Getting the small things right

It’s funny how some things stick in your brain - I remember reading an article about the ‘Stanford Marshmallow Experiment’ a few years back - The ‘Stanford Marshmallow Experiment’ was a series of studies on delayed gratification in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s led by psychologist Walter Mischel, then a professor at Stanford University.  In these studies, a child was offered a choice between one small reward (sometimes a marshmallow, but often a cookie or a pretzel, etc.) provided immediately or two small rewards if he or she waited until the tester returned (after an absence of approximately 15 minutes).  In follow-up studies, the researchers found that children who were able to wait longer for the preferred rewards tended to have better life outcomes, as measured by SAT scores, educational attainment, and body mass index (BMI) and other life measures. 

For those of you who are keen on modern pop culture will recognise aspects of this study from a recent television advert where children are left alone with a sweet

 

But, anyway, back to the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment - It was a very interesting read and there’s an important lesson around how we view success - Instant success is something that most of us crave in both our personal and private lives

 

Wouldn't it be great if you could dabble at one or two things and immediately see a dramatic profit increase in your business?   

 

But life is generally not like that - sure, you can always achieve a quick win here and there, but you can only ever achieve real success over time – with perseverance and a certain amount of hard work

 

Success is a result of doing the little things right over and over again

 

Last year marked 60 years since Roger Bannister entered the records books as the first man to run the mile in under four minutes. 

 

It was the small things Bannister did to ensure success

 

You see, Bannister knew that it was only a matter of time before someone broke the barrier.  He decided that he was the one to do it.  And he planned it! 

 

He had running shoes designed for him which were 2 oz. lighter than the normal running shoes of the time   

 

He chose the Iffley Road track in Oxford - effectively home territory for him.  And we all know that we perform better on home turf than away 

 

He chose two pacemakers, Chataway and Brasher, who would help him stay within reach of the record. 

 

On the day, he made sure that the race was delayed until the wind had dropped to an acceptable level - so when he ran the blustery conditions had calmed

 

These were the small things that favoured Bannister and helped him run into the history books and although we are not all striving to enter into the history books, we can all make small improvements in our lives that will affect the big things

 

So, if you’re looking for the small things you can do in your business to increase performance and get you noticed, then contact us by telephone on 084 3289 3288 or by email at enquiries@blueboxconsultancy.com or pop in and see us at our office in Newcastle-upon-Tyne

Until then, be bold and do good business

Doing things right and doing the right things

Welcome to the second post in our 3 part series on business administration

I was having a stroll down memory lane the other day.  It led me all the way back to when I first started work as a (relatively) fresh faced intern within a large company.  After my first day at work, I went home and told my parents about some of the technology that was being deployed within the office environment in which I had started working – this included a modern technology which was known as a fax machine (who remembers them?).  My parents, who were by no means ignorant to these things, were still incredulous as to how you could transmit a document via a telephone line – I cannot imagine what they would make of some of the technology that is deployed in modern office environments these days!

Anyway, enough of this reminiscing – on to the main points of this post – correspondence and communication - Everybody in business corresponds.

In any type of business it is essential that all types of correspondence are carried out in a professional manner. This doesn’t just mean letters that are grammatically correct and spell checked – this should be an absolute. It does mean that business correspondence of all types should be documented, accurate and to the point. When we say that correspondence should be documented, we mean that if you make or receive a phone call, email or letter you   should have a system in place to log a brief summary of the content, when and how it was sent or received. This just makes it easier to resolve any disputes and of course keep track of customer expectations.

The Student Loans Company have been in the Guardian newspaper recently and are currently facing an investigation due to correspondence issues. In a nutshell, the company sent letters to some of their customers that were allegedly meant to lead the recipient to believe that their case had been sent to a bailiff company when this was not actually the case, and the letters were just from the Student Loans Company had set up a company with a different trading name.

Some businesses owners may not realise that this is the wrong thing to do. After all, they are only trying to collect the money they are owed. However you look at it though, it is misrepresentation. So what is the best way to go about collecting your money from debtors and managing your cash flow?

•     Often overlooked is the initial confirmation of expectations. What will be provided and for how much? Once a deal has been agreed it is important to write down the particulars and have each party sign on the infamous dotted line.

•     Have a clear invoicing structure. Tell your client when you will send the invoice and how long you will give them to pay it. Always put this in writing if you can. Remember to put a balance due date on the invoice.

•     On the invoice you can put a note at the bottom that briefly outlines what will happen if the pay date is missed. For example, a late fee will be charged, or a fee will be added if you need to send a letter to chase for payment. This reduces the chance of a misunderstanding regarding your intentions later down the line.

•     Have a debt collection procedure in place before someone owes you money. How many letters will you send before taking things further? Examples of what should be in a debt collection letter is something we will go into more detail in a future post

•     Is there an amount of money that you are able to write off instead of going down the legal route? This is because taking legal action can be a costly option.

These are all things that you can employ in order to maintain your cash flow whatever business you are in.  Join us next time as we look at the reasons behind having an employee handbook/detailed contract.

In the meantime if you find yourself struggling with any of the issues raised within this post – or you just fancy a chat, then do not hesitate to contact one of our team on 084 3289 3288.  Alternatively, you could always email us at enquiries@blueboxconsultancy.com

At Blue Box Consultancy we can help you implement an appropriate correspondence processes through our tailored business support packages.  If you would like to know a little bit more about what Blue Box does and the people that we do it with, then check out our website at www.blueboxconsultancy.com

Until the next time, be bold and do good business

A myth about your pricing strategy

There a number of myths about creating the right price for your customer and developing a pricing strategy that is right for your business – here is one of my favourites - If you are more expensive than your competitors then this will give them an edge and customers will choose them instead of you

 

It’s quite easy to see why the majority of business owners might believe this to be true - especially when you consider that most of them believe that people make their buying decision based on price and price alone

 

But let’s take a step-back from business and look at things rationally

 

When we look at business objectively we know that this just isn’t true - because if it was, car makers like Ferrari, Maserati and Porsche and all of the other premium makes would be struggling for business – and we know that just is not true – recent reports show that Rolls Royce increased their sales 5 years in a row smack back in the middle of a double dip recession while some of the cheaper car manufactures nearly went out of business and had to be bailed out by the UK government!

 

There are, of course, those customers who only buy the cheapest goods at the cheapest price – those customers who will move from supplier to supplier in order to get the price down – and there will be suppliers who will deliberately cut their prices in order to obtain work at any price.  But the majority of customers don’t - even if they say they do!

 

But then, on the other side of the coin, there are those customers who enjoy spending more on what they buy in order to get better quality products and services and a better overall customer experience

 

There are even customers who believe that you get what you pay for and who therefore won’t buy something because it seems too cheap!

 

Being cheaper than your competitors doesn’t give you an edge. Chances are you will be chasing a completely different customer from your competition.  Think about EasyJet and the other budget airlines – not to say that given the right circumstances a typical Virgin Atlantic customer would not travel with a budget airline – but in the main a Virgin Atlantic customer travels with them for a reason – and that reason is unlikely to be about price

 

When thinking about your own business always remember – good work is never cheap and cheap work is never good

Let your competitors fight with each other for those price buyers, while you target the VIP first class clients who want to spend more, buy more often and appreciate the true value of what you offer

Why?

 

Because the people that buy more often and appreciate the value of what you do tend to be your best clients - and the opposite is true for price buyers

 

I'm yet to meet anyone who actually enjoys working with 'price buyers'

 

The thing is if you're doing business with people that you don’t enjoy working with, two things are true:

 

1. It is your fault because you allowed them into your business and you keep them there

 

2. You don't have to put up with it.

 

If you do put up with it, then you're making a choice and if you don’t want to put up with it anymore, then you should fire them. It’s as easy as that  

 

If you want to make a difference in your business then price should not be your biggest concern.  Contact us today and see how we can help to solve your problems (and maybe even help you find ways to improve your business so that you don’t always have to focus on price!)

Call us anytime on 084 3289 3288 or email us at enquiries@blueboxconsultancy.com

If you want to learn a little bit more about Blue Box, the things we do, and the people with do it with, then check out our website at www.blueboxconsultancy.com

Until the next time – be bold and do good business