Friday, April 13, 2012

 Get going and implement a growth plan. The key words are implement and plan because that's where most people fail (no plan or no implementation).

1. Have a plan—companies with a plan grow substantially faster than those without one, have better access to financing and pay their people (including the owner) more money and more in benefits.

2. Market, market and market some more—marketing is everything you do to put your name in front of customers and prospective customers. Marketing should be done consistently and constantly

3. Delegate—you can't do it all yourself so don't even try. Leverage your people by letting them to what they do best.

4. Communicate—most business issues are people issues and many are because of poor communication. An example is a former client where the management ranked what they thought the employees top issues were. Management was way off and almost all the employees' issues dealt with communication and the lack thereof. Communication between departments, the sales staff to everybody else and from management.

5. Monitor—keep an eye on your people, processes, financial condition and statements, and your systems. Always be on the lookout for where everything can be improved.

6. Don't ignore sales—marketing brings you potential customers and salespeople make them customers. Don't forget it. Nothing happens until you make a sale.

7. Pick up the phone—speaking of sales, don't let your salespeople be afraid of the phone. And make sure they know that the phone's primary purpose is to make an appointment. Meeting people face-to-face is what it's all about.

8. Have a culture of growth—don't let people get in a rut, least of all you. An owner wanting to retire lost the opportunity to sell to a qualified and interested buyer because he painted a picture of everybody working "just hard enough" to make the income they wanted. The buyer realized that these employees would not fit with his growth plan.

9. Take action—implement your ideas. This is where most plans fail as the owner or CEO just gets so busy with the day-to-day that they run out of time to implement their ideas.

10. Buy another company—in a recent survey, 86% of respondents said they would consider buying another business if the opportunity came up and it was the right opportunity. There are a lot of good reasons to grow by acquisition and should always be considered.

About John Martinka

Over the last 15 years Mr. Martinka has written over 200 articles, authored a workbook, assisted on over 100 buy-sell transactions and spoken to thousands of people on the subjects of buying, selling or growing small to mid-sized businesses. Some of his related articles and speeches include:

• The Seven Deadly Sins of Business Buying

• Non-Financial Factors Influence a Company's Value

• How to Sell Your Business for What you Thought When Other People Can't

• Growth by Acquisition is the Fastest, Least Painful Way to Grow

• An ACTION? Plan to Sell Your Business

Mr. Martinka can be reached at 425-576-1814 or at john@johnmartinka.com. Please follow him on his website at www.partneroncall.com/johnmartinka, his blog www.johnmartinka.com, and via Twitter at http://twitter.com/johnmartinka He is available to speak to and write for associations and media.

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