True Business- real life for small businesses

I want to tell you today about a great colleague and friend of mine, Matt O’Neill, who now runs a cracking communications company, Modcomms (if you run change management or corporate communications programmes, do get in touch with him – he is absolutely first class).

We have given each other advice, work and contacts for many years – it’s very much how business partnerships should be.

Unlike me, Matt is extraordinarily focused. I like to think I’m ‘creative’, but you could be wholly forgiven for just calling me ‘woolly’. Successful companies have clear sales strategies; whereas I have blundered through by luck more than judgement. What we do for our clients is bloody excellent (though I do say so myself), but the art, no –  the discipline, of managing a sales pipeline is a bit of a mystery to me.

At least, it was until Matt told me what he was up to. It’s very simple. And it works. He’s bunged all his contacts together and he sends them a short email on a regular basis. I do that, too. But what makes us different is that he’s thought it through properly. He knows exactly what he’s going to say in his newsletter up to three months ahead. Which means he can really catch the mood of the moment every time he puts pen to paper (or finger to key).

It’s all part of CRM: having a rigorous sales plan which keeps you in touch with every possible opportunity, and in these tough times I think it’s a crucial part of making sure you never miss an opportunity.

Here are just a few of the wise words Matt has imparted to me last time we met – I’m putting them into practice too, and I hope they help you as well:

• Ideally, you want to be at the front of your clients’ minds when they decide that they want something. So communicate with them very regularly – as often as once every 7-10 days.
• If you’re going to communicate with them that often, you also better offer them something for their time. So don’t just sell – offer helpful advice.
• Be human. They’re buying from you for a reason; and unless your offer is so spectacularly different that you haven’t got any competitors; then that will be about you, your people and your approach.
• Don’t write War And Peace. Short and sweet will do just fine, provided it’s crammed full of valuable goodies.
• Think like a customer – address their concerns, not your own ones.

CRM was generally thought to be the province of larger companies, but hosted online services now put sophisticated software packages well within the reach of the small business. And the beauty of it lies in the flexibility – expanding? Scale up. Drawing back a bit? Scale down. Monthly subscription charges let you balance your books too. If you’ve got Outlook 2007 with Business ContactManager you’ve already got your own CRM system (but I bet you’re not using it to its full potential!). Let me know if I’m wrong…. Meanwhile, here’s some background reading.

Microsoft Office Outlook with Business Contact Manager

Microsoft Ask The Expert article on investing in an entry-level CRM system

Microsoft Online Services