​​​​George Marcou

Too many businesses are backwards facing, looking back in to the past.

This is like driving your car while concentrating on the rear-view mirror.  Your ability to steer through obstacles and to find the best way to get to where you need to go is hampered by simple not watching the road ahead.

 

Of course you can learn from your previous mistakes or successes; however this will not necessarily prepare you for dealing with issues such as cash flow and pipeline sales.

Looking back robs the business of the ability to control its future outcomes and to engineer success.

 

Your results are in the future and you must work proactively in order to achieve the success that you want.

 

 

Attitude

 

Attitude is key, and if you’re an SME owner, or you’re in a senior position in any business, this proactive attitude starts with you.

Generally speaking, businesses that are used to looking at their situation optimistically and realise that they can make a difference to their situation, are the businesses that tend to survive better in tough conditions.   This isn’t down to the positive attitude alone, but to the behaviour and actions that go with it.

 

Positive actions do generate positive results.

 

 

Get on top of your numbers

 

Make sure you’re savvy with the numbers of your business. Furthermore, don’t try and skirt around your responsibility to stay on top of this. “I left school with an E in GCSE maths but my god I can add up and manage my money! Don’t kid yourself with excuses such as “I’m just a tradesman, I don’t need to know anything about the figures” for want of a better or stronger word, this is rubbish! If you’re providing a product or service at a higher cost than it costs you to produce or carry out that service,  you’re a businessperson! And business people need to have a grasp on the company’s numbers in order to assess the company’s health.

When broken down, the numbers are simple.  Mastery of them gives you control over your business.  That control makes your range of choices even more simple, as the figures will tell you what needs to be done for the best results.

 

 

Be forward facing and set targets

 

Bad businesses talk about what’s gone wrong, a good businesses will see it going wrong and put it right.

 

In order to plan for the future, you must look at your business activity and the data that is generated.

 

With control over your figures, you should be able to see what result you will achieve by the end of the year, if nothing changes to alter this result.  The job now is to design a change that will improve this result to the extent that you need in order to have a successful year.

Pipeline sales and cash flow forecasting are key here. Set yourself targets, but do not set them without a supporting plan to achieve them. Targets should be clear, realistic and have common sense to how they will be delivered.

It’s all well and good pulling in big turnover figures but if you are not making a profit, you will find it very hard to earn more and grow your business. Cashflow is king, profit is also vital.

Which leads me on to my next point....

 

 

Keep an eye on your spending

 

Managing your cost-base is as important as generating leads. You wouldn’t believe how many businesses I’ve worked with who do not have a proper sign-off process for business expenditure. Again, you don’t need to be a mathematical genius to work out if you’re spending more than you’re bringing in. You wouldn’t do it with your personal money so don’t do it with your business!

Checking your cash flow is important here. Again, be forward facing with your planning. If you have made sales in January but the cash won’t hit your business until March, what have you got coming in until then? If you’re spending before that money comes in, what are you going to do if the deal falls through and you lose some or all of that money? It sounds obvious, but remember, the more you spend the more sales you have to make!

Sales Pipeline and cash flow management help you to predict future income and expenses, but do not provide guarantees.  You always have to hedge your bets and ensure that you are allowing for surprises.

 

Your sales are the bread and butter of your business. Whether you’re selling low value items by the truck load or high value items to a select few, you need to know where your revenue is going to come from and crucially – when!

Once again, the proactive theme comes into play. If you’ve got sales out there in the pipeline, get them closed or at least set yourself a target for when they will be closed. As outlined previously, knowing when the cash is going to hit the business is also important. Don’t rest on your laurels either, if you’re going to close some deals in the near future, what are you going to do to replenish your pipeline and keep a good flow of sales?

 

 

Stay close to your sales teams

 

Your sales team can make or break your business. Proactive management of your sales team is paramount to a regular flow of activity and revenue generation. The big skill here is ensuring the transparency of your sales team. You need to know what they are doing and how their activity is going to generate revenue. Remember, it’s always great to have sales in the pipeline but don’t just leave them there otherwise they are just “hypothetical sales”, convert them into done deals and bring in that cash!

Support your teams with training and the necessary tools and collateral to be able to satisfy your customers that you deserve their business.

Ensure your sales teams are well trained and up to the job of bringing in sales.

Markets and expectations change, make sure your sales teams stay ahead and ensure to listen to their feedback, as they are in constant contact with your prospective customers.

 

Sales activities need to be continuous in order to avoid periods of famine wher no new new income is entering the bank account.  There needs to be a queue of new customers and orders in progress at all times, and being led towards completion.

 

 

Make time to work on your business not just sit in it

 

It’s simple and perhaps very obvious but take some time to sit down with your sales teams and other key members of the business to get a good idea of where you are and what’s coming up. It could be as little as two hours per week but that’s all you need to keep your finger on the pulse and have a hand in directing and shaping the business.

You must constantly evaluate the effectiveness of business activities and strategies.

There needs to be an ethos of constantly improving the performance of the business and the people that are responsible for delivering this performance.

When you stop growing and improving, you can be overtaken very easily and left behind by you competitors.

 

 

Don’t just talk about it, do it!

 

Make sure you are keeping active and keep track of time. Many businesses plan on a 31 day month without factoring in weekends and bank holidays where working time is lost.

Realistically plan what you’re going to do and when. I like to write down 5 things each day that I must do. Two of those things are always items that will generate business or open up communication with a customer.  The highest performers make full use of time management techniques to ensure that there are enough hours in the day.

This is how some small businesses have grown into massive businesses in just a few years. 

 

 

Be honest with yourself and don’t bury your head in the sand

 

It’s all too easy to pretend it’s not happening or shoulder too much responsibility yourself. Make sure you face up to any problems you may have and share them with those who may be able to help you. If some more hard work is needed to bring your business up to par, make sure the right people are in the know and understand their role in putting it right. As the old saying goes, ’’the first step to solving a problem is admitting you have one! Use those around you such as staff, colleagues or trusted business contacts as a sounding board for your ideas. No one has the answer to everything and it’s likely that others will be able to steer you in the right direction.

 

 

Thank you for reading.  I hope this article has been helpful.

 

Remember, be proactive and get a good grip on your business and you’ll find that managing snags and danger areas becomes a lot more manageable.

The more problems you tackle and solve, the clearer your path to successful results.

 

Come back for more helpful tips for you and your business.