A Path for Creating Business Success
If building a great company was problem free, everyone would do it.
Having challenges with employees, cash flow difficulties and working long hours to deal with problems are part and parcel of building a company.
Everybody goes through times like this.
Yet many people are able to leave the problems behind and move on to enjoy the benefits of owning a growing profitable company without all the frustrations.
How do they do that? - Are they just lucky?
While they may have had some good fortune along the way -
the answer is clearly no. It takes more than luck to build a rock solid company that runs like a Swiss watch. Therein is the good news.
There are 5 Key Elements that you can work on to reduce problems and frustrations while creating positive growth.
The 5 Key Elements create the right focus, enhance profitability, build responsibility & accountability throughout your company, increase revenues and establish positive momentum.
A word of caution, they’re not magic pills. It takes work, but at the same time they provide the most direct path to developing your organization into a growing profitable company that you are consistently proud of.
Often companies already have some of the elements in place and just need to work on the remaining one or two to achieve outstanding results.
There is a description of the 5 Key Elements below.
We’d like to talk with you about strengthening your company by introducing the 5 Key Elements Strategy. You can contact us at john@rock-solid-business-coach.com or by calling (604) 888-3471.
The 5 Key Elements
Element 1 - Company Promise
It's estimated that there are over 100 Million companies in the world. What do we need yours for? Why are you here?
A good Company Promise describes what the company is all about from the customers' perspective. This is your promise to them.
It should also identify the standards you want your company to perform to. This is your commitment to your clients that everyone in your company needs to focus on.
It helps to clearly set it out in a simple sentence. It makes your company easier to manage.
Keeping your Company Promise all day, every day ensures a healthy amount of repeat business and referrals.
A good Company Promise separates you from the crowd in competitive markets.
A Company Promise that your clients and prospects see value in will position your company as the market leader.
Element 2 - Numbers & Information
This element is about profitability. Business is a numbers game.
How companies processes numbers into information has a big impact on their long term success. Most owners will steer their companies towards success when they have good information.
Bookkeeping and accounting use historical numbers. Everything they cover has happened in the past. It’s a bit like trying to drive while looking in the rearview mirror.
Forecasting looks out the windshield towards the future and plans for improved profitability. Then Variance Reports give you feedback on how well your plan is working and clearly identify opportunities to increase profits.
A good set of Key Performance Indicators that includes a mix of Leading and Lagging Indicators also keeps the company owner’s finger on the pulse of the business.
In some companies Job Costing and Balance Sheet Ratios are valuable as well.
Everyone is interested in the bottom line and here it is:
good information is the shortest route to profitability.
Every company processes numbers into information. Companies that excel here normally perform better than their competitors. Bookkeepers and Accountants typically process numbers for banks and the government. Take charge and get the information you need to manage your profitability. The data is almost always there, it’s how it gets processed.
Element 3 - Company Accountability Matrix (CA³M)
This is a remarkable approach to building an organization that runs smoothly.
Wages are often the largest expense a company has, this easily improves the returns on the money the company pays out.
The CA³M is a straightforward approach to creating responsibility, accountability and effective communication throughout your company.
It also provides a framework to systemize your company to improve ongoing performance.
Once you’ve developed one for your company you’ll be amazed at how simple it becomes to build the strength of your company.
Many companies have utilized it for succession planning. If you want to transition yourself out of the day to day operations this will organize it for you.
Element 4 - Marketing & Sales Plan
This is what drives your company’s revenues, especially in competitive markets. Great Marketing Plans attract the type of clients you designed your company to do business with.
The line between sales and marketing is generally drawn at the point where - one to one - communication starts. Store location and appearance, advertising and websites are examples of marketing. Product demonstrations, answering the phone and developing proposals are examples of sales.
Marketing Plans include a description of the Target Market and your Ideal Clients within it. They document the buyers’ needs and wants plus their hot buttons and the reasons the buyers’ choose one company over another. Most importantly the plans outline a communication strategy that gets your company’s message in front of potential buyers.
Note: your Company Promise and your marketing message are related, but they are rarely identical. The former is for an internal audience and the latter is for an external audience.
Sales Cycles are basically written systems for selling. They are custom designed for each company. It’s amazing how quickly performance improves when they are implemented.
One interesting result from developing a Sales Cycle is that owners often realize that many of the steps can be effectively handled by junior employees instead of high priced sales people.
When marketing and sales are broken down into their component parts the challenge of finding good customers becomes realistic and achievable.
Element 5 - The AR²T of Momentum
This element is all about getting TRaction.
(TRaction = Towards Results action)
It's a unique process based on common sense.
A lot of organizations have challenges getting improvements implemented. They know where they want the company to go, they have good ideas and they can see what needs to be done, but they can’t seem to get there. The day to day grind of business seems to push everything else aside.
The AR²T of Momentum Method will break you out of this endless cycle and it will make long term steady progress the norm for your company.
This powerful 4 step process will keep your company moving forward towards the results you want to achieve.
Client Testimonials
Rock Solid identified a very effective Company Promise for us and it lead to a positive change in the way we do business. The CA³M has also helped us organize and focus on improving our processes.
Neville Sinclair, Pacific West PG
We now use Rock Solid’s Forecast & Variance Reports with all of our clients. It’s the best we’ve ever seen and the best our clients have ever seen.
Kelly Bennett, Business Training International
Rock Solid’s 5 Key Elements have improved the performance of my company.
The CA³M has been valuable as I transition out of day to day operations and shift responsibilities to the next generation.
Jack Froese, JD Farms
The best part of all is the tools that we are learning to use. They are invaluable to us. They are everyday, down to earth, sensible, solutions that WORK!
Bob & Marlene Myers, Myers Organic Farms
British Columbia’s largest organic produce grower
We’d like to talk with you about introducing the 5 Elements Strategy into your company. You can contact us via email at john@rock-solid-business-coach.com or by calling (604) 888-3471.
