Practice Development:

Taking on a new enterprise is a hefty endeavor. Entrepreneurs and business builders must not only take a concept from idea to reality, but also develop strategies to sustain long-term growth in volatile and ever-changing markets. By testing out tactics and monitoring industry trends, entrepreneurs should establish best practices to build a strong company - standing firm to major decisions while remaining flexible and adaptive to market conditions and...

Clients, for better or worse, are constantly evolving. They will change their priorities, their preferences and their expectations. Because they develop new demands on your company, you need to adjust to continue providing the value-added service that won their loyalty in the first place. Businesses that fail to be flexible risk losing client capital and falling behind competitors. Don't get caught off-guard by change.  The only reason an...

Some people may see big brands as out-of-touch with their clients, or think that major corporations are incapable of catering to individual needs. However, it's possible for a firm to enjoy widespread success and still maintain a degree of closeness with the people or companies it serves. By making clients one of the greatest priorities and creating processes that ensure they are treated as such, a business may achieve higher level of popularity. In an age...

Creating editorial content and publishing it in print publications and online platforms (blogs, social media, company website) is an excellent means of displaying your industry expertise. It has the added benefit of providing something of relevance and value to your readers, which, in theory, can increase their brand trust and loyalty. Content marketing can vastly expand your online presence and increase awareness of your organization. However, if the message...

If you have happy employees, you're much more likely to have happy clients. This may seem like common knowledge, but it appears to be missing from many managers' and business builders' playbooks. Consider Starbucks for a moment. It is one of the most-recognized brands in the world, and the company prides itself on providing a consistent customer experience. For the most part, it succeeds in this effort because of the culture of client service and...

It can be difficult for some entrepreneurs to delegate functions to others - who but themselves knows how to fulfill these responsibilities correctly. However, as I have outlined in my books, The Entrepreneurial Journey , The Business Builder and The 8 Best Practices of High-Performing Salespeople , learning to delegate to people and technology can be one of the most challenging, but rewarding, tasks you achieve as a manager and entrepreneur. When the...

In the early days of starting your business, it may seem as if the costs associated with setting up the office and establishing a client base are too much to track. Perhaps you think it is easier to simply spend whatever you need, pursue as many sales as possible, and determine the windfall (or losses) later on. Failing to track your expenses and earnings at the outset of the business, however, creates poor habits and makes it difficult to determine...

Marketing teams should never operate in isolation. The promotional materials and content they assemble, as well as the events they stage, should always be designed after receiving input and insight from the sales and client relationship management departments. Unfortunately, this does not always happen. Do you treat your marketing, CRM and sales functions as independent departments? Or do you realize that the activities of each group is closely intertwined with...

Remember, just because you complete the initial sales cycle with a prospect does not mean you can stop marketing to him or her. Indeed, that is only the beginning. The sales cycle is continuous. It is sustained not only by high-quality client relationship management and value-added service, but also by marketing efforts that speak to the evolving needs of both prospects and clients. I often discuss the importance of having a marketing mix on this blog - that is...

Small companies often run on shoestring budgets, and do not have the same client relationship management resources available to multinational corporations. But that does not mean they are doomed to have poorly run service systems and dissatisfied clients. Instilling a client-centric attitude among your team and enabling them to meet customer demands with standardized processes and technology. Creating this kind of system requires collaboration from your clients...

When surveying your business, do you assess the individual components of operations, marketing, sales and client relationship management? Or do you simply look at it as a whole? To get a clear sense of which aspects of your company are performing well and which ones need to be closely monitored and improved, it is better to inspect the five elements that create a high-performing business. As I explain in The Entrepreneurial Journey , these are your vision,...

For some businesses, the evolution of their marketing strategies has been slow. It is understandable: a business owner may be hesitant to introduce a new element to a formula that has been successfully promoting his or her company for years. But for an organization to enjoy a long life cycle and create sustainable growth, it needs to constantly push its boundaries and seek out ways to improve, not just maintain its current standing. Rest assured that competitors are...

Richard Branson, the infamous founder of the Virgin Group,  shared a post on LinkedIn about the dangers of conformity in business. He recounted his interaction with a group of bankers before his address at the BAI conference in Washington, D.C. and explained why the company had gotten involved in banking, "a very un-Virgin industry to be in." Branson said the fact that banking was uncharacteristic for Virgin was part of the reason the company...

When first establishing a business, it may seem easier to address issues as you work and create solutions within the context of each problem. However, as you build the firm and grow your team, it is wise to create a set of standards regarding employee conduct and company policies. Not only does this bring a degree of uniformity to your operations, it enables you to fairly manage the team and gives you a point of reference when employee or client conflicts arise....

Entrepreneurs who run their own business and a team of employees are constantly developing themselves and others. In order to achieve a maximum level of productivity, increase performance across the company and continue to grow in a professional capacity, businesses and the people who run them need to boost their competency. But how does one do that? As Norm wrote in The Entrepreneurial Journey , there is a competency development curve containing five...

When you are a business builder , you likely have a lot of goals and dreams for the future of the organization. However, keeping those aspirations a secret will not result in any change. Entrepreneurs may be independent people, but they cannot achieve great feats alone. In order to turn your one-, three- and 10-year goals into a reality, you will need to gather a team of employees and supporters and share your vision with them. How to get your teams excited...

It should be a company goal to strive for ubiquitous client service. There should be a subliminal message that underlies every team member's management of client relationships. I've talked before about how every employee should have "client representative" included in his or her role in the company. It is so essential to demonstrating a genuine and consistent commitment to client service. Taking stock of client-facing elements Make an...

In recent blog posts, I've given attention to the various aspects of a business plan and have worked to explain how to create objectives and assess your current financial and operational standing. I would also like to discuss a more subjective aspect of business planning that is equally important to the longevity of your organization. Google celebrated its 14th anniversary at the end of September. Since its founding, the company has grown from a small tech...

Creating a consistent image for your brand can facilitate a closer connection between your business and your clients, particularly if you run a service company as opposed to one with physical products. A brand gives clients something tangible to relate to and form opinions about. But they are not the only ones for whom you should build your brand image. How you define your company will also dictate the role it assumes in its sector and local business community....

While it's the mission of virtually every entrepreneur to grow his or her business, getting bigger doesn't mean you have to abandon some of the best characteristics of smaller organizations. Do you frequent any small, independent businesses? What's the source of your loyalty - the product offerings or the level of service and the way the owners and employees make you feel? Most likely, it's the latter. Why? Because the majority of...