While the political battle rages over whose fault it is that the economy seems to be perpetually stuck in the doldrums, entrepreneurs and established businesses alike are faced with the task of keeping their businesses moving in a forward direction. The macro economy is what it is, and most of us have little impact on this. But we do have a great deal of control over our micro economy – the part of the whole where we can make an immediate difference for our companies, our clients, and our families.
By “building company value” I mean that your founders, shareholders, employees, partners and customers all receive what is most important to them in terms of:
- Growing revenues and profits
- Increasing stock prices
- Pride of associating with a winning company
- Job satisfaction and promotion opportunities
So how do you go about increasing company value at a time when economic circumstances are tough and there’s fierce competition for every dollar? Here are three suggestions on how to use marketing and sales strategies to build value in your company. We’ll cover three more in next week’s post:
- Set Audacious Goals– We encourage our clients to think big and aim for large objectives. Setting lofty goals forces you to think outside the box, and this is important because it is difficult to make big gains with the same mindset you used to achieve only modest gains. It’s the simple but powerful realization that you’re not bound today to what you thought was possible yesterday.Plus, simply by aiming high, you give yourself a better chance of accelerating progress. Here are some examples of audacious goals for your consideration:
- Double the sales team’s quota
- Triple the number of inbound sales leads
- Cut the cost of new customer acquisition by 50 percent
- Increase your web traffic by 250 percent
- Two or more of the above
- Differentiate – Most successful companies are highly differentiated. They have a value proposition and brand promise that is both unique and compelling. This allows such companies to charge premium fees and operate in a less competitive environment. Competition is a major drag on pricing, so the idea is to offer a specialized product or service offering, not a commodity. In other words, be different and charge more or be the same and charge less.
- Challenge your sales model– This strategy can be a game changer. You should take a close look at your sales model and ask some tough questions:
- Is my cost of sales higher than it needs to be?
- Can I create a two- or three-tier model to add additional revenue?
- Can I add a recurring revenue model to my existing sales strategy?
- Should I replace all or part of my direct sales model with a channel strategy?
- Are there low-cost ways of reaching a larger audience?
- Is my pricing strategy leaving revenue on the table
Naturally, much of this is easier said than done. But the ability to stop from time to time and take a hard look at the ways you can improve your business and increase company value is one of the things that separates thriving businesses from those that operate beneath their potential. This potential extends beyond mere market share: It is the ability to inspire everyone around you — your clients, your leadership team, your investors and employees — with a realizable vision of prosperity and personal fulfillment. That’s truly powerful.
Note: this post is excerpted from Christopher Ryan’s article that originally appeared in ColoradoBiz Magazine.
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