it’s not the best time to ask them, or maybe they’re not the right person to ask. Their workload will become too much and the task won’t receive the level of care and perfection it needs.

How To Delegate:

To avoid confusion and unhappiness, tell the person who is completing the work why they are. Explain how you came to this decision, including how they will benefit from it, and why you aren’t taking on the responsibility.
Here are a few points to help:

1. Choose the right people for each task.

In order for it to develop your employees’ skills, dedicate each task to those who will a) Enjoy it, b) Have time to do it, c) Want to develop skills in the area.

2. Be patient.

Your employees will probably have lots of questions and at points will be confused. It could take time before they know exactly what is expected of them.
Not only this, but you shouldn’t approach them one day with a list of things you “need doing by the end of the week”. Allow a reasonable timescale for completion. If that means someone else handling some of the work, then so be it.

3. Communication is key.

Nobody likes to be in the dark. If you think something might change, tell your team. If the deadline needs to be shortened, tell your team.

4. Provide clear instructions.

Right from the get-go, make it clear to your employees exactly what is expected of them.
Could you build a car without instructions? Anyone can do anything if they’re told how.

5. Be aware of their workload.

Do you know what your employees’ workloads are like?
Rather than dropping a bomb on them unexpectedly one day, listen to how much time they have available. You don’t want the project to be rushed, nor your employees to be stressed.
At this stage, you may even choose to reduce their normal activities to prioritise the new work.

6. Give credit.

And when it’s all over, don’t forget to say “thank you” and “well done”. Taking all the credit for something you didn’t do is a sure way of your employees not helping you out again.
If you delegate often, your employees may be thinking towards the end, ‘What am I getting out of this?’ and you need to have an answer.

How Not To Delegate:

There are wrong ways too. When I say ‘wrong ways’, I mean approaching the situation with demands that make your employees unhappy coming into work, which will tarnish their relationship with you.

1. Only delegating when you feel overwhelmed. 
This tells employees that you’re unorganised and unwilling to be a team player.
2. Don’t be a perfectionist.
Perfectionists don’t usually delegate effectively. You’d be right in wanting something to be completed to a certain quality, but not everyone works the way you work. Don’t be too specific in your instructions, or not clear enough. Strike the balance.
3. Don’t keep extending work.
Have you ever done something and then been told it wasn’t needed? If yes, your time and skills were wasted.

Don’t cause confusion by constantly changing what you originally asked for. It’s unfair and stressful.
I could have written pages and pages on how to make this process enjoyable for everyone, but these are the main points. If you don’t make delegation a negative process, it won’t be.

PJ
☎ 020 89310165
☏ 07900537459
pushkar.joshi@apjaccountancy.com

Saturday 18 July 2015

7 Strategies To Capitalise On Your Acres Of Diamonds!

When you’re constantly looking to acquire more clients, it’s easy to forget about your most prized asset - your EXISTING clients. This is a mistake I see often.

In many ways, it’s easy to understand why existing clients are neglected, but it’s no excuse.



Growing your firm is challenging (I don’t need to tell you that). But having strategies to retain existing clients and to maximise profits from them are without doubt the quickest, easiest and most cost-effective ways to grow your accounting firm AND give you the income and earnings you desire.

So let’s take a look at the different strategies you can use right now to capitalise on the relationship you already have with your existing clients… 

STRATEGY #1: INCREASE YOUR FEES ANNUALLY

The best and easiest way to maximise profits is to increase your fees. This is a no-brainer.
Systematically increase your fees by at least 15% EVERY year.
You’ll be surprised how few clients you lose as a result and the ones that do leave are the ones you don’t want anyway (price-conscious).

The reason why price increases are so successful is because YOU’RE NOT CHARGING ENOUGH RIGHT NOW ANYWAY. There’s a significant element of added value which you can capitalise on - and increasing your prices is the easiest way to do this.

STRATEGY #2: WOW YOUR CLIENTS WITH MOMENTS OF TRUTH

One of the best ways to add value, build strong relationships and retain clients is to use Moments Of Truth (MOT). We discuss MOT often in these pages, but if you’re new to AFG, MOT are the steps you take at each interaction with your clients to ensure their experience with you is exceptional.

If you focus on every interaction you have with a client and make this the BEST it can be each time, you will create a world-class service.

You’ll retain far more clients and strengthen the bond you have with them - making them less susceptible to the advances of your competition.

STRATEGY #3: TELL THEM WHAT YOU SELL

I know this sounds almost ridiculous, but guess what? Your clients don’t know what you sell.

How many times have you spoken to a client and they’ve turned to you and said something like, “We’ve just gone to ABC company for XYZ,” only for you to turn round to them and say, “Didn’t you know we do that?”

This is more common than you think. Plus, it also brings into focus that if they don’t know what you offer, they won’t even think to buy it. So making them aware of what you sell will prevent many clients from sourcing this service from other suppliers and also increase the likelihood of them buying the service from you.

There are more, but here are 2 easy ways to do this…
  1. Include a list of services with short descriptions in your newsletter (see next strategy). This can either be within the newsletter itself or as an insert.
  2. Send a letter 4 times a year making clients aware of the services you sell. A good way to do this is to use a tick-box approach whereby you ask them to tick the services they would like more information on. You then follow up with those who want more information. This strategy alone will yield significant income opportunities for you.

STRATEGY #4: SEND A MONTHLY PRINTED NEWSLETTER

This is still one of the least-used strategies, but sending a printed monthly newsletter to clients is one of the best things you can do. Done right, it can achieve all of the following for you…
  • Help to retain clients
  • Get clients to buy new services from you
  • Motivate clients to buy more existing services from you
  • Keep clients engaged with you, strengthening your relationship with them
  • Differentiate you from the competition
  • And much, much more
To begin with, keep it simple. 4 pages is ample, but your goal should be to increase to 8 pages.
Business Builder Newsletter

STRATEGY #5: SEGMENT YOUR CLIENT LIST

Segmenting their client list is something that very few firms ever do. Instead, they treat every client in the same way. But, clients are not created equally. Pareto’s ‘80/20 Rule’ is applicable to your client base. 80% of your profit will come from 20% of your clients. 80% of your headaches come from 20% of your clients, and so on. It is vital that you identify who your best clients are, so you can focus on giving them the attention they deserve. Reference our execution plan on ‘A-D Client Segmentation’ for more details.

STRATEGY #6: PHONE YOUR BEST CLIENTS

Now you’ve segmented your client list, you can start to communicate more with your best clients (’A’ and ‘B+’).

Simply picking up the phone once or twice a year and having a general discussion on how things are going will ultimately lead to more opportunities and, therefore, more business for you.

STRATEGY #7: CLIENT APPRECIATION EVENT

Once a year, you should organise a ‘Client Appreciation Event’ either at your office or a local hotel/restaurant and treat your best clients. Once again, you’ll be surprised by how much extra business this generates for you.

There are, of course, many more strategies you can use to generate more and more business from your clients. These 7 strategies are a good place to start.



To know more and be up-to-date, contact us:
020 89310165 ☏ 07900537459 | ✉ info@apjaccountancy.com

Wednesday 17 June 2015

The Amazing Power Of Persuasion

Whether we like it or not, as business owners we are in the business of persuasion.
Persuasion covers many different facets of our business. We need to use persuasion to elevate prospects to customers. Customers need to be persuaded to buy more frequently from us. The team around us need to be persuaded to do the things we want them to do things they like and don’t like doing. 


Even suppliers from time to time need persuasion to deliver the things we want from them, whether that’s in terms of products or services or service (with a capital ‘S’). The point is, if we can get good with ‘ethical’ persuasion, then the effect on our business will be significant.

Subconsciously, many of us use persuasion without even realising it. Our children master persuasion at an early age too! But what’s more interesting is that there is a science to persuasion that can be measured.

Perhaps the leader in the ‘field of persuasion’ is Robert B. Cialdini. His bestselling book ‘Influence—The Psychology Of Persuasion’ is an interesting read and covers the 6 major areas of persuasion…

1. Reciprocity
2. Scarcity
3. Authority
4. Liking
5. Consistency
6. Consensus
 
As a firm, we regularly (and not always consciously!) use reciprocity, authority, liking and consistency but I’d like to just talk about the real impact reciprocity can have on your business. This is the science of giving before receiving. Simply put, people are obliged to give back to others the form of behaviour, gift or service that they have received first.
For example, a recent study carried out at a number of restaurants demonstrated the result of giving each diner a simple mint with their bill at the end of the meal and the effect it had on the size of the tip. The results are quite frankly staggering and revealing (if you run a restaurant, you should implement this immediately!)…

They found that giving one mint with the bill increased the size of the tip by 3%. Not bad. Giving two mints quadrupled (yes, quadrupled) the tip to an increase of 14%. But when the waiter gave one mint per diner, walked away, paused and then turned back saying ‘for you nice people, here’s an extra mint’, tips increase an incredible 23%.
 That’s the power of reciprocity. How can you use it in your business to increase sales and profits? 

PJ
020 89310165
☏ 07900537459