We inhabit a vital dynamic, robust and challenging business environment.

Without staying in touch, without engaging, without “being there” we will never achieve the success we believe we are capable of.

Be engaged….assume that your clients have changed and are changing and if you want to keep meeting their needs what are you going to do differently.

It is about the fun of the chase, the understanding, not beating but keeping up….copying but being aware and having fun.

If you are not having fun then you really need to be looking to do something else.

Cash flow is the thermometer for your business.

It is an indicator of the condition and health of your organisation, your group.

It is the summation of your understanding of the market and the creation of the product or service you deliver….it’s about understanding your clients expectation and their view of value so that impacts pricing.

It’s an indicator of your understanding of your suppliers, their components, their offer and how you create an element that satisfies your clients’ needs.

It’s about sales development….how many people, clients, prospects do you need to see to generate the sales that you want?

You truly do have the business you want, yet sometimes we believe, wrongly, that you need to take what the market gives you.

In fact it is about creating what you want to create, with a commercial advantage to you and to you clients.

Small can be managed, evolved, developed and improved on….big can be overwhelming, inflexible, uncaring and just plain hard to manage.

By all means, have an annual plan but that only indicates as a marker….the real activity, the real success the way forward is going to be based on what you do today…..who you talk to, clients, alliances, suppliers.

How many sales did you make this morning?  What cost reductions?  What product improvements? How do I better understand my clients?

How have I improved my business today?

Things have changed irreversibly in your markets!

There are hallucinations that still surround some businesses regarding potential growth, alliances, competitive activity or client expectations and these need to be dissolved and action plans put in place for the “new economy, new market”.

The first steps are talking to the people who know what is going on….

• Your staff.
• Your key clients.
• Your suppliers.
• Your prospects.

The objective here is to find out why they are doing what they are doing…..not why they think they are doing it but why are the really doing it and then determine what you REALLY need to do to grow and develop you market. For some assistance in removing hallucinations and redefining business plans call The Big Paddle Company.

There are indications that in order to build more effective and efficient business the ATO  may tax business owners who believe networking is a beer over finger food talking with friends.

To avoid this tax is relatively simple…..

1. Identify who can play an important role in the development of your business.
2. Find out where they “hang out”.
3. Work out a strategy to get close to them, even call, email or write and say you would like to have a discussion.
4. Set goals against the people or organisations you would like to build relationships with.

Good networkers don’t go out to be comfortable, they go out to find new people, new vision, new angles, new opportunities.

To be a great networker you need to be passively aggressive and if you are not sure what that means call Mark at The Big Paddle Company http://www.bigpaddleco.com.au/contact-best-business-coach.html

They all have one thing in common and that is they need to be LIMITED.

This limiting of time spent in these areas creates discipline…..discipline creates the need for a start and a finish, it creates the opportunity to build expectations, and most importantly it creates a space that lets you focus on a specific issue with a potential specific outcome.

Sure you can have wheel spinning time, blue sky time….whatever you want to call it. But again, focus it and discipline it then move on. And expect the same of others to ensure that they understand that they are in control of what they do and how they do it…..and what they should expect from it.

At this time of the year we often get bogged down with resolutions and other equally fraudulent attempts to change habits.

The big question, as always, is where do you want to finish?

Knowing this means you have a rough idea around:

• Your strengths and weaknesses.
• Who’s doing what in the market place.
• What you need to change to deliver on your objectives.
• And critically, what value do you bring to your suppliers.

Now is a great time to review these tasks…..if you’ve got a mentor, advisor or friend who can be objective and constructive then now’s a great time a to call them in. OR contact The Big Paddle Company for guaranteed keen objectivity and brutal honesty.