Launching New Ideas

I am working on a new product launch and it's always an exciting time for me because of all the facets that go into a product launch. Today I would like to talk about launching any new idea and how to make sure it's a success.

The first thing you want to think about when launching a new idea/product/service or whatever it is you're launching is who is it intended for, be very specific here. What is the target audience for this idea and how will it impact them or their business. Once you have answered that question then there is a whole list of things to consider before launching, here are a few:

• How will you market it? Including Website, Email, Social Networking, Blogging, Direct Mail etc...
• Are there possible multiple product offerings in your idea, for instance in the product I'm currently offering I will also be able to spin off an e-book, a seminar, coaching services and a monthly subscription.
• What is your sales process? How will you sell the product and what will the sales approach look like?
• How will the service end look? Do you need to do anything different from a service perspective?
• And what does the profitability look like? Can you maintain margins to make the idea profitable.

These are just a few things to consider when launching new products, ideas and offerings. Too many times I see companies roll out a new product assuming there's a market for it but not taking care of the front end details that I mention above and then when they launch and get no response they can't figure out why. The other issue is look into how you might preview the launch and take a page out of Apple's book, by letting a few details come out on what you are launching to start to create buzz, Apple is an expert and creating a buzz before they ever launch a new product. I hope these ideas help you successfully launch new ideas and look for an exciting new product soon from me that will help you create a simple, yet powerful strategic action plan, keep your eye on our website for more details!

Simplicity Means Focus

I met with a client this morning and he was telling me about how good it felt to spend last weekend in his office just cleaning out and getting rid of old files and things that he didn't need anymore and it got me thinking about how clutter can keep us from being focused on the things we really need to be doing to move our businesses or sales forward.

When you look at your desk are you constantly trying to figure out where you put something so that you can work on it? When you look at what you should be doing do you have multiple to do lists and post it notes all over the place? When you look at your calendar do you have notes scribbled all over the place and it's hard to figure our what you should be doing next to follow-up with that prospect or client? And finally when you call a meeting does it turn into a free for all because there is no set agenda?

These are all things that creating some simplicity in how you do things can really help you focus. Let's look at each one of them:

• First organizing your desk, keep on your desk only those things that you need to work on for that day, move the rest of it somewhere else or better yet go through it and toss out the stuff you truly don't need. This will keep you on task and not wasting time looking for things.
• Your to do list; I work with my clients and get them to do a weekly worksheet that gets them thinking about organizing their entire week versus just a day at a time, I think this keeps them focused on the big priorities that need to get accomplished and they don't get hung up on the things that are not vitally important. I also encourage them to do time blocking which helps the concentrate on setting critical blocks of time aside to work on revenue generating activities versus time wasters.
• Your calendar and follow-up; get a system that keeps everything organized for you, here's where technology can really help. Look for a system that will keep everything at our fingertips, emails, calendars, documents, etc... and easily accessible. I use a system called BatchBook that is easy to use and syncs with all my devices.
• And last but not least and I've written about this one before, meetings! Set a start time and an end time and have a written agenda. This will help you stay on track and not waste time in meetings. If there is not a specific objective for the meeting then don't have one!!

By simplifying the various things you do on a day to day basis you really can create focus!

Will This Be Your Best Year Ever?

With today being the 11^th day of the New Year already do you know that over 50% of the people that set New Year’s resolutions have already broken them. Are you one of them?

What are the keys to getting out of the blocks fast this year and hitting all the goals or “resolutions” you have set for yourself? First the key is to not focus on them, the more you focus on them and the minute it becomes apparent that you won’t hit them or exceed them they will fall by the wayside.

Instead focus on the actions that need to happen in order for you to hit your goals. Create what I call in my book Ultimate Breakthrough Planning: The Business Funnel Approach key milestones. Those key milestones should be measured on a monthly basis and they should be strictly actions that need to occur in order for you to reach your goals.

An example would be in your marketing area measuring the specific things that need to happen such as the number and type of marketing campaigns that your are doing and the number of people that are receiving them and responding to them.

Make your business as measurable as possible, every possible thing you can measure when it comes to action will allow you to fine tune things until they are working the way you want them to work. And by measuring the actions that are happening if you are hitting the milestones on a regular basis I can guarantee that you will hit your goals and resolutions.

If you really want to take your business to new heights take the Ultimate Breakthrough Planning BusinessBuilder Challenge. We guarantee you will grow your business 20% or more or you pay nothing, check it out here!

Providing Value to Your Customers in Your Service

I'm always interested in the response I get from my clients when I ask them if they deliver good service. Almost all of them say they do and then give me some examples of how they do it. However I get a very different response when I ask them how they deliver value in their service, most of the time I get a quizzical look that says, "What do you mean"?

Providing value in the minds of your clients or customers means that you have taken the time to put yourself in their shoes and have asked the question, "What would I want?" As you look at your service you need to make sure that what your perception of good service is and what your customers perception is are in alignment. Many times I have heard my clients say they give great service by doing something for the customer and then when I go back and ask the customer they say well yes they do that but that really isn't all that important to us.

I believe that one area of service that is critical is communication to your customers, not only when something good or bad happens but also as a means of establishing expectations. If you go about setting written service standards for your business but then don't communicate them to your customers you have done nothing to set the expectations and give yourself the opportunity to exceed those expectations.

Here are a couple of examples that I have recently encountered:

• I occasionally eat at a local Arby's and for a long time now they have been offering a special pick 5 items for $5.95. I thought this was great value and the last time I was there they had taken it off the menu, when I asked about it they said they had taken if off the menu because they were sending out coupons instead. As I was standing there waiting for my meal I must have heard 5 people ask about that special and all got the same response. Now it seems pretty obvious to me that the 5 people and myself could care less about the coupons that we didn't have, we wanted the special that was a value in our minds. They have lost at least one customer because they changed their value proposition.
• I have recently been working on a project with a couple of different companies and to get them to communicate with me on what's going on has been like pulling teeth. I am about to make a considerable investment in what they have to offer and yet to get them to answer an email, return a phone call or keep me in the loop as to what's going on has been virtually impossible. Here all I am asking for is a simple response and they don't seem to think that is important. Again in this case it may cost them a very good customer.

These are just a couple of examples of service that could have made my perception of these companies very different. When you don't get basic answers or perceived value you have a tendency to start looking at the other things that a company or business does and start wondering what else is wrong. So as you look at your service and create a plan that will help you deliver exceptional service make sure you put yourself in your customers or clients shoes and remember the old adage, "what's in it for me".

The Fallacy of Business Planning

I recently read an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune business section that talked about how with unemployment up more and more people are looking into starting their own businesses and certainly during most recessions you see a spike in business startups. The article was stressing the importance of having a business plan and was going through the various steps of creating a traditional business plan and how important it was to have this document that painted a picture of your business so you would have something to use in working with you banker or investor. The article also went on to talk about the process of creating a plan and using the same basic format that has been used for years and years how this plan would really help you get your business off the ground. Herein lies the problem with this whole approach, the last numbers I saw said that almost 90% of all business startups never make it more than two years, with that being the case why in the world would we continue to stress the importance of this business plan format when it obviously doesn't work? I have worked with countless businesses that create very well thought out business plans that go into a lot of detail about what the business will look like however in those plans I have never seen a section on how we are going to execute the plan. The fallacy of business planning is that if you don't have one you won't succeed where the reality is that the format that we have been using for years does nothing but create a static document that gets stuck in a binder or file folder and is never used to help grow the business.

What I suggest and work with my clients on is to create a business plan that is all about execution, it gets the business owner clearly focused on the actions they need to do to make that business successful and keeps them on track by measuring those actions using key milestones. This business planning approach gives the business owner a much greater chance of success by keeping them clearly focused on strategies and priorities that will grow their business. I call the approach the Business Planning Funnel , this planning process takes the business owner through a specific progression on the priorities, strategies, tactics, and tasks and timelines that will allow them to create a true business action plan. With this plan and a good set of financials I would give them a much greater chance of success then the traditional business planning model will ever give them, and I'm guessing that their bankers and investors would also be very interested is seeing the how rather than the what of the business!