1. Thoroughly understand your business from top to bottom: what is is, how it works, and what factors affect it (e.g. seasonal, cultural, economic etc.) and be able to convince a client why they would need your product rather than someone else’s.
2. Know who is responsible for each part of your business: ensure each person you employ has a comprehensive job description and guidelines to help them do it. Having sensible procedures and policies in place will help your business run smoothly.
3 Ensure you are taking the right decisions about suppliers, contracts, budgets, tenders and salary packages, so that your business is, and remains, profitable. Important financial decisions should never be taken by junior employees, always by the most senior person possible.
4. Streamline your business by bundling the services you buy, outsourcing some jobs to agencies, or buying in components rather than making your own; this ensures you are making the best cost / benefit decisions for your business.
5. Delegate tasks to someone else. You need to focus on the important matters or the broader picture, explain what needs to be done and then leave the fine detail to someone else to work out and bring back for review / approval.
6. Make sure someone senior has the responsibility for overseeing problems or complaints, and that anything which has the potential to cause you damage, loss or embarrassment publicly is referred to you swiftly and then dealt with in an appropriate manner. This might mean you picking up the phone to call a client yourself, but that can make all the difference to the outcome and defuse a potentially damaging situation.
7. Sell yourself as well as your business. The most successful people are those whose faces we recognise: Richard Branson, Anita Roddick, Lord Alan Sugar, for example, who have become synonymous with their businesses. By being seen advertising their company , their clients feel a familiarity with the business. Be seen, be sociable, and if someone writes to you, take the time to write back. It can make all the difference to a deal.
8. Encourage staff involvement in decision-making. Use feedback schemes and incentives to make your staff feel they are an important part of your business. Being fair and honest with your staff is essential to earn and keep their respect and commitment.
9. Investing in training is important whether you are a sole trader or a company, as keeping up with the latest developments in your product area, or on top of the most current legislation, will help your business compete well with others chasing the same clients.
10. Keep your customers happy by making them feel valued. Good communication systems are vital to maintaining relationships with clients, whether via traditional means such as catalogues or newsletters, or by electronic methods such as emails and conference calling. Having the opportunity to talk directly to the business owner on a periodic basis is often welcomed by clients and suppliers and can help boost those all-important relationships.
Matt Smith – Freelance business, conference calling and technology blogger.
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