March 13, 2023

4 simple metrics that tell you how your business plan is performing

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4 simple metrics that tell you how your business plan is performing.

Now that you’ve created your business plan, how will you measure how well you are executing it?

How will you know if you are progressing to achieve your desired goals?

Performance management is the tool that tries to focus the energies of the organization on the desired outcomes.

The problem is, many people tend to mismanage performance by choosing too many metrics to measure.

And as a result people end up chasing many outcomes with little strategic payoff.

Organizations have data on almost everything, and therefore there is a tendency to measure too much in an effort to have all inclusive measurement.

Too little thought is given to choosing the critical few measures that relate to the success of the strategy.

If 80% of successful strategy execution can be ‘explained’ by measuring 3 outputs or activities, focus on measuring them as opposed to the other 100 that may be related to the strategy but are not critical to in achieving it.

My rule of thumb is to pick 3 or 4 key measures and focus everyone on these.

If your balanced scorecard doesn’t include the following metrics, you’re missing an amazing opportunity to know if you’re on track.

  ▪️ top line revenue as an expression of how the market is responding to the value you deliver;

  ▪️ the quality of the service experience as perceived by the customer;

  ▪️ the number of CRAP activities eliminated to free-up time and resources to take on new initiatives;

  ▪️ the number of dumb rules removed to make it easier for the customer to engage with your organization.

There are many more metrics that can be used , but these simple ones will show you whether or not your plan is being successfully implemented.

Cheers,
Roy
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• Posted 3.13.23 at 04:36 am by Roy Osing
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March 6, 2023

Why flogging cheap prices is a terrible strategy and should be stopped

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Why flogging cheap prices is a terrible strategy and should be stopped.

Why is competing on the basis of low prices actually bad marketing?

How is the game played?

▪️It can be a reaction to a short term dip in revenue, with the belief that lower prices will attract more business and prop revenues back up.

▪️It can be a vehicle to promote a particular product or service that is running below forecast. The intent is to get the customer’s attention with a slashed price and hope that sufficient sales volume will stimulate sales.

The most common play, however, is a ‘me too’ response to a competitor’s move. The competition drops their prices and the marketing analyst thinks they must match or undercut the competition to prevent customers from leaving.

At the end of the day, those who price cut trust that this strategy will make their business better off, that somehow they will gain a market advantage in the long run.

The irony of a business reducing their prices in response to a competitive move is that the business is really allowing the ‘bad guys’ to set their prices.

Why would any business allow their competition to set their prices? Does that make sense? Certainly not!

And the benefits of slashing prices, in any event, are illusory or short term at best. Sales revenue may spike up in the short term but it comes at the expense of lower margins unless costs can be reduced at the same time (which rarely happens).

Price cutting has no strategic value

Reducing prices never enhances your long term market position.

It contributes nothing to differentiate you.

It doesn’t make you special or unique in the eyes of the customer.

In fact it has the opposite effect. It shouts out your status as a commodity player who is interested in providing little more than low prices. Price floggers are a dime a dozen; you will not likely win this game. You might keep your head above water for a short time but sooner or later you will either hit the margin wall, or some gunslinger will come along and lower their prices again.

And the race to the bottom is on.

Stand-out marketing organizations learn to manage market share and profitability by maintaining prices higher than the competition.

Here are 3 actions you can take to avoid the price cutting game that leads everyone to the bottom.

▪️Set your priority to manage market share and profitability by focusing your efforts on high value customers where profitability is healthy. Let competitors have the low margin segments.

▪️Resist the temptation to lower prices across the board in favour of targeting price programs to specific vulnerable market segments. In the face of the competition entering long distance markets at prices 15-20% lower than incumbent telephone companies, flat rate packages (like 100 minutes for $10) were introduced for heavy users at a premium to the competition. It worked.

▪️Focus on creating additional value to support higher prices for your products and services. Offering product packages and added customer service features are ways to keep prices higher than the competition.

Stand-out marketing organizations are premium price suppliers and they win.

They are rewarded with fans who love them and spread their word to others because they’re worth it.

“The reason it seems that price is all your customers care about is that you haven’t given them anything else to care about. “ — Seth Godin, marketing guru

Ponder these questions to see if you’re playing the price cutting game:
— What’s the conversation in your organization: is it about how to add value or reduce price?
— How frequently do you have special promotions that reduce prices?
— When you talk to your customers, what’s the main message: your low prices or your premium value?
— Do you offer product or service bundles with price discounts for buying more?
— How many initiatives do you regularly have to add value to your offerings and increase price?
— When you compare yourself with your competitors, is it mainly about price?

Price = $0.00 means you offer no value.

Is that really where you want to be?

Cheers,
Roy
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• Posted 3.6.23 at 05:13 am by Roy Osing
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February 27, 2023

7 simple things that define an audacious sales team

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7 simple things that define an audacious sales team.

What defines a great sales team and the salespeople in it?

The number of products sold and revenue generated?

No.

Products and revenue are the result of the sales effort; the more effective the sales effort the higher the economic return to the organization and the higher bonus for the salesperson.

Here are the 7 things that define audacious sales:

✔️ Taking a long term view of what the customer needs, not exploiting the moment and driving to make an immediate sale;

✔️ Creating an enjoyable experience for the customer, not using the engagement process as a platform to feed the salesperson’s ego;

✔️ Enhancing the relationship with the customer not not pushing products at them because of the sales quota in place;

✔️ Asking questions as the engagement priority as opposed to telling the customer what they need;

✔️ Respecting silence in the conversation rather than filling the air with the sales pitch;

✔️ Honouring integrity and honesty rather than bending the truth and doing whatever it takes to make the sale;

✔️ Achieving the outcome that is best for the customer which may not completely fulfil the personal agenda of the salesperson.

How do you know if a salesperson puts in an effective effort?

Ask their customers.

Here’s what they say about the standout ones:

— “I refuse to buy from anyone else.”

— “He is the only one I trust.”

— “I often go out of my way to create the sales opportunity for her.”

— “I feel guilty talking to anyone else about what I need.”

— “I don’t feel confident dealing with anyone else.”

— “I am ok to wait until they are available.”

— “I am quite willing to be inconvenienced in order to buy from them.”

— “I am thankful to have him looking out for my long term interests.”

— “I think of her as a close friend.”

— “I honestly believe he cares about me and what my problems are.”

— “They’re in it for the long term with me.”

— “She is always there to talk to me when I need to.”

— “They never push products at me.”

— “She is the best listener I have ever known.”

How many salespeople can claim their customers make even one or two of these statements?

In my experience, very few.

Cheers,
Roy
My 50+ Podcast Shows that will change your life.

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• Posted 2.27.23 at 06:12 am by Roy Osing
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February 20, 2023

Effective differentiation is lost today for these 3 surprising reasons

Effective differentiation is lost today for these 3 surprising reasons.

Even though:
✔️ competition has never been more fierce,
✔️ customers have never been more fickle, and switch suppliers with ease.
✔️ technological change is occurring at the speed of light.
✔️ regulations are getting more complex.
✔️ unpredictable events are hitting unsuspecting organizations with unbelievable frequency.

You would think organizations would be proficient at declaring why people should buy from them and not their competitors; why their value is special and unique when compared to what is being offered by other competitors in their space.

BUT THEY’RE NOT!

PROBLEM?

#1. COPYING IS RAMPANT

Everybody is copying everyone else. Benchmarking is used as the ‘tool of innovation’ by literally everyone.

Copying is the antithesis of originality. Nothing new is created. The ‘old’ is perpetuated.

It’s no wonder that ’undifferentiation’ is happening. The gap among organizations is blurred rather than focused.

What makes one organization special vis-a-vis their competitors is clouded in common rhetoric.

“Emulation gets you to parity. But when everyone does it it gets you to strategic hell.” — Herman Singh, LinkedIn Post

#2. CLAPTRAP DOMINATES

Concepts like ‘better’, ‘best’, #1, ‘leader’, ‘most reliable’, ‘premium’, ‘great’, ‘most trusted’, ‘lowest cost’ and ‘first ever’ pervade the way most organizations declare their ‘special sauce’.

Differentiation claims expressing these intentions are found everywhere.
Most organizations make similar claims.
They’re not believable.
No accountability is established.
Customers are confused.
No differences among organizations are defined.

They don’t answer the question “Why should I do business with you as opposed to your competitors?”

Some CLAPTRAP claims:

▪️“Canada’s largest and most reliable 5G network”
▪️“… offers the best coffee and espresso drinks for consumers who want premium ingredients and perfection every time.”
▪️“We work hard everyday to make … the world’s most respected service brand.”

#3. ASPIRATIONS CONTAMINATE

These are helium-filled claims at the 10,000’ level.
What the hell do they mean?
They lack the tangibility needed for people to make informed decisions on who to select as their supplier.
They can’t be proven.
They don’t inspire execution or accountability.

Some ASPIRATIONAL claims:

▪️“Bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete in the world. If you have a body, you are an athlete.”
▪️“Champions of Customer Service”
▪️“Our mission is to make the world happier and healthier”
▪️“We’re in business to save our home planet.”
▪️“To inspire humanity – both in the air and on the ground.”

So, what’s your solution?

SOLUTION!

In a world of cluttered and confused messaging, you have to put ‘precision to your promise’ in order to make it clear to people why they should do business with you.

I created The ONLY Statement—ONLY— as the way to clearly define what makes you special and unique in a crowded marketplace.

ONLY looks like this: “We are the ONLY ones who…”

Some ONLY claims:

✔️ “BCI Marine is the ONLY complete service partner committed to delivering solutions to grow a boat dealer’s business.”
✔️ “Kimberly Lebbing is The ONLY High-Performance Success & Mindset Expert Helping Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, and Their Teams Get Mind-Blowing Results in as Little as 4 Hours.”
✔️ “ONLY TELUS PureFibre has upload speeds as fast as download speeds, and a 100% fiber optic connection that runs direct to your home—so you can binge without buffering.”
✔️ “We provide the ONLY permanent solution that prevents biohazard contaminants (such as used syringes) and all other debris from entering manholes.”
✔️ “We are the ONLY team that provides integrated safety solutions that go beyond the needs of our customers ANYTIME, ANYWHERE. We are committed to growing our customer’s business. We ONLY serve safety.”
✔️ “Roy Osing is the ONLY author, entrepreneur and executive leader who delivers practical and proven ‘Audacious Unheard-of Ways’ to build high performing businesses and successful careers.”
✔️ “Roy is the ONLY coach and advisor who offers The ONLY Statement as a practical and proven tool to create a competitive advantage for organizations and individuals.”
✔️ “The North Delta Business Association is the ONLY team that:
1. Links you to other businesses.
2. Connects you with experienced & knowledgeable people to help you lead & grow your business.
3. Constantly challenges you to do things differently.”

Can you see the difference between ONLY and the other claims?

ONLY smokes them all.

Draft your ONLY.

Let me help.

Cheers,
Roy
My 50+ Podcast Shows that will change your life.

Check out my BE DiFFERENT or be dead Book Series

‘Audacious’ is my latest…

• Posted 2.20.23 at 05:57 am by Roy Osing
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