Business is about making money. Charity is about giving it away. Don’t get those two confused. Ever noticed that often the most successful people seem to be great at doing both?
Despite some of the excesses we have seen come out of the investment banking world in recent years and even some of the commentary by well-meaning journalists, let me be clear. People who make money are not bad. Making money is what turns our economic wheels. The more money our business people make the more people they employ, the more taxes get paid, the more we have to spend on hospitals and schools.
If you want to feed the family you bake a larger pie, not divide the pie into fairer proportions. Eventually that just has people fighting over the crumbs or arguing over fairness. What we want is abundant amounts of pie.
So how do we grow the pie? By our businesses making more money!
How do they make more money? They sell. They sell. They sell. Every time a coconut!
It’s amazing how many business people forget that is their most important job each and every day. They need to sell their products and services to those that want to buy them – here in New Zealand and to markets offshore!
“How do we sell more stuff?” I hear business people say, when there are so many competitive offerings on the market and so many options for the consumer’s (or other businesses) share of wallet.
“By having raving fans” is always my response.
You need to establish a brand for your business and your products that really captures people’s attention. If it’s a service business then do you really provide “knock your socks off” service, or do you just turn up and do the job? What is it about your service that will have people raving?
Maybe it was a box of chocolates given to a client at the end of a job, telling them how much you valued their business? Maybe it’s a phone call a month later asking them how their leaky taps are, a month on from you repairing?
Do what others wouldn’t do.
If you sell products then be authentic to what it is you’re producing. Create masterpieces and people will love them. They don’t have to be made by Apple to win awards for coolness and design. Just create things that are real, that inspire, that solve problems and ideally, that look good.
If you can create a business that has raving fans going on about how good you are and what great value you provide then you will have a line to your door every day.
