You work hard to ensure your business stands out from the crowd.

• Outstanding customer service? Tick.
• Brilliant products? Tick.
• Eye-catching branding? Tick.

But you’re exhausted. The business needs you. You run around like a chook without a head in order to keep up and ensure that all of your deliverables are being met. But let’s look at the reality of it all:

• Is your business profitable? Possibly not.
• Is it rewarding? I’d hazard a guess and say ‘no’.
• Is it fun? If you have to be there – then definitely not.

We know that being a business owner looks fun from the outside, but it is only those business owners who implement ‘smart’ business strategies that really reap the rewards. These are the strategies that set them apart, taking them from ordinary, average businesses to being simply outstanding.

‘I just don’t have the time’, I hear you say.

And you never will. Unless you jump off the roundabout, and start to implement strategies and processes that will enable your business to cut the umbilical cord, you will never make the change from being a reactive, work-driven business to that of a managed, service-focused operation.

It won’t happen overnight – but it won’t happen at all unless you make a start. Now. Before 30 June.

Be bold. Be determined. Be focused. Be in charge of your business – don’t let it take charge of you.

1. Hold a strategy day – Clear the schedule and review where you are at present, where you want to go, and what the action plan is to get there. Even if you are a sole trader, get away from the office and have your date with a blank piece of paper. Need ideas on how to start? Give us a call on 1300 854 480 and we will happily advise!
2. Hold a team day – Plan a day away from the office with your team to set shared plans, roles and targets. Make it a day of fun. Talk about your client services. Workshop some of their workplace frustrations and establish strategies to combat them. Set goals with targets and rewards. Motivate your team.
3. Schedule your monthly team meetings – Book the time and the location for the next 12 months into the business calendar, and share invitations with the team. Need an agenda template? Email [email protected]/cfoatcall and we will point you in the right direction!
4. Hold your staff performance views – Work with your team to identify individual goals and create development plans for the upcoming 12 months. Introduce a 360-degree strategy to ensure feedback is both upward and downward. The results should be then tied back to your training objectives. (Don’t know where to start with a training plan? Contact us for advice!)
5. Review the organisational structure – Is your business structured in the most efficient manner to achieve your operational objectives? Are the reporting lines clear? Are the roles and responsibilities clearly documented and understood? It’s time to review!
6. Establish a system review team – Gain buy-in from your team by placing them at the centre of operational strategies. Have them review various day-to-day tasks such as document management, client information exchange, production and sales processes. Do they meet your business objectives? How could they be improved? Establish clear times for staff to work ‘on’ the business.
7. Categorise your client base – Again, ensure your team is involved in this process. “A” clients are your most valuable clients. “B” clients are your average, regular, profitable clients. “C” clients are profitable but difficult. “D” clients are difficult and, financially, not worth the hassle. Ensure they understand where clients rank, and ensure they put the time and energy into servicing your top-tier clients, as too often we find that the “D” clients sap our time and energy, for little return.
8. Create your “A” client service plan – A plan that is owner-driven, personal and high-value, and delivers the ultimate in client care.
9. Create your “B” client service plan – A plan that is systems-driven, with systemised client care that looks to up-sell.
10. Identify your “B+” clients – These are “B” clients who have the potential to mature into “A” clients. Create a customer care plan for these clients to facilitate the move.
11. Create your “C” client service plan – Again, we need a strategy to educate you “C” clients to become “A” clients.
12. Remove all “D” clients – Look carefully at your dollar return for your investment in time and energy. Are they worth it? One good “A” or “B” client will be worth ten “D” clients. Sack them, sell them or price them out.
13. Timetable your “A” client contact – Touch base with them. Ensure you remain front-of-mind and part of the family. Schedule them into your calendar for the next 12 months.
14. Refer your “B” client service plan to your team – Establish a ‘systems review’ team who has a goal of increasing profitability through efficient systemisation without compromising customer care. Importantly, have them track their results and establish rewards for when they meet targets. Regardless of how small the reward – pizza for lunch, a $50 shopping voucher – the business gains will be so much greater.
15. Review your key performance indicators – where are you placed for the core areas of your business?
    KPI 1: Client value – what is your average $ sale?
    KPI 2: Lock up
    KPI 3: Recoverability
    KPI 4: Client quality – how do the number of A clients compare to the number of D clients?
    KPI 5: Client satisfaction – how do you measure customer satisfaction and where do you rate?
    KPI 6: Non-productive overtime – what is your financial gain on overtime for the last month? Or have you run at a loss?
    KPI 7: Owner profit – are you taking home the wage you had planned
16. Refine and update your KPI action plan – identify at least one improvement strategy in each of the seven areas
17. Spend an hour with your team to discuss “moments of truth” – review every point of potential client/prospect contact, and consider how you can improve that contact in a systemised fashion that will exceed their expectations – every time.
18. Create a new service for your clients – learn and add new skills, create joint-venture opportunities with a client or contact. Think outside of the square … what would my clients find really useful?
19. Review your client meeting agendas – do you have a set plan to adhere to? Do you ask the questions that will enable you to not only gain a complete understanding of your client’s needs, but also to up-sell your products and services? How do you wow them? Do you ask for referrals?
20. Create a dynamic meeting environment – Wow your clients. Use smart boards, whiteboards with charts, TV screens and overhead projectors. Take the expert position, get on your feet and make your meetings lively and visual.
21. Maximise your client bank – You have hundreds of contacts in hundreds of businesses, many of whom provide products and services that can be utilised by some of your other clients. Explore joint-venture opportunities – this will enable you to not only deliver great service, but also earn more from your current client base.
22. Book your holiday – Yes, you heard correctly! Book your holiday in the calendar for the next 12 months. Even if you aren’t planning on going away, it is important plan time out for yourself – or it will never happen. You are only human, and need to recharge.
23. Establish diary rules – Clearly define dedicated meeting days, how many meetings per week you are happy to attend and how much time you allocate in between to follow up on action items. Block out “Do not disturb” time your calendar.
24. Review your marketing strategy – How many new clients are you targeting? How do you specifically intend to woo them? Will they prefer you over the competition? Have you articulated what it is about you that is unique, risk-free and so in demand that it becomes a no-barrier to use your products or services?

It isn’t complex, time-consuming or solely up to you. If you have a team, share the load. By sharing responsibility, your staff will take greater ownership of the business and will have a vested interest in seeing it succeed. You can do this!