Entrepreneurs, business owners, leaders, managers need to step back on a regular basis and get back to basics. The temptation when running your own enterprise is to stop doing the foundational elements that made you successful in your business. What are the basics for you? Could they be?

• Marketing: Testing and measuring what is working in your marketing program and what isn’t. Are you guessing as to which marketing programs work and which don’t. One of my clients swore that one of their marketing programs worked and worked well, until we ran the numbers. They were investing about $14,000 per year in this program and got about $6,000 back. Even taking into account lifetime value of the new customers, it was an expense and not an investment. Both revenue and profitability went up when they stopped that marketing program.

• Sales: It is documented that sales people must be trained and retrained on a regular basis to refine their skills and ensure the basic blocking and tackling is being done. What old sales techniques need to be revisited and are there new ones? Selling today is very different than 5 years ago, however some of the basics like communicating with your prospect are foundations which often get forgotten due to bad habits.

• Closing: Are you asking for the close in the sale? I have a client that lost the potential of a big new account because the prospects perception was that they didn’t want it enough. They asked for the close, but not often enough during the final presentation. Their competition asked for the sale more.

• Advertising: Are you running the same old ad that you always do? It works – great, but could it be better. What is your shock and awe with your advertising? Do you get their attention, or are they yawning through the whole process?

Basics are critical. Innovation is critical, yet if the innovation is built on a rocky foundation the whole business may fail before you know it.

Basics are critical. Innovation is paramount, yet if the innovation is built on a rocky foundation the whole business may fail before you know it. The foundation of your business is the same as the foundation of a building. If the wrong materials, wrong design, wrong measurements have been used then the foundation begins to crack under the pressure. Pressure for a building can be weight, weathering, erosion of soil and much more. Crumbling of a business can also come from pressure of the growth of the business. Cracking appears when the systems are not in place to handle the growth or changing in the business. How do you know if the basics are failing within your business?

Key Business and Sales Performance Indicators:

o Are your leads increasing or decreasing? If you don’t know then that is the first sign that the basic foundation has a few cracks.

o Do you measure your closing ratios now to a year ago, last quarter, last month? Do you measure them by sales person?

o Each lead that you receive you should know where it originated? Was it a referral from a customer, generated by networking, an ad in the paper, pay for click, SEO etc.

Innovation in your business is paramount. If you have always done something the exact same way, do you need to stop and consider a new way to address the situations. Even a 1 degree difference can make a tremendous difference in the future and especially the profitability of the business.

What are your KPI’s?  How often do you measure them?

The end of the year is right around the corner. Your ability to make a difference for 2012 is quickly coming to an end. The business advice you need should focus on where is your profitability and what actions should you take to increase that profit. Here are some areas to review:

• Average dollar sale – Is there a way to increase the average amount a customer spends with you? Bundling, increased prices, marketing?

• Awareness – Statistics have proven that over 50% of your customers buy products/services you sell because they don’t know you offer them. How do you talk to your customers? Are they really aware of your full product line? I will be you they don’t – so start changing that today.

• Communication – It seems to be one area that all businesses and teams struggle. Do your customers remember you? Don’t laugh and don’t get defensive. Over 67% of customers go elsewhere because they think you don’t care. As I coach business owners and executives I see a total lack of consistent communication to customers. If you don’t communicate with your customers they will communicate with someone else.

• Team – The joke is sales people need to be retrained daily. Reality is – it isn’t a joke – ask anyone who has been in sales. We must all go back to basics on a regular basis to understand what, how, where and why we sell. What is your training program for yourself and for your team? Who are the sales people in your organization? Yes, there should be someone who is compensated on selling, however every person in your organization is a sales person. Do they know it? How well do they represent you?

This article on business advice from a business coach – started with a plan for profitability for 2012. Now the question is – how well are you planning for 2013? If you haven’t started you should set aside a day for planning. If you want join me for my planning workshop with my clients on December 14th. Check my website for the details www.actioncochadvantage.com

I have already spent probably 2 days reviewing 2012 and planning for 2013. I pay myself, am profitable, take the advice of my own business mentor. I also realize I can do better and that even a 1% increase in profitability helps me achieve my personal goals. How are you doing?