Good afternoon all. Just a quick blog today about the weekend. Decided to take the Saturday off and had a lovely relaxing weekend with the family. However it turned into a Busman’s holiday weekend, as I ended up talking to people about business, quite by accident. The theme was the same throughout… price. The inability to get a fair price for their goods and services.

 A blog by the wonderful Seth Godin came into my head. It was the issue he had with Mobile phones. One that I’m sue we can all relate to: The frustration that it doesn’t take a lot before the reception is poor and for the signal to drop. His observation, would you pay a few dollars more a month for a high-definition phone? A phone that always gave crystal clear quality and as long as you weren’t on the underground or a basement, actually worked. I’m sure you like me you would tend to say, if it truly was such a thing as a high def phone, I’d pay for the comfort of knowing it would always work…

 The business owners I met throughout the weekend, worked in very niche business areas where quality over quantity was easier than most to communicate, so what was the problem?

Two things, the last impression they left with their clients was price, so price was in essence all they would be measured upon and secondly, they wrapped their products in mundane “packaging”. If it looks cheap, then I ain’t going to pay a premium for it, am I? For a business owner I met on Sunday, due to the recession, the jars in which he placed his produce, went from these ornate glass sculptures to standard unassuming jars. Guess what it did for sales? The produce looks as if I can get it in my local supermarket, why would I buy it from you?

 Think about it, would you by a Jaguar from a garage that looked liked working man’s armpit? Course not, similarly if you have a 10yr old fiat punto, your not going to take it to Arnold Clark, knowing the cost of an oil change will be more than the car is worth.

 Another simpler analogy. A coffee/tea from a greasy spoon café vs. a trendy coffee house. Is the thing your drinking THAT different? So why does one cost you 90 pence and the other £2-£3?

 So ask yourself, do you end your conversation on price, or quality and reliability (of both the product and you)? Do you “package” your product to reflect its quality.

Last I looked, other than the east end of Glasgow, not many greasy spoon café’s are left in Glasgow. So do you have a high-def product but sell and package it as something less? All through fear?

 Lastly as we say at Templeton Green, in business as in life, we have choices, what will you choose today?

The Return of the Business Coach

I’m going to start with a statement that seems counter productive to my profession;

Business Training is largely a waste of time and money.

The easiest way to explain this would be to recall a quote from one of our previous clients, Francis:

 Training in any form largely concerns itself with the transfer of knowledge. Unfortunately many of us will know the things we ought to be doing more of but we fail to understand the importance of key tasks.

This is where coaching comes into play and in particular Business Coaching. However we are dealing with an unregulated industry, so we as a company dropped the term “Business Coach” two years ago. Why? Because ask your self, every time you go to a networking event, how many coaches do you meet. As many as Graphic/Web Designers I would wager. Most of these coaches are life/NLP or confidence coaches, or worse still Accountants who claim to offer a coaching service, but in fact offer a business advisory service, which again deals with a transfer of knowledge.

So in all this murky water, what is a Business Coach and why on Earth would you need one?

Simple really. A Business Coach is a professional that has the necessary understanding of what works commercially and has the skill set to communicate that knowledge in such a way that, simply put, you ‘get it’ enough to take affirmative action which leads to results, both commercially and personally.

I’II give you another example, a client of mine, was sent on a 4 day management development course that is part and parcel with large corporate enterprises. 3 months down the line, she was still grappling with line management delegation. Having the good sense to pick up the phone we had a coffee and to quote her:

Now I won’t lie, I was very flattered and because she ‘got it’ perhaps in her enthusiasm she exaggerated a little. I simply helped her translate knowledge she had picked up from the course into a level of understanding she could use.

So we made a decision last month, we are reclaiming the title and setting a new bar that all “business coaches” must adhere to give themselves credibility.

If you are working with a Business Coach, then they ought to be able to agree to the following:
1. Inspiring the need to develop both yourself AND the business
2. Motivating you to take/find the internal resolve that leads to affirmative actions that drive the business forwards.
3. Lay business processes in place that move the enterprise away from an owner operated model to one that operates with a strong management board
4. Lastly and most importantly, is prepared to guarantee if they fail to educate, inspire and transform your business, then they will return their programme fees.

So ask yourself, ‘How big is the well of your business knowledge?’ And then ask, ’How much of this do you actually use day to day?’ If you actually did all of the things you ought to do, what would be the result?
The excuses of time, money, the economy are I’m sorry to say just statements of denial. Just look at our results http://www.templetongreen.com/our-results/ and you’ll see that we cut thru the quagmire of denial and excuses and help you gain the necessary understanding to move your business forwards.

With our new Programs Launching this month, we offer a money back guarantee, if it does not deliver a strong commercial result in line with the results we have shown above, we will give you a full refund at the end of the course. So finally I ask you, does the benefit of working with a Templeton Green Business Coach out weight the risk of staying with the status quo.

Get in touch for a needs analysis to find out which of our new programs are best for you and with training grants available, the investment becomes extremely attractive for you to push forwards the business and gain the commercial success you deserve.

Lastly as we say at Templeton Green, in business as in life, we have choices, what will you choose today?

A warm and Merry Christmas to everyone

During this festive period, we thought we would share the true story for business owners of the classic film “A Miracle on 34th Street”. In particular the 1994 remake with Lord Richard Attenborough

For those who are unfamiliar with the story, we have a classic independant department store, Coles, that is struggling and under threat of being taken over and shut down by a global faceless conglomerate (boo hiss go the pantomine calls). They hire a Santa, calling himself Kris Kringle. The story unfolds over whether or not Santa Claus exists and the truth that miracles can still happen regardless of your age and regardless of what others may tell you otherwise…

However the true meaning for business is the truth of Co-opetition. i.e. co-operation with your competitors.

In the story Coles Santa informs the shoppers of where they can go to obtain the best bargain for the particular present they are looking for. On the face of it, the owners and manages of the department store would be horrified to learn that here is an employee, steering customers away from what they wanted to sell and actively advising shoppers to go elsewhere for business.

What Madness!

The truth is they used this as their USP (Unique Selling Point). If Coles Dept store hasn’t got it , we’ll find it for you. It is an overnight success and Cole’s once more becomes the highlight for every child at Christmas and for the grateful parent who will receive some sound advice this yuletide.

Now given the current climate, we all need help with increasing sales and business, wouldn’t you agree? Instead of working against one another, what would be the result if you worked together with your competitors for mutual benefit?

Of course, you need to be clear on the rules and boundaries and agree on a plan of action, but would the benefit outweigh the risk of going it alone?

So ask yourself, which competitor if you were working alongside, would actually help your business? Just like Cole’s department store, think of how your prospective client will react and not to allow your own fears to get in the way of some powerful business oppurtunities…

We have faciliated these discussions and know that they work, if all parties have the courage and determination to allow business oppurtunities to come their way. As we say at Templeton Green, it is your choice, what will it be?

Enjoy what remains of the year and enjoy the holidays with friends and family

From everyone at Templeton Green, Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

 huge thank you to Mark Johnston of Grid Design a client of ours who is the inspired the following story.

Question – What is the function of a catalyst?

Collins Essential English Dictionary has catalyst described the noun as:

1. a substance that speeds up a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change.

2. a person or thing that causes an important change to take place: e.g. a catalyst for peace

Now, in the majority of businesses, all of the major ingredients necessary to run a thriving commercial enterprise are in place and will have been so for many years, but ask yourself, could the business operate faster and more effectively if you could give it a good shake and get rid of some of the cobwebs?”

Here are some tips and ideas which may help to identify whether a catalyst is necessary within your business:

• Does your marketing yield consistent number of enquiries per month?
• Is there a proven process of review and change to increase sales conversion?
• Is this year’s turonver and profit going to exceed last year’s figures?
• Does the business review its performance and implement improvement changes every 90 days?
• Does everyone in the business pull in the same direction?

Remember, regardless of what the media portrays, there is still business to be found and money to be made.

It is your choice, what environment do you create for yourself and your team, one that gets by or one that flies?

Want to get started immediately?

For a limited time only, we are giving local business owners the opportunity to undertake a full 2.5 hr business review with our compliments.

We’ll review your marketing strategies, your sales process and your cashflow potential within the business. Our guarantee is that we’ll leave you with a minimum of three proven ideas to move your business forwards.

Just ask yourself the question, is the benefit of this complimentary review by experienced business improvement specialists outweigh the risk of keeping with the status quo?

Does that sound like a worthwhile investment of your time?

Our role is to help start the reaction and provide the re-education of business strategy for this new business environment. Just look at our testimonials to see direction and focus we’ve given to so many businesses, both small and large.

Our Twitter best bits from June 2010
by Forbes Bryce
 
#BusinessTip Regardless of ur size, the old adage that u cant manage what you dont measure is a Universal Truth in biz
Good Morning All. #Quote He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life. – Muhammad
A great speech by Tony Robbins about the power of Goals http://youtu.be/t5WgomUDcYI 
#Question What beliefs about how ur biz performs will u hold onto and defend while secretly wishing key results were different?
#Quote from Muhammad Ali. If a man when 50 thinks the same as he did when 30, he’s wasted the last 20 yrs 
#BusinessTip Following on from the #quote by Ali, if ur beliefs about ur biz is the same as it was 2 yrs ago, what are you overlooking?
#Question How do you thank your clients? Simple yet obvious, do u go the extra yard, never mind mile? How can u be sure? 
Celebrating the Anniversary of Michael Jackson’s Passing The Al Yankovic Parody of Beat It http://youtu.be/Gkq7HLBe178
#BusinessTip From Jay Abraham: Only 3 ways to grow a biz: 1.Find More Clients, 2.Invite old clients back, 3.Increase the Point of Sale Value
#BusinessTip What’s the point of settng unattainable targets for staff? What’s the result if staff were involved in setting their targets? 
#BusinessTip The current climate reinforces the position that clients more than ever will reject mediocrity, so what’s so special about u?
#BusinessTip If u buy a car, would u wash it regularly? Why? If Sales and Mkting is about buying clients, how r u looking after ur purchase?
From Spike Humer Question for the day–”Is the light you are getting worth the candle you are burning?”
#BusinessTip. If u offer rewards for referrals, then make it relevant to ur audience i.e. don’t offer a bottle of wine if avg sale is £10K 
Hilarious… Glasgow’s true voice. A parody using Alicia Keys hit song http://youtu.be/11NrK75DViI
#BusinessTip Mystery Shopping s a great tried and trusted research tool, however imagne what u would learn if u mystery shopped ur own biz?
#Quote To reach a goal you have never before attained, you must do things you have never before done. –Richard G. Scott
#BusinessTip On balance, a person’s salary acts as more of a de-motivating tool. Focus on recognition, the work & advancement to motivate. 
#Question same shit, different day s familiar to most, so what’s the point? Beyond making money, what was/is the point of being in biz?
#BusinessTip Good leaders are an enabling force, helping staff to perform and develop, once aligned the needs to the people to the biz goals 
#Observation If u reach for the stars and fall, what’s the worst that could happen? Remembering life is not a Dr Pepper Ad…
#BusinessTip If u r unwilling to praise ur biz, who will? To #Quote King Lear “Nothing can come of nothing: speak again.” When wll u speak? 
#Observation imagine if u applied the same attitude (not necessarily behaviour) to ur staff as u did ur best client? The result would be?
#Observation Most biz fail 2 understand that employees do NOT have the responsibility for MANAGING change in biz, its the mgmt/execs that do
#BusinessTip When biz modelling, start with a client need and end with the satisfaction of that need. Just ensure you specify a single need
#BusinessTip Establishing an impression of uniqueness is the strongest tool when in sales, while refuting this, is the best tool when buying