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Urgent business support during Coronavirus/ COVID-19 Emergency. Nationwide network of Business Advisors available to support you

20/03/2020 By Gordon Carmichael

UK Business Advisors Emergency Business Support during the Coronavirus Emergency

Business Support – Coronavirus COVID-19

Businesses and individuals are facing unprecedented challenges and uncertain times due to the COVID-19 emergency. Our support page link is at the end of this newsflash.

Like you, we are feeling the impact to our work, families and friends. UK Business Advisors (UKBA) have contingency plans in place and are we already remote working and communicating via phone and video calls to support our clients.

As premier advisors to UK Small and Medium sized businesses, we are ready to play our part to help our clients and the wider business community during these difficult times. We remain confident that businesses that show decisive leadership can survive and bounce back.

UK Business Advisors have activated our nationwide network of experienced advisors to help business owners and directors plan what is needed. Even with government grants, business rates relief or emergency loan support there will be difficult decisions to be made quickly. We can provide initial support and share our experience for free over the phone or by video call – please click on the link below for more information, actions you should consider now and how to contact us for urgent support.

It is important not to make panic decisions and make sure that you give your business and employees the best outcome.

Gordon Carmichael

Chair UK Business Advisors

Click here – Urgent Support Page during the Coronavirus emergency.

Will Entrepreneurs rescue the world?

03/10/2011 By

There comes a time when Business Leaders need to take control. Many are doing just that, but just as many (if not more) are being highly cautious.

Whether it is the leader of the IMF, the Leaders of Governments (Obama, Cameron, Merkel, etc) the messages all spell GLOOM, DOOM and DISASTER.

But Business Owners can take matters into their own hands. How many are “waiting to see how matters are developing” before they make a decision? Too many.

For the shrewd, now is the time for opportunity. After all, if YOUR competitor is ‘procrastinating’, then they are at their most vulnerable.

Risk…? Every business has an element of risk. But why not take a risk at the expense of your competitors.

Bite the bullet – invest in growth whilst our ‘so called leaders’ talk the World economy down. Reinvent not only your products, but the way you do business.

Growth is there for those who are bold!

Appointment making tips

25/07/2011 By

How do I get to meet key decision makers?

A question that I am frequently asked.

First, like all Sales people and marketeers, it is key to identify your target audience, and have a message (‘the hook’) that is likely to spark their interest. Once you have both of these clear in your strategy then you can act.

An exercise that has proved successful is to attend an exhibition. Research an exhibition that has some relevance to your business area of expertise. Check all the companies that are within your ‘geographical’ target, exhibition web sites make this quite easy to achieve before travelling. Take note of exactly where they are on the floor plan. Prepare a few words that demonstrate your knowledge of the subject, without it being a ‘sell’. It is vitally important to make sure that you are NOT selling here. In fact ‘selling’ to exhibitors is highly unethical, after all they have usually paid ‘big bucks’ to enable THEM to sell!

Only approach when all is quiet on the stand, its amazing how the most senior person pounces when all is quiet! Carefully chosen words (that contain ‘the hook’) should solicit the response, “Why dont you call in on me some time?”. Bingo! Yes, it does work.

A good tip is to practice first on two or three stands that you have NOT targeted, so, make any mistakes where it does not matter! You will be surprised how slick you will become when you come to your key targets!

Moving on to ‘telephone approaches’, the same philosophy should apply. Create a ‘guideline script’ (but create a means of expressing this without reading it parrot fashion). Approach several companies whom you regard as ‘peripheral targets’, and make your mistakes here, before you call the key targets.

How do I get past the ‘gate keeper’? This can be quite a skill! A good ‘gate keeper’ may be difficult to by pass. However, calling early in the morning, or late afternoon, when many may have gone home can prove successful. Perhaps you can inform the gate keeper of ‘what the boss is missing by not talking to you’. Another possibility is to get the e mail ID of the boss, in order to stimulate his/her interest with some well chosen words.

Networking events can also provide good opportunity. The down side is that you probably do not know who is there until after the event. But the day after, when you read the attendee list, and realise that you missed the very target you sought, drop an e mail to them. State that you wished you had met, reference something of note from the networking meeting, then state why it would be worth talking in more detail.

As a sales person, it is important to recognise you will probably never get to see every prospect you target. Some will prove impossible to track down. Accept it, do not take it personally. Learn from your approach, develop your style, and get on to the next prospect.

Want to brush up on these skills? Call Ian Thomas or Bob Francis at Southern Group Business Advisors on 0870 787 7590, or e mail ian.thomas@sgba.co.uk / bob.francis@sgba.co.uk.

Happy Selling!

>Enjoy Your Coffee in the Morning

10/11/2010 By Mushroom Internet

>Running a business is often a difficult and complex process. You end up worrying about all sorts of issues which is enough to put you off you morning coffee. However there is a simple way that you can test and make your business a success:

E Expensive: Are my product costs too high?

S Sales: Am I meeting my sales targets?

P Prices: Are my prices competitive?

R Receivables: Are my customers paying me?

E Earnings: Is my net profit on target?

S Stocks: Are my stock levels under control?

S Staff: Is everyone pulling together?

O Overheads: Are they as low as possible?

If any of these areas are worrying you we can help you to resolve the issues and soon you will enjoy your morning coffee again.

>Enjoy Your Coffee in the Morning

10/11/2010 By Mushroom Internet

E Expensive: Are my product costs too high?

S Sales: Am I meeting my sales targets?

P Prices: Are my prices competitive?

R Receivables: Are my customers paying me?

E Earnings: Is my net profit on target?

S Stocks: Are my stock levels under control?

S Staff: Is everyone pulling together?

O Overheads: Are they as low as possible?

If any of these areas are worrying you we can help you to resolve the issues and soon you will enjoy your morning coffee again.

>The Simple Rules of Negotiation

28/09/2010 By

How many Sales people really understand NEGOTIATION? Sadly too few.

Many enter the negotiation cycle without realising they are in a critical part of the Sales Process. Indeed negotiation is not always related to Sales situations. For example we have all had the discussions with our siblings along the line of: “Can you take me to the pictures tomorrow?”, responding with: “Only if you tidy your bedroom”. Indeed a primitive, but often effective negotiation, and indeed one (if carried out) can lead to a ‘win – win’ outcome!

It is vitally important to recognise when the sales process enters the ‘negotiation phase’. Failure to recognise this may be detrimental to your desired outcome, and do the salesman a disservice.

So, what is negotiation?

I have over the years heard many definitions, but the simple ones are always the best:

“The exchange of tradables to facilitate an agreement”.

Simple!

And what are tradables? And more importantly, how many sales men can list them?

Tradables are the areas where a Salesman or a Buyer can ‘give a little’. The obvious one is price, or more accurately, cost of goods/service. But there are many others too. They can include aspects such as product/service specification, payment terms, delivery and quantity.

Let us look at some sales examples.

The buyer says “Yes, I like the look of your resistors, and if you can get the price down by 10% then we can do business.”

The inexperienced salesman, who does not realise that the negotiation phase has just been entered is inclined to say “Yes” in great haste to close a deal. However, the more experienced salesman who has a clear understanding of his tradables may respond in one of the following ways:

“Of course, but I will need you to commit to a 12 month agreement for me to guarantee this price”

“We can meet this price, but we will have to provide the product without the wired connectors”

Another example would be:

Buyer – “If you can guarantee delivery by the end of the month then we can place an order now”.

Again, the inexperienced may jump at the offer, but the more measured approach would be “Of course, but we will need to engage our team in overtime to meet the deadline, therefore it will attract a 10% price premium”.

Salesmen naturally believe that the Buyer has a the upper hand, particularly as he may have a choice of suppliers. However, if you have reached the negotiation phase, it can be assumed you are winning the competitive battle. At this point the sales man should never underestimate the strength of his proposition.

It is not unknown for a negotiation to break down irretrievably, although with thorough preparation by both sides, this is an unlikely outcome.

The outcome of a negotiation and subsequent business deal fall into three categories. The first, a ‘win – win’ is the most desirable, both sides feel good about what has been achieved, and it is a great foundation for further business between the two parties.

A ‘win – lose’ is where one company is delighted with the deal, and the other is regretting the agreement, and feeling ‘stitched up’. Frequently the ‘delighted party’ is oblivious of the thoughts of the ‘aggrieved party’. In this case, unless some remedial work can be done on the relationship, it is highly unlikely that the parties will do business together.

The final outcome is a “lose – lose” outcome. Both parties feel the deal was poor, and such outcomes should be avoided at all costs. However, they do happen due to business pressures, expediency and other compelling issues. Indeed it is highly unlikely that these parties will do business again with each other.

So how do we ensure that outcomes are ‘win – win’.

Simple – preparation is key. A salesman MUST know and understand his tradables. A buyer may have different tradables depending on what he is buying. Both parties must accept that transaction value can be talked up as well as down.

Typical tradables for a salesman would be (and these can be traded up and down):

Delivery time

Order value

Quantity

Contract duration

Product finish (specification)

Packaging

Packing and delivery costs

Insurance cover

Delivery frequency

Payment terms

In summary, the best salesmen recognise their tradables, they can recite them at a moments notice, and they recognise the simple signs of negotiation. Furthermore, they have an empathy to the needs of their customer in order that all outcomes are ‘win – win’.

Happy Selling.