Every grocer has to decide: when packing a quart of strawberries, should your people put the best ones on top? If you do, you'll sell more and disappoint people when they get to the moldy ones on the bottom. Or, perhaps you could put the moldy ones on top, and pleasantly surprise the few that [...]

This relates to clients, it relates to your directors, it relates to your suppliers and it means you’ve got to understand what these stakeholders need. When you know these things, you will be able to prioritise your responses, remove the fluff and distraction, and focus on mission critical, mission building exercises.

It’s only through understanding your strengths and weakness, your points of knowledge or your points of ignorance that you can develop a meaningful and functional network. At a very personal level, I know little about the vagaries of digital technology, but I’m fortunate enough to know specialists in this area who can advise and support [...]

This is the simplest and most actionable business advice you can get for an evolving business. In the early days we accept clients that are “sponges”…they absorb time without reward, they pose questions without valuing solutions and they detract from fun and profitable clients. One of Pareto’s principles (ok my extrapolation) is that the start [...]

Do you nurture your networks whether they be on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter…are you providing value, scarcity of information, a response that…that’s good to know or I need to act on that. Share, yes be generous to a fault, and encourage it in others. When was the last time you offered a free or subsidised workshop [...]

The argument here is the better you understand your weaknesses, the more fully you can utilise your strengths. Challenge yourself to be in the shoes of your prospect so that you can understand what she’s hearing and allow yourself the opportunity to create a solution for her. Presentation of strengths can reek of arrogance…presentation of [...]

Entrepreneurs, directors, even some sales people are uncomfortable or unsure of the quality of their presentations. In today’s market, as never before, the ability to gauge a prospect, to measure their needs and to succinctly communicate the relevant iteration of your “value edge” is the only way forward. My anecdotal experience suggests that the probability [...]

These are generally people whose task it is to force you to consider new options and fresh ways to approach your clients and your prospects. These advisors need stimulation and generally it can come through the promise of rewards, either mentally or financially. Their task is to continually ask why not and what if, and [...]

Starting anywhere else is simply flawed. Once you know where you are, the only other thing you’ve got to decide on is where you want to be. At this point analysis, reality, passion and persistence need to be measured and reinvigorated. If you don’t move yourself forward then everyone else will conspire to move you [...]

Growth, it’s about expectations and it’s about setting goals one step at a time. Planning to conquer the world can be one plan, planning to add five percent to the number of clients you have, is possibly a more realistic goal...and a great NEXT step. So, it’s never about “will I?” it’s only about “how [...]