IF your marketing and advertising is not getting the results you need, then it will most likely be because it is boring or irrelevant to your potential customers.

And better to know now than waste thousands of dollars every year on advertising and marketing that is simply not working and giving you good results. Honestly, I have seen companies spending $50,000 to $100,000 on their advertising and being very unhappy with their results. Their ads aren't working but they keep on paying - burning cash month after month, year after year - don't let that happen to you!!!

So what makes a good ad, and what should it contain in order to bring a steady stream of new and repeat customers to your door?

Quite simply: A good ad is one that makes you money every time you run it. 

For example:

$1,000  the cost of your ad 

$10,000  sales directly from ad
x 33%  margin
----------
$3,300  gross profit

$2,300  profit 

This ad works - and it's profitable. If you can consistently get this kind of result from your ad, then you are onto a winner. Run this exact ad, and run it regularly!

Now I am sure you have heard the branding argument, which goes along the lines of 'get your name out there and at some time when your potential customer needs your product or service they will think of you and might give you a call'. Baloney. They will have heard of other companies as well, so unless you have something better to offer than the others in the customers mind, the chances are they won't come and see you. If you have millions of dollars spare in the bank and you are happy to roll the dice, then go for it. But most companies are not in that position - they need their ads to produce a result - more sales and more profit. 

Now that we have established what a good ad is, let's look at what need to be included in your ads to get the kind of response you are looking for:

Once you have decided where to use your ad, eg local newspaper, Google adwords, flyer drop, direct marketing mailout, Facebook, in a specific magazine, etc (and this will completely depend on who your target market is), how do you go about writing a killer ad that will get results?

There is an old sales and marketing acronym - AIDA - that is known as the secret sauce of advertising. Let's take a look at this in more detail:

ATTENTION
If you don't grab the attention of the reader with you ad, then they just won't see it. The secret to this is all about the "Headline". Imagine you are looking at a newspaper (or better yet go and get one). You look through the headlines to decide which ads are worth your time to read. If it's not relevant or it's boring, you skip it and go onto the next one. Here is a great example from "The 100 Best Headlines Ever Written" - "FOR THE WOMAN WHO IS OLDER THAN SHE LOOKS" - if your target market is women over 30 you have now very successfully grabbed their attention!

INTEREST
Once you have grabbed their attention, you now need to hold their interest. Now they are reading your ad, so make it relevant, interesting, and tell them how you can solve their problem. Focus on the advantages and benefits they will get from buying your product or services. 

DESIRE
Build on their interest and convince the customer that they want and need your product/service. Emotively address the buyers real concerns, the problems they will solve when they buy from you.

ACTION
Tell them what they need to do next to get the deal done - eg Phone Now!

Also remember to tell the reader your "point of difference". See my previous article on "What sets you apart from the competition" for more detail. 

You will notice very few ads you come across take this approach, which is why most don't attract lots of customers.

Action Points:

• Look at your current ads and marketing material to see if AIDA is there.
   
• Test your results. Are you making a profit or loss on your advertising? How?...Ask your new customers religiously 'How did you hear about us?' and write it down.

Robots? Daniel, what the heck are you talking about? I don't have robotics in my business and although I feel like a robot I am unlikely to have one.

Well let me explain. I went to a robotics workshop with my son during the school holidays. The instructor first put on some DVDs showing how far robotics technology has progressed, and it is amazing. It won't be long before robots are a normal part of our lives. You may have seen a recent TV commercial urging you to buy a UFO-shaped robot that vacuums your house while you laze on the couch. In Holland in an aged care facility there is a robot that takes the washing to the laundry, pours and serves drinks to the elderly - and it keeps track of how much liquid each resident is served each day. Another four legged version (like a headless horse) could walk over almost any terrain including rocks and stairs, and another was bug sized and could fly around the room just like an insect. All this is available now if you have the money.

The instructor then got the kids to put together a robot themselves. There are two parts to robotics - the hardware assembly, and then the computer programming or instructions. Without the programming the robot will do nothing, it just sits there, useless. The instructions are everything.

This is just like business. Basically every function of your business, from customer service, production, cashflow, marketing, day to day operation... are all based on a series of instructions that we follow to get the job done. 

Now here is the problem. In most businesses the instructions are in the owners head. This means the business must rely heavily on the owner to perform many of the basic functions. The business owner only has limited time, so this can start to cause problems very quickly. The business becomes inefficient as staff have to rely on the owner relaying instructions to get things done.

The obvious answer is delegate, get someone else to do it. What I hear you say is "Daniel, that's all very well but how will I know that my staff will do the job as well as me? After all it's my business and I have standards". Good point however the reality is that a job delegated properly can still have the standards you need and expect.

Let me give you an example of how this played out with one of my clients. My electrician friend wanted to get off the tools so he could spend time improving the business. But he was concerned that without constant supervision, his workers would not provide the same standards he was giving his customers. What if they didn't complete all the safety checks? After all this is electricity we are talking about. Or,  what if all the parts for the job were not charged out, what if, what if...

All these things he would normally check when overseeing jobs are simply a set of instructions that he follows in his head.

So my electrician friend is now putting together a list of principles and detailed instructions for his workers. He has made these into a checklist his workers tick off and sign. Now if there are any problems with the job he can go back through the signed checklist for each job, he can see if everything was completed correctly. Now he has the freedom to work on getting more customers and making more profit without being constantly on site checking work. 

Start thinking about how your business can be systematized with checklists - so that you don't need to micro manage your staff and be there holding their hand every time.

Action Point: Take one task in your business that you normally do, but don't want to do anymore. Create a checklist of instructions. Delegate this job to someone else, and then check that the list is followed a few times until you have confidence that the job is being done properly.

I ask business owners this question and I often get blank stares. Sometimes they might say that they haven't really thought about it, or they just shrug and say they don't know.

I ask from another angle: What are you, as a business, really good at? What do you do best? Who are your best customers? Then they start to understand and have clarity.

An IT company I use for my own business are really good at making sure their commercial customers have reliable computers that keep on going. They have great system checks to make sure the computer is working at top efficiency without losing data and that all information is secure from hackers. They also fix most problems remotely so their customers don't pay travel costs and incur time out every time something needs fixing.

Another IT company I know has a different set of strengths: they specialise in providing records that alert business owners if employees are spending too much time on social media or other sites rather than working. (By the way, a Kansas State University researcher discovered that between 60-80% of time spent on the internet at work has nothing to do with work.) This business also helps parents with software to control their home computers so that their kids don't come across things they shouldn't while online - big deal these days, if you have kids. 

Notice both these businesses are Christchurch companies in the same industry - but they have very different strengths and distinctly different customers. And doesn't it follow that they should be marketing in completely different ways to reach their target potential customers?

If you are still not sure what your strengths are, the best way to find out is to ask some of your customers why they come to you, or what they think you are good at. If you ask 10 of your best customers these questions, you will have a whole new insight into your business. 

The answer to these questions are your "point of difference" or "unique selling position". 

Once you have some ideas, then you will want to clearly define this into a statement - like these great examples:

When it absolutely, positively, has to be there overnight - FedEx
The best a man can get - Gillette
The best tires in the world have Goodyear written all over them - Goodyear Tires

All very clear statements saying why you should deal with their company or buy their products.

Once you are clear about what you are good at, you need to shout it from the rooftops - why? Because this will bring you a truck load of new customers. And not just any customers, but the most profitable ones that best suit your business. They will be better quality customers because they have responded to and appreciate what you uniquely offer. They see the value in what you do and won't be so concerned about price.  

Here is an example from the customers viewpoint. Imagine you jump in your car and discover your windscreen has a huge crack - it's broken and you have a sinking feeling it will need a whole new windscreen. You need your car for work and you are imagining a worst case scenario where you are without your car for weeks. You need it fixed fast, but you don't know who will be able to get it done quickly. You Google or grab the Yellow Pages. You come across a company who says "We are local; we source and install a replacement windscreen within 48 hours - we are the fastest service in Canterbury." It's a no brainer - you ring them and get the job done; they did it the same day; you are now a loyal customer and you tell your friends how great the service was. 

Just remember, until you get clear about what sets you apart from your competition, you are behind the 8-ball. Also remember, you can't be all things to all people - so don't try to be.

Action Point: Define your point of difference into a clear statement and start including that in your marketing and advertising. Then take note of how many new customers you get and if they are the type of customer you are looking for.

Do this well and you will be amazed at the results.

Have you ever spent a whole heap of time wooing a new prospect, putting together a detailed quote or proposal and you just knew they would sign on the dotted line - but the deal didn't go ahead?

This one was in the bag, at least in your mind anyway. Now you are thinking about all the wasted time and effort you put into this sale that has just slipped through your fingers. And you don't have a clue why. What was your prospect thinking? They must have it wrong. It just doesn't make sense...

We have all been there, so let's have a look and discover what went wrong.

The main problem is that you didn't get into their world - you were still in yours. In their mind, you didn't offer the whole solution to their problem or at least have a better solution than your competition. Result = No sale.

In my world as a business coach, I try not to assume that I know what every business owner wants. But we all just want more sales and more profits, right?... Well, no, the reality is often more complex. Many business owners do need more sales and more profits, but sometimes they need other things even more. For some the highest priority is to get more time with wife and kids, less stress, a holiday once in a while, freedom where the business does not rely on them so much that they can't take a breath. For these business owners, if I talk about more sales and more profits, it just sounds like more hard work - exactly what they don't want!

In a sales meeting/presentation, or negotiation of any kind, both sides must agree first on the objectives of the meeting. If you do not, you will be heading in different directions and often this results in the sale being dead in the water.

So how do you get into their world? You need to be a detective and search for the real problems your prospect wants to solve. And here is a clue - often the first answer they give, is not the answer you are looking for - there is another important layer that you still have to find.

Let me give you a real life example from a sales training I did last year. I'll recount the story for you - details are accurate but not verbatim:

A real estate agent had a customer, who we will call Jan, who was looking for a house with a "nice view". Jan had been around all the real estate agents in the area and no one had been able to find a house she was happy with. Our real estate friend showed her all the houses that she believed had the best view including looking over the city, looking out to sea, overlooking some beautiful open parks. But much to her frustration and surprise, every single house Jan was shown, almost immediately received the same response: "No, this is not what I am looking for".

Every option seemed to be exhausted and she seemed no closer to finding a house Jan was even remotely interested in. So the real estate agent had to try a different approach as this one clearly wasn't working. So she asked her client a different question: "All the houses we have looked at I thought had a good view, but you didn't like them. So that I can understand more clearly what you are looking for, can you tell me what you mean by a good view?"

Jan explained that her husband liked repairing old cars and he would do this in the driveway. She was sick of looking at half assembled cars and car parts when she looked out her kitchen window. Everything she has seen so far had a view of the driveway from the kitchen window. Suddenly, our real estate agent understood what Jan really wanted, and she now had the complete answer. The next house she took Jan to, she loved. Jan found a house, the real estate made a sale and everyone was happy.

Now Jan is a raving fan, and this is what she said to the real estate agent once the deal was done: "You were the only real estate agent who took the time to understand me and what I wanted - Thank You". Did finding Jan a house have to take that long? - NO, it just needed the right question.

Our real estate friend was never going to get there by assuming, only by getting into Jan's world. This is a true story!

Here are some questions that will help get you into the customers world:

• What are you expecting to get from using this product/service?

• What are the main benefits for you?

• What is the main problem you are expecting to solve with our product/service?

Try threading these into you next negotiation or sales meeting - you will be surprised what you discover. It may be the difference between making your next deal or missing out.

"Under the gun" is an older saying I remember hearing as a kid. It was often used to describe when someone was under pressure, if they had a tight deadline and time was running out. 

I was reading a book called "Being the Best" by Denis Waitley who researched the (supposedly real-life) origin of this saying, giving quite a different insight into its meaning..............

Back in the 1700's when sailing ships were prevalent, a young naval officer reaps the reward for solving a problem, but also pays a high price for creating the problem in the first place.

This young mans name was Ensign Noble and he was aboard the HMS Intrepid en route from England to the colonies.

Back then the colonists were rebellious and this Royal Navy ship was loaded with guns and ammunition including a large cannon for delivery to the proper authorities.

Two days into the trip they were headed into bad storm and needed to secure the huge cannon to the deck to prevent it from damaging the ship or falling overboard. The young naval officer Noble quickly secured the cannon while telling himself that "these ropes should hold it; It doesn't look like the storm is that bad anyway" - a patch up job at best.

He finished the job and went below deck. It was only a few minutes and the storm got much worse. The cannon came loose, and started moving around the deck, damaging the ship, and putting other crew members lives in danger. He leapt back on deck to see the cannon rolling to the port side and straight for two fellow sailors who were trying work the sails and stop them from ripping in the violent winds.

Without a moment's hesitation, Noble put himself in harms way by throwing himself in front of the cannon, somehow stopping its path and saving the two sailors from a messy end. Both his legs were broken under the weight of the cannon, but he had saved the day by literally throwing himself under the gun.

The next morning there was a ceremony in his honour to celebrate this act of bravery. The whole crew were present as Noble hobbled forward (supported by crutches on his two broken legs) as the Captain bestowed a medal of honour for the countries highest award of bravery. The crew cheered, but soon fell to absolute silence as the Captain finished his presentation by saying "For placing his ship and shipmates in dire peril and being guilty of dereliction of his duty, Ensign Noble is sentenced to death by firing squad, sentence to be carried out immediately".

Dennis Waitley concluded the following moral of the story: "That working hard even heroically to solve a problem is not to your credit if you created the problem in the first place".

I believe in second chances and I think most of us would agree that the Captain's punishment was severe considering Noble's heroic act.

However, storms come regardless of people's intentions and if the cannon is not secured, there will be a price to be paid by someone.

What "storms" could affect your business? External factors that you don't always have control over but have a choice as to how you react to them. Some you can see coming, others creep up on you or strike suddenly. It could be earthquake, recession, competitors' new products, a health or family crisis....... A good business needs to be positioned to weather whatever storms may come. With good systems in your business, you will at least have planned ahead and be better prepared for these eventualities.

What are the "loose cannons"? These are the internal factors that you do have some control over: Poor office procedures, a disruptive staff member that is influencing the others, customers not paying when they should, eroding margins, wrong kind of customers, unhappy and complaining customers........ The crucial matters that if allowed to get out of control can cause serious damage to your business!

If you put the right systems/procedures in place (ie tying down the ropes), you are on the way. And remember you can have the best systems in the world, but they will only work if they are followed. The Royal Navy had excellent procedures for tying down cannons, but our friend Noble did not follow them. I suspect this is why the Captain was so tough - because this situation should never have happened.

I encourage you to spend some time writing out your systems and procedures step by step, and making sure they are followed. Secure the "loose cannons" in your business. Follow through. Make sure everyone knows how to tie down the cannons properly, from management to the cleaner. Because if you are the only one who knows and you are caught in a storm, then you are in trouble.

The benefits of good systems are threefold:

• Your business will function much more efficiently day-to-day with happier staff and less headaches for you, freeing your time and ultimately giving you more profit.
• You can relax and not stress about "what if's" knowing that your business is in good shape if the waters get choppy.
• Your business will be ready to take advantage of good opportunities that come along - and do even better!

Be prepared and don't be caught "under the gun"!

When I first begin working with a business to improve profits, we start looking for the low-hanging fruit first. Just like when you are picking fruit from a tree, some fruit is low-hanging and easy to get to. At ground level there will be some fruit you can just reach up and take without a lot of effort. However as you move further up the tree the fruit will be in harder-to-reach parts which may require climbing, or the help of a ladder.

The same principle applies to business. We are all busy and the reality is that if we look around the business there are literally dozens of things that could be actioned to improve profits. But the fact is, it is unlikely you have the time to action a dozen changes, certainly not in the short term anyway.

Here are some examples of low-hanging fruit I have seen in businesses, which, when actioned, had a dramatic effect on profit:

Negotiating with suppliers - Look at the pricing from your largest suppliers and compare with their competitors. Then renegotiate better buying pricing to increase your margins. Often with suppliers they supply pricing to a business, the business grows but they are still on old pricing based on smaller volumes.

Approach old customers - Start approaching the old customers who have not brought from you for a while. A number will buy from you again if you just ask.

Tell your customers about other products - Start offering your existing customers products/services they are not currently buying. Most will not even know what else you can do for them.

Shop window - In retail, displaying specials, new stock, or add-ons that goes well with products you sell a lot of, will entice customers to buy more, and bring new customers through the door as well.

Collecting the money - Instructing your accounts person to make a few phone calls to chase up outstanding debts can make a big difference. Holding them accountable to do this job takes only minutes.

Invoicing on time - Many businesses do not invoice on time and it causes problems down the line. This may not give you more profits directly but you will certainly have more time and less stress without cashflow headaches.

Pricing - Simply increasing your prices by a small amount will make a big difference to your profits and in most cases your customers will not even notice.

Promoting your best sellers - Identify your best selling products, and products that have great margins. You can easily promote these (for example in an email to your customer database, or on your Facebook page) - and sell more of them.

Regular staff meetings - If all your staff a) feel appreciated and encouraged regularly b) know what is expected of them c) know about your latest specials and where you are heading as a business - this will result in more efficient staff, more sales, more profits.

These are just a few examples. Take a moment to ask yourself "what is the low-hanging fruit in my business?" and "what are the easy wins that will increase our profits dramatically without a lot of effort?"

Remember, business does not have to be complicated. Even if you do not have a lot of time or energy, you can still be making small positive changes to improve your business. There are always some things we can do to improve that are quick and easy. So reach out and grab what you can get! I promise you the rewards are delicious!

I recently attended an ANZ seminar on Business Growth put on by Stephen Caulter, and one of the questions posed to the group was "If your business is growing should you be worried?".  Very good question Stephen.

The answer if you are not sure is Yes, you should be worried. It's great that your business is growing and it's exciting because it is a time of great potential. But if you are not careful you are in danger of quickly running out of money and losing control of your business.

This is happening with a lot of trades and related industries at the moment. Here are some of the warning signs that show you are heading into danger.....

Losing Control - Business is really busy, it's exciting but the problem is, now all you do is put out fires and you are anxious about where the next one is going to come from. You are working longer and longer hours. You used to know how much money you had in the bank, who owed you money, what your staff were doing, who your customers were, and you had high quality standards. Now you are so busy that you don't have time to even think about these things any more - you have lost control.

Customers not paying on time - Invoicing is not being completed until long after the job is finished and no one is chasing old outstanding invoices.

Bank relationship is getting strained - You are going over your overdraft far too often, and the bank doesn't want to lend you any more money. 

Suppliers not happy - The amounts you owe your suppliers just keep getting larger. Previously your supplier was happy with you being a few months overdue, but now they want you current on your account and are putting limits on how big the account can get. It doesn't seem to matter how hard you try to keep current, it isn't happening and it is starting to affect your business in a big way.

Stock accumulating - As your sales increase, in most cases you will need more stock to keep ensure that your customers have what they want when they want it. Employees are buying product ahead of time. You look around your business and see stock accumulating in all sorts of places.

More staff but less efficient - You have more staff now and you are finding that they don't seem to be getting much more done than when you had less staff. (Chances are your instincts are correct.)

Quality control - There are far too many jobs not being completed to your previous standards, customer complaints are increasing and you are spending way too much time going back to correct old jobs. 

Too many of the wrong kind of customers - Some of you may be thinking "Daniel I have been following you so far, but this sounds a little crazy - I know some of my new customers are a pain - but more customers can only be a good thing. Right?"

Let's look at a example. A plumber may be very good at working in well with small building companies. He has a good ad in the yellow pages online and as his industry gets busier, he is now getting a lot of small one-off jobs from individuals that take between 1-3 hours each to complete. However by the time his employees travel to these jobs, work out what is needed and then do the job, he finds they can only bill out the full hourly rate of billable hours for 4 out of the 8 hours per day. By comparison with the builders he can get 7 out of 8 hours charged that day. If he is honest, on some of those smaller jobs he is losing money or at best breaking even. So if he grows with these smaller jobs, he either has to become really efficient or will be losing money. In effect doing twice the work for half the profit.

If you are growing it is essential that you have a good plan for growth that addresses these problems. If you do not, it won't be long before you run out of money. If you are seeing some of these signs in your business then do something now before it's too late.

Now that 2013 is here and you are settled back in to the swing of your business, you should be excited! It is the perfect time to plan and make some positive changes in your business for the year ahead. 

How do you make 2013 your best year in business yet?

Here are four great questions business owners should be asking themselves to start the year off right and get the maximum out of 2013. Do it now before the busy takes over and you end up caught up in the currents of chaos and misdirection. Don't continue in mediocrity! 

1) What achievements in 2012 are worth celebrating and what actions should I repeat this year?

As our businesses change we often forget to keep doing the things that worked so well before, so take a look at what promotions or actions you have taken that produced results. Write them down and make them part of your plans for 2013.

Last year one client I coached increased their sales by 74% and handled the workload with relative ease. Another went from being under enormous pressure from creditors to healthy cashflow, working 70 to 80 hours per week to working 30 to 40 hours per week with 3 days off. Well worth celebrating and duplicating!

Some things in common with these clients - they all:

• Set very specific GOALS early then stayed focused and refused to be distracted.
• Realised that they could not achieve these things alone, and make sure the right people were in the right places to help them.
• With the right people in place, they made sure these helpers knew the end goal and what was expected of them - and put in place regular meetings to make sure everyone kept on track.
• They used regular testing and measuring against their GOALS, and adjusted if they were not on target.
  
  

Action Point: Take a moment NOW to write down your greatest achievements and which actions you should repeat again this year.

2) What did not go so well last year and what lesson can I learn to make sure these mistakes are not repeated?

What mistakes or decisions have you made in the last year that were bad for business? There were a lot of businesses I came across who did not have a great year; many were struggling with sales, margins were down, they were frustrated with their staff and felt they were the only ones who could do the job properly. Generalising, here are some very obvious mistakes that are worth mentioning:

• No clear direction or plan, and had to accept whatever circumstances were thrown their way.
• Gave no feedback or clear expectations to their staff and were frustrated with the results.
• Did not know how their company was performing, had no idea if there were making or losing money each month (always resulting in unpleasant surprises).
• Had no marketing strategies in place, so could not affect their sales in any significant way.
• Did not know how to attract new customers or even which customers were best for their business.
• Mindset "did not believe things could get better" (so they didn't).

This was not all, but these are some of the biggest issues.

What mistakes did you make, that you are no longer prepared to accept or repeat?

Action Point: Take a moment NOW to write down the mistakes you do not want to repeat.

3) What things must I do to have a better year in 2013?

This is a great question, and one that you should not just ask once a year, but every single day. If you consistently ask this question every day, you will be amazed at how focused you are in your business and what you will achieve. Also your mind will start working on finding the answers. Since completing both my business and personal goals for the year, I have had more focus and already I can see they are more achievable than before I started. 

In my experience goals are only effective if you keep looking at them and comparing your progress, breaking them down to smaller targets with specific time frames. Only then will we be able to keep on track. I also find that the more focused my clients are on the target, the more results they achieve.

Are you excited yet? You should be. Seeing what your future can look like is certainly exciting for me.

Action Point: Spend a few minutes writing down your GOALS.

If you have already written down your GOALS for this year, I would encourage you to look at them again and make sure they are:
Specific - In other words they must be very clear, and you should be able to answer these questions: what, why, who, when and where.
Measurable - You should be able to measure the result.
Attainable - Attainable and realistic (ie you wont be able to double your business in 1 week).
Relevant - They need to be relevant and beneficial if they are achieved.
Time - You need to specify a specific time frame.

For example: XYZ Co will increase total sales from 1.5 million to 2.5 million for the year finishing 30th December 2013.

4) What would stop me from achieving the GOALS I have just set?

This may not be very positive, but lets be blunt. There will be some barriers, some things will get in the road. I like to call this life's way of asking if you are really serious about what you have just decided. You go on a new diet and the next thing you are being offered is the best looking chocolate cake you have every seen in your life. Say NO to the cake and let your resolve snowball into great success. In business, there will always be a hundred other things to take your attention, but you must stay focused. 

Maybe your GOAL is "I want to increase my sales or profits by 50%". This is a great goal, but also think about what could stop you from doing that.

If you see the barriers before you get to them, you will already have thought of strategies to deal to them and you won't be caught off guard.

Action Point: Write down all the barriers that could stop you from getting to the GOAL, then beside each one, put what action needs to be taken to destroy the barrier.

Put the answers to these four important questions up somewhere you see them every day.

Remember: actions you have taken to date have got you to here. To get to the next level you will need to do some things differently. Goals and planning aren't always sexy but you must spend time on these tasks if you want to succeed.

You and I both know that there are some things in your business that you just aren't getting around to doing. If only you had more time! If only you knew how to begin! If only you weren't so busy! Day after day, month after month, your head tells you excuses why you haven't done what you know you should do. Basically you procrastinate.

Then suddenly you run out out of money to pay creditors, or sales bottom out for a couple of months, or maybe your largest customer goes to the opposition, or you are facing losses and losing the business completely. Now the pressure is on -  it just got serious and if you don't do something now, the price you pay for procrastination is too high.

It's at this point that companies often call me for help, and with some quick thinking and action (but way too much stress), we can usually get the business back on track.

But why don't we do that thing we know should be done? Because these jobs mostly have no immediate payoff. It often seems easier (in the short term anyway) to put them off until another day. Hey another day, week, month, won't matter, Will It?

Things you need to get done in your business might be:

• A marketing plan you need for growing your business to give it a better FUTURE.
• Chasing overdue accounts so you can pay your bills before creditors or the bank say ENOUGH.
• Seeking out new business because your sales are DECLINING.
• Getting margins right so you can actually start make a decent PROFIT.
• Improving systems in your business so that you can start running the business instead of it RUNNING YOU.
• Taking back control of your business so you don't stay awake at night worrying when the next CRISIS will hit.

 
What is the thing you are putting off? The thing that probably won't give you an instant reward, it takes a bit of effort to get started, it doesn't seem that urgent, so you just put it off? You just get caught up in the other so-called important stuff, so it gets left? There is no immediate consequence, so you just let it slide?

In his ever-popular book "7 Habits of Highly Effective People", Stephen Covey outlines a good way of allocating your time to enable you to get some of these tasks completed. He created a chart which gets you to separate your time into four quadrants:

1) Urgent and Important
These are your important appointments, regular commitments, problems needing immediate attention, putting out "fires", deadlines (all these have immediate consequences if not dealt with now).

2) Not Urgent, Important (Gold Time)
Important tasks/projects that will add incredible value to you and the business, but don't have an immediate effect or result. Examples could include seeking new business, following up old leads, improving systems within the company... This is called "GOLD TIME" - and this is where you should spend a good portion of your time.

3) Urgent, Not Important (Dangerous)
Things like unimportant meetings, customers who take up all your time and are never profitable, unnecessary reports, minor issues. All these things seem important at the time, but add no real value to you or the business. Without being aware, this can be where a large portion of our time goes, stealing away the gold time you have for your business.

4) Not Urgent, Not Important (Time Wasters)
Here are things like excessive relaxation, spending too long on phone calls, green bananas, too much time looking at emails/Facebook, wanderings, etc. These have little to no value and this is obvious.

How to begin? Start setting aside at least 30 minutes each day to work on your gold time activities. Pick one project at a time until it is completed, then move onto the next project.

Now here is the trick - record every day how much time you spent - and make yourself accountable. If you get your 30 minutes done, then give yourself a reward, maybe some chocolate or something small. If you didn't get it done give yourself some pain - stay late until you get it done. Make yourself get up earlier in the morning to make up the time if you have to.

Just 30 minutes a day, is 2.5 hours a week, 130 hours per year (over 3 weeks per year). Use this time consistently and you will be amazed how different your company will look in just a few months. You will get the pay off and it will be sweet.
 
Time spent invested into non urgent but important things in your business will give you a harvest and make your business better.

• A good marketing plan put into action will grow your business next year.
• Following old leads and finding new customers will give you more income.
• Tweaking margins will give you more profit.
• Chasing overdue accounts will pay off for you when the bills come in and you have the money in the bank to pay them.
• Improving systems will give you happier customers, happier staff and more time.

Think about your big goals for added motivation - what you do ultimately want to achieve? More profit, making the business worth more for when you want to sell, franchising your business, or maybe simply not working as many hours or spending more time with family. The reality is that with the right approach all of these are possible.

My clients tell me they know I will hold them accountable for their gold time, to do the things that will actually make a difference in their business, even if they don't see results that day or week. They often know what they want, or even what to do, but without that push they often won't do it. It's just easier not to. We have all been there.
 
So who is pushing you to make sure you are getting the best out of yourself and get the rewards you deserve? Is it your spouse, a fellow business owner, a mentor. With others on your team, you will always go further than on your own. Find someone to keep you accountable to achieve your best... I have. It works.

I thought this month, that it would be fun to look at some of the things you shouldn't do with your business.

ABC Procrastinate Ltd
ABC Procrastinate liked profits and customers, but they had been pretty busy dining out on past successes. Financially things were now a bit tight so they decided to have a meeting to see what could be done. Here are some of the answers they came up with.

1) Having realised that what they were doing was not working, they decided to get everyone to double their efforts doing exactly the same things.

2) Having realised that their margins were terrible, they decided to buy a new truck and sell more product at the same price.

3) Having realised that they knew nothing about marketing, they decided to form a task group including more people who knew nothing about marketing.

4) Having realised that sales and profits were down, they decided to reduce their sales staff and cut their marketing budget in half.

5) Having realised they had no direction for the company, they decided it was time for a good lunch and a lively discussion about which paint colour they should choose for the new office door.

6) Having realised that results for the last quarter had been terrible, they decided to close early and go to the pub.

7) Having realised that they had lots of enquiries that they could not turn into sales, they decided to get angry at the people who didn't buy because it was clearly all their fault.

8) Having realised that they desperately needed some help with marketing, they decided to buy a good book even though they didn't think they would get around to reading it any time soon.

9) Having realised that their customer service was terrible, they decided it was the perfect time to advertise everything in the store at half price.

10) Having realised that their staff did not know what was expected of them, they decided that paycuts all round would help them to understand what they needed to do better.

11) Having realised that staff were disgruntled, they decided to put up a sign in the staffroom encouraging everyone to have a happy day.

12) Having realised that cashflow was not going well, they decided to ignore it because it was all too hard and it would probably come right by itself anyway.

Just a bit of fun this month - however amazingly I have seen and heard of these type of things actually happening.