FM Walsh & Associates Inc.

The last few days I have seen a number of clients – all passionate business owners – who are procrastinating about getting important things done to grow their business. They make excuses, they dither, and they wait to get other things done first. What is going on here? I just came across this excellent article: Procrastination - A Four-Letter Word by Cindy Caldwell that outlines how we allow procrastination to take over. Read it if you are finding yourself stuck. And then just get going!

My partner, Chris Flett, asked me to write an article for his column in the Vancouver View magazine so I thought I would share it with you here . The most powerful tool you can give yourself as a business owner is getting clear on your value and what you deliver to the customer. Paint the picture for potential customers of what is in it for them and you will find the sales take care of themselves.

What’s Your Value?

This past week in Vancouver, we had the “Taste of Success” Business Coaching week and I was privileged to be able to meet with 40 different businesses to discuss business development. A common theme emerged with many of the female business owners. They admitted to feeling awkward talking about money. Imagine – they deliver great products and services and yet they do not want to ask for payment! Get over it! If you are going to be successful in business, you should expect and want to be paid for what you do for the customer. Set a fair market price and don’t blink when it comes to discussing your price. We live in a market economy – people expect to hand over money for products and services.

The Office Journal published this article earlier this month to tie in with their Olympic theme. It outlines 5 rules every business can use to succeed in sales - and is especially applicable if your company is hoping to take advantage of the upcoming 2010 Winter Olympics in BC to develop business opportunities:

How would your business do if you had to relocate to a new country every two years where you had no customers, no contacts and no experience with local customs and business practices? Sounds like a nightmare, right?

This is the business model for Moving Products Inc. Their focus is the Olympic Games – they work with Olympic sponsor companies to outfit their guests, staff and technicians with customized clothing and accessory items. This eight-person company provides everything from footwear to headwear, and they handle every detail from sourcing product to delivery. To date they have been involved in 10 Olympic Games and worked with 150 Olympic sponsor programs.

And every two years, they move on to work in a new country. They just recently opened offices in Vancouver so I got the chance to sit down and chat with Ian MacDonald, CEO of Moving Products. I was curious to find out how a small Canadian company became such a big player in the business of the Olympics. Ian told me that the key to their success in this field is the same as it is for any other business in any market: to build trust with customers and prove that you can deliver.

“Our primary focus is not on selling stuff – it is to make sure the sponsor companies have the right Olympic experience,” says Ian.

The most recent example of this is the Johnson & Johnson project. J&J are official sponsors of the 2008 Beijing Games. The Moving Products team identified that few people are aware of the enormous number of personal care products made by J&J, so they approached them with the idea of putting together an amenities kit filled with sample sizes of their various products to maximize their Olympic exposure. J&J loved the idea. The Moving Products team has since taken the kit to all the other 2008 sponsors to have them use it as part of their own Olympic programs. Special kits have also been created for the 2008 Games volunteers, athletes, and officials. By using their experience in past games working with other sponsors, Moving Products was able to help J&J build strategic relationships with other corporate sponsors and get the J&J brand and products in front of world and corporate leaders.

For any company wanting to take advantage of 2010 business opportunities, here are Ian’s rules for Olympic business success:

1. Know where you fit and what your core business is. Moving Products is very clear about what their expertise is and they have a clearly defined niche market. They only pursue opportunities that fit their core business.

2. Know what strengths your company brings to the table. Be very honest in analyzing how your strengths and expertise will benefit a 2010 opportunity. Keep in mind that the Olympics are a major financial investment for these companies. There is no room for error. Everything must be done well and on time.

3. Work within your niche market to identify 2010 business opportunities for your company. There are many potential opportunities out there and it is easy for a company to get overwhelmed and feel like they are wasting time and money.

4. Clearly define who your targets are. It could be the Olympic sponsors, the organizing committee or other companies who will have an Olympic presence. For Moving Products, the key targets are companies that want to build partnerships with organizing committees.

5. Spend time getting to know your customer – do your research. What do they need? The CEOs and boards of directors of all major companies worldwide attend the Olympic Games so there is a lot of pressure to deliver. Look to build a partnership with them.

As Ian says, “It is not about the size of your company. Olympic success depends on your ability to clearly identify the right business opportunity for you and then go out and make it happen.” Moving Products is a prime example of a small company who identified Olympic gold and pursued it.

To view the article in its full glory go to:
Sales Pitch : Olympic business star gives 5 winning rules

I get asked by a lot of clients for tips on how to find good salespeople for their team. Most business owners have had at least 1 or 2 disappointing experiences where they hired a candidate who interviewed extremely well and had a strong resume, only to find when it came to producing results nothing happened. Hiring mistakes like this are very costly. Unfortunately there is no magic solution when it comes to hiring good salespeople.

I just read a great article – Read between the resume lines - which Harvey Schachter recently posted to his blog at the Globe and Mail. He presents 8 tips for finding salespeople that can sell. My favourite tip and the one I consider most important is the last tip – only hire a salesperson who wraps up the interview listing the reasons why you should hire them. If they present a solid case for what they can do for your company in terms of dollars and revenue, that’s a good indication that they will produce results for your company.

I get approached by a lot of people asking when is the right time to get a business coach. Some of our Ghost CEO clients come to us in the startup phase; others start after several successful years in business. The common factor for all of them is that they realize there is a better way to build business. My partner and founder of the Ghost CEO Coaching Program, Chris Flett came up with this checklist:

Are you ready for a Ghost CEO?

• You wish you had someone objective and knowledgeable to talk professionally with
• You want a sober second thought when making professional decisions
• You want to move ahead quicker than you feel you are doing right now
• You want to start planning your professional future with quantitative results
• You are looking for an edge in business
• You are accountable, keep your word and want to work smart
• You are honest, open and interested in learning and trying new things.

If you find yourself doing the same things over and over in your business and getting lackluster results, that is a good indicator that you might consider working with a business coach. They will give you a fresh perspective and challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and do things differently.