Greetings!
Welcome to the October 2009 issue of CHAKRA. This month Karl lets you into a secret about what he thinks is the future of business brokerage and the next big gold rush! Essie Escobedo and Cecilia Roach help us gain new business even when no one is buying. Plus, Mr. Bevan shares the achievement celebrations of TEM client JYSMMETRIC. We take a look at some interesting facts about where venture capitalists are investing their money and the influence of marketing to women. If all that were not enough the master of management advice, Warren Buffet, will share one of his pearls of wisdom....................Well, what are you waiting for? Get reading! |
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BVIresources.......the new face of business brokerage
by Karl M. Gibbons. |
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Psst........................please keep this information to yourself and do not share it with anyone. Third Eye Management have discovered the best business tool we have ever seen for evaluating and increasing the value of a business!
According to the business brokerage industry, the next Gold Rush has already appeared over the horizon and will be here shortly. The new Gold Rush is the upcoming tidal wave of Baby Boomer-owned businesses which will be for sale as their owners decide that it's finally time to retire for a variety of reasons ranging from age to health to simple burn-out.
Background
There are something like 78.2 million Baby Boomers out there. According to recent census figures, back in 2006 nearly 8,000 people turned 60 every day, that's 330 each and every hour. The question of how many businesses will be for sale is a bit more difficult to answer accurately. "An estimate of 65% to 75% of all small businesses will go up for sale in the next five to 10 years. Why? Retiring baby boomers." - Inc., April 2008.
However, it gets even more interesting. In normal economic conditions, only 5% of businesses listed for sale find a buyer - 95% remain unsold or are removed from the market!
Growth through acquisition of competitors, vendors, and customers has always been the best option for those interested in building their businesses as rapidly as possible. For the next five to ten years it will be even better.
So you have a choice. Jump on the opportunity now or kick yourself a few years down the road for having missed yet another golden opportunity.
When you consider that there are 26.8 million small businesses in the country, it's safe to assume that there's going to be lot of inventory coming onto the market over the next few years. If we use Inc.'s lower figure, 65%, that's 19 million businesses changing hands.
BVIresources
Into this arena comes Nixon Childs, founder and creator of BVIresources. BVIresources was designed as an interactive, high revenue, high margin, web based service (SaaS) to create "market-ready businesses."
Immediate Market Need
Business owners spend > $2.0 billion annually on business valuations, want-ad listings, and exit plans for a 5% chance of ever selling their business. (a 95% failure rate!). Owners have little to no strategic, viable, or affordable options for growth and survival and thus the high failure rate
The Solution
BVIresources has created a new performance index that can determine the level and probability that a business is market-ready today. Without this key piece of information as a prerequisite, the $ investments made in a business that can't be sold are moot.
BVIresources is poised to rock the world of the business brokerage industry and provide an invaluable tool and opportunity for professional business advisors. For more information go to:
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How to Gain New Business ............
When No One's Buying
by Esther Escobedo & Cecilia Roach. |
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 As a business owner, you already possess the single most important ingredient for sales success − even in this economy. The new business opportunities you need are buried in your customer list. Finding and closing those opportunities, however, requires a new way of thinking. Decide today to kill that annual customer satisfaction survey. Do you really want to continue making game-changing decisions based on what your customers thought one day last year? Instead, ask every time you interact. Aim for a "10 out of 10" rating every time. Then you know you've made an emotional connection. Loyalty roots itself in emotion - not rational thinking. Customer loyalty hinges on delivering good customer service. A Forrester Group study asked customers to rate their experiences on the following criteria:
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Useful - Could you get what you needed to get done?
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Easy - Did you run into hassles in the interaction process?
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Enjoyable - Were you frustrated or disappointed in the interaction?
Aggregating customers' answers created a Customer Experience Index (CEI). Forrester concluded that, across all industries, the higher the customer experience index, the more customers came back to buy again and the more loyal the customers were.[1]
If you ask the right three questions, you'll receive more than just three answers.
Ask:
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What do you need/want/desire that we aren't providing?
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Will you buy from us again?
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Will you recommend us to your colleagues?
[1] Petouhoff, N., Ph.D., Leaver, S., Magarie, A., "The Economic Necessity Of Customer Service: Five Recession-Busting Strategies To Cut Service Costs And Increase Sales," Forrester Research, January 2009
Use this "free R&D" to expand your footprint in existing markets, discover new markets, and find ways to improve your products, services and delivery platforms. When you make those improvements, communicate them back to the customer. Not only will you let them know they were heard, you'll make them part of your success.
Why it's all about referrals.
Referrals continue to be the fastest, most cost-efficient way to stabilize revenues. When your customer "pre-sells" the prospect, your customer acquisition costs drop. Referrals shorten the sales cycle, and customers referred to your company will be more likely to tell others-regardless of the economy.
Your best customers are just that - the best - but do they know that? Allot two hours a week to calling your best customers. Let them know that you appreciate your business and ask what else you do to help them.
Also call those customers who dropped you to let them know they are missed. Ask them what you could be doing to help them now. Lost customers become "boomerangs" when they come back.
A word of caution: Once you have started this exchange, your customers are going to hold you to your promise to report back on results. If you don't intend to maintain this dialogue, don't start it. Staying silent may cost you some lost opportunities but it's better than disappointing customers one at a time.
How do you get it done?
If you can't justify a full-time hire to take charge of your Customer Experience Program and your staff is maxed out, you can outsource the program completely. Having a third party call on your behalf will produce more objective feedback. For business owners and executives reluctant to allow an external professional contact with customers, the hybrid approach makes sense. The company could elect to retain contact with its best customers or "high potential" customers and outsource the rest of the interaction and analysis.
Constrained resources might require you to start small and grow the program. If that's the case, don't focus exclusively on your best customers or the lost accounts. It's likely that you'll find richer opportunities within the often-overlooked segment-the customers in the middle.
No matter which model and approach, you should expect initial results in first five working days of program set-up. Get the program up and running quickly to capitalize on the excitement. Plan to implement the majority of customer recommendations that make sense for your business. Commit to maintain the customer-centric dialogue. Finally, realize that a multi-year program's trended results will yield the highest value.
 About the Authors:
Essie Escobedo, Founder, Office Angels, provides big business talent to small business on an as-needed basis.
Cecelia Roach, Pivot Point Group helps emerging and established companies build profitable customer relationships.
Esther Escobedo
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Well.......did you enjoy it? Was it helpful? Please email and let us know. We are always pleased to hear from you especially if you found something in the CHAKRA that's prompted you or your client to try a new approach or adopt a new idea in business. Tell us about your successes - you never know, we may include them in next month's issue!
Make it happen!
Regards,
Karl M. Gibbons & Adrian M. Bevan
Third Eye Management |
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Marketing to Women
1. Women are females first and consumers second. So, to market to the female consumer, you need to understand gender differences.
2. The female economy is enormous.
Here are some statistics:
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80% of apparel purchases (for men, women and children) are made by women
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52% of all new vehicle purchases are made by women (and 85% are influenced by women)
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40% of consumer electronics purchases are made by women (and 61% of purchases are influenced by women)
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70% of health care decisions are made by women
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70% of travel decisions are made by women
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90% of women participate in decisions that affect their household retirement and investment accounts
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20% of home purchases are made by single women (and 91% of all purchases are influenced by women)
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55% of all wine purchases are made by women
Applying This Information for Marketing to Women
When you take all of this information into account, here is what you can do to be more successful in your marketing efforts towards women:
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Highlight great service, and provide human help (a real person, not a recording)
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Leverage your female customers; they love to tell others if they have found or experienced something great. Include them in testimonials, loyalty and referral programs
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Display empathy
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Validate that you are offering a good deal
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Demonstrate appreciation, with frequent thanks
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Lead with the practical benefits, not how something works
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Use stories in your marketing
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Leverage third-party endorsements and testimonials
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Sweat the details
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Ask for feedback
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Avoid violent images and language when selling to women
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Emphasize positive qualities without being overly negative about your competitors
If women are included in your target market, consider using these techniques. Your marketing will be more successful, and your sales will increase.
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| Mr. Bevan - Hits The Big Time! |
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 Third Eye Management CFO Adrian Bevan pictured with award winning Chris Delgado - Managing Partner of JSYMMETRIC which, apart from being a Third Eye client , was named one of the fastest-growing companies in the United States by Inc. magazine's annual Inc. 500 ranking. |
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Where Venture - Capital Firms are Investing |
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Software - 24%
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Medical devices - 13%
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Biotech - 10%
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Green technology - 9%
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Internet specific - 9%
Scource: Pepperdine Private capital Markets survey of 185 venture-capitaslists.
Have you got a great product or invention?
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Great Management Quotes |
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"It's far better to buy a wonderful company at a fair price than a fair company at a wonderful price."
Warren Buffet
Warren Edward Buffett (born August 30, 1930) is a U.S. investor, businessman, and philanthropist. He is one of the most successful investors in history, the largest shareholder and C.E.O. of Berkshire Hathaway, and in 2008 was ranked by Forbes as the richest person in the world with an estimated net worth of approximately $62 billion.
In 1999, Buffett was named the top money manager of the twentieth century in a survey by the Carson Group. In 2007, he was listed among Time's 100 Most Influential People in the world.
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| BizNest Takes Flight |
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Mark your schedule - October 7th - The BizNest series of webinars takes flight! Commissioned by the Organization for Entrepreneurial Development (OED) TEM is to present a series of webinars on business development with modules designed to link together or stand alone.
Take off with Accounting Towards Profit - make sure your numbers soar skywards
Take off by Marketing Your Business - peacock or pigeon?
Take off with Personal Selling Skills - eagle, vulture or dodo?
Take off with Negotiating Skills - how not to ruffle feathers!
Take off with Great Customer Care - caring for your brood
Take off with Practical Marketing - are you building a better nest?
Take off by Advertising & Promotions - cuckoo or magpie?
Take off with Effective Management - for the management eagle
Take off and Control Time, Stress & Crisis Management - don't lose your feathers!
Participants will have the opportunity to learn the essentials of business development from the convenience and comfort of their home or office by joining in via Internet and phone for this webinar series.
For registration with the OED click here |
| Events & Happenings |
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Guest Speaker: Dr. Gene Landrum, Hodges University.
Topic: How To Be Innovative. |
| TEM are Proud Supporters of |
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A Final Thought |
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While you've been reading this more than 50 people celebrated their 60th birthday! Is this an opportunity for you or your client's business? | |
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