Posts Tagged ‘instant cashflow’

I’ve read a number of your books and I’ve based my yellow pages advertisement on your concepts. I think our advertising grabs the viewer’s attention, speaks to what we do and how well we do it. I just opened a new studio that is in a premium location for foot traffic, in the center of my city. I have excellent window graphics, with details of my services, such as airbrush makeup, nail services, spray tanning, airbrush tattoos, as well as hair and makeup styling. We also have an awesome display of bridal jewelry in the window. My studio is very cutting edge, comfortable and attractive, but my phone doesn’t seem to ring. Even though many people look in, few are actually coming in to see what we do. I’ve tried some new tactics, including cold calling on the Fashion Industry and Hairdressing/Fashion colleges, but that’s been slow to help. I also have a brochure, which I crafted to your guidelines. Is there anything else I need to be doing, without spending a fortune?

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011

As you already know from reading my books, there are three factors that go into creating strong advertising, target, offer and copy.

You have to assess where your message is lacking.

Is it your target, offer or copy that needs help, or is it all three?

From the little bit you’ve told me, it sounds like your target needs some adjustment, and perhaps your offer as well. You need to make sure you offer what your targets really want to buy versus what you want to sell them.

It sounds like your shop is trendy and cutting edge, but if your marketing is being run through mediums frequented by pensioners and great grandmothers, you aren’t targeting the right people.

So where are you going to find the young, hip customers you want?

And once you find them, is the offer in your ads speaking to them and their needs?

These days running ads in the Yellow Pages probably won’t bring you the customers you want. For businesses that want a young clientele, a social media presence which they can use to engage clients and leads is vital.

But social media isn’t the only way to target the customers you want.

You can also advertise in niche, community or alternative newspapers that tell people about all the cool places in their city.

It sounds like you are in an urban center and virtually every city around the world has some sort of local paper for the young, hip and trendy. In Boston it’s The Phoenix, In Las Vegas it’s the City Life. What is it in your city?

You can also use strategic alliances with other cool shops that do business with the customers you want, but sell different services or products.

For instance, if there’s a pub or restaurant that you’re fond of and sells to your target market, why not work something out with them where you get their database of customers and their customers get some type of free service from you the first time they visit?

When a new business opens, people need to have a reason to come in, so a free giveaway the first time can really help.

If they come in for the free service and like what you and your team do, they’ll be back, so you’ve got to be prepared to offer outstanding value the first time a customer visits you.

These are just a few ways to target the market your business needs, but if you re-read Instant Cashflow, you’ll find a number of other strategies you can use and once you’ve got the strategies in hand, adjust it to fit the in the “Target, offer, copy” formula.

All the best,
Brad Sugars

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I have implemented some new systems and forms for testing and measuring conversion and sales within my business and have noted resistance from one particular team member to record the data. She is in her 20’s and in the DISC she is a high S / C. I thought the data recording would appeal to her C side but it hasn’t. Do you have any ideas on how I can help her see the value in collecting this data and accepting the importance of this? It almost seems like she does not want to record it for accountability or a perceived failure to perform. This is NOT the intention I had but how can I reassure her of this?

Thursday, May 5th, 2011

You need to speak with her specifically, out of the way of others to find out what her issue is. It could simply be that she doesn’t understand what is required. Often, when we brief teams there are one or two for whom that particular briefing doesn’t get across. It’s a simple fact of human nature.

Being an S/C, her S side is resistant to change until she can see both the value of it as well as the benefits to the rest of the team. Once she is comfortable that she and her teammates will benefit, then she will become one of your stronger supporters and her C can then take over.

Reducing her FEAR (False Expectations Aren’t Real) is the key. As well as communicating to her yourself, why not give her something to read? Pick a book that places emphasis on the need to test and measure, like Instant Cashflow.

This will give your ideas instant third party validity.

Remember, people in general want to do a good job or the right thing. So keeping that in mind, have you helped her understand how the changes you have asked for impacts and helps the vision and goals you have for the business? She needs to be clear that this change helps her help the business and herself and the change is not for change sake.

How were the changes you implemented in your business arrived at?

Did you develop them on your own and offer them fully developed to the team, or was the team part of the development of the changes?

Is she participating in the process and buying in, or is she responsible solely for the implementation of your ideas, recommendations and directives?

Asking the right questions that coach her to the responses and buy-in you are looking for will build massive momentum because she will be empowered and take ownership of the idea like it’s hers.

When that happens, with her S/C combination, think how powerful it will be to have that loyalty and attention to detail applied to your idea.

All the best,
Brad Sugars

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My wife & I have been operating a health spa for about 3 years now. Since the middle of last year, we began to feel a drastic decline in our customer visits and sales. What is the best method to improve the situation? These days we basically rely only on walk-ins and obviously that isn’t working.

Thursday, April 7th, 2011

It is around six times more cost effective to get an existing customer to come back than to find a new customer, so what are you doing to encourage repeat business from the customers that DO come in?

Repeat customers are the people who will make you rich and your business successful by referring their friends to you, so if you aren’t getting enough of them, some things have to change.

Where is your plan to help you get the customers you both need and want, instead of just hoping for walk-ins?

If people aren’t coming back to your spa, they probably aren’t receiving any extra value from doing business with you, so how can you change that?

They can probably find another spa, one that might be cheaper, better located or one that just makes them feel more comfortable, so you have to find something that sets your business apart from the competition and shout it loudly so everyone will hear what makes your business unique.

Once you have your unique selling point (USP), it’s time to move to strategies you can use to cultivate repeat business.

One method used often in your industry is pre-booking.

After a customer receives a service and while they are paying, pre-booking is a system that, through a scripted conversation, leads to the customer booking their next appointment with you.

Simply saying something like, “This service should last for about four weeks, so let’s book your next appointment for four weeks from now. Would that Wednesday be good for you?” is a great way to ensure that a one- time customer returns to your business.

Also, follow up with your customers by calling them a few days later to see if they were happy with their service.

Most of the time customers that aren’t happy simply won’t come back, but if you address their concerns and promise them a better experience the next time, they are far more likely to try you again.

Once, you’ve figured the issues that are plaguing the service in your business and solved them, it’s time to find the right target market and reach them with your business’ message.

But don’t rush this step. It can be very costly if you don’t do it correctly.

Consider this seriously by first asking yourself who your ideal customer would be?

What do they look like, where do they shop, how old are they, how often will they visit your spa and how much will they spend when they are there?

These are just a few questions to help you get started, but, remember, if you don’t know who your target market, or ideal customer base would be, how will you ever reach them with your message?

I hope this helps and reading “Instant Cashflow” can offer you many more strategies to help you move forward. Let us know how you make out.

All the best,
Brad Sugars

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I currently work almost 70 hours a week running my florist business and can’t seem to afford to pay more wages, thus I have to do it myself. I don’t mind working, I love what I do, but wouldn’t mind a few more hours with my family each week, any ideas?

Wednesday, April 6th, 2011

Quite often we are working too many hours in our business because we are not using our time efficiently and effectively. Make a list of your top 10 time wasters. Now review your list.

Of these items which can be:
1. Eliminated?
2. Delegated to lower paid employee?
3. Systemized to become more efficient?

Once you know what your time wasters are, you are off to a good start, but to get control of your business you have to develop your business’ fundamentals, build a team and train your team in systems that work.

This means you have to choose values you want your team and business to live by and then organize and plan accordingly.

This is how you can build a business that serves you, with time and profits, which is why you got into business in the first place, isn’t it?

Once you’ve got the fundamentals down, it’s time to develop your niche, or the target market your business will cater too.

From there you can begin to enhance your leverage over your business by developing your systems, which will allow you to hire new team members who can be trained to handle day to day tasks of your business and allow you to regain control of your life.

To get to this stage, you need to move from chaos to control and make sure you have sustained cashflow.

If you have cashflow, great, but if you don’t, you may still be able to create a position that can clear up some time for you via internship or apprenticeship. Ideally, these positions are unpaid but can be graded or lead to a paying position down the road.

It’s obvious that your business is still far from mature if you’re putting in so many hours. You have to get the fundamentals in place to begin to cut those hours, so start with these suggestions, do some planning and take Action.

All the best,
Brad Sugars

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My wife and I operate an Adult Store in a suburb of a major city. Our store opened 12 months ago. It has slowly grown in turnover, but it is just not turning over anywhere near enough. The store is attractive from the front, well laid out, and has the biggest range of goods in town, including the biggest DVD library in town. Our point of difference is we sell exclusive lingerie, costumes and jewelry and keep them in stock. We have priced goods so they are about 20-30% less than other Adult shops in the area and our exclusive lingerie, shoes, costumes etc are cheaper than can be found in the area. Our city and its surroundings have an overall population of about 70,000 and there are four other Adult shops. We were the fourth one to open and only one appears to do well, in my estimation because it is part of a name chain of Adult Stores. Over the last 12 months we have poured everything back into business and increased our stock levels, but we are now experiencing an extreme cashflow problem. How can we get this moving again? Access to cash is limited as we barely get enough to pay overheads, personal living costs and can only make a small dent in outstanding bills each week. Any thoughts or ideas on how to get a massive increase in cashflow etc to allow the business to survive?

Friday, April 1st, 2011

I can give you some ideas, but let me first ask, is there a market for your business in the first place?

It sounds to me like there is a lot of competition in your market and customer loyalty is a significant factor for you to overcome.

You’ve got to do your homework and figure out exactly who your customers are and why would they buy from you. You can’t just offer a product and expect people to buy it, even if you’re more convenient and your price point is lower.

You entered an already crowded market and in that kind of environment, you have to make it easy for them to buy and knowing who, what, why, where, when and how of your potential customers is vital in doing just that.

You have some points of difference and accentuating those may be the way to help dig yourself out of the cashflow issues that are affecting your business.

You could change the focus of your business to specialize in the areas where you have points of difference, developing a niche market in your area that needs your products and services.

For instance, since one of your points of difference is your exclusive lingerie line, change the focus of your business to selling your exclusive lingerie to that market.

Limit your stock to selling lingerie and costumes and providing the best possible service in those areas, making your shop the place to go in town for lingerie. Offer to get hard to find items, train your staff and turn your business into an upscale lingerie boutique.

If you went forward with that idea, you could develop strategic alliances or host/beneficiary strategies with salons, women’s clothing stores and spas and you could even throw special, private buying parties for your customers.

That’s just one idea, but the basic point is you have to find a niche market and make it easy for them to buy from you.

Remember, no matter what you sell, there is no business until you have customers, so don’t be afraid to try new strategies to get your customers in the door and then give them value, real or perceived, just so long as that value is something they can’t find in your competition.

All the best,
Brad Sugars

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I am currently evaluating whether to purchase a retail sports apparel business within a shopping centre complex. The only thing I’m worried about is that the rent seems to be high and I’m not sure whether this business would be viable to take over considering the amount of rent I’m going to pay each week. It will probably take a lot of sales in order to at least break even. How should I analyze the rent factor before proceeding on a business purchase?

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2011

If the business is an existing one and you are a serious buyer, you should have access to its financials.

Once you see the numbers, you can begin to assess the situation by first asking yourself, at what percentage of sales does the rent run?

My initial feeling without knowing anything about the business in question is that you should be looking at a figure somewhere around 30% if the business is relatively healthy.

If it is higher than that, it’s not the end of the world, but there is some ground to make up.

No matter what the percentage is, once you’ve analyzed it, at least you have a starting point to work from.

From there it will then be up to you to implement strategies to bring your rent into line as a percentage of sales.

There are many things you could do to achieve this and most of these strategies can be found in “Instant Cashflow”.

A high rent can seem intimidating, but on its own doesn’t mean too much. Location has much to do with things and if you’re paying a premium in rent, you may also enjoy a premium position for buyers.

Remember, a busy shopping centre will charge more than a quiet one, but you get more passing trade.

So is the store in a high traffic area? If it is, that high rent may not be as much of a problem as it may first seem. Armed with the financials, you should be able to weigh the pros and cons and make a reasonable decision.

It’s all a question of balance and figuring out the percentage of sales to be paid in rent is a great place to begin your analysis.

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