By Eric Gilboord

1. Outside Help. Seek objective, outside professional help. If you do it yourself, you will likely take your eye off the day to day running of the business, cause unnecessary anxiety, and either keep your business where it is or hurt it further.

2. Rethink Your Business. Think about current customers, competition, industry changes, and technology. Even rethink the type of business you are in. Many successful businesses have managed to stay that way by moving with the times. They saw the needs of their customers changing and acted accordingly.

3. Assess Your Company's Current Status. Put everything on the table, both good and bad. Include aspects of the business you are proud of and issues you wish would just go away. Address issues relating to staff, products and services, location, profitability and new business development.

4. Keep Some Change Some. Determine what your customers like about you and what they would like to see changed. Be honest with yourself.

5. Maintain A Level Of Objectivity. Emotion has no place in this process. To achieve a successful marketing turnaround, you must do what is best for your company. This may mean letting long-term employees go or finding new suppliers.

6. Review The Past. Look carefully at your past marketing efforts. Examine past successes and failures. If you are still running a marketing program, but cannot justify the expense with an accurate accounting of incremental sales, consider canceling the program or placing it on hold. Successful marketing turnarounds stop the bleeding quickly.

7. Review Competitive Activity. Often, a new entry in a market will utilize new marketing techniques and new thinking to achieve sales that you didn't know were possible.

8. Look At The Staff. Take time to review existing staff in light of the plans you are preparing and the growth you seek. Many companies that have set out on a path for success have been thwarted by staff members who didn't agree with the new ways, or were actually afraid that the company would succeed. The last person you expect to come forward will be the first to say goodbye. People can be resistant to change. They like things to stay the way they are. If you need new people, clearly identify the skills required and begin the hiring process immediately.

9. Flexibility. Be flexible, and prepared to adjust your marketing plan as new opportunities and challenges arise.

10. Persevere. Perseverance is an absolute must. If you give up too early, you may fall short of the great success for which your business was destined.

11. Be Quick. Speed is essential in turning a company around. While you were planning and executing the marketing efforts your competitors may have been taking advantage of the opportunity and moving in on your customers.

And That's According 2 Eric

By Eric Gilboord

Why Say No
 Some small business entrepreneurs desire their own business in order to say Yes. Yes, I want to buy that desk. Yes, I’m going to hire you. Yes, I’ll take the assignment. Yes, I’m going to take today off. But the real power is in knowing when to say No. It is often said you shouldn’t go shopping when you are hungry because you’ll buy out the store and pick everything that is not good for you. The same rule applies when you are growing your business. The short-term advantages of a Yes today could be far outweighed by the long-term disadvantages tomorrow.

The trap many small businesses fall into is when they assume that being busy and being successful are one and the same. Or they take assignments/orders based on the need to pay the rent or salaries. While these are very real reasons to accept an order, they may be costly and destructive to your future. Many businesses do less orders but are more profitable than competitors. Some businesses enjoy tremendous profit margins from small ticket orders. They just happen to write many small but profitable orders each day, having learned to process small orders efficiently. Success is not always based on gross sales. But staying in business is based on being profitable.

If you learn to say no to the wrong opportunities you will create a vacuum to be filled by right opportunities. Have you ever been forced to turn down an order because you were too busy processing other less profitable orders. If only you had turned down that last minute request for a special order needed right away, you could have had the time for the good order. Picking and choosing opportunities may seem like a luxury, but are a necessity for survival and growth. There is a caution, don’t be arrogant or too picky without thinking the opportunity through.

The key is to have a formal business plan & marketing strategy in place to use as a basis for these decisions. I have found much comfort and relief in turning down an opportunity because it was not on strategy for my company. I had determined previously which clients I wanted to service. When I am approached by a prospect or when I go out proactively searching for new business my internal radar directs me to the most appropriate situations and away from the undesirable ones. Through experience, I have learned to distinguish the good from the bad.

 Saying No To Customers Or Prospects
 Not every assignment or sale is right for your company or the best use of your time. Every small business owner has at least a few customers they refer to as the “one day customers” those with potential. One day I’ll make money on this customer. They look good on our client list and one day they will be profitable for us. This is just a learning experience until we get to know each other better and one day we’ll see some profit. Sometimes that day never comes. You have invested hours or days into a relationship and it can be difficult to let go. “If I hold on just a little longer I’m sure the big order will come.” Sound familiar? It is important to be realistic about opportunities. I’m not suggesting that you walk away from an opportunity just because it isn’t the big order right off the bat, I am saying take a good hard look at each situation honestly and with a view to the future. You have the power to say No and it might save you from future anxiety.

 Saying No To Employees
 You don’t want to diminish enthusiasm of your staff or associated companies. Their ideas may be good but not appropriate for your company at this time. Try building on their idea instead of killing it. The way it was presented may not have fit with your current plans for the future of your company. Perhaps the suggestion will be better suited later on. Be open to new ideas as the next concept may be the one that takes your business to a new level. Write it down and place it in a bring forward file. You never know where the next great idea or insight will come from. Sometimes an outside source can see things a little more objectively or clearly. An internal staff member may have more direct customer interaction and therefore be better suited to recognize real customer needs.

How To Say No

1.        Quickly - You want to say no quickly but not without giving the situation a reasonable amount of thought. In some cases the person who came to you needs to make alternative arrangements and your decision will impact their next steps.

2.        With An Explanation - An explanation for saying no may be required so they understand your reasoning and do not ask for the same thing again. Due to circumstances beyond your control, you may not be able to provide the caliber of service this time but would appreciate an opportunity next time.

3.        Politely - Arrogance will always jump out and bite you, usually at the most inappropriate time.

4.        In Writing – some situations require a more formal approach and in the process of writing out your reasons you will give yourself the opportunity to thoroughly examine the situation.


And that's According 2 Eric

By Eric Gilboord

Are you not investing in marketing because you are afraid of success or more success? This may be a good question to ask yourself.

I have spent many hours with intelligent successful business owner/operators discussing the growth of their business. Only to be stunned when they say they are not going to invest in any marketing even when they know it will increase their sales and help get them to their admitted goals. At first I thought ok, they have other operational issues to sort out or they need more staff to handle the additional business or maybe they are not sold on the advantages of marketing.

But the more I probed the stranger it got. In some cases there was no other issue to resolve. They just liked the comfort of running a business of a certain size and even though they asked for help to build their business the reality was when it came time to commit they would rather stay where they were.

I'm not suggesting that every business owner should continue growing their enterprise just because they can. What I am saying is think hard about why you are not taking even small steps to build when they are available to you with relative ease.

So the next time someone offers to help you grow; dig deep inside and get in touch with what you really want.

And that's According 2 Eric