Sales | SGBA - Transforming businesses

Ensuring UK economic growth can survive the next global downturn….

30/11/2015 By

Employment in the UK at a record high. The UK economy seen as a shining star. Confidence in Germany, one of our main competitors under question.

So, what could go wrong? Quite a lot really.

International commentators are warning of another credit squeeze and business downturn. China has become a business mainstay for many Western nations, and a hiccup here can bring major repercussions.

It is time the Western World reduced its dependence on China.

What can small companies do to ensure the UK rides out future world market and trade downturns?

Well it is up to UK companies to get as big a slice of the International pie as we can, in short, export more. And it needs to be done NOW, not tomorrow!

I magine the effect on employment, the economy, and the stability of UK companies big and small if just 50% of them could increase exports by just 10%.

So, how do we go about this? For those already exporting, perhaps strategies for export are well defined. Selling more through existing channels, and selling through new channels, or into new markets is key. Stating the obvious!

For those who have no export experience, it can be a daunting hurdle. Where, how, who with….. all questions that come to mind.

So why not chat through your growth plans with an experienced and unbiassed advisor? Someone who can view your challenges with no prejudices, and maybe ask the difficult questions upfront before you commit to a sector.

Call the Southern Group Business Advisors for a free assessment of your plans.

Is failure to update your website harming your business?

26/03/2015 By

So many websites have the following messages:

“From all our team we wish you a Happy Christmas.”

“Come and visit us on stand H331 at ‘Pharmaworld Exhibition’, 17-19th November 2013 in London”

Does your website welcome visitors with these out of date messages? There are many out there that have similar. Not months but YEARS out of date.

So, what does this say about the way you manage your business? Perhaps you do not pay attention to detail, the very detail that differentiates between the ‘acceptable’ and the ‘excellent’.

For many, your website is your shop window. Would you expect to see Easter Eggs in a shop window in October, when the shop next door has haloween products?

The lack of attention is sadly widespread.

So, a simple message, keep all up to date. Make sure you review your website regularly.

Be professional.

And for those reading this, delete the following sentence as applicable.

Happy : Easter / Christmas / Halloween / Birthday

And dont forget to call in to our stand at Wembley, 30th July 1966.

Want an impartial review about how your online presence can affect your business? Call us on 0333 444 8522 or 0787 967 6435.

Do we need to reassess our Export Markets?

06/02/2015 By

Exports have always been a large part of SME activity.

There has been much said about our special relationship with EU countries. However, uncertainty with the Euro means that many are becoming nervous about this business. Together with the potential for an ‘IN / OUT’ referendum on the EU, there could be turbulent times ahead.

Of course Euro giants like Thales, Siemens, Santander, and Mercedes will still want to trade ‘tariff free’ with the UK in the event that a vote made an EU exit inevitable. So, perhaps the relationship that Norway and Switzerland has with Europe would be the model. Who knows?

In reality UK business has been guilty of letting certain special relationships slip when it comes to Exports. Let us take Canada and Australia for example. Both countries share the same language (in the main). They also share the Monarchy, our Royal Family. In the past we did some great business, but we appear to have taken our eye off the ball, and Asian companies have benefitted.

Back in the 1980’s, for every £1 in value we exported to the USA, we exported approximately 25p to Australia and similar for Canada. Today, it is less than 5p in comparison with the USA. Whilst we have clearly nurtured USA relationships, we are guilty of paying scant attention to our closest allies.

Asia has undergone great changes. Manufacturing is not as attractive as it was. So, perhaps now is a good time for Exporters to reassess where they sell to.

If you would like an informal talk about your export markets, aspirations and frustrations, then why not call us?

Call us on 0333 444 8522 or 0787 967 6435.

What can Small Busines do to help UK Balance of Payments?

21/01/2015 By

The UK Balance of Payments is a sorry story.

In short, we buy much more stuff from overseas than we sell overseas, and have done for many years.

Some items, such as raw materials, and highly specific components we have little choice other than to import. But other decisions we do have a choice. For example, deliberating whether to get an Audi or BMW as your next company car? Why not consider a Jaguar?

Simple purchasing decisions can make a difference, and the greater prosperity we create in our own market the better, and the more likely there is stability in terms of taxation.

Clearly International trade is very important. Both Imports and Exports have a vital part to play in our economy.

So, what can the export orientated small business do to help rebalance our imports/exports? If all exporters grew their overseas sales by 20% it would make a great difference. Very easily said, but often difficult to achieve.

Many companies sell their products through distributors. A sensible and potentially lucrative route for many companies.

I have spoken to many business owners who have said : “We operate overseas through distributors, but they dont do much”. I generally counter this with “Well, what is your strategy with your distributors?” The response is usually highly dismissive, in other words, they have no strategy for distributors.

So, where does the fault for lack of Distributor sales fall? Of course each case is different.

Simple Distributor programmes of reporting, educating, and generally communicating success stories can reap great rewards. All of a sudden the 20% growth in overseas sales can look very achievable.

If you feel your overseas distributors can deliver more to your sales turnover, but not sure where to go, give us a call for an informal chat. Let SGBA help bring some strategy and focus to your exports.

Call us on 0333 444 8522 or 0787 967 6435.

Why a patent may be more valuable than you think…..

02/12/2014 By

Patents for your innovation, very expensive to many small businesses.

“The problem with having a patent is that if I challenge a multinational in court for breaching my Intellectual Property, then it will cost me a bomb in legal fees. And of course ‘Big Co’ can afford more expensive lawyers than I can afford“.
It is a fairly common comment from Business Owners and Innovators. And of course it is even more expensive if you have cover in Europe, or World Wide.

Of course, Company owned patents are seen as assets when it comes to Company valuations, but this may not be easily reconcilable during day to day business.

The goalposts changed on 1st April 2013, and it is amazing how many innovators and small Business Owners do not know about the Patent Box. Whilst nothing changes regarding the ‘vulnerability of Big Co to try to bypass your patent’, matters have changed regarding the incentives for doing so.

Profits from items with a Patent are now subject to a lower rate of Corporation tax.

So, let us say that 50% of your profits are derived from items with Patent protection, then tax related to this is reduced to 10%. Prior to April 2013, all profits associated to Patents were subject to the higher Corporation Tax rate.

Of course you need to work out the sums in your financial projections to see if it is worthwhile.

If you need help with weighing up the pros and cons, call us, or drop us an e mail. Discretion guaranteed.

0333 444 8522
ian.thomas@sgba.co.uk
peter.johns@sgba.co.uk
bob.francis@sgba.co.uk

– See more at: http://ukba.co.uk/news/why-a-patent-may-be-more-valuable-than-you-think/#sthash.yL30sdC9.hg3onuCA.dpuf

Elevator Pitches…… Waste of Time or Effective Sales Tool?

05/08/2014 By

Elevator pitches……

“A waste of time really”…..

“These gimmicks are not for me”…….

REALLY?

These are frequent comments I have come across from business owners and executives.

But surely there ‘has’ to be some strength in being able to communicate quick and concisely what you offer commercially in order to stimulate an opportunity?

How many times have YOU been asked “What do you (does your Company) do?”?

Being able to articulate this in a way that is succinct and does not bore, but in fact excites the listener, is a simple skill. It really is not complicated.

Write what you do down on a piece of paper. Then rewrite it to eliminate all the words you dont need. It does not need fine detail. Remember to introduce a ‘benefit’ (£enefit), this is key. It may relate to ‘better profitability’. It may relate to ‘greater sales’ or ‘reducing costs’. Make sure some sort of ‘monetary gain’ is evident. That is why £enefit is spelt this way!

A SIMPLE elevator pitch is a must! Keep it short. Fifteen to twenty seconds delivery is all you need.

A good tip is to use it on those whom you believe have NO need for your product or service at first. Why? If you get tongue tied, or mess it up, it will not matter too much. But by third or fourth time round, you will be proficient in delivering a compelling message.

True story – for years my company had tried to get in with a Major Indian oil refinery Co, but no joy. At the Holiday Inn, Connaught Place in New Delhi…….. I got in the ‘elevator’ to go down stairs to the breakfast area. In the elevator was a man ….. the CHIEF EXEC of the very Co we had struggled to penetrate! I could not have made this up if I tried. A brief exchange in simple terms of what we did, and we then had breakfast together. From thereon business was fruitful and profitable.

I have heard so many throw scorn on ‘elevator pitches’. Well… it worked for me, AND it was in the elevator!

If you need help in articulating your messages to new clients, whether it is elevator pitches, image, or helping with creating a sales pipeline,SGBA are just a telephone call or e mail away. For further information contact us by email or call me, Ian Thomas on 07879 676435

One of the greatest consumer marketing achievements of all time?…..

17/03/2014 By

I met an accountant at a Networking event. When he understood that I helped Small Companies grow through SOUND Sales & Marketing support he posed a question.

“What do you consider is a great example of first class marketing?” A good question, and one that I had an answer to, as I have always admired this example that we can all relate to.

So, here goes….. the subject of soap, yes, the stuff we all use, some more than others!

“Once upon a time there were bars of soap. Everybody used them (except one guy in my village). You could buy them in multipacks, and they were in abundance on the shelves in any supermarket. One day (many years ago), some clever upstart came up with an idea for liquid soap in a simple dispenser. In fairness it had been around for a while in the commercial world. But now it was being offered to the public. And it was between 5-10 times the price, and lasted 25% of the time. AND THE CONSUMERS LOVED IT, we all (all that is except the guy in my village) went out and bought it.

I recently went to a well known UK supermarket beginning with M. They had 3 bars of soap for £0:60 – a bargain. By contrast a single liquid soap cost typically £1:50, although there were some offers at £0:99 (333ml in volume).
I carried out a ‘highly scientific’ experiment. I placed a brand new liquid soap container next to a wash hand basin in my home and used it until such time as it ran out. It lasted just over 2 weeks. Then, I used a bar of soap in similar circumstances. Some 7 weeks on it is still there. Of course there are inevitably variables in my study.
Nevertheless, lets look at the figures, with a bias towards inaccuracies in my calculation.

Each bar of soap cost £0:20. Let us say it only lasted 5 weeks. That works out at £0:04 per week.
Each container of liquid soap cost £0:99. Let us say it lasted 3 weeks. That works out at £0:33 per week.

Now, many homes have a kitchen sink, a bathroom, and perhaps a spare closet. So let us assume there are 3 ‘sites’ in a household (there are 7 in mine including bath & shower!) where soap would be used. This means that the cost is almost £52 per year per household for liquid soap against £6:24 for the ‘old fashioned’ bar of soap.

Just go to the soap aisle in the supermarket, if you are French you may need directions. You will see a mass of liquid soaps, very few bars of soap.

Now lets extrapolate this to say 10,000,000 households (again underestimated). The big guys have transformed a £62.4m market into a £520m market. And the consumer didn’t even notice. And I have not included all the businesses and commercial premises using soap.

Now, that is SMART MARKETING. No twitter, no social media. Just plain first class marketing. How the big guys, Proctor & Gamble, Unilever and others have changed consumers buying habits.”

The accountant said to me that when asked, most people he had talked to about Marketing had gone on and on about harnessing the internet, twitter, facebook and the like. However he felt that this example really got to the subject. The account then joked that “it was probably a smart accountant that came up with the idea”…. (yes, ‘accountant’ and ‘joke’ in the same sentence), to which I responded “either that or a poor chemist”.

So, when you approach marketing, think about what the consumer may want in the future. Think about how buying habits can change. Twitter, Facebook, Linked In, yes, all important, but I meet so many ‘marketeers’ who only understand the mechanics of the internet, without understanding REAL marketing.

Why an over optimistic sales forecast can threaten the survival of your business

12/03/2014 By

Over many years, I have reviewed many sales forecasts. There are thousands of books on sales techniques and the life cycle of a sales prospect. However the most difficult prospects to qualify, are the prospects at the initial sales meeting stage. A company can say they have a great sales forecast simply by stating they have lots of prospects and hence the outlook is looking great. However sometimes the business finds the volume of prospects does not convert to customers. The company suffers financially, as they were geared up to a bigger forecast than happened in reality, and unfortunately I have seen companies really struggle to survive.

A common problem is over optimism after meeting a prospect

You can ask a salesperson how the first meeting went, and they will relay what a great meeting they had with the prospect, the salesperson fully understood the business problem but the prospect does not want to do business imminently or does not have an immediate compelling event. However the salesperson STILL wants to put the prospect on the sales forecast system, with a low probability of conversation or puts the prospect on because they believe it may convert in many months time with a high sales probability. The horrible sales qualification word ‘may’.

However after being more rigorous in the sales qualification process, both meeting scenarios, in reality should have equal low percentage forecast and the prospect should go on the marketing database versus the sales forecasting system.

Many businesses have many meetings with potential prospects, and the size of the sales hopper and overall sales forecast, is dramatically altered if these early meetings are well qualified or not.

A very simplified solution to this problem, is to be very pessimistic after every initial prospect meeting, and only allow a revenue and percentage to be put on the sales forecast system, after a second event has occurred, another meeting, a serious telephone conversation, detailed e-mail contact etc

If you would like a second opinion on your sales forecasting techniques, please contact myself Tim Jenner tim.jenner@sgba.co.uk or any of my fellow SGBA colleagues.

Yet Another War on 'Red Tape'

06/02/2014 By

David Cameron recently announced that he was going to cut 3000 items of red tape as a way of helping small businesses. For instance out goes that riveting read “Cattle Movement Guidance” – all 640 pages of it! Also 286 pages of hedgerow regulations will disappear! I am not quite sure how that will benefit the majority of companies that operate from an office or in an industrial estate in the heart of some of our cities. He also mentioned that over 600 rules had already been swept away but have small businesses benefited from it? Are they even aware that these rules have gone? But he also said that it would take nearly 2 years to get rid of the rest! A slow motion war indeed.

When senior politicians start to talk about the war on red tape, I start to worry. I worry that such a major announcement (it was in all the media including online, print and broadcast) is because the Government is bereft of ideas on how to help small business develop and grow. They always seem to revert to the ‘war on red tape’ as if that is the panacea for all the problems that business owners have. Their theory goes that if they get rid of all the red tape (they won’t, they never do!) then businesses will save a lot of money, be more profitable and do more business. In theory they are right. Superfluous bureaucracy is indeed a drain on the resources of small business. But some red tape is a necessary evil and needs to be in place.

As James Hurley said in his piece in The Telegraph “….. it’s actually a rather lazy assumption about what entrepreneurs believe is holding them back…..”

Business owners by their very nature learn to overcome or get round obstacles that are put in their way. That is why they do what they do. I believe they have many other more important issues that hold them back rather than red tape. Late payment by large organisations, lack of sensible lending by banks, the cost of hiring staff are but three common issues faced by all small businesses

So as a new front opens up in the war on red tape what do you consider are the three most important issues your business faces in 2014? Use the comment facility on this blog to list them and we will publish the top three concerns of SMEs.

And if you want practical help and advice from experienced business people contact us or call us on 0333 444 8522 for a no obligation discussion.

Yet Another War on ‘Red Tape’

06/02/2014 By

As James Hurley said in his piece in The Telegraph “….. it’s actually a rather lazy assumption about what entrepreneurs believe is holding them back…..”

And if you want practical help and advice from experienced business people contact us or call us on 0333 444 8522 for a no obligation discussion.

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