Archive for November, 2012

Bill Gibson – Market Your Community…Even More Effectively

Friday, November 9th, 2012

A community, town, city, region or country is just like a business…it must be marketed and developed from the inside out. How often have we heard or seen great advertising slogans describing a business, community or city, only to arrive there to find out that the “real life experience” falls far short of the expectations set by the advertising.

Media Marketing has value, although we believe it has to be “backed up” from the inside out. Following is the Marketing Your Community From The Inside-Out Model along with a few quick Inside Out Community Marketing Ideas.

PowerPoint #1 – Attitudinal Marketing: The backbone and real power of a community starts deep on the inside of the community…it starts with having a marketing and servicing attitude. It is the attitude that politicians, municipal management, municipal employees and even citizens in general have towards business, each other, their services, their community and life itself.

Try the following community attitudinal adjustment ideas:

Eliminate Us vs. Them – find ways to work together, have a shared vision and look for similarities and respect the differences. Don’t get even…get ahead!
Incentives Through Wandering – have a person or small committee who wanders through the community giving recognition for positive things people and businesses are doing for the community. Feature a business or social group of the month through the local media.
Learn From The Winners – utilise local successful people to tell their story to others and demonstrate the possibilities.
Shop Your Community – engage credible people to give monthly positive and not-so-positive feedback and then act on it, utilise focus groups for the same purpose.
People and Businesses Go Where They Are Invited and Stay Where They Are Appreciated – have special weeks to create excitement and show appreciation. For example…teacher’s week, nurse’s week, civic worker’s week, construction worker’s week, Petro S.A. week, tourism industry week, small business week…the list goes on!
Be A Tourist In Your Own Hometown – the month before tourist season encourage local people to be a tourist in their own hometown or community. Sightseeing tours, special local hotel rates, tourist information and contests that promote tourism knowledge are part of the initiative.
Have the Media run programs on “Know Your Community”.
Respect Your Community – make a list and promote the positives of your community. I’m originally from Canada and I’ve personally got a list of Great Things About South Africa that most South Africans don’t talk about.

Here’s a few of them:

People are being educated in record numbers
In the top countries for least expensive electricity and drinkable water
Longest Wine Route in the world…stops at my house in Gauteng! LOL!
Only country bidding for the World Cup with 3 Nobel Peace Prize Winners on the team…wow, what a country!

PowerPoint #2 – Face To Face Marketing: This is the telephonic and face to face interaction we have with the public and with each other and how well we interact.

Set up a Community Marketing Team (could be volunteer) that supports and works with the Community Economic Development Department. The wisest people, the most energetic entrepreneur, the best employer, the most innovative business person, the most community conscious individuals should be on this team. Target them and invite them to help.
Categorise potential businesses and projects needed in your community under AAA, AA, A, B and C categories utilising criteria. Decide on a few “Most Wanted” and get several people involved in going after the “Most Wanted” businesses and projects.
Select a group of high profile and frequent traveller individuals who love your community and make them Official Community Ambassadors and give them business cards that confirms this. Conduct a training session or guide on how and where to use the cards.
Have a community “SWAT Team” that can help businesses in trouble with free advice on how to “turn the business around”.
Run customer care programs for municipal personnel and the community at large…sponsored by local government. Give certificates and “pins” they can wear that say “Hospitality Graduate”.
Have “Format Touring” when potential citizens and potential business owners and investors come to town so they see the community in its “best light”. Without a doubt, they will discover the negatives so make sure they see the positives. Part of “Format Touring” would be the introduction to “positive”, “optimistic”, “successful” business leaders and community minded citizens. Also tour them to impressive landmarks, historical areas and exceptional facilities.

PowerPoint #3 – Environmental Marketing: How clean our community is, the signage, our buildings, the landscape, our promotional materials, our offices, our municipal vehicles, and the appearance of our “point-of-contact people” are all part of Environmental Marketing. Try these ideas:

Have an annual community “Trash Bash” that lasts two weeks to a month. This is where government, business and citizens alike pool all their resources to tow away old broken vehicles, repair fences, cut the grass, pick up trash and junk, paint or knock down eye sore buildings and instil pride in the community with clean up incentives. (We did this in Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada)
Amplify your community – create a community mascot that goes on all your advertising or visit trade shows, events and other large gatherings (Person in a costume).
Erect the World’s Largest – in Canada one community has the World’s Largest Fly Rod and Reel (the idea came out of a brainstorm session I facilitated), another has the World’s Largest Ice Hockey Stick and another has the World’s Largest Moose. How about the World’s Largest Surf Board, the World’s Largest Elephant, the World’s Largest Trout or the World’s Largest Grape. Small replicas, restaurants, post cards and many other revenue generating ideas could result from your “World’s Largest”.

PowerPoint #4: Extended Personal Marketing: It is still personal but it is where you look for ways to extend your contact with many people at one time still through the “personal touch”. This includes sms, Facebook, Twitter, a Blog, direct mail, e-mail, trade shows, workshops and community events. Here are a few more:

Develop “Speaker Packages” that can help Community Ambassadors and enthusiastic citizens speak on and present the great things about your community and the opportunities available. Also consider a “Community Public Speaking Team”. (This strategy was used with great success to promote the World Fair in Vancouver, Canada in 1986).
Promote and Advertise “Potential Opportunities” in your community on a monthly basis.
Conduct Workshops and publish “how to” pamphlets on such topics as becoming a supplier to government and effectively interacting with government.
Identify the Types of Franchisees you need in your community and then direct mail or e-mail an “invitation” to the appropriate S.A. Franchiser to investigate the opportunity.

PowerPoint #5 – Media Marketing: By Maximising the first four PowerPoints the experience people will have with your community will more closely match the advertising messages created by your advertising professionals.

With Media Marketing understand that it is better to reach 5000 of the right people 20 times with an effective message than 100 000 people only once with a message. Think frequency (repetition) first. Reach comes with the amount of money you have to spend.

Remember, communities need lots of successful businesses contributing to the tax base to support the infrastructure and community services that help communities grow and prosper. This is a big reason for attracting, developing and keeping good businesses in your community through effective marketing from the inside-out.

About Bill Gibson

Not only does Bill Gibson focus on sales and marketing within corporations. He has also spoken to dozens of communities in Canada on the people side of economic development (Marketing A Community From The Inside-Out), spoken at economic development conferences, spearheaded “Strong Communities for The 90’s” in Canada, Co-authored “Communicating Economic Development” with Neil Godin, was declared Canada’s #1 Business Speaker by The Chamber of Commerce Executives of Canada, and over 5 years his company graduated over 5000 Business Owners in Canada from his in-depth 6-10 Month Business Owner Development Programs. He can be reached at +27-11-784-1720 or bill@kbitraining.com.

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Bill Gibson – Do Projects Worth Millions

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

(Interview with Succeed Magazine)

Succeed Magazine – www.succeed.co.za – January 2008

The secret to making millions is doing projects worth millions. It may sound simple, but Bill Gibson, top sales consultant and author, says this is where most entrepreneurs go wrong.

“I am constantly being asked: ‘Bill, how do you land million rand projects? I never seem to get any of those.’ And I always answer by asking, ‘Well, how many million rand proposals do you have out?’ Invariably, the answer is none. Now how can you expect to make millions if you are only pitching in the thousands? It makes no sense.”

According to Gibson, making a lot of money relatively quickly is really quite a logical process. The first step is to decide how much money you want. Once you have a figure in mind, make a list of all the companies and organisations that could easily afford to pay that figure, provided of course you supply them with a good reason. Next, determine the benefits you can provide and make them an offer they cannot refuse.

“You need to stop thinking along the lines of scarcity and focus on abundance,” says Gibson. “Instead of saying, ‘Oh no, I need R100 000 to pay these bills,’ rather think, ‘What are all the things I can do to make R100 000?’ This opens the mind and you become aware of the intellectual property you have at your disposal. It allows you to see opportunities instead of problems.” He adds that it is imperative for entrepreneurs to keep their eyes and ears open to topical issues. “I think it is easier to make a quick buck when you have lots of experience. So the best advice I can offer is to keep an eye on changing circumstances and then be ready to move quickly when opportunities arise.”

For more information call Bill Gibson on 011 784 1720.

“How can you expect to make millions if you are only pitching in the thousands?” – Bill Gibson

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Bill Gibson – “Don’t Give Up” – The Sales Secret

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

Article for “Sales Guru” Magazine

Never Quit The Right Focus

One great statesman (The Charlie Brown comic strip character, Peanuts) made a statement that has become famous. He said “Never, Ever, Ever, Ever, Give Up!”

There is another common statement. It goes like this, “Quitters Never Win and Winners Never Quit!”

I disagree with the above two statements. I believe…Winners Quit All The Time. They Just Quit The Right Stuff At The Right Time.

Winners often quit certain things before they even start because they know they do not have the resources, experience, knowledge, or even the desire to complete specific activities, goals, tasks or opportunities so why waste time and energy starting.

We are often told that we need to persevere – to just put more effort in, work longer hours, and get more education …don’t give up, don’t quit.

If this were true, why is it that many Salespeople put massive amounts of effort into their job, work 12 hours a day, six days a week, have a degree in Business Administration and are still not close to being a top producer.

Often the differences are:

(1) the Top Producers clearly decide in the beginning which projects or clients are worth persuing (AAA, AA, A) based on certain criteria. (See the November 2007 Issue on “Where Your Attention Goes, Your Energy Flows”).

(2) they are persistent and don’t give up while the majority of the competitors persuing the same clients give up too early.

What we are saying in point #2 is, “Don’t quit if the reward at the end is going to be worth the effort”. In other words if it is going to be a worthwhile client. This article is focused on Point #2.

According to the Author Seth Godin in his book “The Dip”.

“If it is worth doing, there is probably a Dip!”

He also says everything in life worth doing is controlled by The Dip.

The Dip is the long slog between starting and mastery.

The Dip is the time it takes to move past the artificial screens, hurdles, objections and excuses a buyer from an AAA Category Company gives Salespeople.

The Dip is the long stretch between beginners luck as a Salesperson and being a Top Producer who achieves real sales results on a daily basis year after year.

The Dip separates the masters from the majority who give up on worthwhile goals and opportunities too early.

By changing, adapting, being innovative and staying focused and persistent in order to make it through The Dip on worthwhile goals and opportunities you end up being the best in your field and people like to deal with the best. You will also be in an elite class of your own because most people will have already quit.

In summary, first we must believe the potential reward at the end of activities persuing a client, prospect or referral source is worthwhile. We do this by targeting the right clients, prospects and referral sources.

Secondly, to make it through The Dip we must not give up. That requires consistent yet innovative and effective frequency of contact with the client where we add value.

Thirdly, you must make sure you are approaching the client with the right solutions.

To make it through The Dip we must utilise Frequency of Contact

The Importance Of Frequency

The most effective element in advertising is frequency. If you reach 10 000 of the right people ten times with the right message rather than 100 000 people once, your advertising rands will be much more productive.

The same principle applies in selling.

“It is better to reach 50 of the Right Prospects

and Right Clients 20 times with the Right Methods of Contacting

rather than 1000 Prospects or Clients ONCE!”

In selling you only have so much Time, Energy, Ability, Money and Reputation to invest.

For example, you may have 1 000 potential buyers in your market. Over 6 months if you call on approximately 8 different clients per day, at the end you would have covered the 1 000 and had no time to see any of them a second, third or fourth time.

A commonly used set of figures often used in sales training that seems to back up the frequency principle in selling, is the Sales Conversion Ratio and the Why Frequency Works Study by the National Dry Goods Association of America.

Sales Convention Ratio

(100 Competitors’ Clients Converted)

Calls	Converted
1^st	2	of the 100 left
2^nd	3	of the 98 left
3^rd	4	of the 95 left
4^th	10	of the 91 left
5^thand onward	81	of the 81 left

Why Frequency Works

48% of all sales people make one call and after a solid “NO” from a potential client – they stop calling
25% make two calls take two no’s and stop
15% make three calls take three no’s and stop
12% make three calls and continue. These people are responsible for 80% of all sales

The Natural Sales Cycle

The 7 Phases of The Natural Sales Cycle are;

1. Warming Up The Call

2. Breaking The Ice

3. Uncovering Buying Motives

4. The Sales Proposal

5. Handling Objections

6. Closing The Sale

7. Add-Ons And Up-Sells

The following example illustrates why frequency of contact works in combination with the 7 Phases of The Natural Sales Cycle

The 1^st contact may be Warming Up The Call by means of making a telephone call.

The 2^nd contact may be Breaking the Ice by means of getting comfortable with each other

The 3^rd contact may be Uncovering Buying Motives by means of gathering additional information

The 4^th contact may be making the Sales Proposal or Presentation

The 5^th contact could be Handling Objections and Questions

The 6^th contact may be Closing the Sale

The 7^th contact could get you the Add-Ons, and Up-Sells

As you know these seven phases could all happen in one or two meetings. This would depend on the need, ability and desire to buy.

In most pro-active sales situations you will definitely require more than just one contact to close the business. So, what am I saying? In most cases by applying innovative, helpful frequency of contact to well qualified clients you will be the one making it through The Dip and landing the best clients in your industry.

Don’t give up on the right prospects and clients!

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Bill Gibson – Increase Sales By 150% In 6 Months

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

Bill Gibson

Succeed Magazine – www.succeed.co.za – October 2012

Wow! What a challenge… increase sales in your company by 150% in the next six months? When Sheena at Succeed Magazine asked me if I could share ideas with you, the Succeed readers, on how to do that I thought maybe she should ask me to do something a little easier like “Walk on water!” Then I began to search through my memory bank for times I’ve experienced major increases in my own sales and the increases I’ve seen clients achieve and realised many of them went up by more than 150% in six to 12 months. How was that achieved?

Let’s start with a foundation thought. Professional selling is, “Continually walking into the world of uncertainty… certain of your success because you are practicing and using on a daily basis the winning habits, skills, processes, attitudes and methodologies used by those who are already succeeding at the highest possible level in your profession.” What I’m saying is that the “bank of success factors” are already there and proven. All we have to do is implement them on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. I am going to share some of those with you. Know that no one thing will give you that 150% increase. It will be the compounding effect of a number of habits, skills, processes, attitudes and methodologies that you implement. What I’m going to do is use the 80/20 principle. I’m going to share with you the 20% that will give you 80% of the results. Use as many of these points as possible.

Optimise your cash flow with sales

Before you lay out cash on assets, products or projects that could be financed over a long term ask yourself the question: “Instead of paying R150 000 for this vehicle next month, can I finance the vehicle over 48 months and use that R150 000 over the next six months to add two or three additional sales people to the team?” If you have three sales people now and add three more, that alone could dramatically lift your sales in the next six to 12 months.

Stay in front of clients more often

Set a target for yourself and your people that each week by Thursday at 4pm everybody has 70% of their appointments for the following week already booked and 30% for the next week. This helps with a fast start for the week, which gets the momentum going early in the week. Put in an Incentive each week for everyone Add to this idea two early morning appointments each week and one late afternoon appointment. Starting earlier and ending later will increase sales. It increases the activity of being in front of clients more often. On one survey only 12% of the sales force would take three “No’s” from a client and keep on calling. That 12% wrote over 80% of the sales in the group surveyed. Don’t give up too early.

Phone in batches.

When setting appointments have your people sit down and phone clients in batches. That way your sales people gain momentum and energy with each call. Momentum and energy draws people to you and puts you in the maximum performance area where your mind is sharp and in the flow. Phoning in between doing other things doesn’t build momentum. It is disruptive to the flow.

Use meeting requests

Some of my clients are having great success sending meeting requests with a brief “captivating” reason for the meeting. Meeting requests are becoming a way of life. They’ve been pleasantly surprised by the number of positive responses they are receiving.

Think share of wallet

Often we don’t need more clients we need more from the clients we have. Selling today is really about putting the client first. Develop a formal or informal client-needs analysis approach. Narrow your questions down to ones that truly help the clients explore all of their immediate, medium and long term needs, wants, preferences and desires. Already this year, 50% of my time has been with one major client conducting two and three day sessions with their acquisition and relationship managers, teaching them skills using a specifically designed Needs Analysis Questionnaire. It is becoming their competitive edge because it builds relationships, forces the salesperson to invest time with the client, the right questions are asked, all opportunities are identified and the clients feel they are finally being listened to. It also makes collaboration with other divisions and other providers more effective. The Marketing Analysis Questionnaire that I developed and used as a broadcast salesperson earned me the equivalent of several million rand a year over 30 years ago in Canada.

Think big

Many of my associates within the speaking and training industry ask me how I write million rand deals. I always ask how many million rand proposals do you have in the pipeline? They often say none. My answer… you will only write million rand deals if you have million rand proposals in the pipeline with a million rand value to the client.

Go fishing where the fish are

Here is an exercise I did with my team that gave us more than 300% increase the following year. We asked ourselves this question: “Which companies, organisations, institutions or government departments could invest R20 million or more, R15-20 million, R10-15 million, R5-10 million, R2-5 million, R1-2 million in a given year if we gave them a good enough reason to do it. Then we filled in the name of the companies and organisations in the appropriate category and came up with ideas on what they may need and proceeded to calling on these clients with a specific tailored strategy in mind with frequency of contact over a given period of time. Sales really jumped that year and we landed several of these clients.

Focus on the right prospects and clients with the right frequency with the right database (frequency of contact) selling tools and methods with the right solutions. Categorise your clients/prospects AAA, AA, A, B and C. The Ds (Disengage) you don’t need.

There is gold in those hills

Put a special emphasis on your Develop clients. We categorise present clients under Retain and Develop and the prospects under Regain and Gain. In the Develop column you find the gold that is near the surface. A Develop client is someone who you are receiving a small amount of business from who has the potential of spending much more with you. A competitor may be their supplier of preference. Put a frequency of contact strategy together, along with value-add ideas, and conduct a proper needs analysis. You already have a relationship of one degree or another with the client. Accelerate your effort and build the relationship. Sooner or later in most situations the competitor will drop the ball and you are sitting in an excellent position to bring the majority of the business to you.

Remember, 81% of all conversion business comes from the fifth call and onward. Be there when they are ready to move.

Everyone is in sales

Get everyone involved in sales. In small to medium sized businesses the business owner is often the best salesperson. Don’t forget this. Clients and potential clients like to hear from the top person. Put together your own list of clients and get in front of the right clients more often. That could give you a big increase. Also have your service and support people involved. Have them make telephone calls in reference to client satisfaction and how and when your company can be of more help. Even your credit department needs to look for opportunities for additional sales. Give all your members personalised business cards with their name printed on it and teach them how to prospect with the business cards. When one of my sons was 12 years old he gave his business card to an executive on a chairlift while going up a ski mountain. The president of the company called me personally to hire me. He was very impressed that Shane had a business card, a title and was part of the business. I’ve had some technicians in auto mobile dealerships bring in more clients than some of the salespeople because they were given personalised business cards and shown how to use them. The business cards will also give a sense of ownership and motivation to staff who have never had a business card.

Sales or revenue

Keep in mind that there is a difference between sales targets and revenue targets. I’ve had clients that hit their sales targets but missed their revenue targets because the revenue from the sale may come in over a 3-36 month period. In the early part of a 12 month period put a special emphasis on a “fast start” and try to have 70% of your annual sales target sold at the halfway mark. That helps with the revenue. Put in short term incentives for over-achieving in the early months. Also, be sure to measure. What gets measured gets managed and what gets managed gets done. Put a “peg in the ground”. The difference between a goal and a dream is – a goal is a dream with a deadline. June 11, 2010 was a dream with a deadline (World Cup). That is have new stadiums in Soweto, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth. Be innovative… think outside of the box and remember planning and ideas are great, but it’s action that creates clarity. Take your pick and start moving towards the 150% increase. Write to me and let me know your results.

To book Bill Gibson as a keynote motivational or business speaker, consultant or trainer, he can be contacted on 011 784 1720, bill@kbitraining.com and he can be viewed on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/billgibsonspeaker.

About Bill Gibson

Bill Gibson is a Canadian living in South Africa. He is the Chairperson of Knowledge Brokers International SA (Pty) Ltd with representatives in Canada, South Africa and the Middle East. He is an author, speaker, successful entrepreneur, sales specialist, executive coach, master marketer and staff morale builder. For the past 15 years he has worked from his South African office. He has built several sales and marketing training systems used by dozens of major corporations here in SA and throughout the world. He has spoken to over one million people worldwide. Follow Bill’s blog on bill-gibson.com or @billgibson1 on Twitter.

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Bill Gibson – How To Raise Money Without Your Bank – Even In These Times

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

(With Ryan Gibson and Wessel Ebersohn)

Growing businesses need money continually. The owner of a growing business is forever running into costs, both planned for and unforeseen. The business owner may need cash to survive in tough times when something unforeseen strikes. When times are good the business owner will always need cash to build and grow the business.

Right now, going to your bank is not necessarily the best option. They were careful before the current economic downturn hit. They are even more careful now. Remember that they too are working with the money of investors. Like you, the bank cannot afford to be reckless.

This is not to say that there is no money available for entrepreneurs. There is less of it, but it is there. You have to find a way to get your share of it.

Investors

A good place to start is with your current investors, if you have any. If you do have investors you need to look after them in every possible way. Nurture a relationship based on openness. Be aware of their need for information. Share with them the challenges the business faces. Seek their advice on difficult issues. Above all, never cut them out. If you invested in someone else’s business, you would want to know exactly what was going on in the business. Treat them the same way.

Family and friends

If you have no current investors, the next best bet is your family and friends. Today loans from family and friends are an immense industry. Virgin Loans, operating in North America, does nothing but facilitate such loans. They supply the documentation and give the entire transaction a solid legal basis. According to their figures, some US$170 million was lent to entrepreneurs worldwide by family and friends in the last quarter of 2008. The fact that Virgin Loans has been successful is an indication that family members are more comfortable with lending a substantial sum if the loan is properly formalised. The lender will need that extra security. When approaching a family member make it clear that a formal contract will be drawn up by an attorney. If you are lucky enough to come from a business family, you may not only get the capital you need, but you may also receive good advice that in the long run may be more valuable than money.

But remember that even your closest family and dearest friends have to look after their interests. You may need to enter a deal in which the business repays the loan eventually and the investor still retains a minority shareholding in the business. The main effect this will have on your business is that when the day comes to sell it, your investor will receive his or her share of the proceeds. A major advantage of borrowing from those close to you is that usually no collateral is required.

Every prospective investor has to be treated with respect. And that includes family and friends. The same way that you need to do your homework for any other investor, so you must prepare your approach to family and friends too. You cannot expect people to hand over money blindly just because they know you well.

Honesty is the best policy

Above all, no matter who you are dealing with, always tell the absolute, unvarnished truth. If you are in mining, the investor needs to know if you are actually digging up the metal or if you are still just at the exploration stage. The same applies to any business. Tell your prospective investor if you are still developing the product or if it is actually on the market.

Better still, show them exactly where you are. Misleading them in the smallest detail is bound to have serious repercussions later. It is vital to keep investors and prospective investors as close to the action as you can. Treat them like board members, show them where the money is going, make it clear that their money is being used carefully. Then be sure that you use it very, very carefully. Under such circumstances investors, of any kind, feel more comfortable.

Don’t play games

Also make quite clear from the beginning what you are prepared to give up. In a recent case the writers of the article were involved with a young entrepreneur who needed an equity investment of R600 000, but he was so unclear about, or unwilling to discuss, the actual percentage of his business he was prepared to give up in exchange for the investment they lost interest in getting involved raising the money.

It is good to be cautious about how much information you give although it can backfire, especially with friends and associates, if you are too cautious with your information. They may be insulted that you don’t trust them and decide not to get involved.

Where to find investors

Many successful business people have started with a number of small investors. Raymond Ackerman started Pick ’n Pay with the help of 100 small investors, each coming in with a mixture of equity and loan finance. This divided the risk among the investors, making it easier for them to make the investment. Most investors like to have a small speculative investment that may show a really big return. A sound place to look for investors is in your own industry. People who work in your industry understand the business and know what you are trying to achieve. They believe in the industry and are therefore more likely to believe in you. If you can get a key investor, someone with a big reputation in your industry, even if he or she only comes in with one percent of the investment you need, others are likely to follow. A real leader will open doors for you.

Exhibit confidence

One absolute when dealing with any investor is not to come across as if you are fearful. No one is going to invest in someone who is afraid of the opposition. More than anything else, investors need to see that the business they are investing in is led by someone who has confidence. And there is a difference between confidence and bravado. Big talk is not going to impress anyone. With confidence comes courage. You have to be ready to accept refusals. You are certainly going to have those. If necessary, you must be ready to approach industry heavyweights and pitch your investment to them. One entrepreneur recently successfully sought investment from the boss of a major multinational. He had tried phoning him, but a solid wall of receptionists and PA’s kept him out. He could not even discover his target’s email address. So eventually he tried an email, using the man’s name @ the company’s name. He made contact that way and, after a few meetings, secured the investment. Business is not for the faint-hearted.

The most common ways for entrepreneurs to finance their companies in the early days are probably securing second, third, fourth of whatever bonds on their homes. Cashing in insurance policies is another. People do what they have to do to grow their businesses. There are many other ways of getting what you need without having to pay for it. This can be just as valuable as receiving the hard cash. Here are a few:

Barter

If the service or product you need is supplied by someone who uses what you have to offer, getting them to agree to bartering should not be difficult. Fundamentally, any agreement to barter must be in the interest of both parties. If not, it simply doesn’t work. This publication was once offered a barter deal by a sweet manufacturer. We could not imagine how we were going to consume that amount of sweets, so the deal fell through.

Negotiate no rent for the first six months

This will only work in an area in which office space is standing empty. In all such deals you need to look at things from the other party’s point of view. If their offices have been empty for a while, they may well be agreeable, but you will have to sign a long lease.

Offer discounts for upfront or COD payments

Getting money in fast is almost as good as capital. The discounts will have to be genuine, but businesses that are cash-flush may like the idea.

Seek investment in a product or project

Instead of giving away equity in your company you could seek an investor for a single product or project. This would have to be clearly defined and the investment would probably be smaller, but it could get a key part of your business off the ground. This option could be interesting to a company operating in broadly the same field as you are. In time you could either buy them out or sell them the entire product.

Pay a premium for extended credit

This may work if a major supplier to you can afford to carry you for a while. The downside will be that you will have to pay heavy interest. You will also have to persuade the supplier that you will be worth the risk in the long term.

Have someone stand surety for you with a major supplier

This publication was started that way, when Martin Dannheiser, the owner of the Springs Advertiser at the time, stood surety for our printing during our first year of operation. Your reputation is everything here. The person who stands surety must have great confidence in you. He or she also needs to be a real friend.

Trade equity for expertise, services or products

This sort of investor will only come from the companies that supply businesses like your own. A relationship with the supplier will be needed before they feel comfortable with this arrangement. How much they will have to supply before receiving the equity will be the main issue.

Return on investment of your personal assets

When searching for finance, remember that you do have assets that belong to you. First look at exploiting your own personal assets. You could minimise your needs simply by making best use of your skills. As a business owner who needs to prospect for new clients and mine your client base for opportunities, you need to consider the kind of return on investment you receive from investing your personal assets. This is, after all, what you possess. The better use you make of your personal assets, the more likely you are to be successful.

Your time: It is important that you invest your time with the right people and that you do the right things to get the best return on your time. It is your most valuable asset.

Your energy: If you have the time available, you must also have the energy. Some people give you energy and others drain it. Stay close to those who give you energy and avoid the others. Get them out of your life. Certain habits and activities invigorate you and give you energy. Other habits and activities take away your energy. It is important to value and invest this asset called energy wisely. When your energy is up, you will notice that your passion and motivation are up as well. Energy is a key ingredient to your success as an entrepreneur. Stay healthy and remember this quote. “If you don’t take care of your body then where are you going to live?” Your body is the only piece of real estate that you have from the time you are born to the time you exit this planet. Take care of it!

Your ability: Your expertise, ideas, knowledge, skills, and general “know how” are all valuable. You can waste these vital assets on some people, but working with others may give you great returns on your investment. Ability is an asset to develop continually and always use wisely.

Your money: In the beginning the business owner is usually short of money. You always need to invest what you have wisely. In the early days of your business this need is more intense. Consider carefully for whom you buy coffee or lunch. Some people over lunch will give a great return on investment in referrals, business and even personal motivation and support. Others may add no value whatsoever. An investment in new clothes, joining the right association, attending the right conference, eating at the right restaurant and buying personal development tapes may be a better investment than a night on the town with old friends. To build your business, you must invest these assets wisely.

Your reputation: Successful, experienced businesspeople get most of their new business from present clients and their network of business and personal associates. This is possible if you network and associate with people who enhance your credibility. Positive word of mouth is powerful and in time it becomes your biggest asset. Select carefully the places you frequent and those people you socialise and do business with. Your name is your future. You are a brand. Invest in it wisely…

The 6 Personal C’s that interest an investor or creditor

With input from Sibongiseni Ngundze, the Managing Director of Nedbank Small Business Services, the writers came up with the following six Cs that investors, lenders and creditors carefully look at before getting involved.

Concept

You must have a good concept, something that sets you apart from the herd. If you are in retail, it may be something as simple as being close to easy parking or being located in the centre of the clientèle you serve. In other industries it may be something more complex, but simple improvements often make a decisive difference. An extra element of service or a practical improvement of a product may make you top of the class.

Character

This goes way beyond personality. Character is the combination of qualities you possess that makes people trust you. Honesty, perseverance, dependability, reliability, supportive qualities, loyalty, enthusiasm: these are the sort of character aspects that make people interested in doing business with you.

Capacity

Do not attempt something for which you do not have the capacity. If you are trying to go beyond your abilities or the capacity of your business, investors are likely to see this and be frightened off. On the other hand, should an investor not understand that you have gone beyond your capacity and invests in your business anyway, the results could be disastrous.

Collateral

When banks talk about collateral, they usually mean fixed assets like property. Completely different collateral arrangements can sometimes be arranged with a private investor. For instance, the investor may be willing to take a percentage of your business as collateral. Or they may be satisfied with your character, concept and commitment and ignore collateral.

Contribution

A bank or an investor wants to see what your contribution to the venture is. This could be the amount of money you have or will invest. It may be in the form of intellectual capital, equipment, property or just good old hard work and expertise. Be prepared to show your level of contribution.

Commitment

Nothing is more important than commitment. Seeing that you are truly committed gives any investor great confidence in the undertaking. You need to be able to demonstrate to the investor that, for you, the business in which the investment is being made is a life and death matter.

The 5 Stages of building a relationship with an investor

If you want someone to invest in your business, you need to build a relationship with that person. Here are the five stages of building a relationship:

1. Attraction

Demonstrate your uniqueness. If you and your business are the same as all others, why should they be interested in you or even consider investing in you. Respect boundaries. You may be outgoing and extroverted, but you may be dealing with someone who is not. Do a lot of listening. You need to understand the other person’s needs and wants. Make contact frequently. You need to work on the relationship. Lunch and dinner meetings, family dates: such contact builds a relationship.

2. Exploration

At this stage you need to give outstanding service. Go the extra mile. The rule is to under-promise and over-deliver. You must keep every commitment, even the smallest ones. Consciously or unconsciously, the other person is testing you. Being innovative and resourceful will help to show that you are different. Do not let up on making frequent contact. It will help you move to the next stage.

3. Development

By this time you need to be proving your abilities and, above all, you must be seen to be keeping your promises. Your relationship with the investor should be moving to a personal level. You should by now be networking with those who surround the investor. Keep up the frequent contact, but do not be a nuisance.

4. Commitment

By now you should understand the investor’s decision-making process. Try to anticipate the investors’ needs before they know. By now you must also understand the politics surrounding the investor. Both sides should now be committed to the relationship. Continue the frequent meanings to strengthen the relationship.

5. Unity

At this point you should be leading the process to get the job done. You are now seen as a close associate of the investor. You are involved now, a member of the inner circle, so tread lightly. The investor is on your team now.

“If you have found this blog article to be valuable for you, I would be grateful if you “shared” it with your Social Media Networks. Also feel free to circulate it by e-mail or other means internally within your organization or externally to your clients, suppliers and personal and business network. Thank-you!” – Bill Gibson

Bill Gibson is a Canadian who is living in South Africa. He is an international speaker and author and a developer of sales, service, marketing, collecting, employee morale building, personal development and entrepreneurial training programs and systems. His blog is www.bill-gibson.com and his website is www.kbitraining.com. He can be reached at bill@kbitraining.com or phone +27-11-784-1720 in South Africa. You can follow Bill Gibson on Twitter: @billgibson1, connect on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=143197191&trk=nav_responsive_tab_profile_pic or Knowledge Brokers International SA Pty Ltd Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/knowledgebrokers?ref=hl

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Bill Gibson – Goal Setting: The First Step To Business Ownership

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

Succeed Magazine – www.succeed.co.za – December 2009

Owning a business is a potentially life-changing experience that can lead to a financially secure future. Unfortunately, many people who would excel as entrepreneurs or franchise owners never achieve this status because they are unable to take the first step and make money available to realise their dreams.

Of course, when we work daily to pay bills and do not have a cent left at the end of the month, this dream seems far away indeed. However, saving towards a new future can be a reality through setting goals and finding ways to achieve them.

Setting the goal

Because owning a business takes commitment and sacrifice, those who want to achieve it have to know exactly why they want to do it to make it all worthwhile. The end goal of a successful business and financial independence should never be forgotten. “The clearer the intent, the greater the emotional desire becomes to get what you want, and the sooner it becomes a reality,” says top business speaker and chairman of Knowledge Brokers International SA, Bill Gibson. “Goals have to be smart. Smart is an acronym for: specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and time-limited.”

Although this first step sounds blatantly obvious, it is vital. Research shows that only 4% of people actually write down their goals. Of those who write them down, 95% achieve these goals. Once the larger goal has been set, achieving it depends on breaking it down into smaller, manageable pieces.

For instance, let us say that you have set yourself the goal to save up your own contribution to a franchise of R240 000 in two years,” says Gibson. “You break it down into 24 months – which means you have to save R10 000 a month – although it would probably be somewhat less as you earn interest on the money you put away.

“It would be very hard to put away this amount from the start if you have not been able to save up to this point. Therefore, it is better to build up the amount you want to put away over time. For instance, set a goal of putting away R5 000 for the first six months, then R7 500 for the next six, R12 500 for the next six, and R15 000 a month for the last six as you near your goal.” This money has to be invested at the beginning of each month, as if it were a debit order. These forced savings ensure that achieving the goal is on track and that the budget is adjusted to include these savings.

Save on your expenses

Once the decision has been made to put the money away, the money has to come from somewhere. By paying themselves first, people are obliged to look closer at their expenditure to ensure that their phone bills or insurance debit orders do not bounce due to insufficient funds. “Let us assume your monthly disposable income is R20 000.

If your bond is R8 000, your car is R3 000, groceries R5 000 and other expenses come to R4 000, that means you spend R20 000 and you have no money left at the end of the month.

“Starting a business takes sacrifices and expenses have to be limited,” says Gibson. “You would have to look at things like eating out, clothing accounts, belonging to clubs and going to sporting events. Instead of trading in on a new car, rather hang on to the one you have.

“In the process, you are coaching yourself and your family to live leaner for a while, because that is what it takes to achieve your goal. Once you start your franchise, there is a good possibility that you are going to be earning a lot less than what you are earning on your present job for the first few months.” By making these sacrifices, it could be possible to drop expenditure to R17 000 a month on the aforementioned monthly income of R20 000. This saving of R3 000 comes to R72 000 over two years and puts a large dent into the goal of saving R240 000 in two years.

Find an extra source of income

In the end, only so much can be done to save on current expenses and an additional source of income has to be found, such as a weekend or part-time job.

If the example of R20 000 of disposable income is earned over a normal 160-hour working month, it would mean after-tax earnings of R125 per hour.

If additional employment could be found at R80 per hour, most people would turn it down because it is R45 an hour less than they earn at their day job. However, there is another way to look at the offer. Twenty hours of part-time work a week at this rate means R6 400 a month of discretionary income. This amounts to R153 600 over the two years.

“That is how the wealthy become wealthy,” says Gibson. “They do not mind doing things beyond the break-even point that are less than they earn now, because that money could turn into more money.”

Taking on extra work should be viewed as a learning curve, because 90-hour weeks for the first year are extremely likely when a new business is opened. Extending the normal working week from 40 to 60 hours will not only provide extra income, but also valuable time management experience.

Achieving the goal of owning one’s own business will not come without sacrifices, but biting the bullet for a short time is a necessary step towards owning that franchise and taking control of one’s financial future.

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Bill Gibson – Getting Out Of A Cash Flow Crisis In A Hurry

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

Succeed Magazine – www.succeed.co.za – February 2008

If you have hit a cash flow crisis do not say, “I do not believe it.” While you are saying this you are in denial and valuable time is passing by. Rather face reality. “If it walks like a duck, and it talks like a duck, it is not an eagle,” says Bill Gibson, director of Knowledge Brokers International (KBI). Succeed asked how he would get out of a cash flow crisis:

Act immediately

Do not waste time and energy on trying to figure out how it happened or who is to blame. You can do that later. Focus all your resources on correcting the short-term cash flow problem.

Be proactive with your creditors

Visit or call them and explain your situation. Ask for a specific payment or non-payment plan over the next 60 to 90 days. It is simply a matter of scheduling payments that both you and the creditors can live with. Get the payments as low as possible with a commitment to increase the payments if things get better. Find out the minimum payments your creditors can accept. Perhaps you can even just pay interest. Tell them you will phone at the end of the month to inform them what you can pay. Ask them to not phone you in the first three weeks. That way you can devote all your time and energy to bringing in the cash, rather than handling calls from creditors which depletes your time and energy. I am not suggesting that you misuse your creditors, but facts are facts. If you owe a large amount of money to creditors it is not just your problem, it is also theirs. They want to see you stay afloat.

Swallow your pride and invite them to help. You will be surprised at the solutions with which they may come up.

Be proactive with your debtors

Sit down face-to-face with all clients who owe you money. Offer a discount of 10% to those who can pay much faster than normal Negotiate payment advances Ask for advances of 30% to 100% on jobs that you are doing. This could carry you through the tough period.

The last two months before year end large companies, parastatals and government departments often have budgets they have not spent. If they do not spend the money, it is not carried over to the next financial year and so they often pay in advance. Be sales oriented. Every single person who works for the company has to be sales oriented. Reg Wightman, the owner of a building supply dealership, one day accompanied his truck driver on a delivery. He walked around the site and talked to various people working on the job.

When he left the site he had a bigger order than when he arrived. It made him realise that the person doing the delivery is also really a salesperson, so he rearranged his whole operation. He delegated a lot of his responsibilities as manager to other employees so he could be on the delivery truck a lot more. His sales increased markedly.

Find innovative ways to sell

Terry Stalker is the owner of a bed company. He decided to place lamps, comforters and sheets in his delivery trucks so that his delivery people could sell them when doing deliveries. Installers were also trained to look around the house and report any needs they noted in terms of furniture. A few days later, one of the salespeople would give the client a call saying, “Well, our driver was at your home and he noticed you seemed to need…”

They got a lot of add-on sales that way. When you have a cash crisis you need to find innovative ways to sell.

Last resort moves

• Take your short–term debts, such as lines of credit, promissory notes, credit card balances, income tax and supplier balances, and try and get a consolidation loan. Spread the payments over three years. This frees up monthly capital and lowers your monthly overheads. It might cost more in terms of interest in the long run, but it could be the short term fix needed to get you out of trouble.

• Consider offering shares in your company to major creditors to wipe out all or part of the balance you owe. Have a good buyback clause.

• Sell your receivables at a discount to the company that buys receivables.

• Use equity in your home with a second bond to pay off some of the debts.

• Consider a financially sound co-signer for a large consolidation loan. In return, you could put that person on your payroll for an agreed amount until the debt is paid.

• Seek advice from business owners who survived cash flow problems.

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Bill Gibson – Gain Market Share In A Tough Economy

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

Succeed Magazine – www.succeed.co.za

Many years ago I was a top producing local radio advertising salesperson in the Twin Cities market of Halifax and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada. On the East Coast of Canada the harsh winters literally crippled automobile sales. In December, January and February it is not uncommon to have sub-zero temperatures and three snow storms in a month that range from a half metre to a metre and a half of snow. One early November day I called on John Gwynne-Timothy, the new owner of a small car dealership called Twin Cities Plymouth Chrysler. He told me that it did not make good sense to advertise in November, December or January because of the ferocious winters. Chrysler Canada had instructed him to put aside C$100 000 for each of the three winter months, strictly for losses. He was also told to cut back on advertising and save the money for peak season. I could understand their thinking – first you have to find the car under the snow before you can show it that time of year.

“The best time to gain market share is in a down economy” – Bill Gibson

My response to John was that with everyadversity there is an opportunity and the best time to gain market share is in a down economy. I added that most of the competitive dealerships would also be cutting back on advertising and the buying of inventory during that period. The advertising noise level in the market place was far less in the winter months. This would make it easier to dominate the market with less spending. The other dealers also were not buying cars at the auctions and it would be the best time to buy.

Here was the strategy:

• He went to the automobile auctions and bought at low, low prices. (If you buy right, you can sell right).

• On Friday afternoons at 4 pm we cleaned out his huge service department and decorated it with colourful streamers, balloons and so on.

• We then brought into the service department many of the especially low-price used cars and new ones.

• On the Friday morning we hit with newspaper and radio advertising – all day Friday and all day Saturday. In the weekly and monthly magazines we advertised the Winter Sale Bonanza Friday and Saturday at Twin Cities Plymouth Chrysler.

• We had live onsite radio announcers and upbeat music playing in the service department on the weekends and we sold cars until 9 pm on Friday and Saturday.

The final result was that Gwynne- Timothy profited C$100 000 per month in December, January and February. He budgeted for a C$300 000 loss and instead made C$300 000. In actuality, he was C$600 000 ahead.

In February, the competition eventually tried to counter attack – after laughing at him for what they thought was a waste of advertising money in December and January – but it was too late. He already had momentum. This momentum carried over to peak months from March to October with astronomical sales. He had gained huge market share in the down months that positively impacted the best months.

Within a year Gwynne-Timothy sold his small dealership for a huge profit and bought the largest Ford dealership in Atlantic Canada. Today he is a multimillionaire, simply by being innovative and proactive in a down economy – in Canada during the winter months.

The following graph shows that 20% of a smaller market can be larger than 10% of a big market. It is easier to gain market share in a down economy.

A few years later, as a consultant in Canada, I had another client named Terry Straker. At the top of the economy he was grossing C$200 000 a month with his bedding and bedroom furniture stores in Calgary, Alberta. The country went into a recession and competition got stiffer. Eighteen months later, at the bottom of the economy, Terry grossed over C$1 million in one month – a 400% increase.

How did he do it? He got innovative and aggressive. He knew cash was king so he negotiated hard when buying. He then increased his advertising in the right mediums that targeted his market. Through research he knew the best days and best weeks to advertise. He increased sales training to twice a week. He tied in with charities and ran innovative promotions.

Straker once ran a promotion called Mr Money, where he dressed his brother up in a Mr Money outfit, and on Friday he announced to the media that Mr Money was dropping C$5 000 from the roof of his biggest store on Saturday. The plan was to drop C$500 an hour in small bills for 10 hours.

Ten thousand people showed up and he got massive publicity. He had the biggest day ever. The reason is that in a down economy people want money. He used endless creative traffic building ideas. Among them was a promotion with Salvatore (Sal) Stallone, Sylvester Stallone’s brother. Rocky II had just opened in the theatres. Even though the economy was down, Terry increased his sales by 400%.

The solution is to believe you can gain market share in a tough economy if you take control of your own economy and get creative, innovative and pro-active. Do not wait for others or external factors to do it for you. Take control.

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Bill Gibson – Complex Selling Is About Getting To The Right People. Every Sale Is A Negotiation!

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

(Interview with Succeed Magazine)

Succeed Magazine – www.succeed.co.za – May/June 2005

Let us get one thing straight. Complex selling does not involve getting over-anxious baby boomers to buy overpriced clusters. It also does not involve selling feel-good tapes to those with inferiority complexes. No, you are already great, you are already wonderful and everybody likes you. Your problem is closing the bigger deals.

Every ambitious person lives for that one, big business deal. Unfortunately, too often that deal turns out to be the Titanic. No matter how fancy you think your offer is, no matter how big the enthusiasm with which you are received – there is no deal until the necessary signatures are on the dotted line and the fat lady is ready to start her serenade.

In a complex sale more often than not you find two or more individuals involved in the purchasing decision. Sometimes it can even take an entire board of directors or a specially appointed task team. Complex selling also occurs when the deal requires a large financial commitment, if the purchased product has a major influence on company-wide operating procedures or when the company is experiencing financial difficulty and a purchase needs approval from several people. Regardless of all these factors, one constant remains – you must identify and deliver your message to the right people. With complex selling it is mainly about getting “buy-in” to reach the eventual “buying stage”.

“There are typically six power players that can influence a potential deal,” says Bill Gibson. “Identifying and managing your business relationship with these players effectively and efficiently is the key to turning any pumpkin into a gold-plated carriage.”

These six players are the Navigator, the Ruler, the User(s), the Protector, the Opposer and the Contributor. It is possible one person could wear the hat for two or three of these power players. Bill Gibson on each of these power players:

1. Navigators are those people who can point you in the right direction. They need personally to see some value in the service or product that you are offering, whether it is for their specific department, its general business value, political value or maybe because they just believe in you and the product. The navigator must be a well-respected individual who can influence other decision makers or at least highlight which people in the decision-making process swing the heaviest clubs and what their personal stance regarding your product might be. “Always remember that a navigator does not sell for you but merely assists you with important insights so you can present the right information to the right people,” says Gibson. “Always respect their reputation, always value their need for anonymity and always remember that no one is going to help you unless they like you and trust you.”

2. The Ruler is the CEO, chairman, president or person of equal status. He or she can veto any decision made, but can also give the green light when other senior managers say no. The Ruler can be an appointed group of people who jointly make the final decision, but usually there will be one person whose opinion outweighs and can sway that of others. Generally, Rulers do not like being bothered with the finer details of what is offered. A Ruler wants to know if the product or service fits in with the bigger picture of what the company is trying to accomplish. What is the bottom line cost involved in its implementation? What sort of return on investment can be expected and how long will it take to see real returns? Does the product have an acceptable tool to measure its effectiveness and what are the ultimate benefits of implementation? “Rulers are results-orientated, strategic thinkers and acute visionaries,” says Gibson. “But do not make the mistake of thinking they are dreamless or lack creativity. It is a Ruler’s job to take calculated risks to improve the business and often they are privy to information other employees are not. A certain product or service may fit in perfectly with strategies or changes in policy that others on the decision influencing team don’t know about yet – so never dismiss the possibility that the Ruler may exercise his or her authority by implementing a previously rejected offering.” Never talk down to Rulers. Value their opinions and listen to what they have to say. The best way to meet the Ruler is through personal introduction, maybe through a Navigator, at VIP functions, at group presentations to the Ruler’s team, coincidental encounters and, of course, when the time comes to deliver your final proposal. There are certain key factors to keep in mind when considering at what level you will find the Ruler’s position in reference to your specific offer:

• Tighter company spending may require higher purchase clearance which could mean having to deal with a different Ruler who is higher up

• If the numbers, both in costs or volume, of the purchase is high, then you may have to deal with a different, or more than one Ruler, often further up the organisation

• If the company has no experience in dealing with you, or any knowledge of your product or service, the level of clearance may be higher because the risk is higher. They “pass the buck” higher up the ladder

• If the organisation is autocratic, most of the decisions will be made by a high ranking Ruler(s) who likes to have his or her fingers on everything.

“You may only get one chance to meet the Ruler, so you better make it stick,” says Gibson. “Know your product, know the Ruler’s business and personal agendas, likes and dislikes and, above all, know your place.”

3. Users are the people who actually use the product and, even if they have no power to decide on a purchase, they often have the power and credibility to influence those who do. “This is where the rubber meets the road,” says Gibson. “Users could be Navigators or even Rulers, but in general the User will be someone, or a group of individuals who will work with the prospective product the most.” Show the Users the respect they deserve. Do not think you have to make them feel important – they ARE important and will test your product knowledge to the full. They will ask the nitty-gritty How to? and What If? questions Rulers do not have the time for. Listen to their suggestions, objections and queries. If they support you, chances are they will punt your product to management which will weigh in your favour when a final decision is made. They can also sabotage your product, process or service even after the purchase is made. They have to work with it and can make sure you don’t get repeat business. “Users are generally operatives, administrative staff, trainers, sales people, department managers and the like,” says Gibson.

4. Protectors are individuals whose job it is to make sure any and all purchases comply with company specifications, criteria and standards. A human resource manager, for example, will dismiss any training modules that do not comply with national qualification standards or modules that are not accredited. Protectors separate emotion from the purchasing decision. They are in charge of quality control and are therefore highly analytical individuals, well educated, informed and are excellent negotiators. They may not have the power to say “yes” to a purchase, but they can certainly say “no” or eliminate you from the short list.

“Protectors are often procurement managers, chief financial officers, senior officers in the company’s legal department, other financial controllers and even PA’s,” says Gibson. “Identify with their needs, ask how you can make their job easier, in which format they require information be presented and have all necessary data they might want readily available.”

5. Every proposal has a balance and just as there will be people who are pro your product, there will be others who oppose it. “Do not get upset about it,” says Gibson. “All you have to do is make it impossible for an Opposer to deny the benefits of your product without looking selfish and not acting in the best interests of the company.” An Opposer may have a political reason for his or her actions. They may support another supplier or may be fearful that their department’s budget will be cut to implement your product. “Opposers sometimes act illogically, but you ignore them at your own peril,” says Gibson. “Show them a great level of acceptance and receptivity for their suggestions and concerns, but stick to the value the company will enjoy by implementing your product. Stack the cards so high that the Opposer will eventually have to concede and recognise the validity of the facts presented.”

6. Lastly, but not least – find out who the Contributors are. Make use of the Navigator and find out who has the decision maker’s ear. It could be a spouse, a close associate, a valued consultant or anyone who has access to key power players and whose opinion is held in high regard. Look for ways to influence the Contributors’ values but make sure you do not come across as over-bearing or abusive. You are already great, you are already wonderful and everybody likes you. Now that you have a framework pointing out most of the known icebergs, it is up to you to stand up and be counted. The pens are ready, the dotted lines are empty and the fat lady is waiting with bated breath.

For more information on KBI’s Managing Complex Business Relationships System sales training process, or to contact Bill Gibson, call (011) 784 1720 or e-mail bill@kbitraining.com

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Bill Gibson – Sales Strategies To Buck The Trend

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

Succeed Magazine – www.succeed.co.za – April 2009

With the downturn in the economy an increasing number of businesses are looking for ways to buck the trend. According to Bill Gibson, chairman of Knowledge Brokers International, the first place to start a turnaround is in sales. “It is difficult to raise capital when your business is struggling,” he says. “Really, the first place to start turning the business around is in sales.” He explains that the more short-term capital you bring in the more time it buys you to turn the company around.

“The smaller deals will maintain the cash flow while you are waiting for the bigger deals which will ultimately bail you out.” In start-up businesses cash flow is everything. “You will not survive with a long-term plan to turn around the business. You have to think short term,” he says. “Short-term income will give you the necessary cash flow to sustain you until your long-term income can be achieved.” This leads to the question, what does it take to bring money in?

Gibson highlights the following:

If you are going to turn your business around you must increase the number of people you contact. It is the law of averages – the more contacts you make, the higher your ratio of success will be.
You must increase the number of ‘right’ people that you contact – there is no point contacting people who have no money.
You need to increase your closure ratio. For example, if on an average your team closes 30% of their contacts. Set a goal to go up to 35% during a turnaround phase.
You must increase the size of your individual sales. Often you do not need more clients, but rather more business from existing clients. This means taking the time to ask these clients the right questions to maximise your cross- and up-selling opportunities.
The frequency of purchases per client needs to be increased. They must buy more often. If you give good service, and you are unique about what you do, you may increase your market share.
The frequency of times you contact the same clients must be increased. One study showed that eighty percent of sales are not closed before the fifth call to the same client, so do not give up.

These are the important areas that need to be focused on. There should also be a fundamental shift in the way a business is run. “If you are trying to turn your business around, you may need to work up to 90 hours a week and more – you cannot do a turnaround on the same hours that you have been working. Even if your business has been comfortable you must now treat it as a start-up.”

You need to look at how to increase the number of hours that salespeople are in contact with clients as well. All sales administration and writing up of orders must be done after hours. “Do not fool yourself,” he says, “you may find that salespeople are only in contact with clients two hours a day, and the rest of the day they are tied up with administration.” When you are trying to turn a company around, you must be in front of clients more often. “Salespeople should have at least three early morning appointments a week during these times. These could be at 6:30am or 7am. By the time 9am arrives you have had a period of productive time already, and have gained momentum.” Sometimes it is about working smarter. “Seventy percent of all sales appointments for the upcoming week should be booked in advance by the Thursday before. This way salespeople end that week with direction, and start the following week with momentum.”

He believes that during hard times everyone in the organisation needs to be sales orientated. “Some companies insist that all the people in the company, even if they are not salespeople, have to handle accounts whether they help with admin or setting up appointments. This creates a culture of sales in the workplace. It is about pulling your whole team together towards one goal.” He points out that this may result in a situation where every single staff member has to phone up a list of clients every day, and thank them for their business, ask them if they need any assistance, and then make a few offers.

“Shopping centres wait all day for passing trade and 60% of the time they are not doing anything. They should allocate time each day to phoning clients.” Focus on what is important. “Your accounting and marketing department are suddenly less important than sales, so focus on what is important,” he says. “If you have savings, ignore it and sell like you need to pay the salaries that month. This will create a sense of urgency.”

When you are turning a business around the owner should be one of the top salespeople. “The management need to be out there selling. They have business presence, and this is much more powerful than a sales pitch. It is one of the key characteristics of top producers.” Business presence can be acquired. “Salespeople can associate with businessmen and businesswomen, attend business presentations, and study what is going on in the industry that they are targeting. If their client is selling merchandise, they should go and study merchandising before they make contact.”

These are the fundamentals of turning your business around through sales. It involves a change in the culture of the company and starts at the top. There is still money to be made, but you need to make sure that you are the one making it.

Posted in Entrepreneurship & Business Ownership, Management & Leadership, Sales & Key Account Management | Comments Off on Bill Gibson – Sales Strategies To Buck The Trend

Archive for November, 2012

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Bill Gibson – Do Projects Worth Millions

Bill Gibson – “Don’t Give Up” – The Sales Secret

Bill Gibson – Increase Sales By 150% In 6 Months

Bill Gibson – How To Raise Money Without Your Bank – Even In These Times

Investors

Family and friends

Don’t play games

Where to find investors

Exhibit confidence

Barter

Negotiate no rent for the first six months

Offer discounts for upfront or COD payments

Seek investment in a product or project

Pay a premium for extended credit

Have someone stand surety for you with a major supplier

Trade equity for expertise, services or products

The 6 Personal C’s that interest an investor or creditor

The 5 Stages of building a relationship with an investor

Bill Gibson – Goal Setting: The First Step To Business Ownership

Find an extra source of income

Bill Gibson – Getting Out Of A Cash Flow Crisis In A Hurry

Act immediately

Be proactive with your creditors

Be proactive with your debtors

Find innovative ways to sell

Bill Gibson – Gain Market Share In A Tough Economy

Bill Gibson – Complex Selling Is About Getting To The Right People. Every Sale Is A Negotiation!

Bill Gibson – Sales Strategies To Buck The Trend

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Archive for November, 2012

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Investors

Family and friends

Don’t play games

Where to find investors

Exhibit confidence

Barter

Negotiate no rent for the first six months

Offer discounts for upfront or COD payments

Seek investment in a product or project

Pay a premium for extended credit

Have someone stand surety for you with a major supplier

Trade equity for expertise, services or products

The 6 Personal C’s that interest an investor or creditor

The 5 Stages of building a relationship with an investor

Share this:

Find an extra source of income

Share this:

Act immediately

Be proactive with your creditors

Be proactive with your debtors

Find innovative ways to sell

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